Building up an equilateral language learning triangle through innovation and pedagogic improvement: the example of an educational innovation project

Abstract:

In recent years, several initiatives relating to pedagogical innovation have been implemented at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Spain, in order to integrate ICT into current teaching practices by means of combining the efforts made by teachers, students and the institution itself in terms of the support it provides. These three core elements reflect the main theme of the EuroCALL 2011 Nottingham Conference, i.e. the CALL triangle. The paper focuses on the role played by each of these three elements or sides of the equilateral triangle that has been set up in our particular research context. The authors will refer to one of the projects funded by the UPV, known as the Innovation and Improvement in Education Project (Proyecto de Innovación y Mejora Educativa – PIME), which aims to encourage academic staff to engage in projects that provide an added value to a subject by renewing methodologies, rethinking teaching strategies, that is, on innovation. It was this funding initiative that allowed the authors of this paper to complete the final design, development and implementation stages of the recently published InGenio FCE Course & Tester, an online preparatory course and exam simulator for learners wishing to acquire a B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2001) of competence in English or take the Cambridge First Certificate in English Examination. The authors will refer to the courseware and illustrate how the CALL triangle has been formulated and sustained.

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