Camu at y Gymraeg - an evaluation of the online Welsh courses offered by the University of Wales

  Contents  

1  Introduction  3

2  Introducing the course  4

3  Features  6

3.1  Learning Units  6

3.2  Dictionary  7

3.3  Suggestions for method of study  8

3.4  Download facility  8

3.5  Audio data  8

3.5.1  Implementation of audio data  9

3.6  Additional material  10

4  Communication tools  11

4.1  Examination  12

5  Lesson content  13

6  Summary  14

6.1  Didactical issues  14

6.2  Design  15

6.2.1  Visual design  16

7  Conclusion  17

7.1  Personal experiences with the course  17

8  References  19

8.1  Internet Sources  19

3

1 Introduction

This paper aims at giving an evaluation of the "Camu at y Gymraeg" Welsh learning site, an online course in the Welsh language offered by the University of Wales, Lampeter.

Although it is a relatively new player on the field of education, e-learning is seen by some as the solution to all problems faced by universities today and by others as the end of decent education itself.

While a number of e-learning projects have been established so far and some amount of study has been conducted as to the optimisation of e-learning, few projects are being evaluated for their use, despite the fact that they quite often claim substantial budgets for their funding.

This paper will examine the functionalities offered by the "Camu" course and in turn discuss their implementation and design, offering possible suggestions for improvement. A focus will be on the tools for communication, as this area is crucial for learner motivation and achievement.

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2 Introducing the course

The course "Camu at y Gymraeg" ¹ is one of a variety of online courses, ranging from language over literature to history classes currently offered by the University of Wales, Lampeter. To date, it is the only university accredited online course for the Welsh language, earning the learner (upon passing the final examination) 40 credit points, 360 of which constitute a Lampeter University degree. To earn the first 20 credit points, learners have to complete a number of exercises and return them for assessment. For the remaining 20 credits, a written and oral examination has to be passed.

There is a short statement on their e-learning courses, offered by the university of Lampeter, in which their expectations are stated as well as the answers to some common questions. ² The course itself is password protected and requires registration with the university of Lampeter. To register, the prospective student has to print out and complete an extensive form that is then to be mailed to the university. No facility of online registration is provided, as the form has to bear a handwritten signature. As the course is conducted completely online, registration is not tied to any schedules and is possible at any time of the year.

The Course fees range from £49 per 10 credits for European students to £305 for non-Europeans, a fee waiver scheme is available for students meeting certain qualifications (e.g. already student of other European university). The suggested amount of work for the course is at least 3-4 hours per week, ideally an hour every day, with a maximum of ten years time to complete the course, of which no more than four are to be spent on the first part.

It is admitted that the course is not an easy one, requiring determination to complete the modules, but in the end rewarding the user with credits towards his university degree. According to the introductory statement, the course is intended for absolute beginners, but it is suggested that students attend the Welsh language

¹ [INT 1] Camu at y Gymraeg.

² [INT 2] Frequently asked questions - Open and Distance Learning.

5 courses held at Lampeter to practise communicating in Welsh, deal with problematic areas of the course and to exchange ideas.

As is stated, the course is an adaptation of a traditional course designed for small groups of learners working together with a teacher. In order to replace the interactive element lost in a single-learner situation, it is suggested that the user read aloud the unit contents repetitively. The course is designed to be selfpropelled but students are assigned a tutor who marks their assignments and offers general assistance with the course. As there is no time frame to be adhered to, there is no homogeneous group of learners, but a number of individual students at different stages of the course. This has direct implications for communication and interaction between students.

The language taught in the course, although this is not stated explicitly anywhere, is a Southern dialect of spoken colloquial Welsh ³ with explanations as to the written standard.

³ King, Gareth. 1993. Modern Welsh - A comprehensive Grammar. New York: Routledge. pp.3.

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3 F e a t u r e s

In this chapter, the main features of the course will be presented, along with a brief discussion of their content.

3.1 Learning Units

The 16 units constitute the core part of the course. They are separated into two parts, each containing eight units and awarding 10 credit points upon completion. To facilitate navigation, an overview of the units is given, stating their main topics both in English and Welsh.

They are to be worked through progressively as each is based upon the vocabulary and grammar already introduced. They are progressively complex, presenting more complex topics after the basics have been established. Each unit is given in the form of one single document. They generally consist of some new items of grammar, a number of new vocabulary grouped according to their word class, followed by drill and practise exercises. These take the form of tables from which the learner is to construct and practice sentences. They may be followed by a piece of dialogue also available as an audio document including a transcription but no translation. The last point of each unit are the exercises that are to be completed and returned to the tutor for assessment. The exercises come in the form of translation practice, composition of free text passages or cloze ⁴ practise. Both English and Welsh are used throughout the units, with an increasing amount of instructions being presented in Welsh.

Notable is the absence of any reference grammar part, also, no complete list or index to unit contents exists, thus forcing the learner to manually search the units for any specific information. Internal hyperlinking between the units is limited to a few instances where reference is made to previously introduced points of grammar.

The presentation of unit contents is often rather brief, offering little explanation in the way of grammar, items are often presented without further

⁴ i.e. "fill-in-the-blanks" exercises