Showing papers in "Computer Assisted Language Learning in 2012"
TL;DR: This article presents the actions taken in the NIFLAR project to enhance students' motivation and the effect VC sessions have on motivation, as measured by pre-, mid-, and post-questionnaires participants filled in prior and after virtual interaction sessions.
Abstract: One of the main objectives of the European Networked Interaction in Foreign Language Acquisition and Research (NIFLAR) project is to make foreign language learning and teaching processes more relevant and rewarding for reaching intercultural communicative competence. This is realized by offering foreign language learners and pre-service teachers opportunities to engage in meaningful interaction with each other through video-web communication (VC), according to the requirements set by relevant interaction tasks. In this article, we present the actions taken in the project to enhance students' motivation and the effect VC sessions have on motivation, as measured by pre-, mid-, and post-questionnaires participants filled in prior and after virtual interaction sessions. Significant effects were found particularly for beginner level students on those dimensions measuring aspects related to willingness to interact with native speakers.
101 citations
TL;DR: It is argued, as supported in the previous literature of various educational contexts, that sound pedagogy with appropriate tasks, instead of 3D virtual world software alone, guides SL applications in the multi-member community advancing toward language learning objectives or sense-making in student learning.
Abstract: Various language learning projects using Second Life (SL) have been documented; still, their specific learning potentials, particularly in English as a foreign language (EFL) context, remain to be explored. The current study aims to add one piece of empirical evidence on how SL can be infused into a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) course for 25 college students through task design in a limited Internet connection context. Four tasks – orientation of SL and chatting, pedagogical activities, peer review, and an SL tour – were designed with their influence examined. Although students' frustration about the unstable Internet connection was shown from responses of an evaluation questionnaire, they confirmed the benefits of using SL for English learning and teaching. SL provides affordances of interaction and immersion, which are conducive to their English learning, and SL can easily establish an authentic environment for communication. It is argued, as supported in the previous literature of various...
83 citations
TL;DR: Analysis of interview data reveals that students were motivated to focus on sentence complexity and variety and engaged in the autonomous learning of vocabulary in an effort to communicate information they perceived to be important.
Abstract: The majority of writing tasks assigned to second language (L2) learners tend to target an abstract audience and the writing generated is not meant for real or meaningful purposes. The emergence of Web 2.0 concepts has created a potential educational environment where students have access to a widely distributed, authentic audience with a simple click of the mouse. This study examines the impact that targeting an authentic audience within a task-based, computer-mediated environment may have on L2 learner motivation toward English as a second language (ESL) writing. Student perceptions on progress in writing and on motivation to improve their writing were assessed through a semi-structured interview, triangulated with student web-based project work and participant observation. Analysis of interview data reveals that students were motivated to focus on sentence complexity and variety and engaged in the autonomous learning of vocabulary in an effort to communicate information they perceived to be important. T...
68 citations
TL;DR: It is concluded that EFL professionals make judicious use of e-portfolio assessments to balance classroom assessments and to facilitate the learning of content knowledge.
Abstract: Washback refers to both positive and negative influences of testing on teaching and learning. While washback studies abound in the literature, most of them deal with high-stakes, standardized tests or large-scale entrance examinations. Scant efforts have been made to uncover washback effects in alternative assessments. This study implemented an e-portfolio project as an alternative assessment technique in a language teacher preparation content course and explored the positive and negative washback effects that e-portfolio assessments produced on learning. Eighteen English as a Foreign Language (EFL) student teachers in a graduate course of a Master's program in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages participated in this assessment project. Data were collected through multiple instruments, including interviews, observations, document analysis, and reflective journals. The findings suggest that e-portfolio assessments generate positive washback effects on learning, including building a community of...
58 citations
TL;DR: The design and management of an online learning space for a face-to-face undergraduate Spanish course using proprietary technology is discussed, focusing on specific features and designs for online learning interactions.
