Institute of Education, University of London

Using ICT in Greek Language Teaching and Learning

Stamatia Kremmyda

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MA In ICT in Education

This dissertation may be available to the general public for borrowing, photocopying or consultation without the prior consent of the author.

September 2007

Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Paul Dowling, for his help and advice. I would like to thank my parents, Nicolaos and Christina, for their support, and especially my brother Dimitrios, without whose help I could not have started this research. I would like to thank my valued friends, Mr and Mrs Mettis, and my friend Steven, whom I met during this year of research and made me feel like a member of their family, for their love and help. I would also like to thank my colleagues for their trust and help during this research, and all those students who participated.

1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................5 2. LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................................................8 2.1 INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS/DIFFERENCES THAT INFLUENCE FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING ..................8 2.2 TV/FILMS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING.......................................................................................11 2.3 COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING.................................................................................................................14 2.4 THE WEB IN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING: CHALLENGES AND RISKS......................................................15 2.5 INTERACTION INTERACTIVITY...................................................................................................................18 2.6 THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER......................................................................................................................20 3. METHODOLOGY.....................................................................................................................22 3.1. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................22 3.2 SETTING..................................................................................................................................................23 3.3. INTERVENTION.........................................................................................................................................24 3.4. EVALUATION...........................................................................................................................................26 3.5 ETHICS...................................................................................................................................................27 4. DATA ANALYSIS.....................................................................................................................29 4.1 ELABORATION OF THE STORIES....................................................................................................................29 4.1.1 Complexities of the story.............................................................................................................29 4.1.2 Simplicity of the stories................................................................................................................32 4.1.3 Information gaps .........................................................................................................................32 4.1.4 Similarities in the plot .................................................................................................................33 4.1.5 Elaboration of the names and the characters..............................................................................33 4.2 ANALYSIS OF THE SENTENCES.....................................................................................................................35 4.2.1 First Group Native English Speaking Teenagers (NEST)........................................................35 4.2.2 Second Group Native Greek Speaking Teenagers (NGST) and Native English Speaking Teenagers (NEST).................................................................................................................................38 4.2.3 Third Group Adults English Native Speakers (AENS).............................................................49 4.2.4 Number of simple and complex sentences constructed................................................................52 FIGURE 1 NUMBER OF SIMPLE AND COMPLEX SENTENCES CONSTRUCTED BY THE THREE GROUPS..........................................................................................................................53 FIGURE 2 NUMBER OF SIMPLE AND COMPLEX SENTENCES CONSTRUCTED BY GREEK NATIVES........................................................................................................................................54 FIGURE 3 NUMBER OF SIMPLE AND COMPLEX SENTENCES CONSTRUCTED BY ENGLISH NATIVES.....................................................................................................................54 4.3 ERROR ANALYSIS......................................................................................................................................55 4.3.1 Grammatical Errors ...................................................................................................................55 4.3.1.6 Article Omission.......................................................................................................................59 4.3.2 Transfer effects............................................................................................................................59 4.3.3 Syntax mistakes............................................................................................................................59 FIGURE 4. NUMBER OF ERRORS..........................................................................................60 5. INTERVIEWS............................................................................................................................61 6. DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS.........................................................................................62 REFERENCES...............................................................................................................................66 APPENDIX 1 RESEARCH CONSENT.....................................................................................74 APPENDIX 2 INSTRUCTIONS...................................................................................................76 APPENDIX 3 VOTING THE FILMS..........................................................................................82

FIGURE 1 NUMBER OF SIMPLE AND COMPLEX SENTENCES CONSTRUCTED BY THE THREE GROUPS..........................................ERROR: REFERENCE SOURCE NOT FOUND

FIGURE 2 NUMBER OF SIMPLE AND COMPLEX SENTENCES CONSTRUCTED BY GREEK NATIVES........................................................ERROR: REFERENCE SOURCE NOT FOUND FIGURE 3 NUMBER OF SIMPLE AND COMPLEX SENTENCES CONSTRUCTED BY ENGLISH NATIVES.....................................ERROR: REFERENCE SOURCE NOT FOUND FIGURE 4. NUMBER OF ERRORS..........ERROR: REFERENCE SOURCE NOT FOUND

1. Introduction
This research aims to examine the implementation of ICT in Greek language teaching and learning and to provide an example for other professionals of how they could motivate learners to participate actively in Greek language learning activities or attract the students interest in learning Greek as a second/foreign language. The participants were English natives, both adolescents and adults who are learning the Greek language and native Greek students coming from Greek schools in Greece. In most of the Greek communities schools in London, the Greek language is being taught in traditional ways, even though, more recently, teaching methods have changed in schools in Greece such as an increasing use of information technology. For instance, using films in the online learning environment could be a motivating strategy for Greek and English natives to participate actively in language learning activity because it is a medium which most learners are very familiar with.. In the first chapter of this study I offer a discussion of those factors which influence the process of learning either of a first or of a second language. Individual characteristics, such as the learners personality, psychology (feelings of anxiety, high or low self- esteem) and previous experiences, the perceived prestige of the target language, the attitudes of the learner towards the target language and the extraversion or introversion of the learners, as well as their social environment, can enhance or reduce their motivation to participate actively in language learning. Researchers have shown that technology can be used effectively in language teaching and learning; it can accommodate these individual differences and ensure a learner-friendly environment. TV and films have been used broadly in the past, especially in foreign language teaching, to give students the chance to experience a language in its authentic form, learn about the culture of the learned language and acquire communicative skills. Through the provision of the real world, the whole learning process becomes meaningful, motivates learners to engage in the learning activity and keeps their interest alive. Additionally, the context of the films is associated with the learners world, and the images and the characters can support the production of meanings. Moreover, TV and films are a pedagogical and educational challenge for learners and the teacher, as a variety of activities can be organized around them in the classroom.

Technological developments led to the production of CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) programs. The first CALL applications were merely computerized systems, possibly lacking pedagogy. Later on, CALL applications comprised intelligent systems encouraging cooperation among students for the accomplishment of the tasks, thus creating connections between the past and new knowledge of the learner. In general, they provided an ideal learning environment by interacting with the learner and creating a sense of social presence. The learner became independent, selecting the knowledge or the activity and the time to focus on it. The expansion of the internet has also introduced new ways of teaching and learning by combining a variety of media. Chat-rooms, websites, video conferencing and e- mails and, in general, synchronous and non- synchronous means of communication are some of the most commonly tools used nowadays. These tools make the learning process easier and more amusing motivating learners to get involved in the learning process actively. They also enhance students independence, while demanding less memorizing, and encourage the development of problemsolving skills. According to research (Stevenson et al 1994), the use of e mails can cultivate the narrative skills of the students. As it combines oral and written speech forms, the learner has as much time as he/she wants to read and write a message. In addition, his/her writing is addressed to a real audience. What characterizes computer-assisted learning is interactivity. As, in order for discussion to take place, the mutual participation of the involved persons is necessary, cooperation of the persons is essential for interaction to play a significant role in the learning process. In this process, the role of the instructor becomes essential in designing of the learning environment, the selection of the technological tools and the application of the appropriate pedagogy. In the second chapter of this study, I explain the reasons and the methodology I employ in this research. The students, the native speakers of Greek, as well as speakers of English who are learning Greek, were divided into three groups. The first one included only native English speakers, the second native English and Greek speakers and the third one adult English native English speakers. They were offered to watch a two-minute film which was divided into three parts without sound, and afterwards asked to write what they imagined the story was about and what the actors were saying. 6

In the third chapter of this study, I examine the plot of the stories which they wrote, from the aspect of the simplicity and complexity. Subsequently, I analyze the complexity and simplicity of the structure of the sentences in order to examine whether ICT could support the production of the target language. Then, I use an error analysis in order to evaluate the language skills of the students and proceed further to investigations of how to help them further. As the analysis indicated, watching films and writing in the online environment can be used as an effective educational tool which encourages interaction among learners and stimulates their imagination. Some students wrote similar stories with others, others wrote simple stories describing what had been shown on the screen, others employed their imagination and came up with a new plot, while others imagine what was happening behind the screen. This activity effectively liberated the thought and the language of the students, as most of them used complex sentences and a variety of grammatical elements. However, error analysis indicates spelling mistakes, which are due to the phonetic variety of the Greek language as well as its inadequate compatibility with the letters on keyboard used.

2. Literature Review
2.1 Individual characteristics/differences that influence first and second language learning
Recently, many researchers have investigated the relationship between individual characteristics and educational development. As Ellis (1994) explained, the very same learning environment influences in different ways the individuals who are involved in it. Firstly, social and cultural reasons, such as the high or low prestige of the learned language, past experiences of the individuals with the learned language and the reasons for which individuals learn a language are considered significant factors which affect the attitudes of learners toward the target language. Secondly, certain psychological reasons can influence these attitudes. For instance, anxiety reduces language learning while positive motivation can support it. Lastly, cognitive reasons, such as the greater ability of some individuals to assimilate the learned language than that of others, differentiate language learning levels among the individuals in the same learning environment. Apart from Ellis, other researchers have indicated some of the social and cultural factors that influence the language learning process. Multicultural societies which give the chance for individuals to interact with other cultures, as well as the culture of the target language, influence the preferences of the learner towards the target language, which in turn facilitate or inhibit language learning (Sawhney 1998). In Sawhneys study (1998) we learn of individuals in India who learned German in order to be able to find a job in the future, to socialize, to acquire new friends, or because the German language would be useful in their work. Evidently, the frequency with which one must use the learned language and the reasons for which because of which one is learning it are strong factors in motivation (Lightbown et al. 2006). Furthermore, researchers have established anxiety as a factor that strongly decreases language learning motivations. Language anxiety can derive from the learners difficulty in expressing oneself in the learned language, the desire of the learner to be liked by others or, as well as from ones fear that may fail in the learning activity (Lightbown et al. 2006). In their research, Onwuegbuzie et al. (1999) also found that factors such as low or high self-confidence, the competitive atmosphere, the difficulty or ease of the tasks and the learners goals and experiences with other cultures can enhance

or decrease anxiety. Research by Sawhney (1998) confirmed the above assumptions, indicating that difficulties in language learning can be contributed to the learners low self -esteem about their language skills. Little (1996) also maintained that psychological factors such as motivation can influence language learning. Taking Littles findings one step further, Lightbown (2006) supported the view that motivation in language learning is determined by individuals needs, as well as by their positive or negative thoughts and feelings towards the target language. More specifically, he referred to a theory which attempts to explain motivations in language learning. According to this theory, motivation can be either intrinsic or extrinsic. The so-called intrinsic motivation derives from the natural tendency of the person to learn and acquire new knowledge or from an effort to accomplish ones expectations. The second kind of motivation in language learning, the extrinsic motivation, derives from the learners social environment. In this case, the learner is forced to be involved in an activity because one feels obliged to be so, otherwise one might be punished, or also in order to gain praise. Teachers such as myself, working in a Greek language teaching environment must expect to have students who bring a variety of motivations to their presence and participation and as a result it will be necessary for me to consider this factor when deciding upon when and how to use information technology as a resource. Other individual characteristics which may affect language learning positively or negatively are the extraversion and introversion of the individuals (Eysenck 1970). Introversion leads the learner to the social isolation as one is trapped in himself/herself, while extraversion makes individuals sociable and comfortable in approaching others. Extravert individuals reduce anxiety by responding actively to social situations, for example in a new social environment by trying to talk with strangers (Hjelle & Ziegler 1992). Extraversion is considered to be an effective individual characteristic for language learning, as it helps the person to socialize and thus to develop communication skills (Rubin 1975). The importance of the social environment in the enhancement of the learners motivation for language learning was confirmed also by Patrick (2002), who established that social interaction among adolescents is a strong motivational factor. Adolescents choices and behaviour affect the preferences of other learners in their group towards the learned language, as they need to be accepted by the other members of the group.

In view of these considerations, constructing a virtual environment is suggested as one of the most effective avenues, as it can constitute a more social and comfortable environment than that of a real classroom and thus can promote the learning process (Roed 2003). One of the reasons is that it reduces anxiety and in combination with the impersonality and the anonymity of online communication, it hence helps even shy students, who do not communicate in the classroom, to feel more comfortable and express themselves. Moreover, an online environment could improve the communication skills of the learners (Kiesler et al. 1984). Therefore, such an environment should be used as an effective mediating tool for language teaching and learning, as it encourages language production (Roed 2003). On the other hand, a review of research about the adult education and its support by technology indicates a disagreement about the effect of technology to overcome individual differences and lead learners to the acquisition of knowledge. In Dhillons research (2004), results indicated that adults prefer the face to face instruction offered in a real classroom, to the impersonal instruction offered in distance education. However, Hodson et al. (2001) found that the Internet can support the teaching material since it engages the learners interest in participation. Wang et al. (2003) established also that the online environment fosters negotiation among adults when it is combined with the assignment of collaborative tasks. However, levels of autonomy, increased or no responsibilities of the adult learners, computer skills, learning goals (to enhance or acquire new skills or to learn as a part of spending the free time) influence the motivation of adults to participate in learning activities (Lowe et al. 2005). Due to these reasons, the design of learning environments demands careful examination of pedagogy and the needs of adult students, who engage in the learning community having different experiences and needs than younger learners, experiences which influence their intellectual development. Meaningful learning for adults is the acquisition of those skills and knowledge which are associated with their lives (Holton & Swanson 2005).

