Wikis and the New Foreign Language Learner

Abstract

Digital environments are becoming increasingly used in foreign language teaching and no doubt they play a very important role as task organisers, input providers and language teaching management resources. They also enable teachers to organise the learners’ interaction and provide a remarkable framework for presenting different modes of information. Wikis are one of the increasingly used social network devices to support cooperative learning tasks in the language curriculum. They are closely associated to project-based and problem-based language learning practices where students and tutors alike contribute to the construction of knowledge and share findings. Wikis have also recently played a major role in creating communities of practice where learners can turn to for support and, in the event of self-access learning, can make up for a lack of guidance and tutor-support. In addition, the proliferation of such computer mediated communication devices have multiplied the pedagogic approaches to language learning and teaching, and have had a major influence on the emergence of a new student profile; i.e. that of the digital native who is accustomed to using such tools for social yet non-educational purposes. Lastly, through the use of wikis, the concept of “peer-to-peer” learning and “peer-tutoring” in collaborative writing environments have also largely evolved by fostering processes that support reflexive thinking and an increasing awareness of the production processes involved in writing and text editing. This article will therefore focus on 2 main aspects: a) A brief description of the main features that characterise wikis; and b) A tentative analysis of their effects on foreign and second language learning practices.