This article investigates research approaches used in traditional classroom-based interaction studies for identifying a suitable research method for studies in three-dimensional virtual learning environments (3DVLEs). As opportunities for language learning and teaching in virtual worlds emerge, so too do new research questions. An understanding of research design benefits and limitations is timely for those exploring how interaction occurs between users, and users and the virtual space, and how these interactions make sense within a broader theoretical framework. As a first step, the article describes the types of interaction that are significant to classroom-based research studies, such as learner–learner. This is followed by a historical overview of research approaches and methods used in interaction studies, from early quantitative, to descriptive and qualitative, to mixed-method approaches. Following this overview, the author critically surveys research approaches, methods, analytical tools, and data collection techniques used in physical and virtual second language classroom interaction studies. The article concludes by highlighting the implications and research considerations for the design of new research studies in 3DVLEs.

The aim of the paper is to investigate the role of dictionary form (paper versus electronic) in language reception, production and retention. The body of existing research does not give a clear answer as to which dictionary medium benefits users more. Divergent findings from many studies into the topic might stem from differences in research methodology (including the various tasks, participants and dictionaries used by different authors). Even a series of studies conducted by one researcher (Dziemianko, 2010, 2011, 2012b) leads to contradictory conclusions, possibly because of the use of paper and electronic versions of existing dictionaries, and the resulting problem with isolating dictionary form as a factor. To be able to argue with confidence that the results obtained follow from different dictionary formats, rather than presentation issues, research methodology should be improved. To successfully generalize about the significance of the medium for decoding, encoding and learning, the current study replicates previous research, but the presentation of lexicographic data on paper and on screen is now balanced, and the paper/electronic opposition is operationalized more appropriately. A real online dictionary and its paper-based counterpart composed of printouts of screen displays were used in the experiment in which the meaning of English nouns and phrases was explained, and collocations were completed with missing prepositions. A delayed post-test checked the retention of the meanings and collocations. The results indicate that dictionary medium does not play a statistically significant role in reception and production, but it considerably affects retention.

As more and more teacher preparation programs realize the need to include courses that deal with computer-assisted language learning, a crucial decision as to what is taught needs to be made, taking into consideration the various post-graduation goals ranging from teacher or teacher-trainer to researcher. Thus, the question of whether to go beyond teaching the potential uses of the computer and the Internet and to delve into how to create relevant computer-based tasks using the WWW and to train teachers in the use of advanced web page development techniques, including Flash, web-enabled databases, and the interactive possibilities of the WWW needs to be addressed. This paper tackles these issues and illustrates a sample approach in dealing with the grooming of the new generation of CALL researchers and practitioners. What can be accomplished during the first year of an MATESL program that highlights the importance of technology is explored through a reflective questionnaire, a computer capabilities matrix, and an analysis of web-based course projects. Nine first-year M.A. students participated in the study, which revealed that despite widely differing initial computer and Internet expertise among these future teachers and researchers, their knowledge of creating and using web-based materials increased significantly, culminating in a project in which the skills acquired throughout the semester were successfully integrated.

Much has been published on the subject of the role of concordancing in foreign language teaching, most of itin the field of EFL. Of crucial importance is the corpus on which concordances are based. This article describes how a pedagogic corpus can be downloaded from the Web as well as its experimental exploitation with first and second year undergraduates.

It is usually the case that learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) are exposed to language materials in class only, and of course in such a short space of time, they do not always find enough chance to practice English grammar features and become aware of their grammar mistakes. As a potential solution to this problem, the current study inspects the impact of using cell phones, specifically text messages (via short message service) as supplementary tools, on Iranian elementary level EFL learners’ grammar learning. In the first phase of the study, 60 students aged 14 were randomly divided into experimental and comparison groups. Throughout the 12 weeks of treatment, the participants in the experimental group received 120 text messages containing grammar exercises, whereas the participants in the comparison group received a similar number of vocabulary messages as a placebo treatment and were otherwise treated exactly the same as the experimental group. A researcher-made grammar test was used to estimate whether presenting grammar exercises via text messages has any impact on language learners’ grammar learning. The results demonstrated that there was a significant difference (p<0.05) in the grammar learning of the participants who practiced grammar points through text messages and those who did not. The researchers also interviewed various stakeholders, comprising ten students, five parents, the teacher, and the school principal. A qualitative content analysis was carried out to find themes relevant to the stakeholders’ beliefs about making use of text messages for learning grammar. The findings suggest that text messages can be useful for learning grammar points, since they engage learners’ interest and encourage them to study more in order to text the correct answers when they are outside their classrooms.

