Abstract:  What motivates students to stay the course?  What makes them drop out? This problem, bad enough in offline, credit-granting, fee-paying courses, become titanic in online, non-credit-granting, online courses like StudyCom English for Internet. This presentation will talk about some ways StudyCom teachers have found to deal with the problem.

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Minsk State Linguistic University hosted the 6th International BelNATE-IATEFL Conference 'Teaching English as a World Language in the Information Age'. LearningTimes was pleased to provide an online home for these live sessions, which benefitted EFL instructors and specialists from all over Belarus and abroad. The recording of this session can be found at:

http://home.learningtimes.net/learningtimes?go=570543

To access the recordings, click on 'Enter Now', Session 5

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SergeiG: Hello David

venny: I can hear you, Sergei

jchaupart: Venny, what times is it in Taiwan now?

venny: it's 22:53

SergeiG: Dave, please check your mic!

teresadeca: Hello Dave and everyone!

SergeiG: a big hello from Minsk

ElizabethHa: Teachers can create online socializing possibilities, though.

venny: e-community

venny: to support each other.

MayaB: Those communities won't be lostlasting, will they?

MayaB: longlasting,sorry

vances: a REAL one? What fun is that?

ElizabethHa: Depends on who's there, too.

SergeiG: hehehe

teresadeca: lol

ElizabethHa: BYOB

MayaB: 3 ha-ha

vances: Much more imaginative costumes online

vances: optional of course

ElizabethHa: (Don't go there...)

ElizabethHa: Maya--there is some good research on creating communities with students that are self-sustaining.

ElizabethHa: I think Dave will come back to this later.

MayaB: Aren't teachers perpetual students?

chenyaodong: hello,again.

SergeiG: Keep your questions coming, please

SergeiG: Dave is going to answer them periodically

ElizabethHa: I think attrition may be comparable to other forms of distance learning.

ElizabethHa: TV-based courses had similar problems, for example.

MayaB: The better gadgets for communication people invent, the more they want to communicate personally

ElizabethHa: Extrinsic motivation is always weaker.

Alexander: Do you pay attention to developing one or several skills in your single lesson, Dave?

MayaB: Yes

ElizabethHa: I find the technology is a personal communication.

ElizabethHa: As Dave says--cell phones and phone.

helenz: Maya  I am your supporter!

Alexander: Thanks

MayaB: Computer mediated communication outside the classroom adds some intimacy and a personal touch

ElizabethHa: I agree Maya.

SergeiG: True!

Nelly: I would say yes!

ElizabethHa: Unless they have an English-speaking boyfriend.

Alexander: I am also wondering how you can see what progrees your students have made, Dave.

MayaB: Learning English online gives many students overseas the sense of prestige, of being within the specially selected group

SergeiG: have you read Darren Cannell's post? http://careo.elearning.ubc.ca/weblogs/vschools/

Alexander: Will you give some links for on-line testing ?

Alexander: OK

ElizabethHa: Alex--you can create your own quizzes at Things for Teachers--I'll send you an address.

Alexander: Will be grateful to you Elizabeth

venny: Hotpotato?

MayaB: But no on-line diplomas are recognised yet in my country

ElizabethHa: But Maya, they are recognized in UK, for instance, and the US

ElizabethHa: Most major universities have full courses of study online now.

ElizabethHa: Simpler than that, Venny

SergeiG: yes!

MayaB: Absolutely

venny: Learn + fun

Alexander: Yes

anna: yes

teresadeca: yes

MayaB: edutainment all the time

SergeiG: Absolutely!

Nelly: yes

venny: learning by playing

chenyaodong: yeah,some students complain about their inefficiency in handling the computer while trying to learn English online.

chenyaodong: sometimes, connection speed is a problem,too.


MayaB: How about the image one can create for oneself and hide behind? Super-pretty , why not.

AlexK: Can virtual teacher substitute the real one?

ElizabethHa: UK Open University did correspondence courses for decades. and now does it online.

SergeiG: A teacher with a PC and without it. Who is going to win?

Alexander: Not in every situation. A computer can `t teach passion.

venny: who?

ElizabethHa: Given the cost of land-based classes, online will probably be a close second in the century.

ElizabethHa: Maybe within 25 yrs.

ElizabethHa: Have TESOL, will travel...

chenyaodong: Do American student show enthusiasm in learning foreign languages such as chinese,spanish,etc ?( Dave,thanks for answering my previous questions)

ElizabethHa: California has over 50 campuses to support, just in 4-yr colleges, and the physical plant is very expensive to maintain.

mrossetti: Did I hear my name?

chenyaodong: I meant online learning for US students.

chenyaodong: Eli,thanks for telling me this room.

vances: LOL (mercedes)

teresadeca: it's still in its infancy so i think it's too early to seriously compete with f2f, which is rooted in our culture

ElizabethHa: Global trade and international business has expanded American students' desire to learn languages.

vances: I think online and offline are two completely different things

mrossetti: I like you down-to-basics approach, Dave.

vances: one compliments the other

teresadeca: i agree, vance

ElizabethHa: And in tech centers, like No. Calif.--silicon valley

vances: I mean there should be both components in ideal situation

ElizabethHa: Students at my university have to commute 50 miles each way to class.

chenyaodong: Vance, some students need f2f teaching more than others.

teresadeca: and the choice also has to do with availability to be f2f or a more flexible schedule

ElizabethHa: That is a huge expense and waste of resources, both human and energy.

