Examinando por Materia "Caracteristicas de espacios de afinidad en línea"

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    Online affinity spaces in the foreign language classroom
    (2023-02-27) Diaz Borja, Gustavo; Jerez Rodríguez, Sonia
    Online affinity spaces (OAS), whether formal or informal, have offered teachers of other languages an opportunity to share beliefs, values, interests, culture, but also to gain knowledge about different issues or topics. Furthermore, the social interactions held in these spaces are not only driven by personal interests but also by a desire to learn, innovate and self-direct their professional learning. However, even if OAS are usually held out of the classroom by teachers since they usually engage with new literacies such as social networks, webpages, blogs, or play video games, there is scarce evidence of studies among teachers of foreign languages and their everyday experiences, memberships, participation in OAS, and the integration of its features in their language lessons. Thus, this qualitative case study aimed at exploring five (5) foreign language teachers’ online affinity spaces living and learning and the features conveyed in their language classes during the Pandemic Covid 19. The study attempts to answer the following questions: How do teachers of foreign languages live and learn in online affinity spaces?, and, what features from Online Affinity spaces were conveyed in their language classes to provide a possible venue for learning during the Health crisis?. Data collection procedures such as online in-depth interviews, observations of video recorded classes, and the researcher’s diary were used. Secondary sources such as visual evidence from the participants’ interaction in online affinity spaces (OAS) was also considered. The results shed light on participants’ profiles, portals, personal and professional endeavors, content, and frequency of their participation in OAS. Most participants exhibit living and learning experiences in OAS driven by personal interests. They also demonstrate attempts to include OAS in their classes to construct social presence and support students’ collaboration, networking and communication, joining students towards a common endeavor, guiding them to participate and share content in their lessons. Further research is suggested to continue exploring the possibilities OAS offer teachers of other languages to become independent and collaborative problem solvers, communicators, negotiators, and designers of texts rather than only consumers.