The symbolic location of EUROCALL's 2004 conference in Vienna offered to both new members from Eastern Europe and established members from the West an opportunity to review the relationship between computer assisted language learning (CALL) and language teaching in general. CALL is defined as an ‘academic field that explores the role of information and communication technologies in language learning and teaching’ (EUROCALL 1999; for a discussion of CALL as an interdisciplinary research domain, see Levy, 1997). CALL practitioners and researchers have long been aware of the importance of recognition within the broader discipline of language learning and teaching, as the joint EUROCALL/CALICO/IALL Research Policy Statement (EUROCALL 1999) explicitly noted. Yet CALL in fact remains marginalised in several ways which this article will explore. In seeking to promote more effective dissemination of good teaching practices and especially of research in CALL, the article will evoke the UKÕs predominant role in introducing Quality Assurance (QA) to higher education teaching and research – a trend which the Bologna Process will surely intensify throughout Europe. The author will draw on his current role as language research coordinator at the UK's Open University, and on substantial experience as a QA insider in both teaching and research, to analyse successes and failures in dissemination of both research and good teaching/learning practices. He will propose strategies for moving CALL from the margins towards the centre of language learning. In so doing, he will also provide an incidental overview of some key journals and conferences in the domain.

This paper presents a new teacher interface for the Electronic Tandem Resources (ETR) site, the student interface described in Appel & Mullen (2000), and a new version of the site designed specifically for research purposes. The main features of the original site geared towards the language learner were the creation of a virtual environment for tandem language learning and the provision of tools and data intended to help foster the development of learner autonomy. The new teacher interface supports the integration of tandem language learning activities in the foreign language classroom and addresses the difficult issue of performance assessment and task evaluation. Computer-mediated communication activities between students in different countries are notoriously difficult for teachers to monitor. Nevertheless, there is evidence that in certain situations it is beneficial for the teacher to be able to monitor these activities. The teacher interface of the ETR site offers a user-friendly interface which requires only basic computer skills, and gives teachers access to data such as the date of the most recently sent messages, the number of words sent by students and the percentages of text written by each student in their respective L1 and L2, without giving teachers access to the content of the messages, thus preserving students’ privacy. Furthermore, a slightly different version has also been designed for evaluation of the learning by the researcher investigating second language learning in an electronic tandem environment. This interface has been designed for setting up experiments and some of its features allow for control over variables related to the experiment. The interface records time stamps for sent and received messages.

This study examines the impact of group composition (one-on-one vs. multiple-to-multiple) and task design (student-selected vs. teacher-assigned) on undergraduate foreign language learners’ interactions in a mobile-based intercultural exchange. The participants, 27 Korean students learning English as a foreign language and 27 American students learning Korean as a foreign language, interacted in pairs and groups via mobile phones to complete weekly tasks for eight weeks. This study used mixed methods to analyze the data from mobile chat scripts, questionnaires, and interviews. The results indicated that the one-on-one and multiple-to-multiple groups did not differ significantly regarding contact frequency or number of written chats. However, one-on-one and multiple-to-multiple interactions did differ with regard to the quality of the interactions, reflecting the unique nature of each group composition. A one-on-one relationship promoted a higher level of intimacy and friendship, thus rendering it appropriate for providing linguistic and emotional support in learning foreign languages. In contrast, multiple-to-multiple communications were found to be more beneficial for learning about different perspectives on the target cultures. In terms of task design, teacher-assigned tasks guided students to engage in productive interactions effectively, whereas student-selected tasks elicited their personal investment in the tasks. Supporting social interdependence theory (Johnson & Johnson, 1989, 2009), we argue that the establishment of intimate relationships among group members may be the key to quality interactions in mobile-based intercultural exchanges.

