ON-LINE METACOGNITIVE METHODS FOR TEACHING/LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
ON-LINE METACOGNITIVE METHODS FOR TEACHING/LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Summary/Abstract: Language learning, as much as any other domain of knowledge, is a reason for accessing an on-line environment, more and more lately, due to the extraordinary development of the technology which offers learning videos, e-teachers or the possibility to get in touch with native speakers of the learnt language, along with one major advantage: learners which experience language anxiety, find it easier to overcome it from the safety of their home, while sitting in front of a computer. Teaching foreign languages in unconventional environments (on-line or in computer assisted classes) calls for both effective teaching methods and students’ personal involvement in learning (self-regulated learning). Some of these methods have been tested in an on-line English language course, a course which combines teaching language with teaching metacognitive methods because research shows that learners with good metacognitive skills have better results in learning a foreign language. By teaching students about metacognitive methods we empower them, make them overtake the learning process, which is absolutely necessary when in a hypermedia environment. The learning process is also enhanced by creating a personal learning environment (PLE) – a collection of different information and communication technology tools and software which foster selfregulated and collaborative learning (Valtonen et al, 2011), and creating PLEs was desired as part of this course. As PLEs reflect each student’s learning needs and ways of learning, they must be based on each student’s metacognitive profile, identified at the enrollment in the virtual class. This paper presents the pedagogical and metacognitive methods use in on-line teaching and learning, as well as a sample of a personal learning environment.

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