This paper introduces an open learner model approach to learning analytics to combine the variety of data available from the range of applications and technologies in language learning, for visualisation of language learning competences to learners and teachers in the European language context. Specific examples are provided as illustrations (Facebook, Second Life and mobile assisted language learning (MALL)), though the approach is a general one. We describe the Next-TELL open learner model as an exemplar that can encompass a range of data from a variety of technologies and activities, and as a competence-focussed visual analytics tool that can be readily used inside and outside the classroom.

The Next-TELL open learner model offers several visualisations for learners and teachers to explore the learner’s current competences, which can be selected according to user preferences or the purpose of viewing the learning data. The selection of visualisations means that the open learner model is appropriate for school, university and other learning contexts. Viewing this data can help students to reflect on and monitor their learning, and can support teachers’ decision-making during classroom activities or later, in their planning of subsequent sessions. As an example, we outline the use of the Next-TELL open learner model in a school in Norway.

This paper discusses the design and implementation of a task-oriented collaborative learning (and training) experimental project that was carried out with future language teachers. More specifically, a class of sixteen French students enrolled in a Masters of Education course were asked to create multimedia resources for a group of Australian students with no prior knowledge of French. This paper deals only with issues concerning French students’ multimedia creations, not with the second phase of interactions with the Australian target group. The theoretical background is situated and collaborative learning and training: the French students worked in pairs, creating multimedia activities based on their culture for real students in a different location. They communicated with each other during weekly classes and via a groupware tool. A triangulated data method was used incorporating the students’ multimedia outcome, questionnaires and semi-directive interviews. The following issues are discussed: what is the effect of such situated learning settings on motivation, commitment and computer literacy? What image did the French students have of the Australian students and which cultural aspects did they try to convey?

The use of videoconferencing technology to support the delivery of language programs shows great potential in regional and rural settings where a lack of access to specialist teachers limits equitable access to education. In this article, we investigate the establishment of two regional and rural primary school networks in Australia for videoconferenced language learning. Adopting a perspective taken from the discipline of information systems called structuration theory, we examine how the technology they use both changes and is changed by its use in language learning, and how schools and teachers take control of technology and adapt their educational approaches. Case studies were carried out on the two networks using multiple data sources, including interviews and observation of language classes. The findings reveal that even with the same conceptual foundations and aims, divergent models of practice emerge as sustainable adaptations to localised factors. These differences are shaped by, among other things, an interplay between the quality of infrastructure, prior knowledge, and the “material properties” of the technology, including its functions, limits, and deployment in physical space. A closer look at these practices illustrates limitations and possibilities specifically for language education, but also more broadly illustrates how the success of these videoconferencing initiatives are influenced by a nuanced combination of social, educational, and technological factors.

Though we often speak of the development of CALL as an academic discipline and its growth as a field of inquiry, little evidence has to date been gathered to prove it. This descriptive study investigates the current state of and changes in CALL research output and its characteristics such as theoretical foundation, method of evidence gathering, and reporting standards. It is based on a numerical analysis of 91 research articles published in 1980–2000 in seven English language journals. CALL emerges from this study as a fast developing area of research, which draws on an increasingly diverse body of theory and methods from a number of cognate disciplines. CALL researchers are increasingly more confident about their research, as reflected in the high level of generalization present in the examined sample. This is not however matched by proper attention given in their reports to research credibility issues.

This paper discusses the role of authenticity and authenticity claims in computer assisted language learning (CALL). It considers authenticity as the result of a social negotiation process rather than an innate feature of a text, object, person, or activity. From this basis, it argues that authenticity claims play an important role in both second language acquisition (SLA) and CALL, being utilized to support the legitimacy of an approach or discipline more generally, as well as in defending a specific didactic design, especially with regard to transfer and motivation. The paper distinguishes between three domains of authenticity claims essential to CALL contexts: authenticity through language (linguistic authenticity), authenticity through origin (cultural authenticity), and authenticity through daily life experiences (functional authenticity). It points out problematic aspects of engaging in authenticity claims and argues that a reflexive stance might be useful in questioning the role of authenticity claims in CALL theory and practice.