10

2.2 TV/Films in language teaching and learning

By applying theories about the essential role of social interaction and motivation in language learning, many educators have tried to incorporate technology in their educational practices. TV and films have been widely used in second/ foreign language teaching, since they correspond to the skills of a broader audience (Stern 1983). At the same time they provide an authentic environment for the target language; this is valuable because social and cultural differences between people require different uses of language and thus language learning requires learning the culture of the target language. O Keefe (2000: 56-57) gives an example referring to social rules: the different expression of politeness in two different societies, in France and England. The French teach their children when they should use the second person singular or plural, tu or us. In England, when you go to cafeteria it is more polite to ask for a coffee by saying: Could I have a cup of coffee, please? than by saying, I want a cup of coffee. Therefore, it is important for learners to appreciate knowledge of the culture as a complementary part of language learning. This knowledge will help learners to recognize and learn the different use of language in different environments. Moreover, TV and films comprise significant educational tools as they can be used for the acquisition of both formal and informal language use (Stern 1983). Language learning through visual material takes place in three phases. In the first stage, learners acquire communicative skills. In the second, they develop their ability to talk about general topics and topics of common interest, and finally, in the third stage, students learn to use more formal language. The method of using sound and image in language teaching and learning aims to promote the acquisition of communication skills and to teach the language in the context in which it is used. Julha-Laide (1994) differentiates the use of films, instead of TV programs in teaching foreign language students, and highlights the educational value of using films in language teaching, claiming that TV conveys a great amount of new information in too little time to the learners, without helping them to construct new knowledge, and as a consequence a foreign - language learner at the elementary level manages only to learn some isolated words. Nonetheless, video facilitates students control of learning as they can review the program according to their needs.

11

In addition, psychological reasons support the use of films as educational tools for the language learning (Fisher 1984). First of all, the context keeps the students interest alive. Secondly, it offers a contextual background for language development; the representation of the information in sound and images helps the students to comprehend the meaning. In Peecks research (1974), when seeking to convey some information about one specific story, he mediated it with cartoons. The experiment showed that the combination of text with pictures can support the understanding of meaning. Nevertheless, TV and films cannot lead to language development if the learner lacks any basic linguistic background. Hence, it is necessary to learn the basics of the language first, so that afterwards TV and films can support the language use (Fisher, 1984). This essay operates on the assumption that students bring different levels of understanding as well as different ways of understanding to their learning, so it would be wrong to assess someone negatively simply on the basis that, for example, their grasp of formal Greek was poor. They may be highly motivated and thus bring a quality to their learning and participation that students who possessed better formal Greek did not have. The educational significance of audiovisual material can be confirmed also from the fact that it can encourage the mimicry of the language (Stern 1983). The implications of films from teaching point of view, is that it highlights the limitations of working around an idea of a single correct view or interpretation. As Cooper (1997) pointed out, viewers try to understand the films by referring to their own prior knowledge relating to books which they have encountered in the school or beyond the school environment, or to their life experiences. That view was supported by Buckingham (2003:37) who maintained that our experiences of film are always relative to what we bring to our viewing. This will include the extent to which the viewer shares common understandings of conventions within filmmaking such as the use of the zoom to indicate a sudden foreshortening of space or a dramatic change in events. The zoom means something to those who share the same convention as the film-maker, but something else to those viewers who do not. That becomes especially important as learners turn to their prior experiences to interpret the meanings, that connection of the films with their life helps them to acquire learning independence (autonomy) (Graham 1997). A variety of tasks can be organized in the classroom to support language learning using films (Lonergan 1984). One method is for the teacher to turn off the sound, or to provoke dialogue about some scenes. Another way for the teacher to use 12

video films in the classroom is to darken the screen and create a discussion on what may happen next. The above activities, listening, but not seeing what is happening on the screen or the opposite, can stimulate discussion among teachers and students. Another way that films can be used for educational purposes is the video split (Lonergan 1984:76). In this situation, the teacher selects a scene from a film and divides the classroom in two groups. The first group only hears the sound, and the second group watches the film without sound. Then, the students, organized in pairs, pick one person from each group and try though discussion to clarify the plot of the film. Another way of language teaching is for the teacher to replace the language used in the film, adapting the language of the films to the students language level. Recent web-based forms have changed how things like film are received. A viewer will tend to access film alongside other information and other online activities. So, in a sense, they are integrating their experience with film with other forms of communication activities. This type of use of film (moving image forms) is part of the social, recreational and cultural life of millions of young people so by incorporating aspects of this modern culture into language learning we can stimulate interest amongst learners. The daily experience of people, who spend major parts of their lives on-line, interacting with others and with various forms such as games, videos, music, chat, email, etc. is essentially a communicative experience through which participants have to navigate, overcome temporary problems and arrive at solutions, which enable their participation to continue. Simon (1979) has claimed, that such problem-solving processes are creative when the product of the thinking process is distinguished by originality or when the thinking-process entails adaptation of the new knowledge to something previously known, or dismissal of previous knowledge; or the thinking-process derives from high motivation and is preserved in a constant or occasional rhythm, or in high intense rhythm, or when, the learner has to identify the problem although this was firstly formless and not easily distinct. Although Simon is writing in the late 1970s his description is strangely accurate in terms of what active learners who are operating within modern web-based forms experience. Such multi-modal environments can be used focus the learner and stimulate language use in a variety of forms.

13

2.3 Computer Assisted Learning

Contemporary learning environments are characterized- and if not, they should be - by multimodality. According to Kress (2005:172) the term is referred to the different forms through which educational media communicate knowledge or information . The new learning environments are multiservice, multimedia, interactive, autonomous, adaptive and collaborative (Pahl 2002:2). A multiservice environment allows a variety of activities in which the students are engaged by the program. The term multimedia refers to the different media by which knowledge is conveyed. Knowledge is represented in different forms, including text, sound and images, and thus the learning environment provides students the opportunity to receive information in different ways. This repetition of knowledge supports the memory and facilitates learning. Interaction or interactivity refers to the technical intelligence of the system which challenges students to work with it and learn through it. The term autonomous refers to the technical intelligence of the system, which can create the illusion of a social presence. That happens, for instance, when a computer interacts with the users, responding to their actions, in correct answers proceeding further by helping the learner to extend his/her knowledge, or giving explanations of why answers are wrong and more opportunities for practicing. Finally, a collaborative system is the one which encourages cooperative activities towards one goal, the acquisition of the knowledge, among students under the guidance of the teacher. Through this cooperation, learning takes place. Computer applications in language learning (CALL) went through three chronological stages, using the structural, cognitive and sociocognitive constructions (Kern & Warschauer 2000). The structural CALL applications developed in the 1960s and 1970s and were mainly technical programs engaging the learner in language lessons and activities. These kinds of programs lacked technical intelligence and did not help the learners to develop their mental skills or expand their knowledge. Furthermore, the CALL programs of that period (1960-1980) lacked a pedagogical and theoretical framework, as they did not motivate learners to participate or encourage cooperation with others. In the 1980s, the cognitive CALL applications combined other media and promoted the discovery of knowledge. This stage of CALL applications reflects the logic of the Logo Language of Papert, where learners apply their previous knowledge and see immediately the results of their actions. In the third and most recent stage of CALL applications, the sociocognitive approach is included in a technical, theoretical and

14

pedagogical frame and, as intelligent systems they correspond to the students interest and encourage interaction among learners. In these CALL applications, learners follow the instructions and engage actively in an attractive learning environment and direct their own learning by selecting the desired knowledge as well as the time which they feel that they need to devote to the activity (Kern & Warschauer, 2000). CALL applications precede further simple CMC activities, where the learners can interact by chatting or exchanging information. In such CALL applications, language teaching and learning becomes more attractive and interesting as it incorporates sounds and images and access to a variety of media and resources. However, their effectiveness depends on the capability of the teacher to support the individual differences, different interests, skills and weaknesses of the students, representing the content in an attractive and motivating way. At the same time, learners become responsible for their learning, the achievement of the learning activities and the assessment of their skills.

2.4 The Web in language learning and teaching: challenges and risks
Without doubt, the expansion of the Web offers many challenges for the designers of language learning activities and for language learners. These activities can be simple CMC activities where students communicate, or more sophisticated activities in which the multimodality accommodates individual characteristics, interests, needs and learning styles. In such an environment, the learning process takes place through interaction and the negotiation of meaning among the students (Dalgarno, 2001). Goldman (1986, 1992) refers to specific criteria that indicate the educational validity of Web use. Among these are access to rich sources of information and multimedia, the opportunity for the learner to find the sources quickly, and the sufficiency of the sources. Overcoming restrictions of space and time, the Web creates the opportunity for collaborative learning, as learners can communicate with asynchronous means (not in real time) and synchronous means (in real time) of communication and exchange information while at the same time they have access to a variety of resources. In the case of language learning, the Web can expand learning by taking students beyond the school environment, giving them the chance to communicate with other learners or with speakers of the target language. The Web also is

15

valuable in further education for those who live in distant areas or have no free time to attend formal classes (Schofield, 2006). Real - time applications or synchronous means of communication supply learners with those skills which a real classroom can provide (Finkelstein, 2006). Learners can cultivate social skills which will be useful for their professional life, the skills of effective communication, to discuss and share knowledge, the ability to collaborate with others and respect for different opinions. In addition, the learner acquires listening, speaking and writing skills, as well as the readiness to think and respond. Synchronous means of communication, providing a real time social activity, also enhance spontaneous communication and create a human atmosphere, making the learning enjoyable. They also give the opportunity to meet and collaborate at a time which is suitable for the learners, and, finally, learners acquire computer skills as well. One of the most common applications in language teaching is blogging. Blood (2000) attributes the rise of blogging to the sense of community which developed when blogs were used as diaries in which people can reveal freely their opinions, feelings and thoughts. Blogging is an asynchronous means of communication, and so can facilitate writing by the less proficient language learners as they have the needed time to construct their message. They also have the chance to collaborate; having one common goal like the accomplishment of a task, they share information and exchange opinions (Hyland, 2003). Thus, the internet is becoming especially valuable in language teaching and learning by providing an authentic environment. Students have the opportunity to communicate with other learners of the target language. That communication, a dynamic process which involves people from different cultural backgrounds, with different values and beliefs, is not mainly concerned to convey the conventional rules of the language (grammar and syntax rules) but to render meanings (Lane & Vera, 1992). As Shu-Hu (2001) claimed, confusion in communication between people often derives from lack of cultural knowledge. Their responses will reflect their different cultures and will bring into contact with the culture of the target language. This will facilitate the assimilation of grammar and syntax rules. In addition to offering authenticity, the use of the internet helps learners to acquire independence (autonomy). Many explanations have been given in terms of the value of autonomy in learning. Autonomy is identified with the ability of learners to engage in the learning activity and set goals, to choose appropriate cognitive and metacognitive 16

strategies in order to accomplish them, to seek the needed information in resources and to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses (Holec, 1981). Although autonomy may be encouraged by the context of the learner, its acquisition may be influenced by individual characteristics such as age, level of language proficiency and previous learning experiences. Autonomy is also associated with the personality of the learner, and more specifically with his/her learning style, such as his/her willingness to learn through interacting with others, as well as with his/her responsibility for participation in the learning activities (Dam, 1995). In her research on learners autonomy in a distance university in Thailand, Vanijdee (2003) found that autonomy is determined by the learners willingness to correspond, his/her confidence to his/her skills and responsibility to carry out the tasks, his/her ability to evaluate himself/herself, and to the time management. Stevenson et al. (1994) established that the use of e-mails can support the development of narrative skills and teach learners communication skills. This can be explained by the following reasons. First of all, e-mail combines the characteristics of oral and written speech, formal and informal language communication, as learners have as much time as they need to think and write, giving more attention to their writing and opportunities for interaction. Second, the fact that the learners writing may be read by others motivates one to take part dynamically in the learning activity by trying to impress the others. After this, feedback will be given through the interaction with the others, who may ask for clarifications. Additionally, although the teacher interferes in the design and management of the online learning environment, e- mail can provide opportunities for autonomy in learning (Blair, 1996; Loveless, 2003). Finally, the communicative character of e - mail liberates learners from the boundaries posed by the language norms of grammar and syntax, and helps learners to develop their thought. Many researchers have also referred to anonymity as a benefit offered generally by the online environment. Wang & Kang (2006) established that it helps learners to express freely, encouraging intimacy and creating strong bonds with other members of the online community. Thus, many researchers have found that students who did not participate actively in a real classroom respond actively in asynchronous means of communication (White, 2003). Caws (2006) wanted to investigate how the internet could be used to support students writing in a French classroom. She established that the success of innovative learning environments during learning process demands examination of the needs and the 17

preferences of the learners. In her study, she wanted to investigate how the internet could be used in order to support the students writing in a French classroom. Divided into small groups and having roles, students participated in an online discussion forum. Each week, students were asked to write something on an already known subject and share it with other students. At the same time, learners could access to resources in which they could find help. This environment was constructed in such a way that it supported the development of learning strategies. The findings of this research showed that technology and, in particular, the offered opportunities for social interaction and collaboration, created a positive motivation for the students to participate in the online language learning activities. Although students found difficulty to carry out the collaborative activities, the fact that they were writing systematically and their access to additional exercises and resources, gave them a sense of autonomy. Therefore, some students claimed that although they did not pay much attention to their feedback, they improved their writing. The research also showed that the students evaluation of the teaching methods could be used for improving them.

