Elena Martin-Monje

National Distance Education University | UNED · Department of Foreign Philologies and their Linguistics

Designing Online Assessment Solutions that are rigorous, trusted, flexible and scalable.

There has been an increasing interest in Language Massive Open Online Courses (LMOOCs) in terms of research and number of courses offered, shown by the monographic volumes and systematic reviews that have been published so far. This study aims to consolidate this emerging field by exploring research from 2019 to 2021. The origin of scientific contr...

El Grupo de Innovación Docente de la UNED GID_ GLOBE, formado por un equipo interdisciplinar de lingüistas, psicólogos, educadores e ingenieros informáticos ha explorado, en el marco de un proyecto de duración bianual, la aplicabilidad del aprendizaje de lenguas con datos (Data-driven Learning, DDL) y las tecnologías abiertas para la práctica de la...

It is possible to learn a foreign language online, but certain conditions need to be met: an adequate course design, learner scaffolding, appropriate feedback and instructor presence.

In this article, a study is presented of two socially inclusive Language MOOCs undertaken by refugees and migrants as part of the MOONLITE project. Three research questions were formulated on the types of devices the students prefer to use for the courses, whether that choice affects course completion, and if the teaching practice influences succes...

Editorial for ReCALL special issue on Language MOOCs. "Researching massive open online courses for language teaching and learning".

The Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) is the biggest university in Spain, with over 200,000 students, and follows a blended learning methodology, with online courses and face-to-face tutorials. The course “Open Language Learning” was introduced in the academic year 2016-17 as an optional subject in the Master’s degree on the Use...

This study aims to explore the current published research on Language Massive Open Online Courses (LMOOCs), outlining the types of papers, countries where studies were performed and institutions devoted to this field. Also, it intends to classify the reviewed literature following a general categorisation of MOOCs , and to identify the main trends a...

Este capítulo explora el uso de Recursos Educativos Abiertos (REA) en enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras y explora el potencial de los MOOC (Cursos masivos, en línea y abiertos) en la democratización de la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de lenguas.

The expansion of MOOCs (Massive, Open, Online Courses) is very much associated to instructors interested in the craft of teaching, innovating and experimenting with different methods to improve and expand students’ learning experience. This presentation showcases the design of the Language MOOC “Puertas Abiertas: Español para necesidades inmediatas...

The Foreign Language (FL) section of Spanish University Entrance Examination (EFL-PAU) has had few revisions over the last twenty years. The Spanish government has substituted the old EFL-PAU University Entrance Examination by a high stakes Baccalaureate Final Evaluation. However, further changes are expected in the coming years. Among the most imp...

The Foreign Language (FL) section of Spanish University Entrance Examination (EFL-PAU) has had few revisions over the last twenty years. The Spanish government has substituted the old EFL-PAU University Entrance Examination by a high stakes Baccalaureate Final Evaluation. However, further changes are expected in the coming years. Among the most imp...

This paper showcases the research undertaken by The Innovative Didactic Group for Languages in Open and Blended Environments (GLOBE) at UNED (the Spanish University for Distance Education) within the OER (Open Educational Resources)/LSP (Languages for Specific Purposes) context. The authors have been working for the past two years towards the integ...

The original version of this document was published in Spanish; its English translation has been funded by the MOONLITE European Commission project (MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSES ENHANCING LINGUISTIC AND TRANSVERSAL SKILLS FOR SOCIAL INCLUSION AND EMPLOYABILITY) (ref.: 2016-1-ES01-KA203-025731), directed by the ATLAS research team at UNED.

This paper showcases the research undertaken by The Innovative Didactic Group for Languages in Open and Blended Environments (GLOBE) at UNED (the Spanish University for Distance Education) within the OER (Open Educational Resources)/LSP (Languages for Specific Purposes) context. The authors have been working for the past two years towards the integ...

Según los datos que ofrece ACNUR (Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Refugiados, http://www.acnur.org/), unas 24 personas por minuto se ven obligadas a abandonar su país por conflictos militares, políticos o desastres naturales. Además de los retos inmediatos de supervivencia, estos millones de personas deben afrontar asimismo grandes...

Miríadax (plataforma de MOOC de Telefónica Educación Digital), en colaboración con la Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) lanza la "Guía para el diseño y tutorización de MOOC", que reúne prácticas y sugerencias metodológicas para el diseño de los mismos. Su objetivo es ayudar y animar al diseño de MOOC a cualquier docente, de cual...

The appearance of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) at the beginning of the decade has critically transformed the provision of formal and non-formal Higher Education. Despite some initial scepticism and unfavourable comments (e.g. Jackson, 2013), MOOCs have experienced a staggering growth in the past few years. Their success in numbers, in terms...

Data mining is increasing its popularity in the research of Technology-Enhanced Language Learning and Applied Linguistics in general. It enables a better understanding of progress, performance and possible pitfalls, which would be useful for language learners, teachers and researchers. Until recently it was an unexplored field, but it is expected t...