In recent years, the number of studies investigating the effectiveness of using digital games for incidental second language (L2) vocabulary learning has been rapidly increasing; however, there is still a lack of research identifying the factors that affect incidental L2 vocabulary learning. Hence, the current study examined vocabulary-related (word level, exposure frequency, salience) and learner-related (language proficiency, interest, viewing captions) variables and investigated factors affecting EFL students’ incidental vocabulary learning in the use of a vernacular (noneducational) murder mystery game (N = 59). The study employed a quantitative research method and descriptive and inferential statistics (repeated measures ANOVA and multiple linear regression). The results showed that playing the game greatly facilitated L2 vocabulary acquisition and retention. Among the vocabulary-related variables, the study found that only salience significantly influenced vocabulary acquisition. Regarding the learner-related variables, the students’ interest and viewing captions were positively related to vocabulary learning, whereas their language proficiency levels were negatively correlated. The study found that the students’ conscious attention, in conjunction with salience of the word, was the main facilitating factor in incidental vocabulary acquisition and retention in the game-enhanced language learning environment. The study suggested pedagogical implications for incidental vocabulary learning through game play based on the results of the study.

This paper focuses on the divide at the classroom level in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) that is centered on how those who have technology use it in the pursuit of effective language teaching and learning. This divide is the result in part of the current emphasis on emerging technologies in the CALL literature and in CALL language teacher development that seems to indicate that good CALL activities and lessons can only be carried out with the use of advanced and cutting-edge technologies. The aim of this paper is twofold: (a) to argue that optimal language learning activities can be supported by the use of ‘limited’ technologies, and (b) to present a framework for developing language learning tasks in limited technology contexts. We do not suggest ways to bridge the digital divide that exists between technology haves and have-nots. Instead, we focus on ways to provide effective language learning experiences in CALL classrooms regardless of the technologies available. In doing so, we propose ways to work around the divide created by the overemphasis on new technologies. We suggest that rather than lamenting the fact that our tools are not the latest and greatest, we must pay attention to using the tools at hand to students’ best advantage while we look for ways to obtain additional resources. We must also consider and collaborate with educators who have accepted the position that the use of limited technology cannot be effective in supporting student learning or who do not know how to use their technology to present students with effective opportunities. By addressing these issues in the literature and other forums, the digital divide in CALL classrooms between good technology use and poor technology use can be bridged to the benefit of all.

This paper illustrates how a freely available online corpus has been exploited in a module on teaching business letters covering the following four speech acts (functions) commonly found in business letters: invitations, requests, complaints and refusals. It is proposed that different strategies are required for teaching potentially non-face-threatening (invitations, requests) and face-threatening (complaints, refusals) speech acts.

The hands-on pedagogic activities follow the ‘guided inductive approach’ advocated by Johansson (2009) and draw on practices and strategies covered in the literature on using corpora in language learning and teaching, viz. the need for ‘pedagogic mediation’, and the ‘noticing’ hypothesis from second language acquisition studies.

Virtual exchange (VE) is an ideal venue for digital literacy skills development (Fuchs, Hauck & Müller-Hartmann, 2012) and for critical digital literacy (CDL) (Hauck, 2019). Yet literacy is a fluid, deictic term, the meaning of which is context dependent, and digital literacies need to be defined and conceptualised within a specific context. Recent CALL literature highlights the interest in CDL from various perspectives, but how CDL is conceptualised by the VE participants themselves is not explored. Participants of this study were 37 trainee English language teachers in the UK and Turkey who joined a 6-week VE. Their ongoing reflections on CDL were captured through reflective e-portfolio entries following each VE task. Thematic analysis revealed four components of CDL in this specific VE: (1) participants’ awareness of digital affordances for self-expression, (2) semiotic and interactional means to build connections, (3) ensuring inclusiveness of all community members, and (4) implications of socio-political contexts of each participant for meaning-making and interaction. We conclude that in future pedagogical implementations of VE, facilitators can foster trainee teachers’ CDL development through more closely guided and informed reflection on the four themes presented in this paper. As such, this study makes a novel contribution to our understanding of CDL in VE settings for ELT teacher education by offering a social semiotic second language acquisition orientation within an interpretivist paradigm.