NataliaA: Yeah

vances: and the online can be voluntary and sought after by the keenest students

vances: AND my wife is calling me to dinner

vances: so ...

chenyaodong: Eli,is it true UK students are lazy when it comes to learning a foreign language? I seldom met students from UK online.:)

teresadeca: bon appetit, vance!

ElizabethHa: Blended seems to be the way it is going.

chenyaodong: Vance,enjoy your meal.

mrossetti: i agree, elizabeth.

vances: :waves

AlexK: What is a correlation btw traditional and online learning?

ElizabethHa: Yaodong--very hard to generalize.

SergeiG: Traditional classroom with teachers who do not know how to use PCs and students who understand how to navigate , create their webpages, blogs, etc..., use chat rooms.

ElizabethHa: I met lazy students in China, and very hard working ones--in the same classroom.

chenyaodong: as to teachers' enthusiasm here, most teachers around me are cyberphobia, unfortunately. How about US teachers in general, Dave?

ElizabethHa: Sergei--they will all be dead and gone in 25 yrs.

SergeiG: Right! Agree

ElizabethHa: If you can't use those simple skills, you are out of the work force.

mrossetti: Several states in Mexico have started programs for implementing English in their primary schools, and working on teacher's language competence is a must. The problem here is to get authorities to fund the projects!

ElizabethHa: Dave--teachers in this workshop have wonderful English speaking skills--they are like native-perfect speakers!

SergeiG: NNTs? what does it stand for?

SergeiG: I missed that

mrossetti: Non Native Teachers

SergeiG: IC

ElizabethHa: Release the microphone, Dave

SergeiG: Elizabeth?

ElizabethHa: Mercedes--funding is always an important issue.

helenz: Dave! Thank you very much for your presentation and your light humour!!!

Chair: Alex: lost your audio.

ElizabethHa: Sound is gone, Alex--restart the mic

ElizabethHa: No sound

NataliaA: Alex restarts

AlexK: Self-education promotes mastering  English.

ElizabethHa: Wanted to mention, my daughter-in-law is starting a MA program in San Jose. She lives in Oakland. She commutes for the first 4 weeks, twice a week. The remained of the term is online. So they don't have to move to San Jose for her studies. and she doesn't have to commute 100 miles each day.

ElizabethHa: Alex--it is hard to talk to yourself, however!

ElizabethHa: It is full credit, regular MA

ElizabethHa: It is not even advertised as an online program.

Chair: I talk to myself all the time Elizabeth - but it's pretty boring to listen :-)

ElizabethHa: It's the bad company you keep, David...

Alexander: Perhaps, Alex meant improving his grammar, listening skills etc. ...

SergeiG: We have 5 mins to go

NataliaA: Good morning

SergeiG: Morning!

ElizabethHa: Thank you, David--this has been very informative.

Chair: Natalia: thanks :-)

Alexander: Have a good day at work

mrossetti: In Latin America most teachers are nnts and they really need language updating, not all of them, though.

NataliaA: Thanx a lot

SergeiG: Where do you teach, Dave

Chair: I haven't even had breakfast yet :-) How's that for dedication?

SergeiG: online community is a good solution

Chair: I teach at a community college near San Francisco.

SergeiG: high-school sts? uni sts?

ElizabethHa: Community college is a 2-yr program, the first two years of the univ degree.

Chair: H.S. grads on their way to college.

ElizabethHa: And some special programs, like nursing, real estate license, etc.

Chair: Thank you for the opportunity!

teresadeca: thanks, Dave

Nelly: Thanks!

mrossetti: Thank you Dave and have good breakfast! 

ElizabethHa: Bye all---thanks for your attention and thoughtful comments. Hope to see you at the blog.

Chair: Thank you. Have a good day and see you online! You can add me on MSN messenger at .... if you like. Bye!

ElizabethHa: There is an online conference in Guatemala this after noon 18:15 GMT in Yahoo Messenger.

ElizabethHa: You are all invited.

AlexK: It's high time to start a joint project!

ElizabethHa: Alex--what do you have in mind??

teresadeca: webheads are everywhere, liz! hurrah!

ElizabethHa: This sounds intriguing!

AlexK: Teaching

Alexander: Hear you, bye

teresadeca: alex, talk about it in the belnate blog. please! i'm curious!

ElizabethHa: Teacher Communities of Practice are a very important way to self-train and learn peer-to-peer.

ElizabethHa: Webheads have several such communities.

ElizabethHa: Please come to our live chat at Tapped In on Sunday (every Sunday noon GMT) at

ElizabethHa: http://ti2.sri.com

ElizabethHa: Sergei can help you find your way there.

SergeiG: Ok

teresadeca: my yahoo messenger id is teca2002pt

ElizabethHa: We have the YG, the blog, and the TI meeting every week.

ElizabethHa: I don't know what your connection is to these teachers beyond the conference, but you can encourage them to stay in touch and we'll help develop the CoP from there.

SergeiG: We have created a YG at egroups.com

ElizabethHa: Ok

teresadeca: bye all!

ElizabethHa: Bye Tere

ElizabethHa: Sergei--lost sound again.

ElizabethHa: Pls give us the address.

SergeiG: Good Job!

chenyaodong: thanks a lot, Dave.Thank you all.

ElizabethHa: Bye, Venny--see you online.

Exit: 2004-11-04 05:49:11