The document summarizes research on a virtual schooling pilot project for teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) to high school students. Key findings from the research include: 1) The virtual learning environment helped promote interaction, focus, and autonomous learning for students when certain support systems were in place. 2) Successful students exhibited high motivation, strong self-regulatory skills, and benefited from the individual attention available in the virtual space. 3) For virtual EFL programs to be sustainable, they must focus on recruitment of committed partner schools, suitable student selection, and a supportive virtual high school system to aid absorption and retention. Quality teaching design and small group interactions are also important.

1. Uncovering
the Possibilities of
Virtual Schooling
for EFL
IATEFL LTSIG
Research Book Conference, 2021
Susana Galante
Digital Pedagogy Consultant
EFL Teacher Trainer
Kibbutzim College of Education

2. The start of a
journey
Back in 2017…

3. A pilot project
Content developer and teacher for EFL
at The Virtual High School (VHS) from
Centre for Educational Technologies
(CET)
Students in periphery schools get
access to
o advanced matriculation classes
o master teachers.
A solution
(Cavanaugh & Clark, 2007)

4. Weekly programme
(from CET)
o Two synchronous 90’ lessons
with whole class
o One synchronous 90’ practice
session for 3-4 students with
tutor
o Asynchronous interactive
assignments

5. 15–16-year-old
female students

6. Online learning
challenges
No EFL models for inspiration
Not enough research
Getting weak and shy students to participate
Limited use of body language & eye contact
Difficulty to develop personal connection

7. My
concerns
Mission impossible?
How to promote
active learning
How to foster
collaboration
Teaching EFL for
communication

8. Design
A knowledge-building computer-
supported collaborative learning
)CSCL) environment
(Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2007; Bielaczyck,2006)
with focus on social presence
(Garrison, 2007)

9. Scaffolding
Moodle
Zoom
(Breakout rooms, Annotate, Chat)
WhatsApp group
Google Docs
Google Slides
Padlet
Quizlet
Google Forms
Flipgrid
Storybird
The Learning Network
(The New York Times)
Google Drawings
Newsela
Listenwise

10. Teacher
Designer
Researcher
Experimentation
Reflection
Fine-tuning
Exploration
Action plan

11. Action
Research
Looking for answers…

12. Research
Goals
To understand and describe what
happened to EFL High School
students in the virtual learning
environment (VLE)
Focus on the adoption of a new
culture of learning and teaching and
the perceived benefits of the VLE

13. Method &
Data
Sources
Qualitative research (Straus & Corbin,
1990)
Students’ reflections in surveys
Focus on 4 students who completed
the programme (from Democratic School)
For further validation and enrichment:
video recordings of sessions
research journal
group summative reflective discussion
students’ letters to teacher

14. Analysis
Cultures of
learning and
teaching
(CLT)
(Sagy et al., 2011)

15. Findings
The building goes on against the
odds…

16. 1- How well does the VLE help you learn?
Degree of
satisfaction
1
Not at all
2 3 4 5
A lot
Number of
responses
0 1 3 3 1
School 0 RBS RBS
DS
DS DS
Percentage
%
0 12.5 37.5 37.5 12.5

17. 1- Drop-outs and lack of adoption of CLTI
No school
coordinator
Lack of
equipment
Poor physical
conditions
No tutoring
sessions
Lack of suitability
to programme

18. 2- What helped you learn best?
Multimodality
“We practice in multiple different ways…I never feel stuck as I understand what we are
learning from a different angle.”
Connections and relevance
“The assignments that involve opinion…They help me connect the topic to my own life
and to understand it better.”
A relaxed and safe learning environment
"…helped me improve my English and break out of my shell. The virtual sessions
provided me with a unique space where I can experiment freely."
Oral interaction
“When you ask questions, and we talk about them orally.”

19. Benefits of the VLE
Interaction
individual exposure allowed for active
participation and growth
Focus
visual stimulation and reduction of
distractions
Autonomous learning
accessibility and flexibility facilitated
self-paced learning

20. Traits of successful students
High motivation
“It was hard and confusing, but I'm happy I
didn't give up.”
Learning disabilities
“The virtual space itself helps me concentrate and
learn better."
Self-regulatory skills (SRS)
“I want to work on my research skills and on the
ways I learn with my dyslexia. I want to find what
helps me and what doesn’t.”

21. What
to place
the focus on
Recruitment of schools that show commitment
Recruitment of suitable students
Support system (VHS) for absorption & retention
More F2F meetings for social presence
Careful design of the learning experience
Small groups for growth in a safe environment
High quality of teaching for VLE’s

22. Special
attention
paid to
FINANCING SUSTAINABILITY

23. Through
a new lens
A year into the pandemic…

24. MY RESEARCH
o A pilot programme
o Only for EFL
o Students from different
schools make up one same
virtual class
RECENT RESEARCH
o Remote emergency teaching
o For all the school system
o Students from one same
regular class at schools go
virtual temporarily

25. Blended models for
EFL are necessary…
for the ever-changing
necessities of an interconnected
and multimodal world
for effective learning in flexible
school systems that provide
solutions and options.

26. Thank You!
Susana Galante
email: susyyalo@gmail.com
Twitter: @SusanaGalante5

27. A students’ final thoughts
“I was able to focus better, and it was an interesting experience. I remember the
first lesson. We all sat in our school… There were some technical problems, and I was
so stressed out. I was thinking: “How do I look?” “What if there will be noise around
me?” “How the hell is this site supposed to work?” “Is this really my ID?” Now I have
found the things that help me learn in the best way. I learnt a lot about
myself and it was great to know that our lessons were helpful for my matriculation
exam, but they were also helpful for life. You gave me the tools to express
myself in another voice. In the middle of the year, Yam told me that I’m so me
in our lessons. She was right. I think the four of us are acting like ourselves in the
lessons; mainly because we feel comfortable and have fun.” (Norah)

28. What do my students say now ?
"I thought about our learning experience a lot these days… how significant
it was for us and the fact that everyone gets to try it out now. Two years
ago many people were terrified from learning in a virtual way. But
now, when everyone has experience in it, I think many see the monster
isn't that big and I hope they can see the advantages of it. The four
of us talked about this and thought that maybe after this situation is
over, teaching methods in the world will change and online
courses for schooling will be more common. Although I believe that
it's the best way to teach English, I can see that a lot of work still needs
to be done to develop this."

29. What do students say now?
"When I decided to teach a class remotely in our
school during the pandemic crisis, I thought of all the
activities and in general, the way you taught us. I tried to
do something as fun and as technology
involved like our class, that really lets the
students get involved. So, thank you so much for the
inspiration and for everything!!!!"

30. What do students say now?
"I have been thinking a lot too about our class and about
how we succeeded in learning so much and
developing ourselves in the virtual environment. I
have also got from our class and from the way you taught
us a lot of inspiration for my current classes and
meetings❤️."

31. What do my students say now ?
In an online class I teach at present I think sometimes of what works and
what does not, and how 'Susana did it’. ☺️ All of us earned knowledge
that I believe now helps us in the virtual world and allows us to
see how wonderful it can be. You taught us so much and your class
is a part of what has made the four of us such good friends. We
all have meaningful memories from it. Now, I'm hoping that from this
world disaster some good will come out, and that maybe in the future
schools, virtual classes will be more common and will be used in
productive ways. I'm prouder of us and of our learning experience
even more these days. (Norah, 2020)