International Higher Education Teacher Award ^2024/25

Foreign language learning has been recognised as a priority at Singidunum University, and much effort has been invested in creating a learning environment that encourages students' active participation and language skills development. The COVID-19 crisis and switching to an online teaching environment additionally spurred foreign language teachers to improve the quality of teaching. The existing teaching practices were reexamined and various learning and (game-based) assessment tools were incorporated in classes, with the aim to motivate students to be actively engaged, to help the teachers monitor students’ progress, and to guide the teachers to organise teaching according to the students’ needs and the level of achievement. The use of modern technologies was carefully planned and implemented, with clearly defined pedagogical implications and rationale. On the one hand, the use of interactive games, learning apps, and (game-based) assessment online tools aimed at motivating students, encouraging them to actively participate, develop language skills and construct knowledge. These tools allowed all students to participate equally in all the activities, which provided a fair and open learning community for every student. On the other hand, the reports obtained from these tools provided good resources for continuous assessment and allowed the teachers to monitor students' progress. The results obtained through these apps also helped the teachers evaluate their teaching practices, self-assess their work, and, consequently, adapt teaching strategies, methods, and material to suit their students' needs and achievements. The main activities included the use of Viber for developing writing skills as a part of extracurricular activities, the use of WordUp for vocabulary enhancement, the use of game-based tools for assessment, such as Quizizz and Kahoot for practicing and formative assessment of grammar, vocabulary, and reading skills, the use of Microsoft Office apps for all language skills development. The outcomes of this systematic approach are as follows: improved attendance, enhanced students’ motivation (evident in their participation in the activities obtained from various reports), higher students’ satisfaction (results obtained from questionnaires), students’ participation in extracurricular language-related tasks, improved exam scores, results obtained from focus groups, several research papers written by the teachers reporting on these results.

Methodology

Teachers involved in the implementation of these practices used either Microsoft Teams Office tools or game-based assessment tools to support learning and developing all language skills. An overnight switch to the exclusively online teaching environment in the spring of 2020 provoked a prolific and fruitful discussion among foreign language teachers on how to cope with the newly-created teaching and learning context. Previous experiences related to the use of digital tools and modern technologies were examined, colleagues shared their experiences and the teachers started using these apps and tools with the aim to motivate students to participate in online classes. Before the beginning of the new academic year 2020/2021, it was decided that all activities in this academic year would be again organised and conducted online, in a synchronous real-time context. This University policy made foreign language teachers make a more strategic plan not only to motivate the students to participate in online classes but also help them develop all language skills and provide the teachers with valuable information of their progress. On the basis of the previous knowledge and experiences referring to the use of various learning apps and tools, and the needs and challenges imposed for teaching certain language skills, it was decided that the following apps and learning tools would be used in classes: Viber (for writing), Word-up (for vocabulary enhancement), Microsoft Teams Office tools (for writing, reading, grammar, vocabulary), game-based learning tools, such as Quizizz and Kahoot (for reading, grammar, vocabulary, and various linguistic concepts). The aim of the use of these tools regularly was to compensate for the absence of in-person teaching and learning dynamics. Since University Singidunum promotes language pluralism, students have at least one foreign language as an obligatory subject, and at some faculties attend two obligatory foreign language courses. The importance of introducing an interactive and student-centered approach ecompasses all foreign languages taught at the University. These tools were an integral part of every lesson preparation, and various activities with the aimed language items were conducted through them. The main aim of the use of these tools was to motivate students, to engage them every lesson, to provide variety and change of pace, to make learners feel appreciated and involved in the teaching and learning process. The use of these learning tools and apps had its three stages: The first was a preparatory stage. During this stage, the teachers were involved in the planning process of devising lessons and segments of the lesson which would particularly focus on students, their needs, learning styles, and the outcomes of learning. Namely, these tools played an important role in the preparatory stage because the teachers were forced to think of the learners and what was expected of them to do, learn and achieve. The use of these tools had an important role because, in the process of planning, these tools guided the teacher's decision, what was important, why, what to focus on, what was irrelevant. The second stage included the implementation of these strategies in classes. The application of these tools was of vital importance for the students because they were now in the focus of the teaching and learning process and active participants in language learning and knowledge construction, relying on their own resources. The use of the tools in classes made students equal and active participants in classes regularly The last stage included evaluation of students’ progress. On the one hand, students could get instant feedback on what they learned and what needed to be improved. On the other hand, the teachers gained valuable feedback on students’ progress, at both individual and group levels. Each tool provides the reports after the activity has been done. The teachers carefully analysed these results, gained valuable insight into individual students' progress, but also their achievement at the group level. These results served as diagnostic tools for the preparation of the following lesson and proved to be excellent guides on what the teacher had to improve, change, or keep as a thoughtfully designed lesson. Apart from the use of the above-mentioned tools in regular classes as a way to improve the quality of foreign language teaching at the University, two research studies on the innovative application of modern technologies were also conducted. One included the use of Viber in French classes with the aim to raise literacy and improve students’ writing skills in an innovative, engaging, and motivating way. French is studied as the second foreign language at the University Singidunum. A detailed action plan was devised with clearly defined outcomes, and it consisted of the following stages: preparatory stage focusing on diagnostic elements, testing the level of writing skills, and detecting the commonest mistakes the students had made. The teacher also organised focused groups with the aim to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of the application for writing purposes. Viber was used regularly, and the involvement of the students was monitored, as well as their progress. These results were noted down, analysed, evaluated and concrete results were provided in the form of a research paper. Another thoroughly planned and implemented use of modern technologies relates to the incorporation of mobile applications in teaching/learning English as a foreign language with WordUp mobile application. The main aim of this teaching practice was to help students improve their English vocabulary in an innovative and fun way.

