A collaborative approach to EFL practice in Costa Rica: The Talk-to-me (TTME) Project!
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58763/rc2025445Keywords:
educational autonomy, language instruction, learning, second language instructionAbstract
Worldwide, the pandemic abruptly stopped the teaching and learning process at all educational levels. Beginning in 2020, face-to-face lessons in Costa Rica switched from in-person instruction to virtual asynchronous and synchronous sessions. This reduced some interaction processes that are essential for learning a second language. The Talk to Me (TTME) project's academic approach evolved in this setting. This was done in an effort to encourage autonomy and leadership among college students, but more importantly, it created a real environment for the purposeful use of English, which is still being done as of 2023. This proposal sought to evince the perceptions of two groups of students from different public universities TEC and UNA) studying Business Administration and English Teaching about the collaborative approach to EFL practice. The data was acquired by means of reflective narratives and recordings, which were then subjected to thematic analysis and coding. The findings point to satisfying, good experiences, while the students did mention some difficulties. Students gain a great deal from the implications of inter-institutional collaboration, and in this case, regional collaboration, since it fosters negotiation, criticality, and self-regulation in the learning process, all of which enhance students' experiences as second language learners.
Metrics
References
Abdrasheva, D., Escribens, M., Sabzalieva, E., Vieira do Nascimento, D. M., & Yerovi Verano, C. A. (2022). Resuming or reforming? Tracking the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education after two years of disruption. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000381749
Acosta-Manzano, I. & Mercer, S. (2024). English foreign language teachers’ beliefs about adult learners’ engagement. The Language Learning Journal, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2024.2370977
Alcalde Peñalver, E. & García Laborda, J. (2021). Online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: How has this new situation affected students’ oral communication skills? Journal of Language and Education, 7(4), 30-41. https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2021.11940
Arguedas Zúñiga, R. & López Morales, C. (2022). EFL teachers’ professional identity and prospective language education in the post COVID-19 transition. En L. A. Pereda Jimenez, J. A. Morales Flores, J. A. Bustamante Lazcano, L. Ugalde Crespo & R. M. Mora Morales (Eds.), Educación Superior: La prospectiva de la educación superior (pp. 102-125). Tecnológico Nacional de México. https://www.incaing.com.mx/e-books/2022
Benson, P. (2012). Autonomy in language learning, learning and life. Synergies France, (9), 29-39. https://gerflint.fr/Base/France9/benson.pdf
Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2012). Thematic analysis. En H. Cooper, P. M. Camic, D. L. Long, A. T. Panter, D. Rindskopf & K. J. Sher (Eds.), APA handbook of research methods in psychology, Vol. 2. Research designs: Quantitative, qualitative, neuropsychological, and biological (pp. 57-71). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/13620-004
Baxter, P. y Jack, S. (2008). Qualitative Case Study Methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. The Qualitative Report, 13(4), 544-559. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol13/iss4/2
Carranza-Marchena, P. & Zamora-Sánchez, G. (2020). Desafíos y oportunidades en tiempos del COVID-19: contexto pedagógico desde la Universidad Nacional y la Universidad Estatal a Distancia. Revista Innovaciones Educativas, 22(Suppl. 1), 162-170. https://dx.doi.org/10.22458/ie.v22iespecial.3154
Cerdas-Montano, V., Mora-Espinoza, Á. & Salas-Soto, S. (2020). Remote education in the university context: necessary collaborative work for teaching pedagogical mediation in the time of COVID. Revista Electrónica Educare, 24(Suplemento), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.15359/ree.24-S.9
Chanto Espinoza, C. & Mora Peralta, M. (2021). De la presencialidad a la virtualidad: Implicaciones para la población estudiantil de la Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, ante la pandemia del COVID 19. Revista Nuevo Humanismo, 9(2), 20. http://dx.doi.org/10.15359/rnh.9-2.1
Chateau, A. & Tassinari, M. G. (2021). Autonomy in language centres: myth or reality? Language Learning in Higher Education, 11(1), 51-66. https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2021-2002
Cheung, A. (2023). Language teaching during a pandemic: A case study of zoom use by a secondary ESL teacher in Hong Kong. RELC journal, 54(1), 55-70. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0033688220981784
Estrada, L.y Paz Delgado, C. (2022). Enseñanza remota de emergencia. Perfiles Educativos, 44(178), 46-62. https://doi.org/10.22201/iisue.24486167e.2022.178.60503
Ferri, F., Grifoni, P. & Guzzo, T. (2020). Online learning and emergency remote teaching: Opportunities and challenges in emergency situations. Societies, 10(4), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc10040086
Flyvbjerg, B. (2011). Case Study. En Norman, K. D. y Yvonna, S. L. (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research (4a ed. pp. 301-316). Sage Publications.
