Innovations in Less Commonly Taught Languages: A Conversation with Kadidja Koné and Paula Winke Hayo: Welcome everybody to the latest episode of Voices from LLT Language Learning and Technologies', very own podcast. today, we have two very special guests. We have, Khadija Kne, and Paula Winkie. Paula, you are usually in Michigan, but currently in Austria and Hayo: Kadija. Hayo: You are in Bamako, Mali, is that right? Lovely to have you here. Thanks for joining us. Paula Winke: we're excited to be here. Kadidja Koné: Nice to meet you. Yeah. Hayo: Right, so you just completed, what I know from experience is a lot of work, which is. Editing a special issue for language learning and technology on less commonly taught languages, and in particular, the role of technology in learning and teaching and researching those languages. So just so that our audience can get to know both of you a little bit better why did you come to this topic? Hayo: Khadija, I'll start with you. What is your background and interest in this area Kadidja Koné: I met Professor Winke in 2022 when I was in a program called Alliance for African Partnership. in that program, professor Winke was my mentor she has been a fantastic mentor for me. And now I can consider her like a friend, like a colleague, someone who is really helping me, um, co-construct myself and co-construct my identity. And succeed in my career. So it all started when I was working with her she started this special issue and then she embarked me in the projects and we work together. And it was really fantastic for me because I come from a multilingual world context. You know, in my country we have 15 languages, which are all recognized like. Kadidja Koné: National languages that is teaching and learning can be done in them, in theory, but not in practice. In there are other languages which are not even recognized. we have more than 15 languages. So working with Paula, on the less commonly taught languages, and then indigenous languages. This was a great opportunity for me because I can't even exaggerate by saying that it was also sort of justice for me. Because this will give me ideas to work on my own languages with technology and see what can be done. This motivated me to work on this project with Paula. It's beyond, language learning and technology. It's a sort of identity construction for me. Hayo: Alright, very nice. And Paula, how about you? Paula Winke: this project has been near and dear to our hearts for a long time. when Kadidja spent a year at Michigan State University. we worked a lot with LCTL language teachers through Michigan State University's LCTL program and its Center for Language Teaching Advancement. one of the projects that we were working on is helping LCTL teachers at Michigan State University create self-assessment that were online. So we were working with the LCTL faculty in designing self-assessments of Zulu, Swahili, Hindi, Urdu, um, Paula Winke: And the teachers were using Google Forms in Microsoft Office forms. Paula Winke: Some of them were using Qualtrics. So while they're at Michigan State, learning to use that technology for their classrooms was very empowering. Paula Winke: To ensure that they were learning technology that they would have access to. When they were no longer at Michigan State University and that type of equity and justice, and being able to learn tools that are available beyond higher education Paula Winke: back in their home countries teaching English, Paula Winke: We wanted to make sure that, this topic gets. Researched more, gets more publicity and language learning and technology is perfect for that with its open access format and worldwide accessibility. Hayo: Yeah, just staying with you, Paula because actually, I was thinking about our conversation today and one question I wanted to ask you is, for many of our listeners, it's not immediately obvious what the role of a guest editor for a journal involves. I mean, what is a special issue and what does a guest editor actually do? Hayo: can you tell us a little bit about the process? Paula Winke: Kadidja and I put out calls, you know, for abstracts for the research originally. So we were able to work with the senior editors at language learning and technology to promote the special issue. Once we were given the green light we collected, abstracts from people around the world and then Khadija and I read through them carefully to select the ones that would fit in the special issue. we also solicited peer reviewers to help us we worked with authors through an iterative process getting their manuscripts sent in to language learning and technology through its regular submission platform, soliciting external reviewers who were anonymous. So it was a double blind peer review process. And Khadija and I talked to the authors multiple times on Zoom giving themfeedback from the reviewers. It was a fun process. Hayo: So how long did it take the whole process from the germination of the original idea to finally having the special issue published last month? Kadidja Koné: I think that it takes more than one year to complete everything. as said, by Paula, it was really a social and friendly project because we could spend hours with our office and then discuss, the problems. We help them solve these problems, and it was really, a process of learning and taking and giving. Kadidja Koné: So it was really a social process for us. Yeah. Hayo: Excellent. So for all of you listening, be aware that people like Paula and Kadeja special issue editors and everyone involved, the reviewers and of course the authors, and of course also people who submitted abstracts and who were not included. There's a lot of people that actually participate in a process like this and a lot of work that goes into it. Hayo: So, you know, huge thanks to both of you for committing that work and for putting this important topic in the spotlight. So yeah, I just wanted to just take a moment to the people actually recognize. How much work it is to get to this point. correct me if I'm wrong, Kadidja, you've got seven articles in the special issue and of course Robert Goldwin Jones has his column that he always produces. And was there another forum article Paula Winke: There Was one. Yeah. Hayo: your special issue? Yeah, yeah. So. Right. Well maybe pull out, maybe kick us off. Tell us a little bit about the topics that are covered in those. What is it, eight or nine contributions? Paula Winke: That's right. So we had a wide variety of papers representing different less commonly taught languages. And we wrote about, we had a introduction to the special issue where we grouped them by themes. the languages are diverse and