Synchronous Vs Asynchonrous Comparison For eSL

2021
Synchronous vs Asynchonrous
The Online ESL Dilemma
Trevor Laughlin & Brittany Hack
Reading,
Writing,
Speaking,
Listening
• Coming from a pre-university EAP/ESL perspective

• Some recommendations may be less applicable to young learners
• Not as suitable for multilevel classrooms
• Many recommendations are adaptable/scalable
• Recommended for classes under 24 students
Synch vs Asynch: the ESL Dilemma 2

2021
• The Skills We Teach

• Delivery: Synch/Asynchronous
- Features
- Skills comparison
• Bandwidth
• Technical considerations

2021
Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening

2021
The skills we teach
Productive Skills Receptive Skills
• Speaking • Listening
• Writing • Reading

2021
The productive skills we teach: Speaking
Criteria Assignments/Assessments
• Clarity (of speech) • Presentations

• Pronunciation • In-class exercises
• Rhythm (tone, pausing)
• Q&A
• Emphasis
• Daily dialogue with students
• Vocabulary expansion
• Reading out loud
• Grammar*
• Clarity (of ideas vs. L1 interference)
Synch vs Asynch: the ESL Dilemma

6
2021
The productive skills we teach: Writing
• Grammar • Spelling tests

• Vocabulary building • Essays
• Spelling • Short answer questions (comprehension?)
• Rhetorical style • Reflections*
• Critical Thinking skills
• Clarity of ideas
• Clarity of handwriting

2021
The receptive skills we teach: Listening
• Linking sound with Spelling • Minimal pairs

- (phonemes) • Dictation
• Grammar • ID main ideas
• Vocabulary building • Notes
• Analysis/Critical thinking skills • Short answer questions (comprehension?)
• Memory recall - MC questions w. lecture
• Note taking - ‘guided’ note taking questions
- in-class discussion/ Q&A
• Identifying main Ideas
- paraphrasing
-tone, emphasis, sarcasm

2021
The receptive skills we teach: Reading
• Linking spelling with sound* <-Requires feedback • Essays synthesized from long readings
- (phonemes) • Short answer questions (comprehension?)
• Grammar - in-class discussion
-Rhetorical Style by genre - homework
• Vocabulary building • Reflections
• Analysis/Critical thinking skills • Info search: skim/scan (Ctrl F)
• Identifying main Ideas • Notes

2021
Competition or complimentary?
2021
Features of Synchronous Delivery
Motivation Isolation
• More motivational than asynch • Seen as less isolating

• Easier to gauge and maintain energy (Gomez, Kalata, Singh, & Loiero, 2020) and domestic
post-secondary students have reported higher levels of
• Immediacy of feedback loneliness and anxiety (Koestier, 2020).
• cognitive model of media choice by Robert and Dennis
model (in Hrastinski, 2008) • Kock’s (2005) Media Naturalness Hypothesis
Reader is more motivated to read the message More like ‘normal f2f’ communication
More emotionally engaging
• Zoom fatigue
(in Hrastinski, 2008) 11

2021
Features of Synchronous Delivery
Collaboration …and Community
• Takes less time to communicate/dialogue/organize • Instructor felt as a physical presence (Akyol, Garrison & Ozden, 2009)
-face to face interactions
• Live Breakout groups -
• Takes less time to communicate/dialogue

- Higher task support dialogue
- More emotional/social dialogue
• Instructor as judge/monitor
• Turn taking issues
• Connectivity
(Hrastinski, 2008)
• Class size limits 12
SYNCHRONOUS 20XX
IS IDEAL….
When
Why
How
Examples
Hrastinski, 2008 13
2021
Features of Asynchronous Delivery
Reflection Time
• Time to absorb info • At one’s own pace

• Can form complicated ideas • Time Zones
• Without teacher supervision • “______” Better done outside of class time
• Longer involved tasks
• learner has time to reflect on the content and to - Planning
formulate their communication, resulting in greater - Research
mental engagement with the learning content • Deadlines
(Hrastinski 2008) -finishing in stages
• Less overwhelmed (chunking)
(in Hrastinski, 2008) 14

ASYNCHRONOUS 2021
IS IDEAL….
When
Why
How
Examples

he job search 2021
Interview
• Read job ad • Motivation/emotion
• Analysis & reflection • Demonstrate skills
• Composing the cover letter
• Sending it in

2021
=> Synchronous
• Reflection • Motivation
• Less stressful • Immediacy
• Lower time pressure
• Solitude • Community

2021
=> Synchronous
(Hrastinski, 2008) 18
2021
DISCUSS: What is your class’ biggest problem?

What do you see as the solution, synch or asynch? 19
2021
Synchronous or Asynchronous: What is best for my class?

2021
Simple Answer?
Synchronous Delivery for Productive Asynchronous Delivery for Passive
• Speaking • Listening
• Writing • Reading
• Motivational component • Reflective

• Community/Communication component • Mostly internal/solo by nature
• Immediacy - Internal speech
- Social confirmation
• Observe/assess through productive skills

2021
Asynchronous
• Speaking • Speaking
• Writing • Writing
• Listening • Listening
• Reading • Reading

2021
Synchronous Speaking
SYNCHRONUS TECHNIQUES BENEFITS
• Live Presentations • ID student and monitor

• In-class exercises • Immediate feedback
• Q&A • Ability to record and cite specific details
• Daily dialogue with students • Students know you’re attending to them
• Reading out loud • Emotional connection
• Voice to text

23
Speaking speech to text 2021
• Students are given a preset

dialogue
• Students read the dialogue
into Google Docs
• Speech-to-Text records
their speech
• OPTION: screen record
2021
Asynchronous Speaking
ASYNCHRONUS TECHNIQUES BENEFITS
• Recorded Presentations • Delayed reflection on feedback

Options to correct and revise (Ene & Upton, 2018; Hrastinski 2008, )
• Take home speaking exercises • Chance to improve
Reading out loud • Cloud portfolio to track/assess (evidence)
Build oral portfolio
Options to correct and revise
• Voicethread – oral responses
• Video journaling
• Voice to text (as homework – Google Docs w record)
25
Pronunciation
Speaking
monologues 2021
• Teachers can highlight mistakes

as feedback
• Rerecord for improvement
-Limit # of times
-Audio vs video
26
Pronunciation
Speaking
monologues 2021
• Set script with key words

• Can be rerecorded
• ttsmp3.com
• Male and female voices
• Teachers can highlight mistakes
as feedback
Speaking Voicethread 2021
• Can be done any time

• Can be rerecorded
• Can respond to peers
- community
• Stored on Voicethread
cloud
2021
Synchronous Writing
• Google Docs • Watch as they write

• Live Chats/ discussion student groups. • Post comments immediately
- Mandate Google Hangouts or similar
- Force mute students on Zoom
• Peer review/editing
• Cross-class groups
• Peer commentary
• Short answer questions (comprehension?)
- not full essays or long passages
• Emotional connection/Engaged
• In-class Reflections (discussion board)

Peer editing 2021
(in-class)
• Peer editing
• Community
- help get a higher mark
• Color coding
• Focus on topic of the day

2021
Asynchronous Writing

• Essays • Allows time to gather and process information
- Better for planning and drafts - Less pressure to perform
- Staged and posted on Google Docs - Students must think through comments w/o clarification
(Ene & Upton 2018)
• Reflections
• Further encodes/reinforces learning
• Q&A
• Integrate new info over time
• Google Translate
- but, can compare to live writing
- Google docs (Version History)
Synch vs Asynch: the ESL Dilemma - Google Draftback 31
In/direct Feedback 2021
• Direct feedback
- For lower levels
• Indirect feedback as
prelude to f2f chat
- for higher levels
(Shintani & Aubrey, 2016) 32

2021
• Chrome extension
• time-lapse
• With graph
• Works with version history
(Shintani & Aubrey, 2016) 33

2021
Synchronous Listening
• MC: identify the word you just said on Kahoot • Linking sound with Spelling
- Immediate feedback
- Minimal pairs
- Community competition
• Group notes for marks • Students can be separated by ability

• Breakout rooms w English only
• Pair with paraphrased short reading/audio to ID similarities
Answers require deduction • Analysis/Critical thinking skills
Answers require paraphrase
Repetition not accepted
Definition/explanation, not examples 34
Min-pair Kahoot 2021
Listen to the word your teacher

is saying
• Competitive
• Mobile friendly
• Immediate
disk desk
• Focus on specific
vocabulary dask dusk
• Emphasis on sentence level
Communal
Notetaking 2021
• Teacher controls audio

