Welcome to Medieval Role playing to learn a new Language!

Rationale behind this Unusual Basic English course.

Since medieval role play sims seem to be inhabit with people from all over the world... this world and other worlds, they become into wonderful environments to learn a new language. Role playing is about socializing. Here, participants interact with individuals or groups of individuals while immersed in another activity. According to de Byl (2009), These environments can offer authentic experiences for users, placing them in a sensory rich situation not afforded by other learning environments. Virtual worlds allow students to hear, see, and interact with simulated real-world scenarios in which learners can arrive at genuine understandings. 


Nowadays, we need different ways to learn and teach. It's important that we are able to get used to chaos happening and learn to handle massive information. ‘A society which is mobile, which is full of channels for the distribution of a change occurring anywhere, must see to it that its members are educated to personal initiative and adaptability. Otherwise, they will be overwhelmed by the changes in which they are caught and whose significance or connections they do not perceive.’ Dewey (1916, p. 88). By learning in virtual worlds within communities of learning like the ones in the different medieval role playing sims, will give the opportunity to participants to learn to have initiative and to adapt to new situations in a natural way.

This first adventure will be taken by three professors of languages. Doris Molero aka Pionia Destiny, Nika Beck aka Dorka Nemeth and Heike Phillip aka Gwen Gwasi. As well, all the members of the Medieval Role play sim "Artstonia". Other professors and Sl friends may join some of the sessions. This will give a touch of how naturally people learn in this open immersive 3d worlds.

The learners:

Nika (Hajnalka) Beck aka Dorka Nemeth has been graduate teaching assistant and lecturer at the University of Göttingen in the department of intercultural German language and literature studies and in the lecturate German as a Foreign Language as well as graduate chairperson of the project IDIAL. She studied German languages and literature and Slavonic studies at the college of education Karloy Eszterhazy in Eger (Hungary) as well as at the University of Göttingen. In 2007 she received further qualification for German as a foreign language (DaF) and in 2008 she qualified as live online teacher. Beck has been involved in teaching at a distance in real-time since 2005 and this led to a co-development of an online learning plattfrom with an Hungarian company from 2006 to 2007. She has been teaching in Second Life since 2007.

Heike Philp,aka Gwen Gwasi is the managing director of LANCELOT School GmbH, a teacher training center for language teachers in the use of virtual classroom technology. Philp taught German for a period of 4 years in Japan and in England. She is however not a qualified DaF teacher.

The Instructor:

Dr. Doris Molero, aka Pionia Destiny is an EFL Professor from Rafael Belloso Chacin University (URBE) in Maracaibo, Venezuela. She is a doctor on Sciences of Education specializing in curriculum and instruction. Her doctoral research was based on the use of Web 2.0 tools as multiliterate agents in the EFL Class at university level. She holds a master degree on Educational Informatics (2002) and graduated from Modern Language School at Universidad del Zulia (1991). I has taught English as a foreign language to high school and adult learners for 21 years. She has also role played in medieval sims since 2008. Right now, she's conducting an ethnographic study on Role play medieval sims and learning a new language.

The lessons:

1st lesson, 12 October 2010, Greetings and joining the village.

References:

De Byl, P. 2009. Making Web3D Less Scary: Toward Easy-to-Use Web3D e-Learning Content Development Tools for Educators Campus Technology. Innovate.  June/July 2009  (Volume 5, Issue 5). http://www.innovateonline.info/pdf/vol5_issue5/Making_Web3D_Less_Scary-__Toward_Easy-to-Use_Web3D_e-Learning_Content_Development_Tools_for_Educators.pdf (accessed October 10, 2010).