Locking down and opening out: Creating new virtual spaces for writers and presenters during the pandemic
| Title in English | Locking down and opening out: Creating new?virtual spaces for?writers and presenters?during the pandemic |
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| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
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| Description | This chapter highlights three examples of how the pandemic-forced transition from face-to-face to?online formats inspired teachers at the Czech Republic’s largest language centre to create more effective virtual spaces for dynamic communication in EAP courses. The emergency move to remote instruction made some familiar teaching methods more difficult or impossible, but in the improvised search for alternative methods, we discovered new tools and techniques which increased interaction and engagement in the classes. First, in a presentation skills course, a strategic use of the Zoom platform with its breakout rooms gave students new opportunities to prepare, discuss, and deliver their talks. The changes in the course format led students to offer and receive more constructive feedback and reflect with more insight on their own performances. Second, the potential of experiential learning was explored in an international video conferencing course, where breakout rooms gave learners who were separated by vast distances an authentic functional space in which to collaborate. Third, the physical constraints of lockdown were turned into advantages in an academic writing course, where students were asked to look through various multimedia “windows on the world” and then use experiences and language from those encounters to fuel their critical writings. These successes have helped us develop a new set of best practices and principles to guide our language centre beyond the tumultuous pandemic years. |