represent different areas of technology, including ai. We had two papers that focused on AI assistance in writing, and we also had papers on using different technology tools such as Kahoot from our author team at Harvard University. we also had papers on reading comprehension using something called stealth assessment where Paula Winke: And while they're playing those games the teachers get information on the students' acquisition of Chinese as a foreign language. I think the diversity of the different papers that we had was really eye-opening for us to see how technology is being harnessed in lal programs in diverse and really innovative ways. Hayo: And I was of course exceptionally pleased to see that there was an article on Dutch being know, born in the Netherlands. Dutch being my mother [00:08:00] tongue. So that's lovely because that's not very common. So that was great. I. Paula Winke: Yes. And that one, Paula Winke: using For Dutch as a foreign language. That one was also one of the papers that we put first in the lineup because it Paula Winke: Eye-opening and a great paper. Hayo: Right. Yeah. So a really interesting selection of languages and contexts as well. That really struck me. So I'm just curious from both of you, maybe starting with you, Kadija, having gone through this whole process and obviously having worked with these authors and read these papers in quite some detail. Hayo: What are some of the things that you have learned that you kind of, you know, that gave you insights that perhaps you didn't have before this process started? Kadidja Koné: Yeah. there is a specific article that has really inspired me. The one about Vietnamese languages in action research and task-based language teaching, because, you know, I'm a teacher researcher, so seeing something like that was very inspirational for me because this is something I would like to do in my context to that is using action research and then reporting what I'm doing in my own classroom with my own voices. Kadidja Koné: So this, I'm not going to. Kadidja Koné: Cited as the greatest paper because all these papers, I think they are all just great. But this specific one really inspires me. Kadidja Koné: Have one regret because we couldn't have papers about indigenous languages. this was part of Kadidja Koné: Project because we want to give some visibility to these languages too. But the office, you know, they didn't apply. I. And we didn't have any African languages it was also our goal to give some visibility to these languages. But some African author, they, you know, submit their proposal, but they weren't, you know, strong enough to make it through our, you know, strong review process. Kadidja Koné: those are some of my regrets.. Hayo: How about you, Paula? Paula Winke: I would like to add to that. That's something that Kadidja and I worked hard is when people sent in abstracts that we couldn't include in the special issue because they didn't make it through the peer review process. We kept in touch with those authors and encouraged them to continue with their research. And in our overview to the special issue, we list the journals to which we suggested they send their research when their research is ready for submission. 'cause there are a Paula Winke: lot Paula Winke: Out there, especially for LCTL language programs that are 100% open access and specialize on African languages or dutchess of foreign language or some of the different journals that we thought. Could be helpful to people down the line to continue publishing their research, even if it doesn't make it to the top tier journal, language learning and technology, that all the research is extremely valuable, and through citations there's cross pollination. We were able to cite in our introduction some of the research on African languages coming out of the Journal of African Languages in the United States. So we think that's very powerful too, is that this research gets spread no matter where it's published, as long as authors go for open access journals. We can help proliferate the research that way too. Hayo: Yeah, I'm glad that you mentioned that. That's really good. And maybe this is an opportune moment for me to plug something about the journal, LLT, which is that what is currently the forum will actually Change a little bit and we will rename it as technology and practice. So we are really focusing on the application and the experiences of not just researchers and academics, but also teachers in integrating using technology in whatever context that they work in. Hayo: So of course those papers still need to be strong and they still need to be well written. But the focus is more on the practical aspect. one of the aims of that is to invite more. Well, more contributions from, from a wider range of, of context. So hopefully, if you're listening to this and you're not sure about submitting a regular article, maybe keep that in mind Paula Winke: that's a great Hayo: people listening, yeah. Thank you. Well, for, for people listening what advice would both of you have for, graduate students teachers, or indeed researchers who are listening to this podcast and who think, Hey, this is actually a really interesting topic. Hayo: is this an interesting and important, you know, field to go into? Kadidja Koné: When you publish in an open access journal, you open your research to the world in people from underrepresented context like my, my context will read, you know, your article and use what you recommend in the classroom. Kadidja Koné: So for me, access is like open science. It's like open education. So this is my first advice for. Um, graduate students and junior researchers like myself. my second advice will be to collaborate, like working with experienced professors that way you're gonna, um, co-construct your knowledge, Kadidja Koné: You can learn from them and they will learn from you. Kadidja Koné: To myself when I was working with Paula and it was like. an equitable process. It was equal partnership, although she has a lot of power in this relationship, but she always shares this power with me, and this is really helpful for me in my career because she establishes me like a legitimate language teacher. Kadidja Koné: So I advise young professors, young teachers, young researchers to collaborate to open their classrooms to research. And to publish the research in open access journals, to have some visibility, to have some feedback. I know it's a very complex process. It's a difficult process. your article can be rejected, but this is part of the business. You have to accept this in order to grow up and become this sort of you know, a recognized researcher or