School of Languages and Area Studies (SLAS)

ELLC @ SLAS (E - language learning Centre @ SLAS)

Over a number of years the School of Languages and Area Studies (SLAS) has developed expertise and interest in the area of teaching Languages and Area Studies. New technologies have been embraced in a variety of innovative ways using a selection of information and communication tools.

The School has hosted several events related to different aspects of language learning in blended and virtual environments

  • June 23rd 2005 - The School with support from the LLAS Subject Centre organised  a Workshop to Go event entitled Interactive Multimedia for Language Learning. This was a one day event with contributors coming from the School of Languages and Area Studies.
  • September 2005 - The School hosted a Multi-media “Workference” in collaboration with Melissi. This was another one day event for teachers of  languages and learning resource centre staff. The majority of presenters were from the School of Languages and Area Studies and there was a keynote address from Steve Cushion, London Metropolitan University.
  • February 9th 2006 - The School hosted a Regional EuroCALL workshop Multimedia Language Learning Where are we now?
  • November 11th 2006 - SLAS  ran the 6th Translation Conference entitled Translation Technologies and Culture with Prof. Anthony Pym as Keynote Speaker
  • June 26th 2008 & September 11th 2008 - The School with support from the LLAS Subject Centre organised 2 Workshop To Go events in Portsmouth on June 26th 2008 and at King’s College, London, on September 11th 2008. The Workshop to Go was entitled 6 P’s in Podcast. Planning, Production, Pedagogy Participation , Positioning and Publishing. Material for these events can be found at http://hum.port.ac.uk/project/podcast6p/

One of the aims of ELLC is to act as a means of establishing networks and encouraging exchange of knowledge and expertise both within the university and externally to reach out to other HE institutions.  

The list below contains names and contact details of key staff, together with a brief description of their main areas of interest. Further information can be obtained through direct email contact. Miguel Arrebola is a senior lecturer in the Modern Foreign Languages department. He is involved in the creation of Re-usable Learning Objects using video streaming technology. He has participated in the JISC funded projects L20 Sharing Language Learning Objects and CLAReT. He is currently a team member of the JISC funded project Repositories for Sharing Learning Resources in Distributed Social Spaces (FAROES). He can be contacted at miguel.arrebola@port.ac.uk

Rose Clark, is a senior lecturer in EFL and has both pedagogical and research interests in digital languages labs, collaborative workspaces, blogs, wikis and online discussion boards in the delivery of language and areas studies.She is regular presenter at EuroCall and has recently published Integrating online newspapers into content based EFL instruction, in, New Media - New Teaching Options?1 vol. 69. ed Linke,G. (2006), anglistik & englischunterricht,  Heidelberg: Winter Verlag rose.clark@port.ac.uk

Dr. Margaret Anne Clarke is the Senior Lecturer in Portuguese and uses digital and multimedia applications extensively in her language teaching, from beginners to advanced levels. She has presented on the subject of materials preparation and  institutional adaptations to digital applications at EUROCALL and other conferences, and her research interests are: the contribution of Portuguese and Brazilian modernism, including Fernando Pessoa   the modernist movement of the 1920s and Brazilian concretism as precursors to  digital and internet writing, hypertext and interactive art; digital inclusion, literacy, popular participation and pedagogy through multimedia and digital archive projects in Portugal and Brazil. She has several book chapters forthcoming on the subject of digital storytelling, digital oral history projects. She can be contacted at margaret.clarke@port.ac.uk

Caroline Corney is a Senior Lecturer in EFL.  She has researched the use of self- access online quizzes and discussion areas on Webct for General Language courses and has produced materials and tasks for use  in digital language labs. She is currently investigating the use of regular online reflection and feedback from students using  a multimedia classroom as a teaching and learning tool.  Contact: caroline.corney@port.ac.uk

Samia Mitchell, Senior Lecturer in Linguistics: She is currently involved in the teaching of Translation, Linguistics, Communication & Culture, French Language and is responsible for the MA in Communication & Language Skills. Her E-learning interests are in the field of  Foreign Language Teaching Methodology and designing multi-media grammar packages to be used in the digital language laboratory.

Dr Carol O'Sullivan teaches Italian and translation in the School of Languages and Area Studies, and is Course Leader for the MA Translation Studies (campus mode) and for the new MA Translation Studies (distance learning). Her principal e-learning research and teaching interest is in subtitling, which she teaches at MA and final-year undergraduate level. Other interests include e-learning for distance delivery, particularly in the area of practical translation teaching. Medium-term projects include the development of an online subtitling module. She can be contacted on carol.osullivan@port.ac.uk

Begoña Rodríguez de Céspedes is a Senior lecturer who has been using digital language labs for the last few years in her Spanish listening skills class. She has produced advanced listening, writing and lexical exercises, which optimally exploit the functionalities of digital language lab software. She can be contacted on begona.rodriguez@port.ac.uk

John Wrigglesworth is a Senior Lecturer and has developed an extensive WebCT page which included teaching activities as well as information and links. The WebCT page links to EASE, licensed computer software to teach lecture skills. He has pioneered Turnitin and pod casting in SLAS. He is currently developing the use of Questionmark Perception to use video clips along with written multiple choice questions and is experimenting with Captivate to deliver learning objects.

Wrigglesworth, J. (June, 2003). A pedagogic rationale for integrating virtual learning environments into a Foundation Course. British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes. Professional Interests Meeting (Newcastle).

Clark, R. & Wrigglesworth, J. (2007). Three Ps in a podcast. Learning and Teaching Conference. University of Portsmouth. December 2007.

In addition, SLAS has available both technical and pedagogical knowledge and expertise in the setting up and running of digital multi-media classrooms. The system adopted in SLAS uses digital language lab software developed by MELISSI ad link). Consultancy packages can be tailor made for interested institutions who are considering setting up a digital multi-media classroom.  On technical issues, please contact Rob.Hobbs@port.ac.uk, or on pedagogical issues: Rose.Clark@port.ac.uk or Samia.Mitchell@port.ac.uk for further details.