This article reports on findings regarding the learning strategies used by a group of Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners in a mobile-technology-assisted environment. The research design is a context-specific case study using Dörnyei’s (2005) categories of learning strategies as the conceptual and analytical framework to guide data collection and analysis. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a questionnaire from a sample of 75 Chinese EFL learners and a small-scale follow-up interview of five participants who completed the questionnaire. Data showed that a mobile-technology-assisted environment effected changes in Chinese EFL learners’ ways of adopting a particular set of learning strategies, which differed in type and frequency from those typical of a teacher-led and examination-oriented language classroom. Metacognitive and commitment control strategies were most frequently used by the respondents in this study. The frequency of student use of metacognitive strategies moved ahead of commitment and environmental control strategies. Satiation and emotion control strategies, rarely used by Chinese students in a teacher-fronted language classroom, were also observable. These findings have implications for the understanding and designing of mobile-technology-assisted learning for EFL learners to develop appropriate strategies for autonomous learning.

This study was carried out in a language centre, in French higher education. Teachers and researchers had contrived a pedagogical system labeled guided autonomy which combined class attendance in groups and self-study in the self-study room. This kind of autonomous and technologically enhanced learning system will be referred to as CAALL (Computer Assisted Autonomous Language Learning) in this paper. To investigate and reflect critically on the students’ practices in CAALL, it was decided to carry out an extensive triangular study, cross-checking different data (Raby, 2003, 2005). The data pertained to what students did (physical behaviors while working), and to how they felt about it (verbal behaviors in the form of journals). Six students volunteered to take part in that experience. They were observed six times consecutively while working autonomously. In addition, we analyzed the journals in which they wrote about their feelings in connection with the CAALL system. From the students’ observations, three strategic models emerged (epistemic, procedural and mixed). From the journal analyses, different motivational attitudes appeared, ranging from enthusiastic appraisal to stark rejection. One unexpected result yielded by the triangular approach was the importance of internal factors (the learners’ characteristics) versus external factors (the learners' environment) in the process of appropriation of the new learning system.

In a previous study (Sarré, Grosbois & Brudermann, 2019), we explored the effects of various corrective feedback (CF) strategies on interlanguage development for the online component of a blended English as a foreign language (EFL) course we had designed and implemented. Our results showed that unfocused indirect CF (feedback on all error types through the provision of metalinguistic comments on the nature of the errors made) combined with extra computer-mediated micro-tasks was the most efficient CF type to foster writing accuracy development in our context. Following up on this study, this paper further explores the effects of this specific CF type on learners’ written accuracy development in an online EFL course designed for freshmen STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) students. In the online course under study, this specific CF type was experimented with different cohorts of STEM learners (N = 1,150) over a five-year period (from 2014 to 2019) and was computer-assisted: CF provision online by a human tutor was combined with predetermined CF comments. The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of this specific CF strategy on error types. In this respect, the data yield encouraging results in terms of writing accuracy development when learners benefit from this computer-assisted specific CF. This study thus helps to gain a better understanding of the role that CF plays in shaping students’ revision processes and could inform language (teacher) education regarding the use of digital tools for the development of foreign language accuracy and the issues related to online CF provision.

Drawing upon research on narrative and speech styles and on digital and multimodal communication, the author proposes multimodal narrative discourse analysis (MNDA) with associated pedagogical and analytical procedures to teach and study storytelling. The second language (L2) students first participated in multimodal narrative simulations in the virtual world of Second Life. The university students then presented, evaluated, and revised stories in both face-to-face and digital contexts through multiple modalities and technologies. MNDA further provided tools and methods for analyzing the students’ discursive processes and agentive experiences of L2 storytelling. The results of MNDA showed that the proper use of narrative elements, discourse structures, and stylistic devices, as well as bodily, visual, and video resources, assisted the students in developing multimodal designs and storytelling styles. This technology-mediated discourse approach to L2 storytelling suggests the importance of teaching and researching broader narrative contexts and activities other than simply elocution in multimodal communicative activities.

