Darren Lingley
Dept. of International Studies, Kochi University, Japan

Collaborative e-Learning Materials Design:
Utilizing Local EIL Community Resources for EFL Teaching and Research

This presentation describes a collaborative materials design project between teachers, students and the local community. It demonstrates how to utilize the international human resources available in a local community to develop a comprehensive set of authentic EIL (English as an International Language) listening materials for students, teachers and researchers which can be accessed electronically. These materials resources are used in three ways: 1) for practical teaching purposes in English language classes 2) as a locally gathered corpus of spoken language yielding data that can be used for linguistic description research, and 3) as a self-access and community learning resource. With the growth of English as an International Language, non-native speakers of English now outnumber native speakers by as much as 3:1. Students who use English for international communication need more controlled listening exposure to authentic non-native spoken language samples. Both beginner level and intermediate level students also need competent non-native language models who actively use English for authentic communication. These language models can serve to motivate students to aim for a level of English language production acceptable in social, professional, international and personal contexts. This project profiles local non-native speakers of English in the form of video recordings discussing a variety of language and community themes.

The primary intention is to have these authentic language materials electronically accessible by teachers for in-class listening and discussion projects. They are also used by EFL students as self-access learning materials. In addition to the EIL, research and e-learning features of this project, another key aspect of the design of digital video recordings is that students are heavily involved in the interview process, recording and digital editing. Giving students an active role in such projects gives them greater access to English resources and empowers them through active collaboration with teachers in the learning/research process. Interview themes range in topic but include discussions of the English education system in their home countries, individual learning styles and each interviewee’s English language use, issues related to living and contributing to the local community and issues related to learning the language of the host community (Japanese). This resulting authentic language data generated from the interviews is categorized in terms of level and theme for student and teacher access. It is argued that the production of an extensive, accessible and flexible set of e-Learning materials allows teachers to use them in the classroom in ways that suit their personal teaching styles.

Presenter
Darren Lingley is a Professor in the Dept. of International Studies at Kochi University, Japan where he teaches Intercultural Communication, Comparative Culture and EFL. He is currently involved in developing methods/materials for using authentic mediated spoken texts in the EFL classroom. Other projects include the development of gender studies materials for EFL learners. Darren is an Associate Editor with the Asian EFL Journal.