Abstract: Technology enhanced learning (TEL) has shaped the way we teach and learn nowadays. Web 2.0 interactivity capacities have played a major role in providing a virtual space where learning can take place outside the classroom. Digital environments challenge the traditional educational establishment by blurring theboundaries between the recipient of knowledge and the knowledge provider. Noticeable changes in educational dynamics emergent through the use of technology affect teachers and learners alike. Despite strong government and institutional drivers to adopt TEL strategies in higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United Kingdom (UK), practitioners’ adoption of TEL needs to be encouraged and their competence needs to be developed. This report aims to address this concern by discussing design and management of an online learning space for a face-to-face undergraduate Spanish course using proprietary technology. Focusing on specific features and designs for online learning interactions, the report will ...
53 citations
TL;DR: Investigation of the on-screen reading behaviors of five English-as-a-second-language graduate students in different academic disciplines showed that students had low preference and tendency toward reading texts that required careful reading on a computer screen, and most students chose online articles when searching for references.
Abstract: Undoubtedly, new areas of functionality for electronic texts will come to the fore and create new reading habits and expectations for dealing and interacting with text as electronic texts become dominant in the academic world. These new forms of reading will gradually become as natural as the different activities readers now take for granted, such as searching an online catalog or browsing the web. However, little research has concerned what and how graduate students actually read on a computer screen. This study, therefore, investigated the on-screen reading behaviors of five English-as-a-second-language graduate students in different academic disciplines. The results showed that students had low preference and tendency toward reading texts that required careful reading on a computer screen because they believed that reading screen-based texts limited their use of strategies. However, most students chose online articles when searching for references. In addition, students' on-screen reading behaviors wer...
51 citations
TL;DR: The rationale for pedagogical, technological and organisational choices in the design of a virtual learning environment (VLE) for an upper-intermediate Spanish course with regard to the roles of participants (tutors, moderators and learners) is described.
Abstract: This article describes the rationale for pedagogical, technological and organisational choices in the design of a virtual learning environment (VLE) for an upper-intermediate Spanish course with regard to the roles of participants (tutors, moderators and learners). We report on findings from a preliminary evaluation of the interaction between the different actors and this space, using quantitative and qualitative data obtained from interviews, questionnaires and analysis of usage logs. We look at the tensions that emerge as tutors and learners adopt new roles and engage in new pedagogical relationships around the opportunities afforded by this kind of teaching and learning space. We argue that our attempt to promote interaction through our VLE model has resulted in a contested space where traditional hierarchies and relationships between tutors and learners are in a state of flux and where new hierarchies and relationships are constantly being forged. Finally we explore new ways in which tutors’ roles mig...
50 citations
TL;DR: This article discusses one experiment on estimating the important articulatory features from a speaker through acoustic-to-articulatory inversion and one user test with a virtual pronunciation teacher, in which the articulatory changes made by seven learners who receive audiovisual feedback are monitored using ultrasound imaging.
Abstract: Pronunciation errors may be caused by several different deviations from the target, such as voicing, intonation, insertions or deletions of segments, or that the articulators are placed incorrectly. Computer-animated pronunciation teachers could potentially provide important assistance on correcting all these types of deviations, but they have an additional benefit for articulatory errors. By making parts of the face transparent, they can show the correct position and shape of the tongue and provide audiovisual feedback on how to change erroneous articulations. Such a scenario however requires firstly that the learner's current articulation can be estimated with precision and secondly that the learner is able to imitate the articulatory changes suggested in the audiovisual feedback. This article discusses both these aspects, with one experiment on estimating the important articulatory features from a speaker through acoustic-to-articulatory inversion and one user test with a virtual pronunciation teacher,...
50 citations
TL;DR: The blended learning was effective in enhancing students' reading proficiency in the experimental group as shown in the semistructured interview for students' conceptions of blended learning, log files for their approaches to blendedLearning, and the post-test for the improvement of their reading outcomes.
Abstract: Most previous studies in blended learning simply involved on-site and online instruction without considering students' control of their own learning in these two different modalities. The purpose of this study was to investigate how college students with English reading difficulties integrate their conceptions of and approaches to blended learning for enhancing their reading proficiency. A sample of 108 students was recruited – 54 students were assigned to the experimental group with blended learning and another 54 students to the control group with on-site instruction only. Results of this study revealed that the blended learning was effective in enhancing students' reading proficiency in the experimental group as shown in the semistructured interview for students' conceptions of blended learning, log files for their approaches to blended learning, and the post-test for the improvement of their reading outcomes. From the new conceptions and approaches generated by students, three factors were identified ...