• Students listen
• After lecture
- 5 min to collaborate (breakout)
- Engl only language
• Simulates university env.
2021
Asynchronous Listening
• Prerecorded speeches/lectures from student • Linking sound with Spelling
- ID mispronunciations
• Detailed Note taking instructor video/lectures - Self-check/attend to own pron based on instr feedback
Audio only for listening skills (Snagit) - Check pron vs. Dictionary.com => Immediate feedback
Chunk info into max 20min
• Short answer questions (comprehension?) • Identifying main Ideas

- MC questions w. lecture -Isolate listening from visual
- Audio only -Measurable micro-goals (progress)
- Audio + video
- ‘guided’ note taking questions • Critical thinking skills
- picture vs audio description (same/diff) -slow/reflective
- Homework
Stripped videos/
Audio Only 2021
https://online-audio-converter.com
• Removes the issue of subtitles
• Can’t copy the visuals
• Minimizes transcripts

2021
Synchronous Reading

• Quotes/sentences/paragraphs/blogs, not full articles • Linking spelling with sound*
- Different passages for different groups - Immediate feedback
- Compare, contrast - Focus on key words/grammar
• Analysis/Critical thinking skills

• Short answer questions
- in-class discussion
- Find support/references in text • Immediately check comprehension
• Info search: skim/scan (Ctrl F) • Compare ideas w peers

Timed reading
for main ideas
2021
• Key idea/key word chart

• Short story
• Skim/scan skills
• Allow for collaboration w peers
- Guided ?s from teacher
• Fables => main ideas
• Summary skills
2021
Asynchronous Reading
• Essays • Linking spelling with sound* <-Requires feedback

• Short answer questions (comprehension?) - ttsMP3.com - free text reader
- homework • Grammar
• Reflections -Rhetorical Style by genre
• Info search: skim/scan (Ctrl F) • Analysis/Critical thinking skills
• Vocabulary building
- Find 3 words/phrases with similar meanings in
text
• Notes
Find a matching quote
2021
"I learned a lot about Covid, I learned it by really going to school,.. This is
the real school. This isn't the 'let's read the books school,' and I get it, and
I understand it, and it's a very interesting thing." - President D. Trump
• Students are provided with 1

exemplar quote
• Must scan through a 2nd text
to find a matching idea
• Can be used with
examples/synonyms
• Paraphrase/crit. think skills
2021
Do you see your delivery shifting to incorporate more synch/asynch?

Which of these solutions excites you the most? 43
2021
Choosing the right assignment for the right bandwidth

2021
Immediacy
• Volume of data • Linked to synchroneity
• Speed of data transfer • Speed of connection/feedback
• 720p x 10 min = 40MB - ping
- Streamed lecture • Processing power of device
- Downloaded lecture

BANDWIDTH
IMMEDIACY 20XX
MATRIX
Where do the
skills fit?
(Stanford, 2020) 46
BANDWIDTH
IMMEDIACY 2021
MATRIX High Bandwidth
High Immediacy
Skills
Speaking
Listening
Engagement & Community
(Stanford, 2020) 47
BANDWIDTH
IMMEDIACY 2021
MATRIX High Bandwidth
Low Immediacy
Skills
Listening
Speaking (recorded)
Reading (on presentations)
Reflection
(Stanford, 2020) 48
BANDWIDTH
IMMEDIACY 2021
MATRIX
Low Immediacy
Skills
Reading
Writing
Speaking* (Voice2text)
Reflection
Low Bandwidth
(Stanford, 2020) 49
BANDWIDTH
IMMEDIACY 2021
MATRIX
High Immediacy
Skills
Reading
Writing
Speaking* (Voice2text)
Engagement
Low Bandwidth
(Stanford, 2020) 50
2021
We have the technology… wait, what do you mean we don’t have the technology?
2021
Storage
• What you can assign • Attachment size
• Inbox size
• What students can submit
• File storage
• Devices necessary • Does your LMS dropbox accept these files?
• Skills necessary • Marking time
• Learning new programs • Remarking time
• Turnaround time (immediacy)
• Commenting time
2021
So now what do I do?

Storage 2021
• Review your course • What are you lacking?

• Engagement/community/feedback/reflection?
• Look at your skills • What are you assessing?

• Does it need a synch/asynch component?
• Can it be done/adapted online?
• Look at your bandwidth • Can your institute handle it?