2.5 Interaction Interactivity

In all the above applications, the key concept is interaction with the learner. Researchers have indicated that applications of the Web, such as CMC or e - mails, can provide an authentic environment, enhancing interaction and leading to learning. As mentioned before, students have opportunities to participate in discussions and explore different points of view of a problem. Nevertheless, the significance of interaction does not only concern the fact that students learn to express their opinions or examine different opinions. In addition to the acquisition of the above social skills, the interaction can motivate them to construct their own meaning. Such activity was characterized by Hirumi (2002) as meaningful interaction since it does not involve only the communication of personal opinions but goes beyond that, by motivating students to create their own product. Other researchers have also tried to explain the meaning of interaction by differentiating it from interactivity. Kirsh (1997) defines interaction as an action which demands mutual cooperation. He clarifies the importance of interaction, providing some examples, like a discussion or a sport which demand the cooperation of the participants.

18

By contrast, interactivity is used to refer to the learning process, and is associated with interaction among learners and with the mediated tools and the results of this interaction (Sims, 2003). Sims associates interactivity with the interaction, the psychology and all the technology which is implemented in computer-mediated environments, with collaborative activities among students and the instruction of the teacher. Richards (2006) takes further the explanation of interactivity, and suggests that interactivity helps learners to discover deeper knowledge and can lead to the emergence of new meanings. Fang-Wu Tung and Yi-Shin Deng (2006) also related interactivity to the discussion process, as both require the active participation of individuals. They pointed out that interaction in the learning environment and the motivation of learners facilitates the learning process. In their research study, they confirmed that when computers respond to the learners actions, they give them an illusion of social interaction which, in turn, enhances their motivations and interaction with the knowledge. In their study, they distributed a learning task concerning a mathematical problem. It included two sets of questions. The first set interacted with the user and responded to the users actions, while the second set was a passive interactive program where the computer did not react to the users actions. This research showed that the part of the program which made children see the computer not only as a device for the accomplishment of a learning activity but as having a human dimension as well, it could enhance their motivation and involvement in the educational process. The study of interaction in distance learning has prompted much debate, especially in language learning aiming at enhancing the communication skills of learners. One of the issues which the teachers have to face in real classrooms is the difference in learning styles and, more specifically, that some learners prefer student-centred teaching methods and not collaborative learning (White, 2003). In addition, there are discussions in regard to the way in which interaction can be maintained and how it can contribute effectively to learning. Salmon (2003) discussing the quality and the encouragement of interaction considered the following factors to be important: the technical skills of the students in using CMC; students awareness of the other members of the community; collaborative activities in the accomplishment of a task, and the further opportunities which the learning community offers to them.

19

2.6 The Role of the Teacher

As many researchers have found, insufficient opportunities for student interaction, technical problems and communication anxiety can deter the learners from getting involved in the learning community or restrict interaction among learners (Guzdial et al., 2000; Harasim et al., 1998). Other factors concern the insufficient computer skills of the learners, which may delay or discourage the involvement of students in the learning process. Therefore, asynchronous means of communication require a specific pedagogy which will foster a positive atmosphere (Michaels, 2001). Design decisions can play an important role in encouraging of the students to communicate and interact with other members of the learning community. The social presence which can encourage interaction and communication among students can be constructed if the learner gets to know the other learners of the learning community and feels as a member of the learning community (White, 2003). In distance education, synchronous and asynchronous means of communication are often combined and students have the chance to interact in different ways, for example with video conferencing and e- mails. The variety of contemporary means of education and their difficulties which have emerged make the role of the instructor complicated (Collins et al., 1996). The good instructor acts as designer of the learning environment, by selecting the appropriate technological tools according to the needs of the students. The instructor should motivate the students to act in an authentic environment and acquire authentic skills. Secondly, the instructor tries to create a friendly environment in the online community,
promoting human relationships, affirming and recognizing students input; providing opportunities for students to develop a sense of group cohesiveness, maintaining the group as a unit, and in other ways helping members to work together in a mutual cause (Collins and Berge 1996: 7).

As a result, online communities may provide vehicles for social negotiation and cooperation cultivating in turn the learners social skills. Finally, the managerial role of the instructor concerns the organization of the content, the evaluation of the students work and redesigning the lesson according the

20

students needs. The last role was emphasized by Finkelstein (2006) too who maintained that the online instructor should take into consideration the different learning styles and preferences of the learners. Students will choose to participate in the ways which are closer to their preferences; some students will prefer to use asynchronous means of communication ( e- mails), while others will prefer to use real time applications.

21

3. Methodology 3.1. Introduction

This is an Action Research. Examining the implementation of ICT in the process of Greek language teaching and learning, this research question would help me to improve my practices in teaching the Greek language while it would also provide an example for other professionals an example of how they could improve their strategies by implementing ICT in teaching Greek. Can ICT support language learning while at the same time promote the students participation, and if so, in which ways? Action Research concerns practical issues and occurs in the workplace of the researcher (McNiff, 1996). Such research goes through the following stages: planning a change, acting and observing the consequences of the change, reflecting on these consequences and then re-planning, and so forth (Kemmis et al., 1998:21). Since it aims at the improvement of the researchers practices, there is a doubt about whether it can lead to new ideas. Because of the role of the researcher as both practitioner and researcher, issues may emerge which influence the processes and the impartial analysis of the results. Trying to investigate the problems of the school, and investigating the weaknesses of the current teaching methods through discussion with students and teachers may undermine ones relationships with colleagues or even ones status as a teacher, as one reveals potential weaknesses in ones practices (Ravitch et al., 2007). Nevertheless, this cooperation among the involved parts can lead to valuable investigations and generate knowledge when it is based on the common collaboration and cooperation of the involved participants, both researcher and students, sharing of different opinions, with impartiality (Kemmis et al., 1998). Then, examining the consequences of ones decisions, planning and applying new decisions helps the researcher to extend and improve his/her knowledge and, thus, to improve his/her educational practices. Action research in the online environment is built on the conceptualization of experiencing learning (Goodyear, 1999). Learners using their prior knowledge are engaged in the learning activity and construct new knowledge through discussion with others. Collaboration and the socialization of meanings have become important elements of the learning experience. Then they are called on to employ that new knowledge.

22

Similarly, the online environment should follow the pedagogical framework which Experiencing Learning follows: small groups are engaged in creative activities which require cooperation and communication. This pedagogy takes or it should take- into consideration individual differences in skills, knowledge, age, gender and preferences. Action research in the online environment should aim to improve the learning environment in which the research is taking place, enhance the quality and pedagogy of the learning environment and through these improve the teachers strategies.

3.2 Setting
This study took place in a Greek school in London where I was working; the participants were native English speakers who attended Greek lessons in a Greek school in London and Greek native speakers coming from schools in Greece. Teaching Modern Greek language in the community schools of London, raises a complicated issue as it does not have to do either with a second language (L2) or with the acquisition of foreign language (Lambropoulos et al., 2004). Students already have linguistic knowledge which includes one of a variety of dialects derived from the different generations of immigrants, so Modern Greek cannot be considered as a foreign language. A second reason which complicates Greek language teaching in community schools in London is that students use the English language on a daily basis, in their schools, with their friends and in most cases at home, as their dominant language. The Greek language in London is the language of a minority and it is losing some of its prestige. Thirdly, the linguistic background of the learners in the classroom varies. Another complicating factor is the Cypriot form of Greek that a teacher encounters which many students feel is their language but it differs considerably from standard Modern Greek (Pavlou and Papapavlou, 2004) The sampling method which I used was the non- probability method as the goal of my research was explorative: to examine the ICT implementation in Greek language teaching, making the Greek language learning activities more interesting and fun. The selected participants were Greek and English native speakers, some from Greek schools in London and Greece, aged 17-21, and adult English native speakers who are taking Greek lessons in a Greek school in London. The English speakers who participated in this research meet each other once a week in the Greek school, while the Greek native

23

speakers have attended different schools in Greece. However, technical problems in accessing the website or downloading the films discouraged students from engaging in the learning activities. Of the 20 students who applied to participate in the research, eventually only 10 did so.

3.3. Intervention
In the beginning of this research, the detailed instructions in English and Greek about how to use the website, log in, download the films, change the language into Greek, write and post their answers, were sent by e- mail. Students could also read the instructions in both languages on the first page of the website. The learning activity used films without sound and divided in three parts. The film extracts, taken from Dozen, Doctor Who and Arthur, lasted two or three minutes. This activity was designed to engage students in certain types of critical reaction and response. I asked students to re-construct the narrative from what they had seen. Their reception of the source was considerably restricted because of the loss of sound, thus making them immediately and obviously aware of the form of the stimulus resource that was being used. Had the sound been included, their objective awareness of the form would not have been the same. Simply by confronting them with this altered reality there was a basis created for intensive talk and discussion. I then asked them to produce a written narrative based upon the three brief extracts that they have viewed. By doing this my aim was to move from watching to writing. This activity is designed to stimulate students into producing a variety of language-based responses by using film (the moving image) as a resource. The implications of this from a teaching point of view, is that it highlights the limitations of working around an idea of a single correct view or interpretation. As Cooper (1997) pointed out, viewers try to understand the films by referring to their experiences. Lightbown (2006) also has highlighted that motivation plays a significant role in language learning. I must note here that Greek language teaching in this school usually took place using traditional teaching methods, and through this research I wanted to see if it was possible to take a different approach and therefore raise motivational levels. Incorporating film was one way of creating a different focus around which most of the

24

students could identify especially as it contrasted with what was usually done in the school. This learning activity taking place in the online environment would liberate the students from the limitations which the real classroom and the formal elements of the language (syntax and grammar) impose and can help the students develop those forms of the language which could allow them to communicate their thoughts effectively. In many traditional language classes the activity would end with the student handing in the writing and the teacher marking it. Here, the students post what they have written on the web-site an, without my direction navigated to a voting area and sleeted the one they thought was the best. There was also a facility to register and show that they had voted. They could also read the others responses. The interactive learning environment permits for the activity to continue in more creative and interactive ways. Students could log in using a password and user name and in the first page they could read instructions on the activity in English and Greek about the activity. In another forum users could see the three groups divided up in three parts: 1 st Film, 2nd Film, and 3rd Film and could find their user names in the equivalent group to which they belonged. Selecting their film of the group in which they belonged, they had access to another website where they could watch the whole film divided up into three scenes or every part of it separately, and post their answer. The following diagram indicates the mediated tool and the groups involved in the research.

Categories Activities

Management of Groups
Group A: Native English Groups B: Mixed Group C: Adult learners

Multimedia
Video

Films

25

3.4. Evaluation
This research is based on participant observation of the students involvement in a language learning activity in the online environment. Many researchers have referred to the advantages and disadvantages of participant observation. Firstly, the researcher may be influenced by his/her intimacy with the participants. Secondly, the participants know that they are observed, and this may influence their responses (Gay & Airasan, 1996). Nonetheless, we cannot ignore that by acting as a participant, the researcher can examine closely his/her research object. To enhance validity, the researcher could use different resources, such as more than one observer or interviewers in order to verify the interpretation of the data (Gay &Airasan, 1997). As a second method of selecting data, to improve the validity of my findings and to seek further explanations, I used interviews; these in conjunction with the selected data could help me to identify new topics, as well as help me explore, explain or clarify my original data (Brawn & Dowling, 1998). The interviews, face-to- face for the English natives and by telephone for the Greek natives, were conducted individually. Open questions were used, and students were asked to describe their experience in the online environment, the reasons why some students were stimulated by being involved in that environment, while others were hesitant and the potential difficulties or mistakes which prevented them from getting involved. In other words, to investigate further questions concerning what makes the online environment motivating and exciting for students while at the same time supports language learning. In the analysis of the research, I examined the similar or different stories which the learners created for the films and the roles which they gave the actors. In the second part of the analysis, I made a linguistic analysis examining the complexity and simplicity of their sentences. According to Holton et al. (1997), simple sentences are constituted by an independent clause while complex sentences include more than one clause subordinate with other clauses. I also give the number of the simple and complex sentences written by each group and by the English and Greek. In the third part of the analysis, I made an error

26

analysis, distinguishing two categories of errors: grammar and syntax trying to assess the language skills of the students. Here, it is necessary to outline some general characteristics of the Greek language. Unlike English, the Greek language is a highly inflectional language (Holton et al., 1997:45). In particular, Greek uses numerous steps to denote changes in tense, cases, moods and gender. As Holton has summarised
Articles and some (but not all) numerals are inflected for gender, according to certain rules and, like adjectives, have degrees of comparison. Nouns which maybe masculine, feminine or neuter gender, are inflected for number and case. Verbs have complex forms which are differentiated by person, number, tense, aspect, voice and (to an extent) mood. Finally, there are various ways of forming new words by means of prefixation, suffixation and compounding. Holton, 1997:45

3.5 Ethics
Undoubtedly, the most significant issue in research ethics is to ensure the participants consent in terms of their involvement as collecting information on participants or observing them without their knowledge or without appropriate permission is not ethical (Gay et al., 2000:99). Informed consent should be attained to the purpose of the study, the research activities in which the participants will participate, and the risks in which the individuals may be involved. This gives freedom to the participants to decide about their involvement in the research. The researcher must also confirm and respect the participants right to withdraw from the research whenever they wished to. Thus, in order to ensure the consent of my participants, I gave them a form to fill in. In this form, an explanation was provided regarding the reasons for my research and the pedagogical activities in which they were to be engaged, as well as it confirmed the confidentiality of their participation. In addition, this form explained their right to abandon the research whenever they wished to. The need for protection of students privacy is increased when research is carried out online (Bryman 2004). The risks of losing their privacy in the online environment include, for instance, that users may acquire access to others e - mails, psychological harm, etc. Many strategies are used for the protection of the privacy: like using pseudonyms or codes instead of the real names of the participants (Brown et al., 1998). In my research, in order to access the weblog, user name and password were 27

required. In addition, every student could change his/her user name. In addition, I could intervene directly and exclude from the online community any user who did not conform to these rules.

28

4. Data Analysis
Learners, divided into three groups were asked to view a film without sound, a different film for each group, and write what they imagined was happening and what the actors were saying. Students eventually contributed to the weblog. What is clear from this description is the high level of involvement and motivation from this student, something which helps to focus attention and thus enhance learning. One key idea arising from the use of the concept of multi-modality is that a person, who engages with a form of meaning such as a film is able to make sense of the meanings in her/his own way, not necessarily similar to the way another person receives and understands. So we can distinguish totally different stories written by the students (complexity of the stories), stories where the learners spackle, imagined what was going on behind the screen (information gaps), simple stories in which the learners just described what was represented on the screen (simplicity of the stories) and similarities of the stories. We also read different names and sometimes roles to the actors of the film. By examining the complexity and simplicity of the structure of their sentences, we observe the use of mostly complex sentences, which means that offering stimuli to their imagination activated their language production. Finally, the error analysis helped me to assess the language skills of the learners and proceed to further investigations of how I could support their learning.

4.1 Elaboration of the stories

4.1.1 Complexities of the story 4.1.1.1 First film: NEST (Native English Speaking Teenagers) In regard to the first film, one student (NEST 1) imagines that the man feels very tired as he had gone jogging very early in the morning. When he comes home he asks his wife to rest for a while. The man and his wife are discussing what they have done that day. The man is complaining about his tiredness after jogging, and asks the woman what she is doing. The woman answers that she is correcting her students assignments. The children have prepared a fun game for him; they have been hidden under the quilt in order to scare

29

him. The man, while he is going to bed, realized that the children are trying to have fun with him, and is having fun with them trying to scare them first. Regarding the same film, another student (NEST 2) imagines that the man, after a long tiring day has finally come home and wants to rest. His wife, when she hears the door, understands that it is him, and shouts that she is upstairs, in the bedroom. The man goes upstairs and finds her writing her new book (she is an author). Her husband feels very tired and is ready to lie down. His children have found a way to play with him and are hidden under the quilt; while he is ready to lie on the bed they rush on him. 4.1.1.2 Second film: NEST & NGST (Native English-Speaking Teenagers & Native Greek-Speaking Teenagers) In terms of the second film, one of the students (NGST 1) imagines that in a village outside Dublin, Floredia is expecting her daughter to marry a rich man. The time has passed and the bride has still not come. Her mother is worried about her as when she calls her, the daughter does not pick up the phone. She asks the father of the bridegroom if he knows something about her daughters delay. Floredia is very worried because if she does not come it will be a shame for their visitors, as they have travelled so far for this luxurious marriage. The father of the bridegroom has no idea, and states that the worst thing is that he has missed two horse races by coming to see his sons marriage. But he starts to be worried too, as he realizes that the father of the bride is dead and he does not know the man who will bring the bride to the church. The mother of the bride, Floredia, answers that her daughter is with an eccentric dentist with whom she studies in London, and she had met him accidentally in the Queens bar. Again, regarding the same film, another student (NGST 2) imagines that the mother of the groom is angry because the bride has not come yet to the wedding party. Someone seems to have misguided the bride in another place, and creates obstacles on her way to the wedding in order to prevent her getting married. Finally, the bride manages to get to the wedding party and sees all the people dancing. Among them, she notices her future husband dancing with another woman. The mother of the groom approaches the bride telling her that she thought that the bride had escaped from the marriage, and then the bride cries. Another student (NGST 3) imagines that the mother of the bride is at a wedding party and her daughter, the bride, is late. The mother calls her daughter, but she says that 30

she cannot speak to her. Then, she curses the father of the bridegroom because her daughter is with him and she knows that he is irresponsible. The couple is in a very dangerous place in New York, until they meet a huge box. The bridegroom puts his life in danger in order to save them; he enters the box and sees an enormous machine with magic power. The bridegroom is trying to activate it in order to leave that place and go quickly to the wedding party. The bride is still outside and looks at the box with curiosity; she is thinking that it is simply a box, and when she enters she realizes that it is a laboratory. The bridegroom struggles to leave that place, and finally gets to the wedding party safely. When they arrive at the wedding party, they see people dancing. Suddenly people stop and look at the bride. They approach her and ask for explanations about their long delay. She explains that something terrible has happened and then she starts to cry. Then everyone forgives her. Another student (NEST 3), in regards to the same film, imagines that there is a woman who is talking on the phone, and then she meets a friend and asks him for a help. After she finishes her call, he says that he cannot help her. Then she is talking with another man. In the second part of the story, the woman looks very sad as she does not know where she is. Her friend enters in her room and gives her bad news. In the third part, everybody is happy and dancing. When the bride comes inside, they stop dancing. Everyone shouts at her and then she bursts into tears. 4.1.1.3 Third film: AENS (Adults English Native Speakers) As far as the third film, one student (AENS 1) imagines that the child wants to buy a present for his friend but he does not know what. So, he is wondering what he could buy speaking loudly to the dog and the dog answers that it has no idea, as he is a dog! Then he decides that the appropriate place for buying a present for his friend is an antique shop. The child sends his mother, who chooses a small antique as a present for his friend. She shows it to the shopkeeper and asks the price of this antique. Another student (AENS 2) goes directly to the second part of the film and writes that the woman has brought a valuable jewel for the shopkeeper to see. He admires it and asks her where she found it. The woman explains that it was her husbands cross. Her child is waiting for her in an office, and spends his time looking at a book. Regarding the third film, another student (AENS 2) imagines that the child of the first scene is a farmer who is working on the field, and proceeds to the second stage of

31

the film by imagining that a woman goes to the post office and gives a packet to the postman. 4.1.2 Simplicity of the stories One of the participants (NGST 4) describes simply what he is watching in the three scenes of the second film. He begins his narrative with a woman who is speaking on the phone. He continues with the second scene, referring to the bridegroom and the bride as being outside a strange box and looking around the place. The bridegroom finally enters the box while the bride is standing outside and just noticing the box, and after a while she enters it and feels fear. In the third scene, the same student continues to describe what he is watching; there is a party and everyone is dancing. When they see the couple, they approach them and ask repeated questions. That makes the bride nervous and she cries. Then they hug them. 4.1.3 Information gaps The fact that the three sections of the films had information gaps stimulated the students to imagine and write what was going on behind the screen. 4.1.3.1 First film In this film, the students imagine events which took place before the first part. One of the students (NEST 1) imagines that the man has returned from an early morning jogging, while the film starts with a man who enters his home and hangs up his jacket. Concerning the same part of this film, another student (NEST 2) imagines that the man has had a very tiring day and he finally returns at home.

4.1.3.2 Second film In the second film, the students use their imagination regarding events which took place before the first and second part. Concerning the first part of the second film, one of the students (NGST 1) imagines that the visitors came from very distant places in private airplanes in order to experience the luxurious wedding while the film begins with a woman who is talking on the phone. The same student also imagines that the best friend of the bride gave her the wedding dress as a present. Also, in the dialogue also between

32

the mother of the bride and the father of the bridegroom we learn about a meeting which took place in a bar where the bride met accidentally her old friend, the eccentric dentist. The second part of the same film begins with the couple who are entering the box. One of the students (NGST 3) imagines that the couple are in a very dangerous place in New York and are trying to escape from it until they meet a magic box while this scene begins with a couple running towards the box. Concerning the same part of this film, another student (NGST 2) imagines that the woman struggles to find her way by herself until she sees a magic room. 4.1.3.3. Third film For the second part of the film, AENS 2 imagines that the husband of that woman who appears in the scene has given to her the cross. 4.1.4 Similarities in the plot For the first film, most of the students give the same ending; people are asking for explanations from the bride about why she is late. Then the bride cries, and everyone forgives her (NEST 3, NGST 3 and NGST 4). Other students (NGST 1 & NGST 3) also write that the mother of the bride is worried about her daughter, and she telephones her daughter. 4.1.5 Elaboration of the names and the characters 4.1.5.1 First film Concerning first film, both of the students (NEST 1 & GENS 2) imagine that the man is the father of the children and the woman is their mother. However, they give these characters different roles. One of the students (GENS 1) imagines that the woman is an author while the other student (GENS 2) imagines that she is a teacher and is correcting her students assignments. The same students give different names to the persons: Tom and Andrea (GENS 1), Alan and Helen (NEST 2). 4.1.5.2 Second film Students, who worked with the second film, give different but fantastic names to the places and actors who are involved in the same film. One of these students (NGST1) names the mother of the bride Floredia Bakersown. The bridegroom is named Carol O Conor. The place in which the marriage will take place is the church of the Saint Patricio in Fifth Avenue, a very beautiful place outside Dublin. The bride is named Anastasia, and

33

her close friend of the bride is named Susan Anderson. The father- in- law of the bride is named Paul O Conor. The place in which the mother of the bride is used to spend her time with her friend is the Ritz Hotel Roof Garden. The visitors who have come for the wedding are from the Rpublique de Cte dIvoire. The bride is with an eccentric dentist whom she had met in a college in London, named Christofer De L Arengo, and she met him recently in the Queens Bar, an event which is not shown in the screen. Another student (NGST 2) imagines that the woman who is talking on the phone is her mother of the groom and that man who appears to be with the bride in the second and third part of the film, is not her future husband but someone who is trying to prevent her from getting married. The bridegroom is another man who is dancing with another woman at the party. Another student (NGST 3) imagines that the woman with who begins the story is the mother of the bride. The bride is named Maria Antoinette. A dark man in the film is her slave, named Mpampakita. The man with whom she seems to quarrel is the mother of the bridegroom. The place in which the couple is wandering is New York. Another student (NEST 3), concerning the same film, names the woman who is talking on the phone Gina Smith, and the persons with whom she is chatting are Eddie Murphy and Tony Richards. The brides name is Jennifer Lopez. When the bride comes to the party, these persons ask for explanations but when they see the bride crying they hug her. Another student (NEST 4) imagines that the woman who is talking on the phone is not the mother of the bridegroom or the mother of the bride, as the other students do, but an unfamiliar person, an old woman named Mpella. That woman meets a dark person who is a visitor, too. And the other man, whom the old woman Mpella meets, is her husband. The bride is called Mary, and the bridegroom Manos. Among the people who are hugging the bride when she is crying are two men, Christ and Basel. 4.1.5.3 Third Film In the group of adults only one student (AENS 2) gives names to the actors. She names the woman who is entering the shop Maria, and the shopkeeper Stayros. However, one of the students (AENS 1) imagines that the dog belongs to a child and that the woman who is going to the antique shop is the mother of the child.

34

4.2 Analysis of the sentences

After the analysis of the narratives of the stories, in this section the complexity of the sentences used by the three groups will be analyzed. The aim of such an analysis is to identify if the activity using film has enhanced or developed the students use of Greek. I am interested to see whether the use of the online environment has strengthened their motivation which, in turn, has led to greater fluency with Greek. The complexity of the syntax elements and in some cases the grammar elements of the simple sentences were considered. Both Greek and English natives in the first and the second group used mainly complex sentences. Only in the third group of adults I found more simple sentences. Moreover, their simple sentences consist of more elements than the subject, verb and object; they consist of many adverbs, adjectives, and other grammatical elements. The above suggest that ICT can be used effectively in language production. In the following examples, I give sentences which are of both higher and lesser complexity than those sentences consisting of clauses linked by the conjunction and/. I also give examples of simple sentences which include a lot of complements. As I stated in the methodology chapter, simple sentences are differentiated from complex sentences as the first are constituted by one independent clause while complex sentences include more than one clause, with one or more subordinate clauses dependent on the main or other subordinate clauses (Holton et al. 1997). Applying this distinction, I proceeded to the analysis of the structure of the sentences. Examples of simple and complex sentences follow, and then the diagram shows the total number of simple and complex sentences used by the groups and by the English and Greek natives separately. 4.2.1 First Group Native English Speaking Teenagers (NEST) The film watched by the first group consisted of three parts. However, when the participants were requested to write the story, they did so by summarising it into two parts. Hence, the analysis that follows is divided into two parts, in line with the way participants structured their stories. Most of the students imagine the story using complex sentences constituted of two clauses linked by the conjunction and/(kai) or by comma (,) while in their dialogues we observe the use of simple sentences including, however, many grammatical elements. 4.2.1.1 First Part of the Film 35

In this part of the film learners narrate the story using complex sentences consisting mainly of two or more main clauses which are linked by the conjunction and/ (kai) by a comma (,). NEST 1 writes:
(1) O / . The father enters the house/ and looks tired. (2) M / . He might/ have gone for his morning jogging. (3) ,/ . He enters the room taking off his sweater, / he looks sweaty and tired. (4) , / / . He is sitting on the chair,/ he is screaming from the pain/ and the tiredness and talks to his wife. (5) , / / . The children go out, / jump on their father / and all quarrel on the bed.

Sentence 1 consists of two main clauses linked by the conjunction and/ kai and the sentences 3 and 4 consist of main clauses linked by a comma (,). Sentence 5 consists of three main clauses linked by a comma (,) and by the conjunction and/ (kai). In sentence 2 we observe the use of a clause of purpose (/in order to) that is of a higher complexity than the clauses linked by the conjunctions and/kai or by comma (,). It is worth noting that NEST 1 focuses upon the male character who is present in the three scenes using complex sentences consisting of more than one clause linked by the conjunctions and/kai as well as a variety of adverbs and participles which characterize the feelings and the disposition of the man (example 1,2,3,4). In sentence 2 he also imagines an event which is not presented on the screen: the man had left for his early morning jogging. This student is engaging in ideas concerned with sequence, movement, change and transition. As we can observe, his writing of this student is accurate or otherwise was produced in an online environment with the writer composing and immediately posting his text to the site for others to read. However, his presence in the learning group indicates that he feels the needs to improve his command of the Greek language. As he is so familiar and naturalised within such an online setting he almost seems to forget his limitations as a writer of Greek. 36

NEST 2 gives his own perspective:

(6) / The father comes back home / and goes up (stairs) (7) / . His wife is sitting there/ and writing a book. (8) / . The father is in his room / and the children are under the bed. (9) ,/ . When he is sitting on the bed, / children are jumping on him.

Here as with the previous student, the sentences 6, 7 and 8 are complex sentences consisting of more than one clause linked by the conjunction and/ (kai). Sentence 9 is of higher complexity than the clauses linked by the conjunction and/, as it is introduced by the temporal conjunction /when. NEST 2 is briefer than the previous student, describing just the events which are shown on the screen. However he is using complex sentences and differentiating his story by imagining a different role for the woman - as an author and writer of a book.

4.2.1.2 Second part of the film For the second part of the film, participants render the previous story by creating dialogue among the actors. In contrast with the first part of the film where students create complex sentences, for the second part of the film the students of this group produce a dialogue among the actors using mainly simple sentences and only one complex sentence (11) which consists of two clauses linked by a comma (,). However, the use of a variety of constituents1 can be observed (temporal, place, etc), prepositions and exclamations. NEST 1

(10) , . At last, I am back home. [Simple sentence consisting of one main clause which includes two adverbs] (11) . I correct the assignment of my student
1

Holder defines this as

37

Except for the variety of the grammar elements these sentences, simple in structure but complex in narration, include a variety of information which indicate the active participation of the students. For instance, sentence 10 implies that the man has arrived home after a long and tiring day. Sentence 10 indicated that the woman who appears in the three scenes of the film is a teacher and corrects an assignment of her student. One interesting feature of this response which was produced within the online environment is the way that its content indicates a continuing awareness of myself as a teacher transformed within the character shown in the film extract. She is correcting the assignment of the students. He seems to be operating at a sort of half-way point between the online environment and the traditional classroom setting and it is the narrative sequence which reveals this to us.

NEST 2
(12) . Ah, my legs hurt me! [Simple Sentence consisting of one main clause including exclamation and genitive possessive] (13) . I am a book. [Simple Sentence consisting of one main clause and adjective)

NEST 2, the same as the previous student is here using narrative and dialogue in his writing. As with the second student, he uses simple sentences which include a variety of grammar elements as well as information about the characters. For instance, in the above examples, these sentences include exclamations, adjectives and genitive possessive, as well as information for the characters. For instance, in sentence 13 we learn that the woman is an author. The informality of the medium is seen here to facilitate the production of written speech which has a colloquial quality. Traditional pen and paper writing can inhibit such writing because of the formal conventions around what is deemed to be correct and suitable for that medium. 4.2.2 Second Group Native Greek Speaking Teenagers (NGST) and Native English Speaking Teenagers (NEST)

38

This group had 5 participants; 4 Teenagers who were Greek native speakers (NGST) and 1 Teenager English native speaker (NEST). The film watched by the group consisted of three parts. When the participants were requested to write the story, they did so by summarising it into three parts. Hence, the analysis that follows is divided into three parts in line with the way participants structured their stories. The film, in contrast with the other two, is a fiction film and this seemed to attract their interest, stimulate their imagination and so students generate more narrative than the students of the first and the third group. As we will see in the following examples, most of the sentences which students of this group produced are sentences of higher complexity than those sentences linked by the conjunctions and/ (kai) which the students of the first group produced. 4.2.2.1 First Part of the Film NGST1
(14) / Floredia / Anastasia Karan / Sousan Anderson . The hour is passing dramatically/ and Floredia is impatient/ to see her daughter Anastasia dressed in her expensive Karan wedding dress/ which her best friend Sousan Anderson gave her as a present for the wedding. (15) / / / I am trying to communicate with her/ but neither she is in home/ nor she answers in the phone. (16) To / / / Christofer De L Arengo/ Queens . The only thing/ which I know/ is/ that she is with an eccentric dentist Christofer De L Arengo / that they meet by chance in a bar in Queens before two weeks.

This student is the only one in the group who gives the story of the film by combining narrative and dialogue. He generally uses sentences of higher complexity than those sentences which include clauses linked by the conjunction and/ (kai). For instance, in his sentences 14 and 15, he uses sentences consisting of more than one subordinate or main clauses. In sentence 14, we observe the use of a clause of purpose introduced by the conjunction (/in order to). In sentence 15 the use of one main clause ( / the only think is) and three subordinate clauses of which the first is a relative clause introduced by the conjunction (/that) which identifies the adjective / the only,

39

the second is a complementary clause introduced by the conjunction (/ that) and which is the object of the verb in the previous clause, and the third is a relative clause which is introduced by the conjunction ( /who) which identifies the noun in the previous clause Christofer De L Arengo. It is very interesting that this student becomes very descriptive giving details for the characters and information which are not presented in the film and which I have already described in the previous section. This in turn, gives to his sentences not only higher complexity consisting of more than one subordinate clause but also a higher use of adverbs, adjectives, prepositions (see the underlined words). That confirms our assumptions about the effectiveness of the multimodality of the online environment. Students are engaged in the activities of watching the film, writing and reading which can be offered also in traditional classroom. However, they have the new flexibility of time and space offered by the online environment which gives them the needed time to think and write as well as the access to a lot of resources; students can navigate in the website, read others responses and create their own stories.

NGST 2 Another student gives different perspective on the story and roles to the characters for the same part of the film using just one complex sentence consisting of one main clause and one subordinate clause (clause of cause) introduced by the conjunction (because/ ).
(17) / . The mother in law is mad / because the bride has not gone to the wedding party.

Here, we see a female student producing a strikingly strong focus upon the female character who is present in the three scenes (the bride). The secondary focus is also a female (the mother of the groom). Here we see evidence of the way that viewers receive a resource differently to each other. This is because they select different features from within the complex and multi-modal source (the film extracts). It is interesting also that this student uses fewer sentences than the others of the same group to describe the first scene. However, the fact that this student gives roles to the characters and suggests

40

possibilities makes it highly creative. This is an example of the way that films in the online environment can be considered as a flexible educational tool providing canvas upon which students can experiment with their imaginations.

41

NGST 3
(18) / - . The mother in law is in the wedding party/ which she has prepared for her daughters wedding, Maria Antoinnetta. (19) / / . She is talking in the phone with her daughter/ and she is asking /where she is. (20) / . But she cant/ talk her.

NGST 3 uses sentences which are of higher complexity than the clauses linked by the conjunctions and/. For instance, in sentence 18 we observe the use of a relative clause introduced by the conjunction (who/ ) which refers to the noun in the previous clause (wedding party /). In sentence 19 we observe the use of two clauses linked with the
conjunction and/ (kai) and one complex sentence which is object of the verb / is asking in the previous clause. In sentence 20 the use of a complementary clause which is

introduced by the conjunction (to/) and is object of the verb (she cant/ ) in the previous clause. This student imagines that the dialogue which is represented in the first scene where the woman is talking on the phone, is taking place between the brides mother and the groom. The loss of sound made the activity open to more than one response and stimulated his imagination. A key feature of online environments in teaching is the way that they imply from the beginning a variety of response types rather than seeking single teacher authorised responses. NGST 4
(21) ,/ , , / . When she puts down the phone/ she is asking Basil, maybe about the problem/ that she was talking about on the phone. (22) , / / . As she is at the party, /maybe the problem is for somebody/ who did not come. (23) / / . Then they found her husband, Christos/ and gossip about the man who is missing.

42

This student uses complex sentences consisting of main clauses and one or more subordinate clauses. For instance, sentence 21 consists of a temporal clause which is introduced by the conjunction (when/ ), a relative clause which is introduced by the conjunction (which/ ) and identifies the noun / issue in the previous clause. Sentence 22 consists of one subordinate clause which is introduced by the conjunction (because/). Sentence 23 consists of two main clauses and a relative clause which is introduced by the conjunction ( /who) which identifies the determinant (who/ ) in the previous clause. In the examples 21 and 22, we notice that the student gives possible solutions to the scene. He confirms the underlying assumption within this study about the educational potential of this activity as an innovative learning environment. Students are engaged in the learning activity watching the film and try to give the plot of the story. The conditional nature of the writing where the writer says /maybe rather than arriving at a fixed idea, is an example of using the medium to explore possibilities rather than producing completed writing. NEST 3
(24) Gina Smith / / . Gina Smith is talking in the phone / and seems / to have an argument with somebody. (25) Eddie Murphy / / / / . She told something to Eddie Murphy / when she saw him / but she could not /help / after finishing her call.

This student uses mostly sentences of higher complexity than these sentences which are consisted of clauses linked by the conjunction and/ (kai). Sentence 24 consists of a complementary clause which is object of the verb in the previous clause and is introduced by the conjunction / that. In sentence 25 two temporal clauses are introduced by the conjunction /when and /when, one complementary clause which is introduced by the conjunction /to and is object in the previous clause and two main clauses linked by the conjunction /but. 4.2.2.2 Second Part of the Film NGST1 43

This participant did not complete the task. NGST2 This student describes the second part of the film by using one complex sentence.
(26) / / s / In the second scene, somebody seems/ to have seduced the bride of somebody else / an0d to put traps in her way/ in order for her not to go (to the wedding).