49 citations
TL;DR: During the last 30 years, 10 as editor of this journal, I have been a privileged witness of six important evolutions in the authors' field: from punch cards and floppy disks to mobile devices and ambient intelligence, and from textbook-based knowledge-driven lecturing to student-centered competence-oriented interaction.
Abstract: During the last 30 years, 10 as editor of this journal, I have been a privileged witness of six important evolutions in our field. The most obvious one is the technological evolution: from punch ca...
47 citations
TL;DR: The results clearly show the value of markers for negative feedback, signal the need for their explicitness, and call for an evolution of the Visu interface so that tutors can better negotiate the task of online tutoring and the pedagogical stance they have to take on in their interactions with the learners.
Abstract: This case study focuses on the feedback that is provided by tutors to learners in the course of synchronous online teaching. More specifically, we study how trainee tutors used the affordances of Visu, an experimental web videoconferencing system, to provide negative feedback. Visu features classical functionalities such as video and chat, and it also offers a unique marking tool that allows tutors to take time-coded notes during the online interactions for later pedagogical remediation. Our study shows that tutors mainly use verbal and chat feedback, with significant inter-individual variability, and that tutors who provide verbal feedback are more likely to use markers. Marking takes time because of the dual task that it entails for the tutor. Idiosyncratic strategies in the use of markers are evidenced. These results clearly show the value of markers for negative feedback, signal the need for their explicitness, and also call for an evolution of the Visu interface so that tutors can better negotiate th...
TL;DR: In this paper, a case study was conducted to ascertain different types of foreign language play in online role-playing in Second Life, and to describe how various sources of contextual support can explain this play.
Abstract: This article reports on an explorative case study which, in the first place, aimed to ascertain different types of foreign language play in online role-playing in Second Life, and which, secondly aimed to describe how various sources of contextual support can explain this foreign language play. Students’ written conversation was analyzed and further discussed in six vignettes based on a revised framework of form-based, semantic, and pragmatic play. This study discovered that students' collaborative and competitive role-playing creates and transforms languages and activities, such as puzzle solving, verbal dueling, word games, and ritual performances. As a pedagogic device, online role-playing games appear to facilitate foreign language play through appropriate use of environmental resources, virtual characters, hybrid codes, and collaborative activities.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined data from an online discussion forum involving a group of students from Malaysia and the Middle East, who are working toward master's degrees at a tertiary institution in Malaysia.
Abstract: Asynchronous communication by means of discussion forums plays an essential role in supporting collaborative learning. Online forums allow learners to ask questions, express their thoughts, share resources, and justify their opinions beyond the four walls of the classroom. Proponents of collaborative learning claim that this type of learning can lead to enhanced educational outcomes for students. This article examines data from an online discussion forum involving a group of students from Malaysia and the Middle East, who are working toward master's degrees at a tertiary institution in Malaysia. The purpose of the study is to understand how the students interact and collaborate in the process of learning topics that had previously been discussed in a face-to-face mode. The findings identify collaborative learning behavior among the students, including contributing, exploring, providing information, and giving feedback. Additional findings indicate that even with minimal intervention from the lecturer, the...
TL;DR: The computer-adaptive, individualized instruction provided by this vocabulary program addresses a need for efficiency in remediation of vocabulary deficits and whether improved vocabulary performance mediated by this computer assisted language learning (CALL) program might transfer to broader measures of vocabulary knowledge or reading comprehension.
Abstract: Vocabulary knowledge is of fundamental importance to reading comprehension, and many students lack the vocabulary knowledge necessary to facilitate learning to read A study was conducted to determine the effects of an individualized, online vocabulary program on picture vocabulary test scores Elementary summer school students (N = 43), entering grades 2–4, who scored poorly on a vocabulary pretest were randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions Students in the treatment condition received computer-delivered vocabulary instruction on a stratified sample of 100 words selected from 4000 of the most common words in written English Posttest scores on a picture vocabulary test showed that students in the treatment condition outperformed control students by more than one standard deviation The computer-adaptive, individualized instruction provided by this vocabulary program addresses a need for efficiency in remediation of vocabulary deficits Further study is planned to determine whether improved
TL;DR: It is suggested that factors (related to task design, learners' strategy use) generated by the three environments, rather than the environments themselves, have the biggest impact on learners' oral proficiency development.