teacher. Yeah. This is my advice for young teachers, young researchers, and graduate students. Paula Winke:To that, that you know, the LCTL Programs across the United States and around the world. They're some of the most active programs in using online textbooks and materials the textbooks for Russian, Hindi, Urdu, those are online with open educational resources being the model for textbook design in these languages. So there's a lot of research that less commonly taught language teachers have in front of them. Like how do students feel about having fully. Online textbooks and materials for their classes. How do they access them best? What are the best strategies and processes? How do these materials motivate students? We need a lot of LCTL teachers to do action research in their classes, interview students to ask them how they feel about doing their work online. What about typing in various fonts and characters and non Roman languages? How does that all work? So a lot of the times I think authors think research is high technology, advanced technology, but some of it's now every day. Paula Winke: It's stuff that teachers have in their classrooms every day. we need a lot of qualitative research on the user experience. Of technology in the classroom, and I think that's where there's a huge opening for indigenous language programs and less commonly taught programs to put their teachers forward in doing research in their current classrooms. Hayo: Yeah. I couldn't agree more. my own hobby horse, is innovation. one of my bug bears is that we still ignore the innovation in the real world, in the classroom, around the world, in all sorts of different settings. Hayo: the innovation has to happen at the chalk face, so to speak, and the challenges and opportunities that, that teachers and schools and, and other people involved in language education. Have and face and how they deal with them what works what doesn't work who they collaborate with and what solutions they find in their own context. Hayo: That is so incredibly important, but that still seems to be under research. I echo your call for more qualitative research that brings in a wider range of stakeholders. Not just the academics, not just the researchers, but trying to understand what makes a particular technology, for example, work or not work. Hayo: whether it's Bamako or Innsbruck, where you are at the moment. Paul, here in Aland. 'cause it's all different. Hayo: So I just wanna ask one, final question, for the benefit of teachers who might be listening. Hayo: And again, I'll start with you, Khadija. what advice, would you give to a teacher of any stripe, I suppose, in terms of what they, what you recommend that they become aware of around the topic of less commonly taught languages? this could be about, what less commonly taught languages could bring to the classroom. Hayo: So if you have learners who. Know, and use other languages. What does that bring to the group? and also if you're a language teacher, how can you perhaps draw on the resources that learners haveand use that to support them in whatever language they might be learning whether it's English or whatever other language. Hayo: So I suppose any, any practical recommendations or suggestions for teachers? Kadidja Koné: my recommendation will be, for example, for a teacher who comes from Africa, I know that less commonly taught languages have problems everywhere, even in the U.S. but in Africa, I can advise these less commonly taught languages to work with the resources that they have and adapt the teaching materials to learners technology. Kadidja Koné: For example, in Africa, our technology is mobile based, so our students work with telephone, so we need to come up with something that learners can access on their phones and work on the less commonly taught languages. This will really facilitate learning for them. For example, if the lessons could be applications that learners could upload on their phones and work on them instead of being based on cameras, because 90% of my students do not have access to cameras, but they all have cell phones. this is what we should prioritize in my context, and this is what I will advise language teachers to do including myself. So that we can give more power to less commonly taught languages. Yeah. Kadidja Koné: Through action research and publish this research and include students in the research. Kadidja Koné: Give them voice to talk and then improve what we are doing. Kadidja Koné: For teachers in my campus. Hayo: And it's interesting because I think it's actually a great example how, you know, how the insights can go both ways, right? Because you might be telling me this and that might make me realize that perhaps I'm taking a classroom centric approach to language learning and teaching. Hayo: Whereas if I recognize that, my learners, spend an inordinate amount of time on their mobile phone. So maybe it also raises our awareness of, you know, learning in other contexts, beyond the classroom. Kadidja Koné: value rising, their mobile phones will really increase their engagement in their learning because this is the sort of technology they value and they have access to. Yeah.I really think that we must integrate this into our less commonly taught languages program. Paula Winke: I agree. I think looking at what technology is being used in the classroom right now is where we should put a lot of our efforts in studying usability and the user interface and how to improve materials for accessibility for students. I agree with Kadidja that smartphones are the tool that students are bringing to the classroom. Laptops are becoming less and less common. People don't like to lug 'em around. The phone is always with you. So having tele collaboration or setting up students to work with other students in other locations over the phone is probably the wave of the future. we need more research in this area. Hayo: Well said. Anything else you'd like to share before we bring into a close? Paula Winke: just that we really enjoyed this whole process. Being the guest editors for this special issue was a delight. It was a highlight of my last two to three years, Kadidja working with you and having this journal give us great opportunities for our own professional development. Hayo: Well, you heard it here. If you're listening, come to LLT, submit your work there. Read it, spread the word. Hayo: And seriously, if you have an idea, something that you'd like to share with the wider world do consider the journal and yeah, we look forward to reading more about your work in the future. Hayo: Kadidja and Paula, thank you so much for Kadidja Koné: Oh, thank you Paula Winke: Thank you.