Interdisciplinarity in virtual worlds: teaching approaches for acquiring a language-culture.

Arvanitis Panagiotis, Panagiotidis Panagiotis, Kigitsioglou-Vlachou Aikaterini (2014). 7th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation, Seville - Spain, 17/11/2014-19/11/2014, CD-ROM, ICERI2014 Proceedings. p.3892-3901.

Virtual Worlds are among the fastest growing areas of web 2.0, as they dispose characteristics that promote the development of all kinds of applications not only for communication and entertainment, but for education, as well. This work highlights the importance of Virtual Worlds, their potential and their contribution to foreign language education and explores the perspectives for further exploitation. Virtual Worlds can be an important tool for the cooperative learning of a foreign language and culture, and can facilitate the acquisition of the target language, while also promoting interdisciplinarity through their multi-potential dimension. The present paper presents implementations of the use of Virtual Worlds for foreign language education through interdisciplinary approaches with particular emphasis on foreign language learning and culture.

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"Speech Acts in a Virtual World: Design and Implementation". In  L. Bradley & S. Thouësny (eds)
20 Years of EUROCALL: Learning from the Past, Looking to the Future, Research-publishing.net, Dublin Ireland, ISBN: 978-1-908416-13-1, DOI: 10.14705/rpnet.2013.000132

In the first half of the twentieth century, notions such as linguistic structures and student’s linguistic capacity were the traditional elements of any language teaching. With the significant contribution of Halliday and Hymes these notions are yielding their place to the functional use of language and how language is being shaped by the different communicative situations. This new, communicative approach of teaching a foreign language, had led the redefinition of learning objectives and general principles of the teaching act.

"Augmented Reality in Language teaching and learning?". Proceedings of 4th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN12), L. Gómez Chova, I. Candel Torres, A. López Martínez (eds). 
ISBN: 978-84-695-3491-5. London: International Association of Technology, Education and Development (IATED), 2012.

In recent years, the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) has become widespread in second language teaching and learning contexts. The language teaching and learning processes encompasses and requires the use of authentic language multimedia and multimodal materials such as text, audio, video and images. The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (abbreviated as CEFR), is widely adopted and accepted as the European standard for teaching and learning foreign languages. It’s implementation promote the linguistic diversity within the European Union and additionally support the use of ICT as networks and digital tools at the service of teaching / learning foreign languages. In this context, the use of new technologies has become a key factor.

"An assessment tool for online language learning computer games"
P. Arvanitis, P. Krystalli, P. Panagiotidis, 2012
Proceedings of London International Conference on Education (LICE 2012).
London 2012

The evolution of technology and the strong belief that computer games promote learning contributed to the increase of educational computer games available online in the field of teaching and learning a foreign language. 

"A Multimedia database for speech acts for second language teaching and learning"
P. Arvanitis – A. Kigitsoglou-Vlachou, 2012.

Proceedings of 5th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation International Conference (ICERI 2012), International Association of Technology, Education and Development (IATED) 2012.

The effort of teaching a foreign language and through language, culture and civilisation of others, still occupy all those involved in the linguistic educational process. In recent decades, the main principles of second language teaching, focuses on teaching language and culture as a whole, with a great concern about the means of communication in specific social based situations.
In recent years, the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) has widespread in second language learning and teaching environments. Learners are now interacting with a variety of semiotic modes - through image, video, sound, new forms of written and spoken texts - in a complex multilingual communicative universe.
In the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (abbreviated as CEFR), which is widely adopted and accepted as the European standard for teaching and learning foreign languages we find the key notion of speech acts. Speech acts are at the heart of teaching and the core development of communicative language skills in the sense that they describe what learners can do with language in specific contexts or in a particular communicative situation.

"A framework of learners’ digital skills needed for use in language learning environments"
Online Proceedings of 5th International Symposium: Emerging Technologies for Online Learning (ET4Online). 
USA: Las Vegas, Sloan Consortium & MERLOT, 2012

In an era of "digital globalization" (at least for most western societies) the increasing use of open technological platforms, such as CMC, VLS, LCMS, Blogs, Wikis, social networking sites, and online gaming and simulation environments, affect the entire adulthood of young learners.

This early digital adulthood of learners, whom Prensky already calls "digital natives" requires, in the field of learning a foreign language, language learning tools not only suitable to their needs but capable to assist them to construct personal technology-enhanced language learning experiences. The right use of these tools from learners' side becomes a crucial issue for language teachers who must guide them through the process of language acquisition.

"Τεχνολογίες Web 3.0 και εκπαίδευση. Οι επιπτώσεις στη γλωσσική διδασκαλία"
Π. Αρβανίτης – Π. Παναγιωτίδης, 2009.
Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference "Foreign Language Teaching in tertiary Education", Gogas, Th. & Tangas, P. (eds), Epirus Institute of Technology, Igoumenitsa 9-11 October 2009, pp. 418-434.
Athens: Dionikos, 2011.

Η νέα μορφή στην οποία μετασχηματίζεται το web την τελευταία τετραετία, φαίνεται να δημιουργεί ένα περιβάλλον αυξημένης κοινωνικής αλληλεπίδρασης μέσα στο οποίο οι χρήστες έχουν τη δυνατότητα να συνεργάζονται, να επικοινωνούν, να δημιουργούν το δικό τους περιεχόμενο και να χρησιμοποιούν υπηρεσίες με έναν ελεύθερο και μη ελεγχόμενο τρόπο. Όπως είναι φυσικό, τις αλλαγές αυτές προσπαθεί να ακολουθήσει και η νέα γενιά εφαρμογών elearning. Σε αυτές συγκαταλέγονται και εκείνες που αφορούν τη γλωσσική εκπαίδευση και οι οποίες προσπαθούν να εκμεταλλευθούν τα νέα «κοινωνικά» εργαλεία του web 2.0, για να προσφέρουν μια νέα μαθησιακή εμπειρία.

"Les activités lexicologiques, lexicographiques et morphosyntaxiques: un regard en arrière avant d’ aller en avant"
Π. Αρβανίτης, Α. Κιγιτσιόγλου-Βλάχου, Α. Χιδίρογλου, 2011.
Πρακτικά του 1er Colloque Franchophone International de l’Université de Zagreb, "Le français en contraste : Langue et Culture franchophones dans l’espace de la communication" (Francotraste), pp. 23-31. Εκ. CIPA Mons, Zagreb 2011

Le développement de la compétence linguistique, composante importante du processus d’enseignement/ apprentissage, constitue une préoccupation didactico-méthodologique et pé-dagogique des enseignants de langues vivantes. Comment aider l’apprenant à mieux acquérir les savoirs linguistiques (grammaire et lexique)?