This study aims at exploring the effectiveness of using an online-based course on the learning of sentence types inductively and deductively. To achieve this purpose, a computer-mediated course was designed. The sample of the study consists of four groups taught under four treatments of grammar: (1) with computer-based learning inductively, (2) with computer-based learning deductively, (3) with non-computer-based learning inductively, and (4) with non-computer-based learning deductively. A pre-test/post-test design (between-subject) is used to investigate the effect of two factors: method (computer-based learning vs. non-computer-based learning) and technique (induction vs. deduction) on the students’ learning of sentence types. The results reveal a new manner of enhancing grammar learning based on the level of language structure complexity. The computer-based learning method is found to be functional for more complex and elaborate structures, like the complex sentence and compound complex sentence, and more complicated grammar structures need to be taught by means of the deductive technique. None of the inductive and deductive techniques is reported to be more practical with simple grammar structures such as the simple sentence and compound sentence.

This study reports on the integration of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) multimedia courseware for oral presentations into a self-learning and elective program for non-English major students in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) setting. A computer-aided instruction approach, combined with a task-based learning approach, was adopted. Computers played a central role as the means of information delivery. The courseware acted as a silent partner and played the role of a tutor and adjunct teacher to provide students with authentic materials for learning to give English oral presentations in international business and technical settings. It offered a variety of learning activities with instant on-line self-evaluation for students to practice integrative language skills and learn content knowledge. Evaluation of student performance was based upon data from pre- and post-tasks, student questionnaires about concerns, and an open-ended questionnaire. After active participation and self-learning, most of the non-English major students clearly indicated they had made some improvement or progress and felt their learning effectiveness for preparing speech texts was significantly improved. In addition, they had become more concerned about their English ability and the ESP courseware was able to meet their need for greater linguistic support to enhance their language ability.

Although it has been suggested that automated writing evaluation (AWE) can liberate teachers’ time to focus more on higher-order concerns as it can take care of lower-order concerns, AWE’s impact on teachers’ feedback practice is underexplored. Additionally, scant literature exists on teachers’ perception of AWE when they use it to complement their feedback. This study explored how Grammarly shaped postsecondary L2 writing teachers’ feedback when it was used to complement teacher feedback as well as teachers’ perceptions of the tool. To understand Grammarly’s impact, teachers’ comments on 10 essays were analyzed. The teachers then had a semi-structured interview aimed at exploring their perceptions of Grammarly. The findings showed that teachers provided feedback both on global and local aspects of writing despite using Grammarly as a complement, and there was no division of labor such as that a teacher takes care of higher-order and Grammarly takes care of lower-order concerns. The findings also revealed factors that impacted teachers’ feedback, including teachers’ use of Grammarly reports, their attitudes toward automated feedback, as well as their beliefs about feedback and course objectives. Overall, of the six teachers, four were positive about Grammarly, while two were skeptical. The study provides implications on how to use Grammarly meaningfully as a complement to teacher feedback.

Research has called into question the suitability of fully-online instruction for certain teacher preparation courses. Methodology coursework, in particular, has been singled out in research as ill-suited to online instruction. Recent research, for example, involving second language (L2) teacher candidates has demonstrated that aspiring teachers who completed online methodology instruction were less confident in their abilities to teach L2 learners than their counterparts who completed the same instruction in a face-to-face (F2F) setting. To address the limitations of online instruction, while still incorporating its associated strengths, the development and implementation of hybridized methodology coursework have been proposed. Following this recommendation, the researchers developed and implemented hybridized L2 methodology courses that mirrored their pre-existing online and F2F equivalents. Using a mixed methodology, the researchers then conducted a three-way comparison of instructional delivery modes (online, F2F, hybrid) to investigate their impact on L2 teacher candidate self-efficacy. Although the results demonstrated that all three modes of instruction can be equally effective at increasing candidate confidence, they also highlighted the potential of hybridized instruction to address the limitations of online and F2F instruction, while still including their strengths. The findings also emphasized that simply viewing or participating in live demonstrations of teaching strategies in post-secondary methodology courses is not sufficient. To feel confident in their teaching abilities, teacher candidates need opportunities in their coursework to apply what they have learned in K-12 classrooms. Offering numerous research-based suggestions to improve the design of hybridized methodology courses, the study also serves to inform the development of future hybridized methodology coursework.

