TANGOAn international

collaborative bilingual e-learning projectDesigned and developed by

Carmen Álvarez-Mayo Piloted in 2013/14 in conjunction with the

English Department at Universidad de Oviedo in Asturias, Spain.

TANGOIndex Introduction Topics & tasks Resources Aims Independent learners Continual professional development skills The pilot Guidelines Online student portfolios samples Feedback

TANGOIntroduction

TANGO: two websites = tasks + student portfolios

July 2011: how it started Autumn 2013: the first three tasks were

designed and consultation with our VLE team was initiated

Autumn and winter academic year 2013/14: the rest of tasks are written; the websites designed, populated and tested

TANGOTopics and tasks

The course syllabus Communicative approach Critical Pedagogy (Freire, Giroux)

TANGOResources included in the website Real Cultural Diverse

• Geography• History• Traditions• Music• Literature• Film

TANGOMain aims Practise TL with a native speaker & develop

oral interaction skills Enhance the learning experience Foster cultural awareness Develop intercultural communicative

competence (ICC) (Byram, 1997) Practise critical cultural awareness: the

ability ‘to question, to analyse, to evaluate and, potentially, to take action’ (Byram, 2008)

TANGOFurther aims

Practise and develop all 4 language skills Learn new vocabulary and idiomatic

expressions Reflect on their learning ► through ‘new’ eyes

(Proust) Become independent learners

TANGOExperimental Learning (Kolb)

TANGO360° skills:

Working with others & independently Time-management and planning Reading Document use, creation and publishing Oral communication & interaction Intercultural competence & communic

ation

TANGO360° skills:

Critical thinking Critical and creative writing Digital technology and creativity Using English and foreign languages Continuous learning Diversity awareness and respect

TANGOThe pilot

February-May 2014 Selecting and pairing students:

• 12 in York (with 2 tutors) – A2 • 12 in Oviedo (with 6 tutors) – B1

TANGOThe pilot (cont.)

Instructions by email & published online: Week 0

First contact: • introduce themselves to their partners• organise and agree work schedule• choose their preferred communication

method: Google Hangouts, Skype and/ or Tango app

TANGOGuidelines Safe environment: respectful and

professional manner Promoting understanding and respect

TANGOSamples of online student portfolios

• English portfolios

• Spanish portfolios

TANGOFeedback

Feedback from colleagues in Oviedo & York

Feedback from Oviedo students

Feedback from York students

TANGOThemed► topic basedAutonomous Navigation Global► worldwideOpus► online student portfolioshttps://sites.google.com/a/york.ac.uk/tango/

► student led

It takes two to TANGO

carmen.alvarez-mayo@york.ac.ukLanguage & Linguistic Science,

Languages for All