Telecollaboration in Spanish as a Foreign Language in Trinidad

Authors

  • Carolina Neva University of the West Indies, St. Augustine
  • María Landa University of the West Indies, St. Augustine
  • Beverly Anne Carter University of the West Indies, St. Augustine
  • Amina Ibrahim-Ali University of the West Indies, St. Augustine

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.ikala.5097

Keywords:

tele-collaboration, Spanish as a foreign language, technology, personal autonomy, intercultural competence.

Abstract

The objective is to study how participation in tandem partnership influences the motivation towards the target language and culture and the autonomy of learners of Spanish as a foreign language in Trinidad and Tobago. For this reason, an ac­tion research project was conducted with thirty-three learners of Spanish in Trinidad and thirty-three learners of English in Colombia, who engaged in a seven week tele-collaboration during which they used email and Web 2.0 technologies to communicate. Data were collected through questionnaires and a weekly journal. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were carried out. As a result the project was a rich source of learning for all the partici­pants and stresses the need of a deeper understanding of learners' language learning, an analysis of the sociocultural, psycholinguistic, and linguistic dimensions of intercultural competence in a specific context, and the critical assessment of the role of Web 2.0 technologies in fostering autonomy.

Received: 26-08-09 /Accepted: 28-02-10

How to reference this article:

Neva, C.; Landa-Buil, M.; Carter, B.-A. & Ibrahim-Ali, A. Telecollaboration in Spanish as a Foreign Language in Trinidad. Íkala [online]. 2010, vol.15, n.24, pp.75-102. 

 

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Author Biographies

Carolina Neva, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine

Carolina Neva obtained a BA in Preschool Education in the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional and a diploma in Teaching Spanish as a Second Language in the Universidad de la Salle both in Bogota, Colombia. She worked as a Spanish teacher for five years in Colombia. At present, she teaches Spanish as a Second Language at the Centre for Language Learning, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. E-mail: diana.carolina@sta.uwi.edu

María Landa, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine

María Landa-Buil obtained her MPhil in Linguistics from Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain. She was the Spanish "lectora" for the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados and at the State University of Zanzibar, Tanzania. At present, she is a Spanish lecturer and the Coordinator of the Spanish Programme at the Centre for Language Learning, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. She is also finishing her Ph.D. dissertation in Second Language Acquisition. E-mail: Maria.Landa@sta.uwi.edu

Beverly Anne Carter, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine

Beverly-Anne Carter holds a Ph.D. from The University of the West Indies (UWI). She was appointed Director of the Centre for Language Learning (CLL) at UWI, St. Augustine, in 2006. Dr. Carter has taught French in the
undergraduate degree programme and to the Centre's non-specialist learners and TESOL methodology to graduate students. She researches and has published in the areas of foreign language pedagogy and methodology, learner autonomy in language learning, and language policy and planning. E-mail: Beverly-Anne.Carter@sta.uwi.edu

Amina Ibrahim-Ali, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine

Amina Ibrahim-Ali is the Coordinator of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine. Her background is in Spanish and Linguistics. In 2002, one year after completing the Diploma in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), she began coordinating and teaching (EFL) at UWI. Her research interest is language production of L2 learners. E-mail: Amina.Ibrahim-Ali@sta.uwi.edu

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Published

2010-04-21

How to Cite

Neva, C., Landa, M., Carter, B. A., & Ibrahim-Ali, A. (2010). Telecollaboration in Spanish as a Foreign Language in Trinidad. Íkala, Revista De Lenguaje Y Cultura, 15(1), 75–102. https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.ikala.5097

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 1

Section

Research papers

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Copyright (c) 2010 Íkala, Revista de Lenguaje y Cultura

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