CYBERL@B AS AN OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE (OER) FOR LEARNING ENGLISH THROUGH PRACTICE AND COLLABORATION

Allen Quesada; Jenaro A. Díaz-Ducca

doi:10.12957/redoc.2020.51666

Autores

Allen Quesada Universidad de Costa Rica
Jenaro A. Díaz-Ducca Universidad Estatal a Distancia, Costa Rica

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12957/redoc.2020.51666

Palavras-chave:

EFL, English learning, collaborative learning, CALL, CELL, web-based language learning

Resumo

The teaching of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) is a key field in public education in developing countries. In the case of Costa Rica, the free-access EFL platform and Open Education Resource (OER), Cyberl@b (https://cyberlab.ucr.ac.cr), was designed in order to meet public educational needs and policies, and it is targeted towards primary and secondary EFL teaching. In this article, Cyberl@b will be described and analyzed in the light of Laurillard’s concepts of Learning Through Practice (LTP) and Learning Through Collaboration (LTC). Based on these theoretical concepts, basic criteria were extracted in order to evaluate the platform as an educational resource that offers multimedia, synchronous and asynchronous interaction, peer and mentor feedback, as well as affordances for practice and collaboration in the following macro and micro skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary. The study concludes that Cyberl@b allows for rich opportunities for practice and collaboration according to LTP and LTC principles for primary and secondary English learners in Costa Rica and around the world.

Biografia do Autor

Allen Quesada, Universidad de Costa Rica

Allen Quesada-Pacheco, Full professor, University of Costa Rica (UCR), is currently the Head of the School of Modern Languages. He obtained a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction (TESOL) from the University of Kansas (KU), and an MSc. in Educational Technology from KU under a KU-UCR scholarship. As a Fulbright recipient, he also obtained an M.A. in TESOL from New York University (NYU). Dr. Quesada has taught courses in the BA in English and M.A. TEFL programmes and has done research in the Institute of Research in Education in the areas of technology enhanced learning, bilingualism, and digital materials development. He has created the software CyberlabKIDS/CyberlabTEENS (http://cyberlab.ucr.ac.cr) for the Ministry of Education (MEP). He has lectured in Costa Rica, U.S.A, Chile and Brazil and has published articles in various academic journals in Costa Rica, U.S.A., Brazil and Canada. He has joined TESOL, International Inc., International Language Testing Association (ILTA), and Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) Email: allen.quesada@ucr.ac.cr

Jenaro A. Díaz-Ducca, Universidad Estatal a Distancia, Costa Rica

Associate professor, State Distance University (UNED), Costa Rica. Doctoral student in Distance Education at Athabasca University, Canada. He obtained a M.A. in Teaching of English for Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from the University of Costa Rica. Researcher and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instructor for Adults in the Language Center at UNED. Independent producer of the EFLpodcast, “English for You CR”, www.englishforyoucr.com

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