6.2.3 Real-World Learning

The concept of real-world learning is not unfamiliar to second-language education rather it is a concept that has been common to Communicative Language Teaching for many years. Earlier approaches to language learning such as Grammar-Translation and the Audio-Lingual Method did not take into account the importance of real-world contexts for learning. Instead, elements such as controlled practice, interaction with texts, habit formation, study of the forms and accuracy were emphasized. With the advent of Communicative Language Teaching came the emphasis on the importance of meaningful communication, contexts for learning, authentic learning, and thus, real-world learning. Hymes (1968) referred to the importance of being communicatively competent in a speech community. Krashen (1978) developed the concept of language acquisition as opposed to language learning and, in general, the growth of psycho-linguistics, socio-linguistics and an interest in semantics highlighted the importance of real-world language use. Warschauer and Healey (1998) described how teachers gradually began to move away from a cognitive view of communicative teaching to a more social or socio-cognitive view which placed greater emphasis on language use in authentic social contexts. Furthermore, the development of French-Immersion programs gave rise to a new conception of language learning - one which gave more of a real-world purpose to language learning through a content-based approach.

Thus, French teachers have for many years been cognizant of the important role that real-world learning played in second- and foreign- language education. What is different now is that OLEs make real-world learning more possible. Teachers can now appreciate what this concept means in practice. Judging by some teachers’ beliefs in this study, the new possibilities for learning are having an impact on students. Some of the beliefs indicated that OLEs make French a living language for students. It is likely that any other subject would be made "real" through study in OLEs. For example, through use of OLEs for math, students may come to see the application of math in every-day life. However, as teachers noted, through use of OLEs, students can see French connected to the everyday lives of individuals like themselves. Students "see French as something real-not just a subject taught in school", and not as a "dead language". Recognition of the importance of students seeing French as real indicates an underlying belief in the importance of meaningful learning.

Beliefs in this sub-category emphasized the importance, not only of meaningful learning, but of purposeful learning as well. Beliefs in this sub-category referred to the value of students having a "real audience and a real purpose". The value of OLEs was attributed to its capacity to allow students to "share student-generated work" and as "a productive (rather than receptive) tool". This belief points to the importance accorded to the notion of active learning. More importantly, the belief suggests a reconceptualization of the role of the learner whereby students are seen as generators or producers of knowledge as opposed to consumers of knowledge. The value of sharing student work reflects Brown, Collins and Duguid’s (1989) theory of situated learning which affirms that learning advances through collaborative social interaction and the social construction of knowledge.

Some of the beliefs in the value of real-world learning that were expressed in the context of this study represent a rejection and questioning of existing practices and the present organization of learning. One belief described how, in OLEs, "learning a second language becomes far less contrived and simulated" and another criticized "The linear model of learn, answer questions, test". In a study by Dwyer et al. (1991), the authors found that teachers who had reached the appropriation stage in the integration of technology displayed an increasing tendency to reflect on practice and to question old patterns. The authors describe this stage as representing one of the final stages in the process of evolution of teachers’ beliefs from a traditional text-based curriculum to more constructivist approach.

A further belief expressed in relation to the real-world value of online learning is that it is more effective than what the television can provide. The effect of learning online is that it "hits home more effectively than looking at a distant TV screen up in the front of the class". The realistic value of OLEs is also illustrated by the belief in the "shock value" of the Internet and how a "virtual visit" allows for "in-your-face learning". Beliefs about the real world application of French in OLEs support Bracewell et al.’s (1998) conclusion that "learning situations become more realistic and authentic as classrooms are getting online".

These beliefs in the value of real-world learning suggest a devaluing of the classroom versus real-world dichotomy and a rejection of the discrepancy between the didactic situation inside the classroom and that of the world outside of the classroom. Such beliefs are thus consistent with Legenhausen and Wolff’s (1987) metaphor of the computer as generator of reality. Meaningful, purposeful, realistic, authentic and active learning: these concepts are consistent with the vision of learning in the 21^st century in particular. The metaphor of the student as generator or producer of knowledge points to an evolution in classroom roles and relationships as well as a shift towards a more student-centred form of learning.