An exploratory study of demographics, goals and expectations of private online language learners in Russia

Perceptions of webcam use by experienced online teachers and learners: a seeming disconnect between research and practice

“…This type of lessons is growing in popularity in countries of the Expanding Circle, wherein opportunities for speaking practice are limited (Kozar, 2012;Kozar & Sweller, 2014). This study uses data from semi-structured interviews (Schmidt, 2004;Wengraf, 2001).…”

“…Particularly promising are videoconferencing tools like Skype, which afford unprecedented levels of multimodal communication, including text, audio and webcam video. With Internet access and bandwidth improving around the world, it is not surprising that an increasing number of institutions as well as private teachers and learners are using videoconferencing tools for language education (Cunningham, Fagersten, & Holmsten, 2010;Houge & Geier, 2009;Kozar, 2012Kozar, , 2014Kozar & Sweller, 2014).…”

E-Learning Collaborative System for Practicing Foreign Languages with Native Speakers

“…Searching for "English via Skype" in Google gives over 43 million results, and similar numbers appear if the search is conducted in Spanish, Russian and other languages. There is a large demand for online foreign language education [18]. However, Skype does not allow finding the person willing to teach/learn foreign languages, it does not provide learning aid materials, and does not track the spent time in the user accounts.…”

Language education via audio/videoconferencing (LEVAC): A discursive investigation

“…As expected, there is a dearth of studies on this teaching and learning context. The existing studies have been mostly exploratory and focused on the providers and customers of private online English-teaching services in Russia (Kozar & Sweller, 2014;Kozar, 2012Kozar, , 2014. These studies suggest that there are different types of providers, ranging from individual teachers to large private language schools, such as Kaplan and that 'English for Conversation' is the most commonly offered type of lessons (Kozar, 2012).…”

“…The focus on speaking is not accidental; unlike other online tools, such as emails, blogs, wikis, discussion forums, designed primarily for asynchronous written communication, Skype and other similar VoiP (Voice over the Internet Protocol) tools are able to support real-time voice and video conversations and therefore create an opportunity for speaking practice. Prior studies also report that services of private online language tutors seem to be particularly popular among Russian adult learners (medium age 27), who study for work-related, travelling and personal reasons (Kozar & Sweller, 2014). It would appear that speaking is an attractive activity for adult learners from the countries of the 'Expanding Circle' 1 (Kachru, 2006), wherein English has no special administrative status and the opportunities to use English outside of the classroom are limited and that videoconferencing lessons provide a means to have regular conversational practice.…”