Lexis-based views of second or foreign language (L2) teaching place prime importance on the teaching of conventionalized multi-word lexical items, or unanalyzed chunks, as a useful mechanism for fostering learners’ creative production of forms and their subsequent development of L2 competence. This pretest/posttest quasi-experimental study probed the use of teacher-designed multi-purpose instructional lexis software, dubbed LexisBOARD, on L2 learners’ vocabulary achievement in an Iranian EFL (English as a foreign language) context. A cohort of 50 Iranian junior-high-school students participated in the main instructional phase of the study. Instruction on L2 lexical items (e.g., concordances, polywords, or formulaic sequences) was mainly given to the experimental group using LexisBOARD, which was designed to be user-friendly and attuned to learners’ communicative and curricular needs. LexisBOARD offered further practice or feedback affordances through engaging students in lexical exercises (with word partnerships and collocations) for each unit and several quizzes for self-assessment. The control group was only taught using their mainstream EFL textbooks focusing on grammatical rules, discrete vocabulary items with fixed meanings, and reading texts, without any use of corpus-based activities. The results of the groups’ vocabulary test scores indicate that the lexis group significantly outperformed the control group, pointing to the superiority of practicing and learning L2 vocabulary when lexical items are seen in larger, more holistic ways and, especially, when engaging and experimenting with lexis is scaffolded through computer affordances.

This paper deals with the analysis of a communicative activity involving English learners of French, its advantages and drawbacks as well as the outcome that teachers can expect of such an activity. The first part examines some reasons, both theoretical and practical for using communication technology, particularly electronic mail, for promoting language acquisition and developing learner autonomy. The second pan of the paper deals with the theoretical framework within which the activity was carried out, that Is, Stephen Krashen's language acquisition theory which establishes a distinction between language acquisition and language learning. Email interaction offers the possibility of addressing both processes.

A growing number of researchers have acknowledged the potential for using wikis in online collaborative language learning. While researchers appreciate the wikis platform for engaging students in virtual team work and authentic language learning, many also have recognized the limitations of using wikis to promote student collaboration (Alyousef & Picard, 2011; Arnold, Ducate & Kost, 2009; Coniam & Kit, 2008; Judd, Kennedy & Cropper, 2010; Warschauer, 2010). The current study aims to examine what factors facilitated or hindered student collaboration when a wiki environment was used to engage 103 Taiwanese students from two universities in an online picture book production project. Divided into 17 groups of four to six members, the students spent approximately one academic year forming online communities, learning to conduct peer editing, and collaboratively completing a final learning product, an online picture book. A variety of data, including the electronically archived versions of the wiki pages, students’ responses to retrospective surveys, and focused follow-up interviews were collected and analysed. The findings suggested that the nature of the learning tasks, students’ constant communication and appreciation of different opinions, the difficulties they encountered when communicating asynchronously, and students’ expectations toward English learning affected to what extent they were involved in the online collaboration.

