Multimedia Activities in L2 Course Websites – The Case Study of a Site Dedicated to Cultural Topics of Portuguese-Speaking Countries

Authors

  • Ricardo Vasconcelos University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11139/cj.29.4.639-662

Keywords:

Portuguese language, Lusophone cultures, User preference in multimedia activities, Course management program, Moodle

Abstract

This study analyzes students’ behavior regarding navigation in online modules dedicated to the teaching of cultural topics associated with Portuguese-speaking countries, through the use of multimedia tools. It focuses on the options of students regarding reading texts in the main pages of modules, in comparison to linked versions with glossaries; it analyzes students’ behavior regarding the articulation of writing assignments with audio or video, and more broadly it considers possible contributions of multimedia tools to raise interest in cultural topics. In order to do so, the paper analyzes students’ feedback on the navigation and multimedia activities of each module, contrasts these results with a qualitative analysis of the answers to the modules, and draws conclusions on both, by articulating them with current theory of multimedia learning.

Author Biography

  • Ricardo Vasconcelos, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

    Ricardo Vasconcelos is an assistant professor of Portuguese language and Luso-Brazilian literature and culture at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, where he also coordinates the Portuguese program. He holds a Ph.D. in Luso-Brazilian literature, with an emphasis in Applied Linguistics, from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He completed his M.A. in Modern and Contemporary Portuguese Literature, and a B.A. in Portuguese and English Literature and Language, with an emphasis in Education, at the University of Porto (Portugal). His publications include the book Campo de Relâmpagos – Leituras do Excesso na Poesia de Luís Miguel Nava (Lisbon: Assírio e Alvim, 2009), and articles and reviews published in Language Learning and Technology, Relâmpago, and Revue critique de philologie romane, among other journals.

References

Adams, R. (2006). L2 tasks and orientation to form: A role for modality? ITL International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 152, 7-33.

Bygate, M., & Samuda, V. (2005). Integrative planning through the use of task-repetition. In R. Ellis (Ed.), Planning and task performance in a second language (pp. 37-74). Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Chapelle, C. (2008). Technology and second language acquisition. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 27, 98-114.

Crookes, G. (1989). Planning and interlanguage variation. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 11, 367-383.

Daller, H., Van Hout, R., & Treffers-Daller, J. (2003). Lexical richness in spontaneous speech of bilinguals. Applied Linguistics, 24(2), 197-222.

Doughty, C., & Williams, J. (Eds.). (1998). Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Ellis, R. (1987). Interlanguage variability in narrative discourse: Style shifting in the use of the past tense. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 9, 1-20.

Ellis, R. (2005). Planning and task-based performance. In R. Ellis (Ed.), Planning and task performance in a second language (pp. 3-34). Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Downloads

Published

2013-01-14

Issue

Vol. 29 No. 4 (2012)

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Vasconcelos, R. (2013). Multimedia Activities in L2 Course Websites – The Case Study of a Site Dedicated to Cultural Topics of Portuguese-Speaking Countries. CALICO Journal, 29(4), 639-662. https://doi.org/10.11139/cj.29.4.639-662

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >>