The Lingonet Learning Spiral – multimedia for co-operative learning

In the field of language learning, multimedia has traditionally been thought of as a form of self-instruction, ideal for self-access and studying independently at the end of the day. Lingonet saw this situation as a challenge and set about creating innovative multimedia materials based on the premise that multimedia should be a source of communication and interaction rather than an end in itself. The Lingonet Learning Spiral illustrates this principle.

Briefing
The students are presented with a creative task, for example, they have to write a report or make a presentation. The students are encouraged to use the authentic multimedia material when doing the task.

Pair work
The students then go to the computer and familiarise themselves with the appropriate authentic materials. Their tasks may vary. Each pair of students can be told to familiarise themselves with the same subject, or they may each choose a different subject or a different person to learn about.

Coaching
The teacher comes round to check if the students have any queries or problems.

Language auditing
The students do on-screen tasks based on what they have just seen and heard. These tasks make the students focus on how something was expressed in the program.

Group discussion
A group discussion then takes place where all the students get together and discuss what they have seen or found out. They might have all looked at the same thing or they may have all looked at different sections of the CD-ROM and they can share this information during the discussion.

Individual writing
Students can then do some individual writing and independently prepare for the set tasks, which will eventually lead to a Presentation of some specific information to the class.

Tutoring
After the Presentation or report, individual tutoring can take place. This means that the students get feedback on their presentations. Ideally, the students will get another opportunity to do Individual work and improve their Presentation based on the feedback, leading to a final and re-formulated Presentation.