Tools, equipment, technology used

The platform used for online teaching and learning was Microsoft Teams. The teachers utilised its apps in the following ways: Word - for cooperative writing during classes. With the use of this app, the students could easily access the document and do the task during the class. The students found it very entertaining because it was a live document, modified as they wrote, very convenient for various language-aimed aspects. Forms and game-based assessment tools - Quizizz and Kahoot. These were used for various purposes - motivating students, for revision and practice, as well as continuous assessment aims. The content of these tests focused on different language skills - reading, listening, grammar and vocabulary. Viber was used to improve students’ writing skills. A Viber group (via the Microsoft Teams platform) was created with the aim to facilitate mutual communication and connection among the students and the teacher, with the aim to promote writing communication conducted exclusively in French. WordUp mobile application was used primarily to improve student’s vocabulary, but it contributed to the development of all language skills. The content of these activities and tasks included the aimed language and focused on the planned learning outcomes. The gamification aspect of the apps and tools made the process of learning foreign languages less stressful and more enjoyable. All these tools and apps provided immediate feedback and allowed the teacher to monitor students’ work and progress.

Outcomes and outputs, main results

The outcomes of the systematic use of learning apps in foreign language classes can be summarised as follows: students actively participated in these activities - the proof of this can be found in the reports obtained. Students were aware that their work in the online environment was monitored, and it prevented them from being just silent guests in classes who only joined the online meeting for the purpose of obtaining attendance points. Teachers had continuous feedback on students’ participation, active engagement, and progress. The results during the midterms and at the final exam were at the level of expected - online teaching did not deteriorate the criterion of assessment thanks to continuous assessment achieved through the use of these tools. The introduction of modern technologies in classes and their systematic use encouraged more teachers to join their colleagues and learn from each other - cooperation among teachers was enhanced. Teachers teaching different languages shared ideas, learned from each other, and implied good examples in their own teaching. Greater students’ satisfaction - students’ satisfaction surveys showed that the students loved activities supported by the use of these learning tools and apps. The effectiveness of the use of these tools encouraged the teachers to write research papers and publish them in journals, both domestic and international. The effectiveness of the use of these tools encouraged the teachers to write reports on these activities at the conferences, both domestic and international. The effectiveness of the use of these tools encouraged the teachers to apply for an accredited professional development seminar which will gather foreign language teachers from the whole country. The aim of this seminar is to train teachers to use modern technologies with clear pedagogical aims and outcomes. The results obtained from the first research, the use of Viber are as follows: improved writing skills, students were more engaged and motivated. The level of awareness of the importannce of developing writing skills was raised. Continuous assessment and teachers' and peers’ feedback was highly evaluated. Teamwork and cooperation proved to enhance students’ motivation and lead to positive competition. The results obtained from another research, the use of WordUp are as follows: the data indicated that over 70% of students started using mobile applications to learn foreign languages. Over 90% of students would like to see foreign language learning mobile apps incorporated into teaching curricula. What's more, 67% of them would be ready to dedicate 15 to 20 minutes per day in order to do their homework or similar independent activities. The WordUp app contributed to overall English improvement and helped students to develop all of their language skills, writing and speaking skills in particular.

