School of Modern Languages
Faculty of Arts
University of Bristol
Hélène Duranton, H.Duranton@bristol.ac.uk
When groups of Science students enrolled on the Study in Continental Europe Programme return from their year abroad in France, they are offered the option to study a French for Business and Professional Purposes unit at the Language Centre. Part of the assessment for this 10 credit unit is to write a 1,500 word report on their experiences in France.
The report writing exercise was changed through the introduction of a wiki, available on the existing Blackboard course supporting the unit. Students collaborate in pairs to produce a joint assessed report.
The flexible nature of the Wiki and its open editing quality can, with very little initial training needed, provide invaluable opportunities for students' active involvement in their language learning. The wiki helps students to develop their collaborative skills in the writing and editing processes, as well as offer them a sense of ownership and belonging to a community.
Some advantages of using the wiki: