Welcome to CIELL website
Language Teachers’ Survey
If you are a language teacher, you are invited to take part in an educational research study as we are investigating the beliefs of language teachers about the use in teaching of technology such as the CIELL app and learning resources.
To take part you will be asked to look at the CIELL app and learning resources, then complete a questionnaire. It will take 15-30 minutes of your time. Your participation is optional and voluntary; you can choose to participate or not. To take part, go to the CIELL Teachers’ Survey.
Everyone is welcome to use the CIELL Learning Resources whether you participate in the study or not.
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The CIELL Project (2018-2020)
The Comics for Inclusive English Language Learning (CIELL) project aimed to (1) develop the competences of second language teachers by promoting the use of comic art, and other visual representations of knowledge, and (2) enhance the quality of language teaching materials used for teaching writing as a second language and support the needs of learners with dyslexia in a socially inclusive manner.
Dyslexia & Comic Art
Dyslexia is a specific learning difference characterized by difficulties with word decoding, spelling, handwriting, reading, memory and attention span which affects around 10% of the population. Dyslexic-type difficulties also cause challenges in writing in another language, which is often assessed in high-stakes testing contexts and is an essential skill in higher education across Europe. Therefore, there is strong need for new tools and raising teachers’ awareness of inclusive practices in teaching second language writing to students with dyslexia.
The CIELL project (December 2018 – November 2020) was a collaboration between comic artists, language teachers and learning technology researchers, to create innovative open educational resources that enrich teaching practice and support learners with dyslexia. The CIELL project was an extension of the ERASMUS+ ViLi project that aimed to improve the visual literacies of educators, making learning more visual through static (e.g. comics, mind maps), dynamic (e.g. video) and interactive visuals (e.g. virtual reality).
Goals
The CIELL project aimed to address the EU policies on social inclusion and digital competence by:
- enhancing the digital competence of second language teachers by providing a Compendium of open educational resources including a Teacher’s Pack and examples of the good practice in the use of comics in education, and
- developing innovative teaching materials delivered in a mobile application to support visual teaching and learning practices and increase the language competence and foster social inclusion of learners with dyslexia.
Specifically, the mobile app will support students with dyslexia in preparing for the written component of high-stakes language proficiency exams such as IELTS and Cambridge Advanced and Proficiency. The app focuses on opinion essays, reviews and article writing. Writing guidelines and sample essays have been created in infographic and comic (‘webtoon’) format. The 17 sample essays are based on the 17 United Nations goals for 2030.
The project adopted an Educational Design Research methodology so that the design was developed in collaboration with teachers, learners and other stakeholders to maximise its effectiveness in a real educational setting.
Coordination
The project was led by Dr. Julie-Ann Sime, Centre for Technology Enhanced Learning, Educational Research Department, Lancaster University (UK), in collaboration with: AKTO (Greece); Language Centre, University of Cyprus (Cyprus), and Institute for Learning Innovation, Friedrich-Alexander University, Germany.