In sentence 26 there are three subordinate clauses, of which the first is complementary, introduced by the conjunction (/ to), the object of the verb (/ seems) in the previous main clause, the second clause is linked with the previous subordinate clause with the conjunction and/ (kai) and like the previous clause it is a complementary clause, the object of the verb (/ seems) in the previous main clause. The last clause is introduced by the conjunction and refers to the purpose of the verb in the previous clause. This student using one complex sentence gives a different perspective to the others; the man who appears in the second scene is not the groom but someone else who is trying to trap the bride in order not to go the wedding. The online environment has enabled this student to begin experimenting with one of the strongest features of film as a medium, the use of a twist within the plot-line. This student is displaying an awareness of the way that meanings can be encoded within conventional elements within film such as the plot. NGST 3 Sentence 27 consists of two clauses of purpose which are introduced by the conjunction ( / to). Sentence 28 consists of two main clauses : / He thinks and / but he realizes, which are interrupted by the temporal clause /when he enters inside. In the same sentence, another subordinate clause is a complementary, the object of the main clause and is introduced by the conjunction / that. In the sane sentence, other subordinate clauses are introduced by the temporal conjunction /when ( / when she enters inside) and the conjunction
/

that ( / that is a big laboratory) and it is

the object of the main clause / but she realizes. 44

(27) / / / . The bridegroom is trying/ to look for a way/ in order to activate this/ in order to return back to the wedding party. (28) / / / / / . She thinks that it is a simple a box/ but/ when she enters inside/ she realizes/ that it is about a big laboratory.

The analogy revealed in the narrative is with the actual experience of the student himself as he enters a box (the online environment) and enters a huge blogosphere where he can experiment in an almost limitless way. The fiction which lies at the heart of the Dr. Who fantasy, in which he and his companion travel through space and time, actually provides a version of the reality that individuals experience when operating online. NGST4 (29)
B , , / , / . We see one bride and one bridegroom, Mary and Manos, / go out of a box /and look around like being lost.

(30)

,/ / . Mary notices it, /she is wondering/ and it makes her feel awe.

In the sentence 29 this student uses two subordinate clauses, a complementary clause introduced by the conjunction /that which is object of the verb B/ We see in the previous main clause. The second clause is also a complementary clause and is linked with the previous clause by the conjunction and/ (kai). Sentence 30 consists of one relative clause which is introduced by the conjunction ( /which) and identifies the noun in the previous clause. The production of accurate and relatively sophisticated Greek is done unselfconsciously, almost as though the writing is secondary to the main focus of the activity. In a traditional approach the writing per se becomes the principal focus and this can inhibit the quality of expression from the student. NEST 3
(31) / / .
She looks/ as if she does not know /where she is.

45

(32) / .
Her friend goes into that room/ and gives her bad news.

(33) .
She was very shocked.

This student uses three sentences in order to describe this scene in the film. Only the sentence 33 includes a main clause. Sentence 32 consists of two main clauses embedded with the conjunction and/ (kai). However, sentence 31 is of a higher complexity than those sentences which consist of main clauses which are embedded with the conjunction and/ , consisting of three complementary clauses; the first complementary clause is introduced by the conjunction (that)and it is subject of the subject of the main clause , the third subordinate clause is introduced by the conjunction /that and is object in the previous clause. The above student, as in the previous scene, uses less complex sentences than the others. However the events he describes are complex and not just a simple description of what is seen on the screen, imagining a new plot of the story: the friend of Jennifer gives her bad news. In examples 31 and 33 however, the student insists on the description of feelings something which, as I have notices in my teaching carrier, teenage males usually do not engage in as readily as teenage girls. It may be that the online environment can allow teenage boys to feel more comfortable talking about personal and emotional subjects. 4.2.2.3 Third Part of the Film NGST 1 This participant did complete the task. NGST 2 It is worth noticing the use of complex sentences which are considered being of a higher complexity of the subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions and/kai (kai). Sentence 34 consists of three subordinate clauses embedded with the conjunction / and: / the bride found the right way / and found everyone / and she was very angry and two complementary clauses introduced by the conjunction /to. Sentence 35 consists of two main clauses which are linked by with the conjunction and/ (kai):

46

 , . These clauses are separated by two subordinate clauses; the first is introduced by the relative conjunction and refers to the noun in the previous clause / mother-in-law, while the other is introduced by the conjunction /that and is a complementary clause of the verb /misunderstood in the previous clause.
(34) / / / / ! The bride found the right way and found everyone/ dancing / and not being worried about her/and she was very angry! (35) / / o/ . Then the bridegroom also came/ who misunderstood her thinking /that she had rushed from the wedding /and she burst out crying.

The focus of this student remains the main female character which is presented in the three scenes. It is worth noticing here that the student describes in sequence the events using two sentences of higher complexity and using language informal. The informality of the online environment seems to liberate the expression of the students. NGST 3 In sentence 36 there are three subordinate clauses; the first is introduced by the relative conjunction /who which refers to the noun /bridegroom in the previous clause; the second relative clause / and she does not know is embedded with the previous relative clause by using the conjunction and/ (kai). The third subordinate clause is interrogative clause and is introduced by the interrogative pronoun / what, object of the verb / and she does not know in the previous clause. In sentence 37 one main clause But all of those tell her is interrupted by the relative clause / who were there which is introduced by the conjunction /who and which relates to the personal pronoun A/ those. In the same sentence, 45, the second subordinate clause is complementary, object in the previous clause (that) it doesnt matter/ . he third subordinate and complementary clause, , is introduced by the conjunction / that and is a complementary clause, and forms the object of the previous clause .
(36) / / / .

47

Suddenly they look at the bride who is surprised and she does not what is happening. (37) / / / / . But all of those (people) /who were there tell her/ it doesnt matter / they were late.

NEST 1 Sentence 38 consists of two clauses embedded by the conjunction and/(kai). Sentence 39 consists of two main clauses embedded by the conjunction and/, and one complementary clause, object of the verb in the previous clause introduced by the conjunction /to. In sentence 41, we observe the use of two main clauses embedded by the conjunction and/ (kai), and separated by the embedded clause / to cry which is the object of the verb in the previous clause.
(38) / . All are happy and dancing. (39) Jennifer / / . Jennifer comes/ and all stop/ dancing. (40) Gina, o Tony o Eddie, . Gina, Tony and Eddie are scolding her. (41) / / Eddie . She starts crying and Eddie is hugging her.

In these examples, we can see the student who is engaging in ideas with sequence, movement, change and transition. The ease with which they write arises from the naturalness of the participatory activity they are part of.

48

NGST 4 Sentence 42 consists of two clauses embedded with the conjunction and/ (kai): / . The first subordinate clause is introduced by the relative conjunction where/ and relates to the noun /party in the previous clause. The second subordinate clause is a complementary clause, object of the verb /see in the previous clause, introduced by the conjunction / to. Sentence 43 consists of two main clauses embedded with the conjunction and/ (kai). Sentence 44 consists of one subordinate clause When they notice them/ , which is introduced by the temporal conjunction o.
(42) , / / / . We return to the party, /where all are dancing now /and we see Manos and Mairh / enter in (the wedding party). (43) , / , , , . When they notice them, / they approach them Mpella, Christ and Basil and the others.

(44)

/ . Then they feel sorry for her /and they are hugging her.

4.2.3 Third Group Adults English Native Speakers (AENS) The film which this group worked with is not a fiction film. Furthermore, most of the adult natives did not complete the task by giving a story for merely one or two of the three parts of the film. The students used mostly simple sentences. Additionally, most of the students used just dialogue which consisted of simple sentences in contrast with the first group who gave the story in two forms: narrative and dialogue, and in contrast with the second group who uses mostly narrative. Writing in Greek in the keyboard was difficult for them. In addition, I must note here that they had recently attended Greek language lessons. For these reasons, as we will see in the following examples, they write one or two scenes of the film and then give up their trying. This in turn indicates that

49

computer skills and language skills can facilitate or inhibit the participation of students in the online environment. 4.2.3.1 First Part of the Film AENS 1 For the same part of the film, another participant uses mainly simple clauses (47), (48). Only the sentence 46 is a complex sentence, consisting of one main and one subordinate clause of purpose introduced by the conjunction / in order to.
(46) A / ; Oh my dog, where I will go/ to buy a present for him? (47) ; Are you asking me? (48) E . I am a dog.

The above student although engages in the language activity in high creative way imagining a different plot of the story from the others he creates a dialogue among the characters rather than description. This could be explained by the brief character of the dialogue which facilitates the less language skilled students to express. I should also note here that this student recently attends Greek language lessons. However, this does not inhibit this student from being involved actively in the language activity. The loss of the sound which allows more than one response, the naturalness of the context of film, in combination with the flexibility of the time offered by the online environment stimulates the imagination of this student and motivates her to produce language. AENS 2 This participant was not able to complete the task. AENS 3 In the adults group one of the students gives the story of the film by writing only one sentence consisting of two clauses subordinate linked by the conjunction .
(45) / . The farmer is working in the yield and the dog is watching.

50

4.2.3.2 Second Part of the film AENS 1 Another student, for the same part of the film, writes simple sentences including constituents such as prepositions (53) and adverbs (54).
(53) . I will go to the shop with the antiques. [Simple sentence consisting of prepositions] (54) , ; Thank you, what does it cost? [Simple sentence consisting of adverb]

AENS 2 For the same part, another student creates just a dialogue. This student uses simple sentences. However, she uses a variety of constituents (such as adjectives, possessives). Sentence 50 is a simple sentence and includes one adverb, one genitive possessive and one adjective. The sentence 52 is a simple sentence and includes two genitive possessives. Only the sentence 51 is complex consisting of two clauses, one main and one subordinate (clause of purpose).
(50) , ; Hi Mr John. [Simple sentence consisting of adverbs, genitive possessive and adjective] (51) / . I bring something /to see. (52) , . It was of my husband, Stayros. [Simple sentence consisting of genitive possessives]

This student participates only in the second scene of the film using dialogue. We can observe obvious differences among the way adults write from teenagers in the way they build the plot of the story, describing events which follow the events shown on the screen. However, the connection of the film elements with the real life of the students as well as the informal nature of the online environment facilitates their involvement in the language activity.

51

AENS 3 This student writes only one simple clause consisting of S+V+ preposition clause in order to describe the scene in the film
(49) . The postman took the present in the post office.

This student as in the previous scene continues to be brief in his descriptions. In this scene he uses just one simple sentence.

4.2.3.3 Third Part of the Film AENS 1 This participant was not able to complete the task. AENS 2 This student uses only one complex sentence, consisting of two clauses linked by the conjunction / and. (55) / .
A child is in the office/ and looks at one book.

AENS 3 This participant was not able to complete the task.

4.2.4 Number of simple and complex sentences constructed Most of the students produced complex sentences, either sentences of low complexity (consisting of clauses linked by the conjunction and/ or by comma) or sentences of high complexity (consisting of main and subordinate clauses, dependent to each other), which suggests that ICT can be used effectively in language teaching and learning motivating the students to use language. However, we can distinguish the following differences among the groups and the individuals.

52

Comparing the simple and complex sentences which were produced by each group (Figure 1), the second group (NEST 3 & CGNS) produced 34 more complex sentences than the first group (NEST 1& NEST 2) and 42 more complex sentences than the third group (AENS). Although the first and the second group produced more complex than simple sentences, the third group of adults produced a majority of simple sentences: 8 simple sentences and 5 complex sentences. This is because the adult students, as they expressed in the interviews, had difficulty in writing on the computer, and so, after writing about one or two parts of the film, they gave up trying.

Figure 1 Number of simple and complex sentences constructed by the three groups
50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 47

Simple 13 8 Complex 12 8 5

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Examining the numbers of sentences produced by Greek natives, we observe that they used more complex than simple sentences (Figure 2). However, there are differences among the individuals in the amount of complex sentences constructed. For instance, NGST3 produced 11 more complex sentences than NGST2. Greek natives produced totally 41 complex sentences and 9 simple sentences.

53

Figure 2 Number of simple and complex sentences constructed by Greek natives

16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 CGNS 1 CGNS2 CGNS3 CGNS4 3 1 4 12 10 Simple Complex 3 15

Examining the number of sentences produced by English natives indicated that most of them produced more complex than simple sentences (Figure 3). However, we can recognize differences between NEST and AENS in the amount of simple and complex sentences they used. Only AENS 2 produced more complex than simple sentences, while AENS 3 produced only simple sentences and AENS 1 produced more simple than complex sentences. English natives used totals of 24 complex sentences and 19 simple sentences.

