Although there is now a growing volume of literature on the role of electronic mail in schools, relatively little has been published about the specific value to modern language teachers of using such technology. In the few cases where projects have been described, it is claimed that such links are ‘valuable’ (NCET, 1991), with an implication that school age students are able to go beyond ‘mere transactional language’ to develop ‘more creative use of language’. This paper describes a language project which began from the premise that for teachers to embark on e-mail, with its additional costs, new approaches to classroom learning and training requirements, it would be essential to establish what realistic learning improvements might be expected. To look closely at the ‘cost-benefit’ ratio was felt to be particularly important in the context of increasingly tight budgetary control in schools.

This paper sketches the place and function of grammar in the context of language learning in general and attempts to show the relevance and usefulness of these formal concepts of grammar to Computer-Assisted Language Learning in particular. The approach to grammar described here will be illustrated through a brief discussion of a grammar checker for English learners of German, ‘Textana’, which is being developed at UMIST.

Video materials require learners to manage concurrent verbal and pictorial processing. To facilitate second language (L2) learners’ video comprehension, the amount of presented information should thus be compatible with human beings’ finite cognitive capacity. In light of this, the current study explored whether a reduction in multimodal comprehension scaffolding would lead to better L2 comprehension gain when viewing captioned videos and, if so, which type of reduction (verbal vs. nonverbal) is more beneficial. A total of 62 L2 learners of English were randomly assigned to one of the following viewing conditions: (1) full captions + animation, (2) full captions + static key frames, (3) partial captions + animation, and (4) partial captions + static key frames. They then completed a comprehension test and cognitive load questionnaire. The results showed that while viewing the video with reduced nonverbal visual information (static key frames), the participants had well-rounded performance in all aspects of comprehension. However, their local comprehension (extraction of details) was particularly enhanced after viewing a key-framed video with full captions. Notably, this gain in local comprehension was not as manifest after viewing animated video content with full captions. The qualitative data also revealed that although animation may provide a perceptually stimulating viewing experience, its transient feature most likely taxed the participants’ attention, thus impacting their comprehension outcomes. These findings underscore the benefit of a reduction in nonverbal input and the interplay between verbal and nonverbal input. The findings are discussed in relation to the use of verbal and nonverbal input for different pedagogical purposes.

This paper discusses the findings of two empirical studies which investigated how students of English used two English learners’ dictionaries on CD-ROM. The outcome of these studies will indicate in what way such dictionaries can serve as reference and language learning tools. It is argued that an English learner’s dictionary on CD-ROM could be much more than an ‘ordinary’ reference work because it includes facilities that are not available in book form, such as audio and visual elements, exercises and games. The studies suggest, however, that a number of changes in content and design will have to be made in order to make such dictionaries more effective and beneficial to their users. Learners, on the other hand, may need to acquire special skills in order to benefit from all the information an English learner’s dictionary on CD-ROM contains.

Developing multimedia courseware for successful integration into a wider system necessitates close attention to a multitude of factors. After a brief literature survey and a critical examination of some overly enthusiastic claims concerning the benefits of multimedia, this paper proposes a flexible framework for CALL development that takes the interrelations between approach, content, and technology-based variables into account. It contends that some of these variables are predetermined by the educational context, whereas others reflect the developers’ views of what constitutes an optimal language learning environment. The main part of the paper provides a detailed account of how these development factors shaped the design of multimedia materials for a large-scale project at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. It argues for a balanced approach to learner control that, while allowing learners to interact with the materials according to their needs and preferences, provides enough learner guidance for those who prefer a more structured approach to learning. Special attention is paid to the often problematical areas of learner style suitability, feedback, and transparency of structure and content.

This study compares the attitude toward instruction of two groups of participants: control subjects who used a multimedia instructional module for French created by the researcher, and experimental subjects who created their own module. Quantitative data did not yield statistically significant differences in their attitudes. In the light of additional qualitative data, possible reasons for this result are discussed: high level of satisfaction with the novelty of instruction for both groups; computer problems, lack of adequate orientation, lack of real outlet for the module and difficulty of the texts for the experimental group. Included are conclusions and recommendations for further research.