• Can your students handle it?
• Could a low bandwidth assessment work in place of it?
• Can your institute handle it?

• Look at your tech limits
• Can your students handle it?

2021
THANK YOU!
trevorlaughlin@trentu.ca / trevorlaughlin@yahoo.com
available for individual/ course consultancy
Akyol, Z., Garrison, D.R., & Ozden, M.Y. (2009) Online and Blended Communities of Inquiry: Exploring the Developmental and Perceptional. International
Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. 10 (6) http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/765/1463
2021
Ene, E & Upton, T. (2018) Synchronous and asynchronous teacher electronic feedback and learner uptake in ESL
composition. Journal of Second Language Writing. 41. p1–13
Gomez, C., Kalata. N., Singh, I., & Loiero J (24 March 2020) International students feeling isolated and financially
strapped as they wait out pandemic. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/covid-international-students-universities-pandemic-1.5505222
Hrastinski, S. (2008, November 17) Asynchronous and Synchronous E-Learning. Educause .

https://er.educause.edu/articles/2008/11/asynchronous-and-synchronous-elearning
Shintani, N. & Aubrey, S. (2016) The Effectiveness of Synchronous and Asynchronous Written Corrective Feedback on Grammatical Accuracy in a
Computer-Mediated Environment. The Modern Language Journal. 100. (1). pp. 296-319
Stanford, D. (2020, March 16) Videoconferencing Alternatives: How Low-Bandwidth Teaching Will Save Us All. iddblog
https://www.iddblog.org/videoconferencing-alternatives-how-low-bandwidth-teaching-will-save-us-all/
trevorlaughlin@trentu.ca / trevorlaughlin@yahoo.com

Synchronous Vs Asynchonrous Comparison For eSL

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2021

• Coming from a pre-university EAP/ESL perspective

Synch vs Asynch: the ESL Dilemma 2

• The Skills We Teach

Synch vs Asynch: the ESL Dilemma 3

Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening

The skills we teach

Productive Skills Receptive Skills

Synch vs Asynch: the ESL Dilemma 5

The productive skills we teach: Speaking

• Clarity (of speech) • Presentations

Synch vs Asynch: the ESL Dilemma

The productive skills we teach: Writing

• Grammar • Spelling tests

Synch vs Asynch: the ESL Dilemma 7

The receptive skills we teach: Listening

• Linking sound with Spelling • Minimal pairs

Synch vs Asynch: the ESL Dilemma 8

The receptive skills we teach: Reading

Synch vs Asynch: the ESL Dilemma 9

Features of Synchronous Delivery

• More motivational than asynch • Seen as less isolating

(in Hrastinski, 2008) 11

Features of Synchronous Delivery

Collaboration …and Community

• Takes less time to communicate/dialogue

Features of Asynchronous Delivery

• Time to absorb info • At one’s own pace

(in Hrastinski, 2008) 14

Synch vs Asynch: the ESL Dilemma 15

Synch vs Asynch: the ESL Dilemma 16

Synch vs Asynch: the ESL Dilemma 17

DISCUSS: What is your class’ biggest problem?

Synchronous or Asynchronous: What is best for my class?

• Motivational component • Reflective

• Observe/assess through productive skills

Synch vs Asynch: the ESL Dilemma 21

Synch vs Asynch: the ESL Dilemma 22

SYNCHRONUS TECHNIQUES BENEFITS

• Live Presentations • ID student and monitor

Synch vs Asynch: the ESL Dilemma

• Students are given a preset

ASYNCHRONUS TECHNIQUES BENEFITS

• Recorded Presentations • Delayed reflection on feedback

• Teachers can highlight mistakes

• Set script with key words

• Can be done any time

SYNCHRONUS TECHNIQUES BENEFITS

• Google Docs • Watch as they write

Synch vs Asynch: the ESL Dilemma 29

Synch vs Asynch: the ESL Dilemma 30

ASYNCHRONUS TECHNIQUES BENEFITS

(Shintani & Aubrey, 2016) 32

(Shintani & Aubrey, 2016) 33

SYNCHRONUS TECHNIQUES BENEFITS

• Group notes for marks • Students can be separated by ability

Listen to the word your teacher

• Teacher controls audio

• Short answer questions (comprehension?) • Identifying main Ideas

Synch vs Asynch: the ESL Dilemma 38

SYNCHRONUS TECHNIQUES BENEFITS

• Analysis/Critical thinking skills