There has been much enthusiasm shown in the literature about Native Speaker-Nonnative Speaker (NS-NNS) e-mail interactions, associating them with increased motivation and participation and reduced anxiety (Beauvois & Eledge, 1996; Leh, 1997; Aitsiselmi, 1999). Recent research has now also begun to link these interactions with increases in L2 proficiency (Floréz-Estrada, 1995; Stockwell & Harrington, 2003). As some studies have suggested that L2 learners should reach a certain number of e-mail interactions in order for benefits to accrue (Lamy & Goodfellow, 1999; Stockwell & Harrington, 2003), researchers have started to turn their attention towards what factors play a role in helping to facilitate longer interactions. One factor that appears to be important in sustaining longer conversation sequences is the topics discussed during the interactions (Stockwell & Levy, 2001). While Lamy & Goodfellow (1999) investigated the topic threads during on-line discussions with multiple participants, threads in NS-NNS paired interactions through e-mail remain largely unexplored. Thus, in this study, 48 learners of Japanese involved in e-mail interactions with native speakers were investigated to determine what features of topic threads contributed to sustaining interactions. The end-of-thread messages (i.e., those messages which were the last message in a conversation thread) were examined in terms of whether or not a reply was invited, and those messages for which a reply was invited were further analysed to determine why a reply was not received. The paper concludes with suggestions for how conversation threads may be sustained, and some directions for future research.

Intercultural competence has acquired an important role in the foreign language classroom. However, we must also come to terms with assessing this highly complex construct if we consider it as a superordinate learning objective. Therefore the components of intercultural communicative competence that go beyond knowledge, especially attitudes, deserve closer attention. On the basis of Byram’s (1997) model of Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC), an attempt has been made to trace the development of attitudes as part of ICC in computer-mediated intercultural communication. Data was drawn from three e-mail projects that took place between 2001 and 2002. Three different upper-secondary classes at a vocational school in Mainz, Germany (n=64) exchanged e-mails with two groups of US-American undergraduate students in Ohio (n=57) and one group of undergraduate students of English from Tokyo (n=30). Preliminary findings from a telecollaborative seminar with US-American undergraduate teacher students at a German teacher training institution were used to support the data. The main question addressed in the paper is whether attitudinal components of ICC can be measured quantitatively in telecollaborative environments. To do this, specifications and implementation of learning objectives for attitudes as put forward by Byram (1997) are applied to different instruments within the framework of the e-mail projects, including a triangulation of instruments. Instruments include e-mails, critical incidents, essays and interaction journals. When data was ambiguous or incomplete, follow-up interviews were conducted with pupils. Results of the study suggest that it is not possible to measure attitudes with the instruments described, but that they can help teachers to describe evidences of attitudes in interaction and trace developments to provide a basis for feedback.

English language learning (ELL) websites and digital resources have been recognized as an important source of linguistic and cultural knowledge for English as a foreign language (EFL) learners to explore. The up-to-date information carried by authentic materials is invaluable for learners to develop an understanding of the target language/culture. However, there appears to be a gap between what the designer intends and what the user wants. This paper investigates Chinese university EFL teachers’ perceptions of online English language websites and resources. The study focuses on a number of components of major language areas and skills in ELL websites, website materials, language users’ preferences, and website usability. A total of 1519 English academics from 139 universities across China completed the online survey, and 164 of them voluntarily participated in focus group interviews anonymously.

The empirical evidence of this study has highlighted that a pedagogically-oriented ELL website, targeting audiences with a variety of language proficiencies, was much liked by the Chinese EFL teachers. A preference was observed to see more current authentic language, examination-oriented English learning materials and tasks, and Eastern/non-Anglophone topics in the websites. In addition, it is found that website usability is another key factor that would impact ELL website popularity. A well-designed ELL website can effectively assist Chinese EFL learners to enhance their language competence and achieve optimal learning outcomes. This study provides a context-specific empirical base for innovative web-based EFL learning and teaching as well as website design and materials development in China. The proposed key features of a preferred ELL website may help better inform website designers, content writers and evaluators in their ELL website design/evaluation.