This paper presents a proposed initial implementation for the DISSEMINATE concept and architecture first presented in 1998 at WorldCALL. Via an explanation of the explosion of the acronym, the article summarises the key points made in the initial article published by Swets and Zeitlinger in a volume edited by Chambers and Davies (Delcloque, 2001) where the project was described as the “implementation in the digital domain of the ring-binder philosophy”. It explains the slight changes and refinements brought to the general approach since its inception, presents briefly the results of a survey designed to examine authoring requirements and authors’ attitudes to authoring tools, summarises evidence of partially similar approaches taken by other developments and outlines the possible paths to the implementation of the project. It discusses some early proposals relating to the Macro Infrastructure and presents a Micro Module example. The article concludes with an explanation of the proposed provisional distribution structure, including commercial considerations, which, in the authors’ view, cannot be separated from the theoretical and practical questions which the concept poses. The conclusion also suggests that the principles of DISSEMINATE, whether or not resulting in a product, could nevertheless influence present and future digital learning authors.

We present two case studies of two different pedagogical tasks in a Computer Assisted Language Learning environment called Grim. The main design principle in Grim is to support ‘Focus on Form’ in second language pedagogy. Grim contains several language technology-based features for exploring linguistic forms (static, rule-based and statistical), intended to be used while writing. Our question is, in what ways does Grim support Focus on Form in actual classroom use. We have explored this question within sociocultural theory, emphasizing tool mediation and how tools shape the learner’s activity. The first case concerns a text-reconstruction exercise in which students worked in a pair within the Grim environment. The second case was conducted with another group of students, who engaged in collaborative revision of texts, written in advance by one of the students, in student pairs. In both studies, students were instructed and encouraged to use the different features of Grim. Data was collected by recording dialogue during the sessions with Grim. Our results show how learners put the features of Grim into use in their writing tasks. In some instances, the program was used creatively, in combination with external tools such as the users’ own dictionaries, knowledge of other languages, or teachers. In other instances, we note that Grim was used for error correction, rather than as a language resource. The learners’ activities are thus transformed by their use of the program, from the tasks of revision and text-reconstruction into error correction. The application shapes the activity, in conjunction with the pedagogical tasks. We argue for studying the activities of students with CALL tools, in order to find out in detail how tasks and technology concur in use and what view on language and pedagogy they mediate.

This paper looks at computer-mediated conferencing (CMC) in the international arena, and considers whether culturally influenced behaviour has an effect on communication online. There is consideration of the indicative areas for cross-cultural misunderstanding taken from research into management communication, and also from research into gendered difference in posting styles on newslists and in ‘netiquette’ guidelines. The results from a small sample of questionnaires exemplify the cultural attitudes towards learning of a UK-based group of respondents. Trie question is raised of whether the ‘reduced social dimension’ of CMC allows participants in a conference to overcome social barriers, or whether the lack of social clues present in face-to-face interaction leads to greater confusion.

The paper presents the results of a comparative investigation of course developers’ and teacher trainees’ views regarding the usefulness and effectiveness of a multimedia self-tuition course designed to introduce foreign language teacher trainees to tools and methods for organising computer-assisted language learning. The paper first provides a brief description of the home-study course itself. It describes the course’s main components, its content as well as the learning and evaluation tasks the course provides in support of the learning process. Next, the paper reports on the way in which the evaluation project investigating teacher trainees’ and course developers’ views regarding the effectiveness of the course was set up. The project’s design is presented, and the way in which various procedures of data collection (written evaluations and individual interviews) were triangulated is commented on. In the third section we present the investigation’s main findings. The section focuses on points of agreement and disagreement between developers’ and trainees’ views regarding the usefulness and effectiveness of the course. Finally, we describe the changes brought about by the evaluation project, and reflect on the necessity to take account of future users’ views and requirements in the design and development process if the training of foreign language teachers is to benefit from web-based delivery.

SLIM is a prototype interactive multimedia self-learning linguistic software for foreign language students at beginner-false beginner level. It allows students to work both in an autonomous self-directed mode or in a way of programmed learning in which the process of self-instruction is pre-programmed and monitored. In this latter mode it incorporates assessment and evaluation tools in order to behave as an automatic tutor. It is organized into three basic components: audiovisual materials; a linguistic database recording all language material in text format; the supervisor. Audiovisual materials are partially taken from commercially available courses; the linguistic database is a highly sophisticated classification of all words and utterances of the course, both in written and spoken form, from all possible linguistic aspects. The supervisor is both an attractive, enjoyable and strongly pedagogically based software that allows the user to work on language materials. The most outstanding feature of SLIM is the use of speech analysis and recognition which is a fundamental aspect of all second language learning programmes. We also assume that a learning model can be represented by a finite state automaton made up by a fixed number of possible states – corresponding to the macro and microlevels at which the student's competence may be modelled – each one being internally constituted by the actual linguistic objects of knowledge of the language that make it up.

The present study aims to explore how pre- and in-service language teachers incorporate the cutting-edge technology of immersive virtual reality (iVR) into their teaching practice. Specifically, the study examined how their different knowledge levels and teaching experiences influenced their integration of technology by analyzing their performance-based tasks in microteaching in an iVR environment. This particular technology was selected for the study because it was expected to bring multiple pedagogical benefits to future foreign language learning classrooms, such as contextualized learning, increased learner motivation and interest, and enhanced interaction and communicative skill training. The study employed in-depth qualitative analysis. Data (lesson plans, screen recordings of microteaching episodes, and reflection papers) were collected from one preservice teacher training course and one in-service teacher training course at a Korean university. The study found a large gap between pre- and in-service teacher performance and identified the sources of the differences based on qualitative data analysis. The results showed that not only teachers’ technological knowledge but also their pedagogical knowledge of the use of technology and confidence in teaching affected technology integration. As technology integration has become more important in language education, the current study provided insight into how to better prepare teachers for future learners.

There are many CALL resources available today but often they need to be adapted for level or culture. CALL practitioners would like to reuse currently existing material rather than reinvent the wheel, but often this is not possible. Thus, they end up building CALL material, both language content and software, from scratch. This is inefficient in terms of CALL practitioners’ time and as Felix (1999) points out, there is no point ‘doing badly’ what has already been done well. Why can’t we reuse what already exists? Often the language content is hard-wired in the software and cannot be modified or the CALL material comes as an executable which is hard or impossible to change. Authoring tools can provide a degree of flexibility, but often focus on particular parts of the language learning process (e.g. interactive exercises) and the associated language content cannot, in general, easily be exported into other formats and presentation software. One solution to this problem is provided by XML technologies. They provide a strict separation between data and processing. Thus, three types of reuse are possible: reuse of the data processing engine (i.e. the XSL processing files), reuse of the language content structure (i.e. the XML data files) and reuse the linguistic resources (i.e. the language content). In this paper, an example is given of a CALL template that has been developed using XML technologies. The template provides a structure into which the language content can be slotted and a processing engine to act upon the data to create CALL material. The template was developed for the production of CALL materials for Endangered Languages (ELs), but could be used for MCTLs (Most Commonly Taught Languages) and LCTLs (Less Commonly Taught Languages) also. It has been used to develop a language learning course for Nawat (a language of El Salvador), Akan (a Ghanaian language) and Irish, demonstrating the reusability of the language content structure as well as proving the reusability of the processing engine provided by the template. A further reusable feature is the ability to create courseware in different media (Internet, CD and print) from the same source language content.

This study examines the possible effects of a mailing list discussion on second/foreign language learning in the form of an explorative case study. Forty-six students in an elementary-level Japanese language class at a Canadian university participated. The study consists of three parts: interaction analysis, content analysis, and a student survey. The first two parts referenced the entire mailing list discussion archive. The number of the messages totaled 298. In order to analyze learner interaction, a map of interaction was designed and Levin, Kim and Riel’s (1990) Intermessage Reference Analysis (IRA) was applied. Content analysis was then carried out on the topics, context-type, and depth of learning process involved in each message. Lastly, a survey was distributed in order to discern participants’ perceptions towards the use of a mailing list for language learning. The results of the interaction and content analysis show how a mailing list discussion can provide a place to reflect on course content, enabling students to increase their linguistic knowledge through an exchange of ideas, thoughts, and opinions via student-centered interactions. The result of the participant survey shows that although the students’ participation in and perceptions towards the mailing discussion is not uniform, 35% of the students perceived the value of a mailing list discussion to be high. Through the examination of three different methods of analysis, the study concludes that there is a good potential for the use of mailing list discussions in second/foreign language learning. However, further research is necessary to determine which factors contribute to the successful use of this medium.

A diagnostic component for natural language utterances has been devised which allows one to integrate (possibly inconsistent) evidence from a wide range of knowledge sources into a unique decision procedure. It is based on a procedure for the disambiguation of dependency structures using graded constraints. Different description levels like syntax, semantics, and others are treated by separate structural representations, which are disambiguated simultaneously. Due to the complete symmetry of the system architecture the approach allows for the successful handling of a wide variety or student errors.