Gilakjani, A. P. & Leong, L. M. (2012). EFL Teachers’ Attitudes toward Using Computer Technology in English Language Teaching. Theory & Practice in Language Studies, 2(3), 630-636. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.2.3.630-636
Grbich, Carol. (2007). Qualitative data analysis: an introduction. Sage Publications.
Gruber, A., Matt, E. & Leier, V. (2023). Transforming Foreign Language Education: Exploring Educators’ Practices and Perspectives in the (Post-) Pandemic Era. Education Sciences, 13(6), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13060601
Hatch, J. A. (2002). Doing qualitative research in education settings. State University of New York Press.
Herrera-Pavo, M. Á. (2021). Collaborative learning for virtual higher education. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 28, 100437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2020.100437
Hodges, C. B., Moore, S., Lockee, B. B., Trust, T., & Bond, M. A. (2020). The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/104648
Kamilah, N. (2021). Attribution theory in EFL teacher’s resistance of using technology. UAD TEFL International Conference 2, pp. 165-171. https://doi.org/10.12928/utic.v2.5752.2019
Krsmanovic, I. M. (2022). “Unmute, please!’’: Tertiary Lecturers’ Perceptions on Emergency Remote English Language Teaching During COVID-19 Pandemics. European Journal of Interactive Multimedia and Education, 3(2), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.30935/ejimed/12272
Kukulska-Hulme, A. & Viberg, O. (2017). Mobile collaborative language learning: State of the art. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49(2), 207-218. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12580
Laal, M. & Ghodsi, S. M. (2012). Benefits of collaborative learning. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 31, 486-490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.12.091
Laal, M. & Laal, M. (2012). Collaborative learning: what is it? Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 31, 491-495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.12.092
Little, D. (2020). Language learner autonomy: Rethinking language teaching. Language Teaching, 55(1), 64-73. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0261444820000488
López-Estrada, P. (2023). Professional Growth: A Reflective and Motivational Practice Toward an Endless Journey in Education. En L. Barrantes-Elizondo y C. Olivares-Garita, Language Identity, Learning, and Teaching in Costa Rica (1.a ed., pp. 157-173). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003360025
López Estrada, P. & Chaves Jiménez, O. (2019). Students’ Insights on E-Portfolios in English for Specific Purposes. Letras, 2(66), 145-163. https://www.revistas.una.ac.cr/index.php/letras/article/view/12332
Navas-Brenes, C. (2021). Gestión de un Entorno Virtual de Aprendizaje: El Caso del Curso Composición Inglesa II de la Universidad de Costa Rica. InterSedes, 22(46), 87-122. https://doi.org/10.15517/isucr.v22i46.45568
Stevens, G. J., Bienz, T., Wali, N., Condie, J. & Schismenos, S. (2021). Online university education is the new normal: but is face-to-face better? Interactive Technology and Smart Education, 18(3), 278-297. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITSE-08-2020-0181
Su, F. & Zou, D. (2020). Technology-enhanced collaborative language learning: theoretical foundations, technologies, and implications. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 35(8), 1754–1788. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2020.1831545
Swain, M. & Watanabe, Y. (2019). Languaging: Collaborative dialogue as a source of second language learning. Em C. A. Chappelle (Ed.), The encyclopedia of applied linguistics (1.st Ed., pp. 3218-3225). Blackwell Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0664.pub2
Torras Virgili, M. E. (2021). Emergency Remote Teaching: las TIC aplicadas a la educación durante el confinamiento por COVID-19. Innoeduca: International journal of technology and educational innovation, 7(1), 122-136. https://doi.org/10.24310/innoeduca.2021.v7i1.9079
Vaillant, D., Rodríguez-Zidán, E.y Questa-Torterolo, M. (2022). Pandemia y percepciones docentes acerca de la enseñanza remota de emergencia: El caso de Uruguay. Revista Electrónica Educare, 26(1), 64-84. https://dx.doi.org/10.15359/ree.26-1.4
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Roberto Arguedas Zúñiga, Patricia López Estrada
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Este artículo se distribuye bajo la licencia Creative CommonsReconocimiento-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0 Internacional. A menos que se indique lo contrario, el material publicado asociado se distribuye bajo la misma licencia.