Figure 3 Number of simple and complex sentences constructed by English natives

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 CENS 1 CENS 2 CENS 3 AENS 1 AENS 2 4 4 3 2 1 0 AENS 3 3 5 4 3 Simple Complex

54

4.3 Error analysis

A detailed error analysis was performed on the data. This analysis was intended to help me to assess the language skills of the students and find ways to support them. It revealed errors that can be classified under two main categories, namely grammatical and syntactic errors. A striking finding is that English native speakers learning Greek as a foreign language made mainly orthographical errors, confusing the morphology, over letters which have the same sound but different forms, such as the syllables /, o/, ///,
/. Spelling mistakes were totally 30, prepositional mistakes (2), article omission (3),

syntax mistakes (1), transfer effects (2), adverbs (1), noun agreement (1) and determiners (1). 4.3.1 Grammatical Errors 4.3.1.1 Determiners [ ]. 4.3.1.2.Determiner Noun Agreement , [Obligatory form: , ] The adjective should follow the case of the noun on which it depends. Here we have a possessive genitive which is followed by a name which should be in the same case as the noun. 4.3.1.3 Prepositional Determiners (under the covers) [obligatory forms: ]. 4.3.1.4 Adverbs [obligatory form: ] 4.3.1.5 Spelling Errors
2

* [female first person singular] . [Obligatory form-

male first person plural] [Obligatory form male first plural].

2

Asterisks (*) at the beginning of a sentence denote that the sentence is ungrammatical

55

he quantifier whole has two forms (singular and plural) and has the same ending of the nouns, masculine or feminine or neuter, in singular or plural . Here the student should write the quantifier in male first plural. [Obligatory form: ] Different forms have the same sound. The ending of the verb is . So the student should write . [Obligatory form: ] This is a neuter noun with ending . he student should write *O [Obligatory Form: ] This is a neuter noun with ending . The student should write . S G

Jennifer Lopez - [obligatory form -]. As the subject of the gerund is feminine and the gerund should follow its subject, the student should write -. (Obligatory form: ). The subject of the gerund is they (the bride and the bridegroom), so the student should write the gerund in the nominative case of plural number . [prepositional phrase + ] [Obligatory form: ] The student wanted to write [female third plural] [Obligatory form: ] The adverb should be followed by a personal pronoun in the genitive which specifies the scope of the word on which it depends. Here the student needed to write , next to her. [female, third person singular] [Obligatory form: ] The prepositional phrase is in the accusative case of singular number. The student wanted to write . 56

 [female third plural ] [Obligatory form: ] The verb takes two objects. The direct object is in the accusative and the indirect is in the genitive. In this sentence the direct object is and the indirect is . he student should have written . [Obligatory form: - ] It is an adverb. The student should have written [Obligatory form: -] It is adverb. The student should have written . [Obligatory form: ] [second person plural of active tense] [Obligatory form: ] The verb is in the third person singular of passive voice. The student should have written . [second person plural, active tense] [Obligatory form: ] The verb is in the third person singular of passive voice. The student should have written . [Obligatory form: ] Verbs in the Greek language have specific forms for the first, second and third person in singular and plural, and in the active and passive voice. Here the verb is third person singular and the student should write . ; [Obligatory form: ;] As in the previous verb, here the verb is second person singular and the student should have written . [Obligatory form: ]

57

As previously, here the verb is first person singular, and the student should have written . [Obligatory form: ] As previously, here the verb is third person singular and the student should have written . [second plural] Jennifer[Obligatory form: Jennifer] The verb is second person singular, passive voice, and the student should have written . [Obligatory form: ] The verb is in first person singular and the student should have written . [Obligatory form: ] The verb is second person singular, active voice and the student should have written . [Obligatory form: ]. As previously. The verb is second person singular, active voice and the student should have written . [third singular] [Obligatory form: ] The verb to be, is passive. The student needed to write the second person singular form, and should have written . [the ending - is used for paroxytone neutral nouns in the nominative, accusative and vocational case] [Obligatory form: ] The verb to be, is passive. The student wanted to use the third person singular form of the verb to be and should have written . [Obligatory form: ] [Obligatory form: ] 58

 [Obligatory form: ]

4.3.1.6 Article Omission H Floredia Bakersown Fifth Avenue [...] [Obligatory form: H Floredia Bakersown Fifth Avenue ] *o . [Obligatory form: ] * [ obligatory form: ] 4.3.2 Transfer effects Tony Richards. 4.3.3 Syntax mistakes - , ,. . [Obligatory form: , ]. - , , , . [Obligatory form: , , . , .]

59

Figure 4. Number of Errors

12 10 8 6 4 2 0
1 2 2 3 3 1 4 1 2 3 S S NS NS NS S NS S S EN EN EN N N CG G G G N S

Spelling mistakes Prepositional mistakes Article Omission Syntax mistakes Transfer effects Adverbs Noun agreement Syntax mistakes Determiners
AE AE AE C C C C C

60

5. Interviews
The purpose of the interviews, as I referred in the methodology chapter, was to learn what motivated students to participate in the language activity and the difficulties they met, so that I could investigate more deeply how ICT could be implemented more effectively in Greek language teaching and learning. In their interviews, learners were asked how they found the activity with the films, what difficulties they met and if they could change the learning environment, what changes they could make. Some of the students denied to be interviewed. Nevertheless, most of the students answered that they found the activity with the films in the online environment interesting and amusing. Most of the students also stated that they liked that activity as it made him think and create his own story. However, the group of the adults did not show the same enthusiasm as the other two groups, claiming it was difficult to write Greek on the computer. That was claimed also by the other Teenagers English natives but it did not discourage them to complete the learning task. Additionally, most of the learners expressed their desire to participate in real-time interaction beyond the learning activities, for example by creating a chat-room where they could exchange photos, music etc.

61

6. Discussion of the findings

Using ICT in Greek language learning is not to be seen as somehow an easy option or diversion from real teaching as students are engaged actively in the language learning activity- maybe more than what they would do in the classroom- while at the same time it helps the teacher to distinguish the weaknesses of the students and inventing new strategies to support their learning. Moreover, the multimodality offered by such an environment gave the chance also for the students to give different meanings and see the learning in enjoyable way. At the same time, the online environment where the students had the needed time to watch the film, write thoughtfully and read the other responses encouraged the production of language and created a friendly environment for learners with varying language skills to participate actively in this language activity. Stevenson et al. (1994) gave two features which can make the use of asynchronous means of communication (emails) useful for the cultivation of narrative skills: the flexibility of the time and the awareness of other members of the community. So, we see some of the students to create different story from the others, others to sparkle while other students to invent new. As researchers have claimed meaningful interaction is characterized by the creative assimilation of the others opinions and the learners production of their own output (Barr and Tagg 1995, Hirumi 2002). Examining the structure of the sentences and grammatical elements indicated that students produced more complex than simple sentences, and their simple sentences include more than the main elements of a sentence (S+V+O); they used genitive possessives, adverbs, adjectives, etc. There were 61 complex sentences while simple sentences were only 32 most of them including more than the main elements of a sentence. The language level also appears to influence the production of simple complex sentences. English natives produced fewer complex sentences than Greek natives; the second group produced more complex sentences than the first and the third group (Diagram 1). Native English Speaking Teenagers, students of CGCE level, produced more complex sentences than AENS who recently attended Greek language lessons (Diagram 2). Especially the third group (AENS) produced less complex sentences from the other two groups. This could be explained by the fact that characteristics such as age and

62

computer skills, seemed to influence their participation in the learning activity. Adult learners seem to comprise a different category as we cannot distinguish any interaction in their responses. The group of adults was not able to complete the entire task and wrote only about the first or the second sections of the film. Only one of the adult students gave his explanations for the story (complexity of the story) for the first and the second part of the film and offered names and roles for the actors, while the others just described what they saw, and only for the first part of what was shown on the screen. In their interviews, these learners did not express the same enthusiasm for the activity as the two groups of adolescents, claiming that it was especially difficult for them to write on the computer. Salmon (2003), Lowe & Holton (1997) have discussed adult education and have pointed out that individual characteristics such as the computer skills of the learners, can attack their motivation to participate in the online activities. Except for adults, other English natives also expressed difficulty in writing Greek on the computer. In their interviews, they claimed that it was very difficult for them to write in Greek on the computer. Actually, writing in Greek on the computer is more difficult than writing in other languages. The phonetics do not correspond with the letters shown on the keyboard: y= , g= , c= , v= . Other individual characteristics which seem to influence the students involvement in the language learning activities is anxiety, low self- esteem and feelings that they may not spond effectively in the task (Lightbown et al., 2006; Sawhney 1998). One of the Greek natives said that she did not participate as the activity with the films seemed difficult for her. Furtheromore, Roed (2003) supported that a virtual environment can reduce anxiety and helps even shy students to express. Nevertheless, in this research some of the English natives claimed that they did not participate as they were afraid that they would make mistakes. The fact that the English natives knew each other may discourage them from being involved in the language learning activity. Another one interesting finding is that most of the Greek natives created narrative while most of the English natives were brief in their narration and created mainly or, in some cases, only dialogue. This could be explained by the fact that dialogue uses more informal language than narrative. However, in their dialogues they used complex sentences which include either subordinate clauses or simple sentences which include many grammatical elements: adverbs, adjectives, genitive possessives. In the error analysis, we can distinguish grammatical errors which concern determiners (1), noun agreement (1), prepositions (2), article omission (3) and transfer 63

effects(1), as well as syntax mistakes (1). However, most of the mistakes were orthographic (spelling) mistakes (31). The phonetic similarities in the Greek language created difficulty for second language learners when choosing the correct letters. An example of this is when they should choose instead of , , , or o instead of . The knowledge of grammatical rules could help learners to write the correct endings of the words, but also experience with the language is also important. In such an activity, the role of the tutor is shown to be essential as students who had difficulties in accessing the website finally did not participate and students with different interests and needs (Adults) did not complete the task. Therefore, except for the technical skills of the teacher who should intervene directly and facilitate the involvement of the students, pedagogy is a necessary component in distance education, to distinguish the preferences of the students and to invent new ways of motivating learners to participate in the learning activities. As the interviews showed, interaction could motivate students to involve themselves in the language learning activity in more active way. Students claimed that they would welcome more opportunities for interaction using real time for chatting. Assigning tasks that require the cooperation of the whole group to accomplish a task, combination of synchronous with asynchronous means of communication could create more opportunities for interaction among students (Hewitt 2003). Finally, factors such as equal opportunities for the students to access the internet (at school or at home), the students familiarity with the use of internet and the access to a lot of resources which may limit the chance from students to produce authentic work, are factors which require from the teacher serious consideration and good organizational skills so as to confirm that internet is used in a productive way and with educational value from all the students.

64

8. Conclusion
This research examined the ICT implementation in Greek language teaching and learning, which would help me to improve my teaching strategies, and to provide an example for other professionals of ways in which they could improve their teaching strategies of Greek language using ICT. From the results of this research concerning the elaboration of the narratives by the students, and the linguistic and error analysis- we can conclude that technology can be used effectively in first or second language teaching and learning, making language learning interesting, stimulating the learners imagination and encouraging the production of the target language. However, this research has indicated that characteristics such as the language efficiency, familiarity of the learners with technology, the computer skills of the learners, the extent which language facilitates writing on the machine and the motivation offered by the selected tool (such as the fiction film for the second group), as well as the direct intervention of the instructor to facilitate the engagement of the learners by correcting technical problems or by changing tools so that they correspond to the needs of the learners, are all factors that can influence the learners involvement in the language activity. The tutor can play a significant role in copying with the differences among individuals by selecting the appropriate technological tools and designing activities according to the skills and preferences of the learners. The difficulties which I met during the research concern, firstly, the time of the year; students at that time were preparing for their language proficiency examinations. Secondly, the technical difficulties which they faced in trying to access the website; these discouraged them from being involved in the activities. Similar research undertaken at another time, and allowing more time to investigate which software could be used effectively in language teaching and learning would help me to intervene more strongly and make further conclusions about how I could best use the online environment in Greek language teaching to motivate students from different cultural backgrounds and allow for the differences among learners. Further expansion of my research could also lead me to important observations about the role of the gender, age, and personality of learners in enhancing or reducing their motivations in language learning, and also to investigate other ways of language teaching through technology.

65

References

Bennett, N., & Dunne, E. (1990). Talking and Learning in Groups. Basingstoke: Macmillan Education. Blair, K.L. (1996). Microethnographies of electronic discourse communities: Establishing exigency for e-mail in the professional writing classroom. Computers and Composition, 13, pp 85-91.
Blood, R. (2000). Weblogs: A History and Perspective", Rebecca's Pocket,

<http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html">.

Broady, E. (1997). Old technology, new technology: Video makes a come back. In Korsvold, A-K, and Ruschoff, B. (Eds), New technologies in language learning and teaching, (pp.53-68). Strasbourg: Council of Europe Brown, A. & Dowling, P. (1998). Doing research/reading research: a mode of interrogation for education. London : Falmer Press Bryman A. (2004). Social research methods. Oxford : Oxford University Press Buckingham D. (2003). Media Education. Literacy, learning and Contemporary culture. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishing Lrd Caws, C. (2006). Assessing group interactions online: studentsperspectives, Journal of Learning Design, 1 (3), pp19-28 Collins, J., Hammond, M. & Wellington, J. (1997). Teaching and Learning with Multimedia. London: Routledge. Cooper, R. (1997). How do you know that? Film narratives and story telling in the EFL classroom. Journal on Video, 4, pp95-104.

