Applying the theory of disruptive innovations to the field of language teaching

Introduction According to Christensen’s theory of disruptive innovation (Christensen, C. & Eyring, H. J. (2011), as companies grow big, they tend to focus on the high-end market developing more sophisticated, expensive products. This leaves the lower-end market open for other competitors. A disruptive technology, then, is one that allows less established companies to provide a […]

What is FLAX Flexible Language Acquisition Software?

The Flexible Language Acquisition (FLAX) project, funded by the Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Fund, features a set of open source tools with which instructors can create learning activities. For instance, instructors can upload an open source lecture with a transcript, such as from TED talks and create practice exercises including frequency word lists […]

Incorporating digital literacies into an EAP curriculum Part 2 – How

Recap: The last post defines digital literacies as the ability to to comprehend information in a variety of digital environments to create and remix content to communicate appropriately in digital contexts to develop more confidence and comfort in online participation to be able to evaluate and critique resources. (Belshaw, 2011) This post will examine how […]

Incorporating digital literacies into an EAP curriculum Part 1 – What and Why?

What are digital literacies? In his “What is digital literacy? A pragmatic investigation” (2011), Belshaw’s analyzes different dimensions of digital literacy. This includes the ability to comprehend information presented in a variety of digital environments, to create and remix content, to communicate appropriately in digital contexts, to develop more confidence and comfort in online participation, […]

Using Moodle 2.0 discussion forum for language teaching

The discussion forum continues to be my favorite Moodle tool for supporting my EAP (English for Academic Purposes) course because it’s great for promoting transparency interaction collaborative, student-centered learning fluency in writing reflective writing and critical thinking Also, its course management features make evaluating students a lot easier. Suggested activities 1. Post listening and reading questions Embed […]