Abstract: This study investigated the possibility that initial-level learners may acquire oral skills through synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC). Twelve Taiwanese French as a foreign language (FFL) students, divided into three groups, were required to conduct a variety of tasks in one of the three learning environments (video/audio, audio, and face-to-face (f2f)) over 18 weeks. The participants' performance in three oral tests was compared to see if they had developed oral skills in the three environments. The other data such as their online chat records, interview transcriptions, learning journals, and the instructor's observation journal provided further information about how they developed oral skills in their learning environment. The results suggested that factors (related to task design, learners' strategy use) generated by the three environments, rather than the environments themselves, have the biggest impact on learners' oral proficiency development. In addition, all three environments held...
TL;DR: This paper used an e-dictionary to help intermediate and advanced learners of Chinese to read an expository Chinese e-text and recall the text in English, and found that using the dictionary helped intermediate learners consolidate word meaning, learn new words and close the vocabulary knowledge gap between them and the advanced learners.
Abstract: This study focuses on the pedagogical outcomes connected with the use of an e-dictionary by intermediate and advanced learners of Chinese to aid in reading an expository Chinese e-text. Twenty intermediate and advanced participants read an e-text twice aided by an e-dictionary and wrote recalls of the text in English. In addition to low frequency words, intermediate students frequently looked up high and middle frequency words, whereas advanced participants did not have much difficulty with either high or middle frequency words. The e-dictionary helped intermediate participants consolidate word meaning, learn new words and close the vocabulary knowledge gap between them and advanced learners; in contrast, the e-dictionary afforded less reading development for the advanced group. As for reading comprehension, the e-dictionary enhanced reading comprehension of intermediate participants to a level comparable to advanced students. The low comprehension of advanced participants might partly have been caused by...
TL;DR: Evidence suggests that the videoconferenced interview was comparable to the face-to-face interview with respect to reliability, construct validity, authenticity, interactiveness, impact, and practicality.
Abstract: Videoconferencing offers new opportunities for language testers to assess speaking ability in low-stakes diagnostic tests. To be considered a trusted testing tool in language testing, a test should be examined employing appropriate validation processes (Chapelle, C.A., Jamieson, J., & Hegelheimer, V. (2003). Validation of a web-based ESL test. Language Testing, 20, 409–439.). While developing a speaking test, language testers need to gather evidence to build a validity argument with theoretical rationales. These rationales should be based on test purpose and validation considerations that affect decision making on test design and validation (Chapelle, C. (2001). Computer applications in second language acquisition: Foundations for teaching, testing, and research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.). To obtain theoretical soundness in validation, spec-driven test development (Davidson, F., & Lynch, B. (2002). Testcraft: A teacher's guide to writing and using language test specifications. New Haven, CT ...
TL;DR: A hierarchical network model is designed for students to view a Chinese character not just as a character, but to see how it relates to other homophonic characters by appreciating the underlying phonological similarities and how the character can develop into a word or a phrase.
Abstract: Teaching Chinese as a foreign language (TCFL) is increasingly becoming a mainstream profession and an independent academic discipline. However, there is little research in CALL targeting the Chinese language to date. This research attempts to show how a CALL system can be constructed following the unique properties of the Chinese language so it can benefit the learner maximally. First, we analyze student journals to identify problematic areas for British students learning Chinese as a foreign language, which seem to spread across levels of phonology, morphology, orthography, and vocabulary in an inextricable fashion. To address this issue, we designed a hierarchical network model linking levels of sound, syllables, characters, words, and phrases together in the form of nodes and connections. Current implementation of the model is a CALL system nicknamed Linkit, which can work alongside a textbook or a corpus, offering interconnected elements of the Chinese language such as the syllable, the character, the...
TL;DR: The understanding of difficulties tutors can have and what support they require within blended language learning settings is further understood, although further research will be needed in order to permit greater generalisation.
