Lindsay's+plan

__**Research Question:**__ Will Voicethread encourage students to be more self-reflective of their oral language skills for the purpose of improving their oral production in French? How can Voicethread be used most effectively towards that goal?

There are 20 students in my grade 2/3 French Immersion class. The break-down by grade is 12 grade 2 students and 8 grade 3 students. 19 of the 20 students are from a home environment in which English is the L1. A few of these students (approx. 4 or 5) have one parent who speaks French, but the language spoken at home is English. One student's L1 is Chinese (Cantonese, I believe), and therefore English is the L2, and French is the L3. A majority of the students are high-achieving students, meeting or exceeding grade-level expectation in language, math and other subjects. There are, however, a few struggling students who require additional support, time and resources to complete grade-level work. This phenomenon seems to be amplified when working in the L2.
 * __Research Subjects:__**

I have chosen to use Voicethread. The students will interact with Voicethread using i-pads, not desktop computers or netbooks. The rationale for this decision can be attributed to a confluence of factors. Firstly, I had heard about the Voicethread tool from a number of colleagues and the feedback was overwhelmingly that, if used properly, Voicethread can be a powerful tool to encourage purposeful, accountable dialogue between students. Despite the fact that all the feedback was coming from English language teachers, I was confident that this is exactly the kind of tool that can be used successfully in any language, perhaps ESPECIALLY in a L2. Secondly, after watching a number of instructional and promotional videos, and checking out a variety of student work created using this tool, I was impressed with the way it mimics real conversation, while giving students the necessary time that they need to listen, think, and formulate their ideas before recording what they want to say. I feel more and more that the lack of wait-time in whole-class conversations (no matter how explicit a teacher tries to be about building it into the lesson) excludes many students who need more time to process their thoughts and ideas. Thirdly, students working in a L2 environment often need to be able to hear each others' ideas numerous times in order to understand what is being said. With Voicethread, students can listen to each others' ideas as many times as they want before responding. They can also try a response as many times as they need before saving their work. They needn't feel like they need to get it right the first time around. Fourthly, and perhaps most importantly, the current research looking at French Immersion environments in primarily Anglophone communities suggests that students don't spend enough time trying to produce their ideas in French. Instead, they spend most of their time listening to the "expert" (the teacher), and easily become reliant on that "expert" to encourage, support, correct and produce the French they need. This reliance hinders their L2 language development, and can even lead to a kind of spoken French that is not very useful or authentic.
 * __Research Design__**:

Data will automatically be collected into my Educator's Voicethread account, in the form of the voicethreads that the students will be creating. I will review all new voicethreads created each day that we work on the project. For the duration of the Action Research Project, I will teach two specific skills about oral communication, and therefore I will make qualitative observations about those particular aspects of their oral production. These aspects are:
 * __Data Collection:__**
 * 1) **__Making suggestions in order to improve the quality and correctness of the spoken French that is heard.__**I will feel that there has been success if some degree of the following happens over the Action Research Project.
 * There is increased variability in the kinds of suggestions being made by students. For example, students might begin by saying: "You said 'hot'. The word 'hot' in French is 'chaud''. Later, they might choose to make suggestions for longer French expressions or structures. For example, students might say: "You said 'j'ai allee'. I think it's 'je suis allee.'
 * There is increased variability in the way that suggestions are being made by students. They might start by saying "You said 'x'. In French, it's 'y'". Later, they might try "Perhaps you could try saying it this way......". Further still, they might increase the complexity by saying "I think I understand what you're trying to say. Try this and see if this sounds better next time....."
 * 1) **__Adding to another's ideas in order to expand on an idea or take that idea further.__**I will feel that there has been some success if some degree of the following happens over the Action Research Project.
 * The number of connections made to an original voicethread continue, and get deeper, over time. For example, a beginner might add a comment that connects to his/her own life. It might sound like "In your story, I liked hearing about you going to the beach. I went to the beach with my family last summer too." With coaching and instruction, a student might start with that same comment, but then also add something like "While we were at the beach, I was scared about all the creatures in the water. Did you ever get scared from something in the water?"


 * __Steps to be Taken:__**
 * 1) Students are introduced to Voicethread through a teacher-directed, student-involved, lesson (20 minutes).
 * 2) Students practice starting voicethreads and adding comments to each others' voicethreads. Depending on the number of i-pads available on any given day, this could mean groups of 2-4 per i-pad (30-45 minutes).
 * 3) Students are assigned a specific oral task using Voicethread. Examples might be: Tell a short story about a favourite day you had; Desribe why something you tried once was difficult to do; Imagine you are talking to your hero - what might you say to them? Students work in their small groups to expand on the original work. Students will be told that they can make a suggestion to improve the quality of the French that they hear, or add an idea or question to somebody's work.
 * 4) Students work in these flexible groups over a number of days (4-8), for 30-45 minutes per block.
 * 5) While groups are working independently, I will work with one group at a time to review their voicethreads, listen to their comments, and make suggestions for improvements. Students will know that I will check back with them in another couple of days to see how they have improved.
 * 6) Periodically, we will come together for a whole-class lesson. I will highlight a group that has improved either their suggestions for more accurate French or their ability to add relevant questions and comments to each others' work.