66

Cross, K. P. (1981). Adults as learners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Dalgarno, B. (2001) Interpretations of constructivism and consequences for Computer Assisted Learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, Vol 32 (2), pp. 183-194. Dam, L. (1995). Learner Autonomy 3: From Theory to Classroom Practice. Dublin: Authentik. Dhillon, J. (2004). An exploration of Adult Learners perspectives of using Learndirect Centres as Sites for Learning. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 9(1), pp 147-158 Elliott, J. (2007). Assessing the quality of action Research, Research Papers in Education, 22 (2), pp.229-246. University of East Anglia, UK. Ellis, N. (1994). Implicit and explicit learning of languages. London : Academic Press Eysenck, H.J. (1970). Readings in Extraversion Introversion: I. Theoretical and methodological issues. London: Staples Press. Fang-Wu Tung and Yi-Shin Deng (2006). Designing Social Presence in E-learning Environments: Testing the effect of interactivity on children. Interactive Learning Environments, 14 (3), pp251-264 Finkelstein J. (2006). Learning in Real Time. Synchronous Teaching and Learning Online. Jossey Bass: San Francisco. Fisher E. (1984). Television and Language Development. Journal of Educational Television, 10(2), pp85-90 Gay, L. R. & Airasian, P. (2000). Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application (6th edition). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

67

Goldman, A. (1986). Epistemology and Cognition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Goodyear, P. (1999). Pedagogical frameworks and action research in open and distance learning. Lancaster: CSALT, working paper 99-4-1. Graham L. (1997). Le poids des images. Journal on Video, 4, pp14-29 Guzdial, M., & Turns, J. (2000). Effective discussion through a computer-mediated anchored forum. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 9 (4), pp 437-469 Harasim, L., Hiltz S. R. & Teles, L., & Turoff, M. (1998) Learning networks: A fieldguide to teaching and learning inline. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press Hewitt, J. (2003). How habitual online practices affect the development of asynchronous discussion threads. Journal of Educational Computer research, 28(1), pp31-45 Hjelle, A.J. & Ziegler, J.D. (1992). Personality Theories, Basic assumptions, research, and applications. New York; London: Mc Graw-Hill Hirumi, A. (2002). The design and sequencing of E-learning interactions: A grounded approach. International Journal of Learning, 1(1), 19-27 Hodson P., Connolly M., Saunders D. (2001). Can Computer-based Learning Support Adult Learners? Journal of Further and Higher Education, 25 (3), pp.325-335 Holec H. (1981) Autonomy and Foreign Language Learning. Oxford: Pergamon. Holton D, Mackridge P. and Philippaki I., Warburton (1997). Greek, A Comprehensive Grammar of the Modern Language. London: Routledge Hyland, K. (2003). New technologies in writing instruction. In Hyland K. (Ed), Second Language Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

68

Janis S.L. & Holton F.E. (2005). A Theory of Effective Computer-Based Instruction for Adults. Human Resource Development Review 4 (2), pp 159-188 Jarvis P. (1995). Adult and Continuing Education, Theory and Practice. London: Routledge. Jylha-Laide J. (1994). Learning by Viewing : cartoons as foreign n language learning material for children-a case study. Journal of Educational television, 20 (2) pp.93-109. Kemmis, S. & Wilkinson, M. (1998). Participatory Action Research and the study of practice. In Atweh B., Kemmis S., Weeks P. (Eds), Action research in Practice. London: Routledge. Kern, R. & Warschauer, M. (2000). Theory and practice of network-based language teaching. In M. Warschauer & R. Kern (Eds.), Network- based language teaching: Concepts and practice. New York: Cambridge University Press.pp.1-19. Kiesler, S., Sigal, J. & McGuire, T.W. (1984). Social psychological aspects of computermediated communication. American Psychologist, 39, pp 1123-1134. Kirsh D. (1997). Interactivity and Multimedia Interfaces. Instructional Science 25, pp 7996. Netherlands: Kluner Academic Publishers. Kress, G., & Mavers, D. (2005). Social Semiotics and Multimodal Texts. In B. Somekh & C. Lewin (Eds.), Research Methods in the Social Sciences (pp 172-179). London: Sage Lambropoulos, N.. & Christopoulou, M. (2004). Cultural- based Learning Objects in a Blended environment for Greek-Cypriot students in UK, Hypermedia and Telecommunications. In Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2004 (pp. 1851-1856). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Lane, Vera W. (1992). The Dynamics of Communicative Development. London: Prentice Hall.

69

Lewis, J. & Light, P., & Light, V. (1999). Analysing asynchronous learning interactions: Computer-mediated communication in a conventional undergraduate setting. In Littleton K. & Light P. (Eds.), Learning with computers: Analyzing productive interaction, (pp.162-178). New York: Routledge. Lightbown P. & Spada N. (2006). How languages are learned. Oxford : Oxford University Press. Little, D. (1996). Freedom to learn and compulsion to interact: promoting learner autonomy through the use of information systems technologies. In R. Pemberton, S.L. Li, W. Or, H. Piersin (Eds.). Taking control: Autonomy in Language Learning (pp. 203-218). Hong Kong: University Press. Lonergan, J. (1984). Video in Language teaching. Bath: Cambridge University Press. Loveless, A. (2003). Creating spaces in the primary curriculum: ICT in creative subjects. The Curriculum Journal, 14, pp5-21. Lowe, S.J & Holton, F.E. (2005). A theory of Effective Computer based Instruction for Adults. Human Resource Development Review, 4(2), pp 159-188 McNiff, J.& Lomax, P.& Whitehead, J. (1996). You and your action research project. London: Hyde Publications. Michaels, E.A. (2001). E-mail communication with first graders. Washinghton: ERIC Reports. O Keeffe, M.A. (2000). Exploring television as an exponent of pragmatic and Sociocultural information in foreign language learning. In Lewis, T. & Rouxeville, A. (Eds.), Technology and the advanced language learner, (pp53-68). London: CILT. Onwuegbuzie, J. & Anthony J. & Bailey P. & Daley C. (1999). Factors associated with foreign language anxiety. Applied Psycholinguistics 20, pp217239.

70

Pahl, C. (2002). Managing evolution and change in web-based teaching and learning environments. Computers & Education, 40 (2), pp 99-114. Papapavlou, A.N. & Pavlou, P. (1998). A Review of the Sociolinguistic Aspects of the Greek Cypriot Dialect. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 19(3). Patrick H., Anderman L.H. & Ryan M.A. (2002). Social Motivation and the classroom Social Environment. In Midgley C. (Ed), Goals, Goal Structures, and Patterns of Adaptive Learning (pp. 55-83). London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Pavlou, P. & Papapavlou, A. (2004). Issues of dialect use in education from the Greek Cypriot perspective. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 14 (2) Peeck, J. (1974). Retention of pictorial and verbal content of a text with illustrations. Journal of educational Psychology, 66(6), pp. 880-339 Punch, K. F. (2005) Introduction to Social Research. London: Sage publications. Quinn, P. M. (2002). Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods (3rd edition). London: Sage Publications. Ravitch, M.S. & Wirth, K. (2007). Developing a pedagogy of opportunity for students and their teachers, Action Research, 5(1), pp75-91 Robson, C. (2002). Real world research: a resource for social scientists and Practitioner- researchers. Oxford: Blackwell. Roed, J. (2003). Language learner behaviour in a virtual environment. Computer Language Learning, 16(2, 3) pp. 155-172 Rubin, J. (1975). What the good language learner can teach us. TESOL Quarterly, 9, pp 41-51.

71

Russell, R. (2006). Users, interactivity and generation. New Media and Society, 8 (4), pp531-550. Salmon, G. (2003). E-moderating: the key to teaching and learning online. London: Routledge Falmer. Sawhney, C. (1998). The role of Attitudes and Motivation in Foreign Language Learning: The Case of German in India. In Agnhotri R.K. & Khanna L.A. & Sachdev I. (Eds), Social Psychological Perspectives on Second Language Learning (pp. 119-129). New Delhi: Sage Pubblications. Schofield, W.J. (2006). Realizing the Internets Educational Potential. In J. Weiss at al. (Eds). The International Handbook of Virtual Learning Environments, pp 301-327. Netherlands: Springer Shu-Xu (2001). Critical Pedagogy and Intercultural Communication: creating discourses of diversity, equality, common goals and rational-moral motivation. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 22 (3), pp 279-293 Simon, H. A. (1979) Models of Thought. London: Yale University Press. Sims, R. (2003). Promises of Interactivity: Aligning Learner Perceptions and Expectations with Strategies for flexible and Online Learning. Distance Education, 24 (1) pp 87-103 Stern, H.H. (1983). Fundamental Concept of Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press Stevenson, R.J. & Palmer, J.A. (1994). Learning: Principles, processes and practices. London: Cassell. Vanijdee, A. (2003). Thai Distance English Learners and Learner Autonomy. Open Learning, 18 (1), pp 75-84.

72

Wang, M. & Kang, M. (2003). Cyberpedagogy for engaged learning: A framework for creating learner engagement through information and communication technology. In Hung D & Khine M.S. (Eds. ), Engaged learning with emerging Technologies (pp.225253) . Netherlands: Springer Warschauer, M. (2005). Sociocultural Perspectives in CALL. In Egbert J.L. & Petrie G.M. (eds), CALL Research Perspectives (pp41-51). London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, White, C. (2003) Language learning in Distance Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

73

Appendix 1 Research consent

For English Speakers I am working as a primary school teacher in the Greek School of St. John the Baptist. I am currently doing my Masters degree in ICT (Information and Communications Technology in Education) at the Institute of Education, University of London. My research includes an investigation into how digital technology can contribute to Greek Language Learning. The participants are students coming from Greek Schools of London and Greece, aged 14-16. Divided into groups, the students will watch a two minutes film without sound, and then they will try to imagine the dialogues in the film. The films are titled: 1. Doctor Who 2. The Dozen 1 3. Arthur The participants can stop participating in the study any time they want. I confirm that the names of the participants will be kept confidential. For the above reasons, I am asking your consent. Thank you Name of the student Age Students Signature Parents Signature (if the student is under 16) E . aster , . .
74

 , 14-16. , 2 , . : 1. Doctor Who 2. The Dozen 1 3. Arthur . . , . : : : ( 16 )

75

Appendix 2 Instructions
1. How to change the language Step 1

STEP 2

76

STEP 3

STEP 4:

77

STEP 5:

STEP 6:

78

2. How to log in STEP 1: Log inwrite your personal user name and your password

STEP 2: Find out your user name and select the film of your group.

79

STEP 3: Watch the film of your group (first, second, or third)

STEP 4: Select new topic.

80

STEP 5: Write your opinion and publish it.

81

Appendix 3 Voting the films

82

Appendix 4 Films

First film Dozen:

Scene 1 A man dressed in casual clothes is entering in a house and taking off his sports shoes. A woman in another room is writing in a book, underlining or encircling words. Scene 2 The man is entering this room and speaking. He holds his blouse, and after throwing it on a chair among other stuff, immediately sits down on a chair in front of the woman. The woman is looking at him and smiling. They begin discussing. During their discussion, the woman lifts up a pack of papers and shows him what is written on the first page, and after this the man goes and sits near her. He hugs her. Scene 3 The woman and the man continue talking. Meanwhile the man is ready to lie on the bed. The kids and a dog were hidden under the covers, and they are thrown upon him.

Second film Doctor Who

First scene A woman, formally dressed, is talking on the phone. She is among people at a formal party. After a while she meets somebody else and she is talking with him. Then she continues talking on the phone. She meets someone else and they chat for some time. Second scene A woman in a wedding dress and a man formally meet on their way into the Tardis. The man is entering into this Tardi, which is a sort of space/time travelling machine which distorts space. The woman is standing outside looking at it in curiosity. After a while, she enters in the Tardis and she sees that there is a large circular control panel inside. Third scene There is a party. Everyone is dancing. The man and the woman enter. People stop dancing and look at them. Among them there are those who appeared in the first scene. They approach them and they ask questions to the woman. The woman chats with them, and she is crying. They hug her.

Third film Arthur

Scene 1 A little boy is digging in a field while a dog is watching. He stops and talks to his dog. Scene 2 A woman is entering a shop and looking around. The shopkeeper asks something, and the woman approaches him and gives him a piece of paper. Then they chat for a while, and she gives him something which is in a paper. He puts it away and they are chatting. Scene 3

83

The boy who appears in the first scene is in a house. He holds a big book which includes written pages and pictures. He turns over the pages while he is talking to himself. At the end, he takes a page with a picture and kisses it.

84