This study aims to compare various computerized bilingual dictionaries (henceforth CBDs) for their relative effectiveness in helping Japanese college students at several language proficiency levels to access new English target vocabulary. Its rationale was based on several observations and research claims (see Atkins & Knowles, 1990; Bejoint & Moulin, 1987; Laufer & Hadar, 1997) that bilingual and bilingualized dictionaries in general, as well as electronic dictionaries in particular appear to be much more rapid and effective than monolingual book dictionaries for the acquisition of new L2 vocabulary by language learners. The author has been testing and analyzing various CBDs in four major categories for the past two years. These include (i) portable electronic dictionaries (PEDs); (ii) software CBDs; (iii) online dictionary websites; and (iv) optical character recognition/translation (OCR/OCT) devices, both portable handheld ’Reading Pens‘ (e.g. Quickionary/Quicklink) and also flatbed OCR scanners (Logo Vista) bundled with translation programs. His research started over ten years ago, however, culminating in a dissertation entitled ‘Developing and testing vocabulary training methods and materials for Japanese college students studying English as a foreign language’ (Loucky, 1996; or summary thereof, Loucky, 1997). This dissertation studied the pre- and post-test vocabulary, comprehension, listening and total reading levels of over 1,000 Japanese college students at six institutions. Since then the author has devised a simple yet practical Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS), helping to more clearly define and test the differences between passive or receptive understanding vocabulary and active or productive use vocabulary. Computerized technology has now made possible multimedia programming with the benefits of interactive processing and immediate feedback. Modern CAI/CAELL along with well-made CBDs, either online or off, can already be found to scan, pronounce and translate for us in any direction of the four language skills. This study examined Japanese college students’ use of four kinds of CBDs for more rapid accessing and archiving of new L2 terms, recommending integration of their use into a more systematic taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategies.

This discussion paper outlines some of the decisions and issues involved in creating and using authoring tools for language learning through the World Wide Web. In it, we outline the development of Hot Potatoes, our suite of authoring tools, and attempt to draw conclusions from our experience that will be valuable not only to other developers but also to evaluators and users of authoring software. Areas addressed include exercise design, ability to customise and control the output, support for different browser versions, user-interface design, ancillary technology and technical support.

Nowadays, many second/foreign language (L2) academic writing instruction programs place a high premium on pre-writing strategies. The current study examined the effect of software-supported concept mapping on lexical diversity (LD) of English learners’ argumentative essays within a process writing framework. Additionally, the relationship between the learners’ LD and their overall writing quality was investigated. To this end, 53 university English as a foreign language (EFL) undergraduates were assigned to a computer-aided concept mapping (CACM) and a traditional outlining condition over a span of seven weeks. The CACM group was instructed through the graphic organizer software Inspiration®, whereas the comparison group underwent outlining instruction for planning their writing tasks. Measure of textual lexical diversity (MTLD) was used to assess the so-called D values of the assignments. The results revealed that the CACM group outperformed the outlining group in terms of LD scores. Also, no relationship was found between LD and overall quality of the essays. The findings provide L2 researchers and teachers with insights into understanding the use of CACM strategy in process writing. Moreover, exploiting MTLD afforded our experiment the opportunity to counteract potential pitfalls associated with text size. Further implications for the L2 teacher are also discussed.

Despite a growing body of research on task-based language learning (TBLT) (Samuda & Bygate, 2008; Ellis, 2003), there is still little information available regarding the pedagogical design behind tasks and how they are implemented (Samuda & Bygate, 2008). Scholars in computer-mediated second language (L2) learning have called for research to fill in this gap by reflecting critically on task design and the subsequent implementation process (Fuchs, Hauck & Müller-Hartmann, 2012; Hampel, 2010; Hampel & Hauck, 2006; Hampel & Plaines, 2013; Hauck, 2010), instead of considering a task an “unproblematic fait accompli” (O’Dowd & Ware, 2009: 174). In response to this charge, the present case study provides a critical analysis of tasks carried out in a first-year German language course built around the weekly TV-series, Rosenheim-Cops (ZDF). These tasks drew from research on multimodality (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2001; Norris & Maier, 2014) providing a framework for understanding how multiple semiotic systems work together to create meaning. The insights provided by this study have relevance for research on multimodal task design (Hampel & Hauck, 2006) through examining the possibilities and limitations of beginner second language (L2) learners’ effective use of authentic resources. The results suggest that the tasks encouraged semiotic awareness, helped activate referential knowledge useful for accessing multimodal resources, and elicited a positive response to authentic L2 use in context. The challenges of implementing these tasks included variation in learners’ engagement with authentic multimedia resources, either due to L2 skills levels or the level of interest in the particular resource used.