This chapter takes into consideration the language needs of those that wish to learn a foreign language with the purpose of becoming independent travellers. That perspective has not been overtly addressed from a scholarly perspective so far and that is precisely the authors' attempt: to fill that gap and make the case for the explicit inclusion of...

Half a decade has passed since the first Language Massive Open Online Courses (LMOOCs) were designed, and this new methodological proposal has gained more and more adepts (Martín-Monje & Bárcena, 2014). In spite of controversies regarding the normal evolution of e-learning and open educational resources (OERs) (Crick & Wilson, 2005, Fini, 2009), an...

This article explores the relevance of forums for Language MOOC (LMOOC) based learning. The role of forums is analysed in the general context of online learning and MOOCs, where forums are often the only tool available for students to obtain help and support from peers and teachers. A case study-based analysis is then presented which provides evide...

Language MOOCs (or LMOOCs) can be defined as “Web-based online courses for second languages with unrestricted access and potentially unlimited participation” (Bárcena & Martín-Monje, 2014:1). The new millennium has witnessed the exponential growth of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), heralded as the solution for the internationalization and demo...

See the attached file for a description of the contents of this special edition of the journal on Languages for Specific Purposes. The issue has articles on linguistics, translation and teaching of LSP.

This paper shows some research which analysed the didactic functionality of Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) and Open Educational Resources (OERs). They were created by students from the Master's Degree in Information and Communication Technologies applied to language teaching and processing, at Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (U...

This research is part of a network for teaching innovation put forward by Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED, Spain), aimed at improving stu-dents' foreign language competence through the integration of short video lessons in several language courses. The results show heterogeneity in the different languages, both in the number of...

T his paper explores how the incorporation of a social network such as Facebook can enhance the acquisition of specialised vocabulary in the context of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). Such initiative took place in the second edition of the MOOC Professional English, the first ever English for Specific Purposes (ESP) MOOC to be launched in Spai...

This article presents the curricular design of a subject on English for Specific Purposes from the Degree in Tourism at a distance learning tertiary institution such as the Spanish national distance learning university, UNED. In addition to the challenges present in such a teaching modality, the didactic scenario is also complex due to the great he...

This chapter provides an overview of the possibilities that Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) can offer for specialised language learning and the acquisition of vocabulary. It is widely accepted that vocabulary is an essential component of language teaching and learning (Perea-Barberá & Bocanegra-Valle, 2014; Schmitt, 2010) and it has attracted t...

https://www.book2look.com/embed/9781317310891

Rubrics created by the ATLAS group for the evaluation of foreign language practice apps within the SO-CALL-ME project.

Language Learning apps have exploded in a few short years but are they any good?

The disruptive emergence of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in 2011 has led to a redefinition of the educational landscape in online instruction. MOOCs constitute a natural evolution of former learning models –based on social networks-, and premises put forward by the OER (Open Educational Resources) movement. Consequently, the need has arisen...

This article presents a reflection on what is referred to as ‘the human dimension’ of MOOCs for language learning (LMOOCs). To begin with, the defining features, typology and general characterization of these courses are considered. Then, the article focuses on certain intrinsic problems present in LMOOCs, whose nature is more humanistic than techn...

The aim of this paper is to analyse the usefulness of e-rubrics in the peer assessment of resources and materials for foreign language teaching and also in the assessment of language skills, taking into account the work produced by 99 students of the master's degree in information and communication technologies applied to language teaching and proc...

Rubrics created by the ATLAS group for the evaluation of foreign language practice apps within the SO-CALL-ME project

In this article the emerging field of Language MOOCs (LMOOCs) is presented. Firstly, the MOOC phenomenon is introduced as a revolutionary and challenging model within the related fields of formal education, lifelong learning and non-formal training, and its impact worldwide is analysed in the light of practical considerations. Secondly, the questio...

Language MOOCs (or LMOOCs) are dedicated Web-based online courses for second languages with unrestricted access and potentially unlimited participation. They are generating interest and expectation in the contexts of university education, lifelong learning and online training in general. This pioneering book presents an initial analysis of the theo...

This article analyzes the adequacy of mobile chatting via WhatsApp for the enhancement of a type of spontaneous and colloquial written interaction that has a strong connection with oral discourse. This is part of a research project undertaken with Spanish students of German as a foreign language with a beginner's or quasi-beginner's level. The arti...

I-AGENT is an online Business English environment developed by the ATLAS research group. Its main innovative feature is the use it makes of blended learning methodology and how it integrates and enhances the practice of oral skills, through an original combination of online and face-to-face sessions. It is common to have the online course as suppor...

This paper explores the challenges of receiving feedback in a language MOOC and proposes a model for social feedback that aims to develop students’ foreign language written skills. The experience of the first edition of the first language MOOC in Spain, a course on Professional English undertaken by the authors, and the design of its second edition...