Abstract: This study explores how second generation tutors within blended learning courses link the face-to-face and online course modalities – in their representations as well as through their pedagogical activities – and which aspects help them to feel involved in the course. The methodology used is a qualitative analysis of interviews with seven tutors of three different blended learning courses. The results show that most tutors indeed had difficulties gaining a deeper insight into the course design: they considered the face-to-face modality to be the central one, just as in a traditional L2 course (whereas course design was centred on the online modality), and therefore rarely played their role as online tutors. Moreover, their understanding of the courses’ task-based approach appeared to be limited. Nevertheless, the majority of the tutors managed to feel involved in the course, which shows the importance of additional factors in defining their relationship to the course. We identified eight other factors, wh...
TL;DR: An insight is provided into the learners' dictionary search and look-up strategies highlight areas of the prototype's interface that deserve further design attention and consolidate the methodology used to test the usability of the prototypes.
Abstract: This article reports on a study which took place in the context of the design and development of an online dictionary prototype for learners of French. Aspects of the ‘usability’, i.e. the quality of the ‘learner–task–dictionary interaction’ of the prototype were tested. Micro-tasks were designed to focus on learners' productive knowledge of French collocations. Learners (n = 6) completed the tasks individually, with access to the dictionary prototype. The computer sessions were screen-captured. The product (the language input provided by the learners) and the process (the learners' behavior) of the interaction were analyzed based on a set of defined effectiveness and efficiency parameters. The results provide an insight into the learners' dictionary search and look-up strategies highlight areas of the prototype's interface that deserve further design attention and consolidate the methodology used to test the usability of the prototype.
TL;DR: The authors investigated the dialogic process involved in the construction of a group-specific interactional pattern, identity, and activity within an online intercultural group and found that ES types and promoted intercultural learning vary among groups, develop implicitly, and are particula...
Abstract: Internet-mediated intercultural discussions have been adopted for intercultural and second-language learning. However, the notion of community development in this context has received less attention. This study employs exchange structure (ES) analysis (Stubbs, M. (1983). Discourse analysis. Oxford: Basil Blackwell) to investigate the dialogic process involved in the construction of a group-specific interactional pattern, identity, and activity within an online intercultural group. By identifying and tracking the shift of the ES and ES roles of each group, it explores how the members of each group constitute its internal activity and how the developed activity is related to intercultural learning. This study examines 14 groups of Japanese students and language learners from multicultural backgrounds who engaged in asynchronous online intercultural discussions for a 12-week period. The findings suggest that ES types and promoted intercultural learning vary among groups, develop implicitly, and are particula...
TL;DR: The findings revealed that the e-portfolios had a positive impact on the student development of computer and writing skills.
Abstract: This study investigated the effects of the construction and development of electronic portfolios (e-portfolios) on a small user population at a public university in Malaysia. The study was based on a three-month Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and language learning course offered to the undergraduates of the university. One of the key components of the course was the construction and development of an e-portfolio. The purpose of this study is to uncover the impact of this class project on student development of computer and language learning skills. The problems faced in the developmental process will also be discussed. A qualitative case study approach involving interviews with six respondents was utilised in collecting and analysing the data. A questionnaire was used to support the qualitative data. The findings revealed that the e-portfolios had a positive impact on the student development of computer and writing skills.
TL;DR: It is shown how the various components of the computer-assisted language learning situation form a complex chaotic system and how deconstructing this model can help clarify the respective roles of teacher and tutor.
Abstract: This article builds on a previous article published in 2007, which aimed at clarifying the concept of tutoring. Based on a new epistemological stance (emergentism) the authors will here show how the various components of the computer-assisted language learning situation form a complex chaotic system. They advocate that modelling is a way of ordering the chaos. They show how their didactic ergonomics model can be revisited in an emergentist perspective and how deconstructing this model can help clarify the respective roles of teacher and tutor.
TL;DR: The flexible language learning system as mentioned in this paper combines individual work on a virtual learning environment, pair-work and counseling sessions, and teachers become tutors or counselors with specific pedagogical goals, and learners have a new role to play too.
Abstract: The flexible language learning system we have devised at our university combines different elements: individual work on a virtual learning environment, pair-work and counseling sessions. The implementation of the system involves a new conception of the different “actors’’ roles. Teachers become tutors or counselors with new specific pedagogical goals, and learners have a new role to play too. From the creation of the system five years ago, our research has studied a cohort of 610 students. The article focuses on the last two cohorts of students, for whom two important changes in the guidance elements present in the system were introduced. It discusses students’ perceptions of the roles played by the different actors in the system, as compared with traditional language teaching/learning situations. Possible implications for future cohorts of students at our university, as well as for other students working in learning systems of the same kind, are drawn.