Lessons learnt

Foreign language teachers learned to combine the best aspects of traditional and online learning thus making lessons more innovative and entertaining. We would like to emphasise the importance of introducing innovative methods into teaching practice and familiarising students with all of the options online tools can offer. Helping students to become autonomous learners is of the utmost importance. Hopefully, students will adapt to the concept of self-directed language learning in order to suit their needs and personalize learning goals through direct and/or indirect language acquisition. The valuable lesson learned is that variety was a motivating factor, and short activities conducted with the use of these apps proved to yield effective results, provided these activities were carefully planned. This aspect should be taken into consideration because the use of tools and apps needs to have clear language-related goals and defined outcomes. Otherwise, their use could be reduced only to game and fun. We also realised that cooperation among students should be more encouraged, because this is the area that needs improvement through a more systematic approach and thorough planning how to use online tools with the aim to enhance cooperative learning.

Adaptability and sustainability of the best practice (for other institutions)

Every teacher is a researcher who evaluates which methods and tools are the most applicable and most successful when he/she wants to change some existing current educational practice. However, cooperative work is crucial for the implementation of new and innovative ideas. Only if more people from an institution gather and work together on improving the quality of education can more significant changes happen. Action research can help determine which practices are the most adequate and applicable within the framework and conditions wherein foreign languages are taught and learned. The exchange of knowledge, experiences and ideas at the horizontal level should be a part of the institution policy.

Promotion of best practice

At the beginning of the academic year 2021/2022, a training session was organised within the institution and the teachers shared what they have applied in their classes and what they have learned. They encouraged other teachers from the institution to start using these tools in their everyday work. The teachers devised a training session focusing on the application of modern technologies in foreign language classes and applied for an acreditation for professional development catalogue of seminars for the period 2021-2024. The aimed audience of this seminar are secondary school teachers. Several research papers were published in both national and international journals, with detailed methodology, results presentation, analysis, conclusion, and pedagogical implications.

Scope and impact

• Course/department level
• Faculty level

Foreign language teachers who used these online tools and apps successfully faced the challenges imposed by the introductions of the hybrid model at the beginning of the new academic year 2021/2022, which includes both online and in-person teaching at the same time. Teachers exchanged ideas and organised a training session for those colleagues who had not used these online tools before. These practices were reexamined at the course level (what activities could be implemented in courses, teachers teaching similar levels and skills evaluated the use of online tools for that particular language area). At the department and faculty level, these online tools were evaluated with the aim to incorporate them in various linguistic courses.

6.1 Digitalization

• Outstanding, innovative, excellent practices of online / blended / hybrid learning
• Innovative, novel methodology in using digital tools/devices in teaching
• Digital skills development and assessment both general and profession-related, embedded in course design, in teaching and assessment
• Novel digital solutions (tools, frameworks, devices, tasks to enhance efficiency and motivation)

Reasoning: Planned use of online learning tools and apps in foreign language classes enhanced both the teachers’ and students’ digital competences. The use of modern technologies became an integral part of our lesson planning, teaching and learning practices, and students' continuous assessment. Teachers and students became more confident users of modern technologies, and more aware of the possibilities they offer.

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6.2 Internationalization

• Developing students' multicultural awareness

Reasoning: The methods and results obtained from the use of certain learning apps and tools have been published in some international journals, and also in national journals in both English and Serbian languages. Members of our team also presented these results at international conferences in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. One of these practices was also shared at the Regional English Language Office conference, attended by over 600 foreign language teachers from the whole world.

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6.3 Inclusion and diversity, universal design

• Universally designed teaching material - adjustable for special needs
• Innovative teaching methodology for inclusion and meet diverse student needs
• (Innovative) use of devices and tools for inclusion

Reasoning: The use of online learning and assessment tools provided active participation of all students. Students with some impairment could equally participate in these activities - at their own pace, getting feedback any time they did something. It proved to be very motivating and encouraging for them. Introvert students also benefitted from these activities because they could work on their own in some tasks and cooperate with other students in smaller groups, and, thus, improve their social skills.

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6.4 Sustainability

• Teaching material contains profession related sustainability aspects
• Extra-curricular student activities for sustainability

Reasoning: These practices were reexamined in the hybrid teaching environment at the beginning of the academic year 2021/2022. Their systematic introduction in teaching had a lasting effect on teachers’ attitudes towards digitalisation, cooperation, and self-evaluation. Now, teachers successfully combine online tools with in-person teaching techniques, allowing all students to be active learners. These practices also proved to be sustainable in terms of formative assessment and extracurricular activities.

3.3 Public contact datas

Name	Email address	Website
Valentina Gavranovic	studije@singidunum.ac.rs	https://singidunum.ac.rs/