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The scaffolding role of native speaker mentors in an online community of foreign language learners
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

The scaffolding role of native speaker mentors in an online community of foreign language learners

M. Pais Marden and Jan Herrington
Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnerships in Learning, Vol.32(4), pp.419-439
2024
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Published (Version of Record)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0 Open Access

Abstract

Foreign language learning native speaker mentors scaffolding online communities of learners authentic learning design principles
Providing foreign language students with opportunities to engage in meaningful and purposeful communication and culturally authentic interaction with peers and native speakers is critical to successful second language acquisition and the development of intercultural competence . This paper describes research that investigated how selected native speaker mentors supported foreign language university students as they completed authentic collaborative tasks in an online community of learners. Intermediate and advanced level students of Italian at an Australian university collaborated with each other and with their assigned mentors through online resources provided in the course website. Data were collected and analysed through multi-data sources including online interactions, forum posts and individual and focus group interviews with mentors and students. Findings suggest that native speaker mentors actively supported students’ learning and provided effective scaffolding across a number of domains. The paper concludes with specific recommendations to guide mentors and language educators in the process of assisting student collaborative learning.

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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#4 Quality Education

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