This article presents the first study on using a parallel corpus to teach Cantonese, the variety of Chinese spoken in Hong Kong. We evaluated this approach with Mandarin-speaking undergraduate students at the beginner level. Exploiting their knowledge of Mandarin, a closely related language, the students studied Cantonese with authentic material in a Cantonese-Mandarin parallel corpus, transcribed from television programs. They were given a list of Mandarin words that yield a range of possible Cantonese translations, depending on the linguistic context. Leveraging sentence and word alignments in the parallel corpus, the students independently searched for example sentences to discover these translation equivalents. Experimental results showed that, in both the short- and long-term, this data-driven learning approach helped students improve their knowledge of Cantonese vocabulary. These results suggest the potential of applying parallel corpora at even the beginners’ level for other L1-L2 pairs of closely related languages.

In spite of researchers’ and practitioners’ increasing attention to data-driven learning (DDL) and increasing numbers of DDL studies, a multi-item scale to measure learners’ attitude toward DDL has not been developed thus far. In the present study, we developed and validated a psychometric scale to measure learners’ perceived preferences and benefits of DDL for research and pedagogical purposes. First, we created an item pool by referring to open-ended responses from learners; second, the items were pilot tested with target-level learners of English as a foreign language; and third, with item analyses and exploratory factor analysis, the revised version of the questionnaire was prepared. Finally, the questionnaire was administered, and its psychometric properties were examined with confirmatory factor analysis and fit indices. The final phase also included a measure of task values to explore the convergent evidence of the construct validity of the proposed scale. The results suggest that the scale is a valid measure of learners’ attitudes toward DDL, with the hypothesized model providing a good fit with the data. We propose that the scale can be used in future studies that utilize the same type of questionnaire research to facilitate further investigation of DDL. Suggestions for further research are also provided.

In this paper we report on one component of a three-year study into the use of digital technologies for summative performance assessment in senior secondary courses in Western Australia. One of the courses was Italian Studies, which had an oral communication outcome externally assessed with an oral performance for which students travelled to a central location and undertook an interview with two assessors. Apart from the logistical difficulties for both students and the organising body, this method did not leave an enduring record of the process, and raised questions about the reliability of the assessment. Over the three years of this study, we tried several approaches to using digital technology to assess oral performance, including a portfolio of sub-tasks leading up to a video-recorded oral presentation, a computer-based exam, a video recorded interview, and an online exam that included oral audio-recordings. For each of the years online marking tools supported two methods of drawing inferences about student performance from the representations: the more traditional analytical method and the comparative pairs method. Rasch analysis of the results of the two methods showed that both were at an acceptable level of reliability. Overall, students and teachers reported that they liked using audiovisual recordings and online performance tasks for revision but not for summative assessment. The study also demonstrated that the scores from externally marked computer-based oral tasks carried out in class time correlated highly with the scores from traditional face-to-face recorded interviews. Therefore, online assessment of oral performance appears to be an equally effective way to facilitate assessment when compared with traditional methods and offers other affordances, such as convenience and access from a variety of locations, as well as providing an enduring record of student performance.

Educators are more and more concerned to integrate human and computer capabilities as efficiently as possible. There is an increasing demand in language teaching for evidence on which to base decisions about use of this ever more prevalent tool. One main yardstick for evaluation of CALL is, naturally, the human teacher. Thus there is demand for comparative data. Attempts to provide such data in a way that allows useful generalisations to be made or accurate analyses of the outcomes are still comparatively limited and difficult to produce. Many attempts have been strongly criticised and the very concept of comparative studies of this kind has been attacked. The belief asserted here is that there is still a need for general studies in a variety of contexts. A longitudinal comparative study is reported that tries to take into account some of the major criticisms, while providing support for the idea that these kinds of study still need to continue. The study provides a detailed description of the design and implementation, an evaluation in terms of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) criteria, and pre and post tests to measure outcomes across a range of language learning tasks.