Online Metacognitive Tasks for Efl Distance Learners

Abstract

Online courses have benefited from the adequate use of digital resources that allow learners to be the center of their own learning process. More often online instructors not only aim at what students have to individually do but learners are also engaged in interacting with the educational community by means of a variety of metacognitive activities, which can be planned, thought and accomplished anywhere and at any time (ubiquitous learning). This article proposes a debate on the awareness of strategic knowledge acquisition to particular situations providing interactive scenarios among students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in online courses. Without communicative activities, the successful production of any foreign language is not complete since knowledge building and the understanding of the foreign language, either in written or spoken form, are the key points of an adequate performance of communication. The findings of this study will provide information about useful online tasks for the adequate performance of communicative metacognitive skills required in an EFL language distance course. Finally, some future research paths inclined to improve EFL distance learners from a metacognitive and ICT-based collaborative perspective are also suggested.

Improving Foreign Language Learning by the Mean of Learning Management System: Review of the Literature

“…As the key players in language learning, learners are required to be more actively communicate with the other members of the educational community [16]. Therefore the distance learning courses have to be designed to build lively interaction.…”

Telecollaborative Debates in Esp: Learner Perceptions and Pedagogical Implications

“…The learners were also requested to create their digital profile on Google+ and include personal information about themselves, as well as a 2-minute introductory video so everyone could be identified (Figure 1). Several studies support the idea that collaboration is established more easily in virtual environments when friendly, relaxed and supportive relationships are adopted (Vinagre & Corral, 2017), conditions that also have a favorable influence on the communicative dynamics generated (Bañados, 2006;García-Sánchez, 2016).…”

“…In terms of a student-centered task, a debate implies dialogical argumentation of exchanged information, provided by a variety of assertions, examples and evidence. In order to succeed, participants must demonstrate having acquired the appropriate skills to find information that can verify, reinforce or disapprove a statement, which, in telecollaboration, must be supported by a collaborative ubiquitous learning environment (CULE) enabling debaters to interact inside and outside the classroom during the preparation phases of the task (García-Sánchez, 2014;O'Dowd, 2018). The debate also promotes the development of argumentative literacy, which Gudkova (2021) has indicated is a key soft skill that ESP university students must present and defend properly and logically when communicating in English.…”

Saudi Nursing Students Experience of Distance Learning (e-learning) During COVID-19 2020 Pandemic Outbreak at KSAU-HS

“…The expansion of advanced technology tools in the current education system in nursing and other healthcare-based academic program increases the urgency to intervene with different types of e-learning strategies [3,28]. For instance, some studies and technology organizations highlighted the impact of the virtual reality (VR), and Oculus Rift VR on the competent medical knowledge and clinical skills in medical and surgical fields [29][30][31]. Therefore, there is a need to pilot several studies aiming to utilize advanced VR technology such as Oculus Rift on educating healthcare professionals, including nursing students.…”