This paper shows a research project which analyses the usefulness of e-rubrics in terms of peer assessment, evaluation of digital materials for languages and also assessment of language skills from the perspective of collaborative and cooperative work, undertaken by 40 students from the Masters in Information and Communication Technology for the te...

Este artículo explora el uso de estrategias metacognitivas en un contexto de proyectos lingüísticos colaborativos en línea, partiendo de la premisa de que pueden desvelar ciertas presuposiciones falsas relativas al aprendizaje de lenguas en línea y por tanto propiciar procesos de aprendizaje autónomo documentados, auto-regulados y potencialmente ef...

This article shows the results of a research project designed to improve the results in the English as a Foreign Language section of the Spanish University Admission Examination, or PAU, Prueba de Acceso a la Universidad (henceforth EFL-PAU). Using a quasi-experimental methodology (Seliger & Sohamy, 1990), relevant data was collected from two group...

Rubrics, or documents for standardized assessment have been generalized in education in the past decade, and several benefits can be drawn from their use: a more objective assessment, a clear understanding of the criteria used, a homogenization of expectations and desirable features, etc. Thus, there have been several attempts to create rubrics fo...

In this short paper, we present some initial work on Mobile Assisted Language Learning (henceforth, MALL) undertaken by the ATLAS research group. ATLAS embraced this multidisciplinary field (that cuts across Mobile Learning and Computer Assisted Language Learning, henceforth, CALL) as a natural step in their quest to find learning formula for prof...

Este trabajo estudia las interacciones entre compañeros o interacciones peer-to-peer en el primer Curso Online Masivo y Abierto (COMA o MOOC en inglés) de Inglés Profesional realizado para nativos hispanohablantes en paralelo en las plataformas en línea UNED Abierta y Miríada X, con la finalidad de fomentar la instrucción abierta en el ámbito de la...

Abstract: This article discusses the theoretical aspects and practical applications of foreign language massive open online courses (henceforth, LMOOCs). Firstly, LMOOCs are presented as a fairly recent didactic modality that has emerged with an enormous potential for rich, flexible, and attractive collaborative learning and social interaction, in...

This work presents a study of the interactions between course mates, i.e., peer-to-peer interactions, in the first Professional English MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) for Spanish native speakers, which was started in parallel on Open UNED's MOOC platform and also on Miriada X. One of the objectives of this course was to foster open interaction i...

This paper analyzes the adequacy of mobile chatting via Whatsapp for the enhancement of a type of spontaneous and colloquial written interaction which has a strong connection with oral discourse. This is part of a research project undertaken with Spanish students of German as a foreign language with a beginner's or quasi-beginner's level. The paper...

The current English section of the University Entrance Examination (PAU) has kept the same format for twenty years. The Bologna process has provided new reasons to vary its current format, since the majority of international reputed tests usually include oral sections with both listening and speaking tasks. Recently the Universidad de Alcalá (Madri...

El análisis de los datos de la prueba de acceso a la universidad en lengua inglesa de los últimos años evidencia unos bajos resultados de este idioma frente a los de otras materias, por lo que resulta propicia una intervención educativa que explore las causas y ofrezca soluciones en este ámbito. Este trabajo muestra los resultados de un estudio exp...

This paper analyses peer-to-peer interaction in the first MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) in Spain on Professional English, which was launched in parallel in different online platforms, UNED Abierta and Miríada X, to enhance open practices in Higher Education. For the purposes of this paper we will concentrate on the latter, Miríada X, in which a...

The analysis of the data provided by the Spanish university entrance exam in the past few years shows low results in English as a foreign language when compared to other subjects. It is relevant, then, to do some research and propose a solution in the field. This paper shows the results of an experimental study in which a new blended learning metho...

There is no doubt that Computer-Assisted Language Learning has undergone profound changes since its emergence last century and has accelerated its development in line with technological advances in recent years. Such has been the transformation that some authors have announced its disappearance as field for discussion. This article gives a brief ov...

Environments (PLEs) in English for Specific Purposes (ESP), seen as a natural evolution from the widely used Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs). It shows the design of a course on Scientific and Technical English that makes use of various Web 2.0 tools (social bookmarking, blogs, wikis), with the premise that this software will encourage both col...

This article showcases the moment of change and renovation affecting the Spanish University Admission Exam, especially the foreign language test portion. A new oral test is expected to be introduced in 2012, and there are still no clear guidelines. Accordingly, various bodies involved in education have voiced their concern, and some researchers hav...

This article showcases the moment of change and renovation affecting the Spanish University Admission Exam, especially the foreign language test portion. A new oral test is expected to be introduced in 2012, and there are still no clear guidelines. Accordingly, various bodies involved in education have voiced their concern, and some researchers hav...