This paper reports on ongoing research aimed at characterizing a signature pedagogy (Shulman, 2005) of technology-enhanced task-based language teaching (TETBLT). To achieve this goal, we initially identified 15 pedagogical principles and practices distinctive of TETBLT. This initial set of principles and practices were motivated by second language acquisition theories (Doughty & Long, 2003), methodological approaches in foreign language teaching (Kramsch, 2014), and state-of-the-art publications on computer-assisted language learning (Chapelle & Sauro, 2017). During the first phase of the study, we consulted an initial group of 34 experts in the field, using the Delphi technique to achieve gradual consensus about the set of principles. After analyzing the first set of responses (N = 23) to the principles, which attained a degree of agreement averaging 71% and ranging from 48% to 96%, we refined the principles incorporating the feedback received and sent out a second questionnaire, which allowed us to reach a consensus about a set of eight robust pedagogical principles for TETBLT.

The present study aims to verify the impact of dynamic aids on learning L2 prepositions in relation to individual learner variables. Situated within the cognitive linguistics (CL) framework and differing from previous research, the present study hypothesizes that dynamic (animated) aids are not equally effective for all learners; rather, their effectiveness differs according to learners’ first languages (L1s) (Chinese or Japanese) and information-processing styles (verbalizers or imagers). To verify this hypothesis, we utilized learning materials comprised of static and dynamic images for three English spatial prepositions (above, on, over). After conducting a Style of Processing questionnaire, we administered three cloze tests (pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest) of target words to Taiwanese and Japanese participants (N = 109), whose L1s differed in terms of their linguistic proximity to English. Although no significant differences were found between the treatment groups in tests for all participants, the results were differentiated by individual factors. In results of a two-way ANOVA, Taiwanese participants showed significantly greater improvement from the pretest to posttest than Japanese participants when the participants used dynamic images, whereas the Japanese group made more learning gains from the posttest to the delayed posttest test. Moreover, imagers obtained more benefits from the visual aids, whether static or dynamic, than verbalizers. Our findings indicate that CL-based visual aids are beneficial and that individual factors, especially learners’ L1, may produce different learning effects, especially in multimedia environments.

Extracurricular reading is important for learning foreign languages. Text recommendation systems typically classify users and documents into levels, and then match users with documents at the same level. Although this approach can be effective, it has two significant shortcomings. First, the levels assume a standard order of language acquisition and cannot be personalized to the users’ learning patterns. Second, recommendation decisions are not transparent because the leveling algorithms can be difficult for users to interpret. We propose a novel method for text recommendation that addresses these two issues. To enhance personalization, an open, editable learner model estimates user knowledge of each word in the foreign language. The documents are ranked by new-word density (NWD) – that is, the percentage of words that are new to the user in the document. The system then recommends documents according to a user-specified target NWD. This design offers complete transparency as users can scrutinize recommendations by reviewing the NWD estimation of the learner model. This article describes an implementation of this method in a mobile app for learners of Chinese as a foreign language. Evaluation results show that users were able to manipulate the learner model and NWD parameters to adjust the difficulty of the recommended documents. In a survey, users reported satisfaction with both the concept and implementation of this text recommendation method.

This article discusses some theoretical and methodological problems and issues in the study of computer-supported learning activities with special reference to a discourse perspective in research. Special emphasis is laid on finding ways to reach the participant perspective in computer-supported collaborative learning projects, which are by nature polycontextual. By this term we refer to the diverse scenes and situations of learning activities that computer-supported learning involves. We will also address the issue of making claims on effective pedagogies, leaning on the theory of discourse as situated and constructive, which again sets special requirements on what kinds of assumptions and interpretations can and should be derived through empirical analysis of data. Instead of rushed normative guidelines for instruction we should now take time and examine critically what is really happening in computer-supported environments in real-life situations. A look at the particular is needed. An important question to examine, for example, is how students and teachers use these tools in their everyday lives and how these processes are talked about. We will discuss through a number of examples the multimodal and polycontextual nature of meaning making in participant activities during three different university language courses between 1998–2002. This article considers relevant research approaches with the aid of theoretical discussion and examples of analysis.

The paper describes how networked self-access EAP materials have been developed at Warwick University since 1992. The current package of materials (The CELTE Self-Access Centre) can be freely accessed from the World Wide Web, and aims to provide some basic training in Information Technology alongside more conventional language and study skills activities. Problems of development and distribution are discussed, including the resistance of those EAP practitioners who have little experience of the Internet in an educational context, and the unwillingness of users to interact with unknown task setters.