TL;DR: Data suggested that observing demonstrations of teaching strategies and witnessing classroom dynamics allowed the teacher-candidates in the F2F classes to see how the factual knowledge they learned transferred to actual classroom practice.
Abstract: A mixed method design was used to investigate the effects of online second language (L2) methodology instruction on the sense of efficacy of teacher-candidates enrolled in initial licensure programs for L2 teachers. More specifically, the researcher examined the extent to which L2 teacher-candidates completing online L2 methodology instruction perceived themselves to be less confident in their ability to teach L2 learners upon completion of their coursework than did their counterparts who completed the same instruction in a F2F setting. Results of the study emphasized the confidence-related benefits of F2F L2 methodology instruction. Completers of the F2F courses experienced a significantly greater increase in confidence to teach L2 learners than did their online peers in regard to all but three of the 16 survey items measuring teacher efficacy. Data suggested that observing demonstrations of teaching strategies and witnessing classroom dynamics allowed the teacher-candidates in the F2F classes to see how...
TL;DR: The emphasis placed by the Bologna process on lifelong learning and theDevelopment of higher education paved the way for the development of blended and/or distance learning.
Abstract: The emphasis placed by the Bologna process on lifelong learning and the development of higher education paved the way for the development of blended and/or distance learning. Distance learning, how...
TL;DR: This special issue comprises articles selected from the GLoCALL 2010 conference which was jointly organised by the PacCALL and APACALL organisations, together with its local organiser, Universiti Sabah Malaysis from 1 to 3 December 2010 in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
Abstract: This special issue comprises articles selected from the GLoCALL 2010 conference which was jointly organised by the PacCALL and APACALL organisations, together with its local organiser, Universiti Sabah Malaysis from 1 to 3 December 2010 in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. GLoCALL have been organising a yearly conference since 2005 to share knowledge, research and experiences in the field of CALL with various parts of the Asia Pacific region. Participation in the 2010 conference was the highest in the series of conferences and the number of papers submitted for the two special issues (to be published by Computer Assisted Language Learning and the International Journal of Computer-Assisted Language Learning and Teaching) were encouraging. Altogether over 35 papers were submitted but after the review process the number was reduced to eight papers for each issue and this was further narrowed to only four papers for each special issue. For this issue, Siew Ming Thang from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Peter Gobel from Kyoto Sangyo University present four articles that investigate the use of multimedia and technology in second/foreign language educational contexts. It is primarily concerned with the specific applications of technology in the teaching and evaluation of language skills through various modes of communication. The first article by Chao-Jung Ko investigated the possibility that initial-level learners may acquire oral skills through synchronous computer mediated communication (SCMC). In his study, three groups of Taiwanese French as a foreign language (FFL) students were required to conduct a variety of tasks in three different learning environments (video/audio, audio and face-to-face) over 18 weeks. The oral test performance of the three groups was compared for evidence of the development of oral skills. Other sources of data which included online chat records, interview transcriptions, learning journals and the instructor’s observation journal were used to provide supporting information. The findings, interestingly, revealed that the environments were not influential in enhancing oral skills, instead it appeared that factors related to task design and learners’ strategy use, generated by the three environments, had the biggest impact on their oral proficiency development. Nor Fariza MN, Afendi Hamat, and Mohamed Amin Embi, in the second article look at online interaction from a different viewpoint, choosing to examine the relationship between online interaction and collaboration in the asynchronous mode of discussion forums of a group of Malaysian postgraduate students. They argue that Computer Assisted Language Learning Vol. 25, No. 3, July 2012, 213–216
TL;DR: As editor of the CALL Journal, the title of ‘Top Reviewer 2011 of Computer Assisted Language Learning: an International Journal’ is awarded to the following colleagues.
Abstract: As editor of the CALL Journal I would like to thank the more than 200 reviewers who have contributed in 2011 to the field and to this Journal by writing one or more review reports. On the basis of their exceptional commitment, efforts and service to the Journal, I would like to award the title of ‘Top Reviewer 2011 of Computer Assisted Language Learning: an International Journal’ to the following colleagues: