Abstract

This paper discusses key themes of the 15th biennial conference of the Association for Language Awareness (2020), with a focus on increasing digital engagement in language education. The COVID-19 pandemic occasioned an abrupt transition to emergency remote language teaching and learning (ERLTL) worldwide. The ALA 2020 conference was also affected by this transition; originally planned as a located conference in Geelong, Australia, it was eventually held online, a first in ALA’s conference history. The current paper engages with contemporary debates of language teaching and learning in two ways. Firstly, it traces recent discussions by presenting key findings from five papers given at the conference, and secondly, via a scoping review of literature focusing on critical lessons from the pandemic regarding language teaching and learning. The review captures recent research from the Australasian region. Key debates identified in the literature include the needs of teachers and learners during the transition to online learning, and how student engagement was affected. The literatures highlight that both educators and students have been developing new practices in teaching and learning resulting from the shift to online and blended modes, which may continue to shape language education and new pedagogies in the future.

摘要

本文讨论了语言意识协会第 15 届双年度会议（2020 年）的关键主题，重点是增加语言教育中的数字化参与。COVID-19 大流行导致全球突然转向紧急远程语言教学 (ERLTL)。ALA 2020 会议也受到了这一转变的影响；会议最初计划在澳大利亚吉朗举行，最终改为在线举行，这在 ALA 会议历史上尚属首次。本文以两种方式探讨了当代语言教学的争论。首先，它通过介绍会议上发表的五篇论文的主要发现来追溯最近的讨论，其次，通过对文献的范围审查，重点关注大流行病中有关语言教学和学习的重要教训。该评论涵盖了澳大利亚地区的最新研究。文献中确定的主要争论包括教师和学习者在向在线学习过渡期间的需求，以及学生参与度如何受到影响。文献强调，由于向在线和混合模式的转变，教育工作者和学生一直在开发新的教学实践，这可能会继续塑造未来的语言教育和新的教学法。