This paper is about the development of an authoring tool for computerised reading comprehension exercises. The software tools used and some problems encountered using them are described. Using the authoring tools and running the program are discussed and the first experiences reported.

Within the context of on-going research,1 this paper explores the pedagogical implications of contrastive analyses of multiword units in English and Spanish based on electronic corpora as a CALL resource. The main tenets of collocations from a contrastive perspective – and the points of contact and departure between both languages – are discussed prior to examining the commonest types of verb + noun combinations as a significant case of so-called ‘de-lexicalized’, ‘light’, ‘empty’, ‘thin’, ‘stretched’ or ‘support verbs’. A qualitatively and quantitatively-oriented case study is accordingly conducted, determining the weight of dar in support verb constructions within the Corpus de Referencia del Español Actual (CREA) and of the English equivalent stretched verb constructions with give within the British National Corpus (BNC). Based on the empirical data obtained in this way, this paper provides relevant insights for more accurate translations, helping to enhance the collocational competence of L2 students, who tend to avoid constructions including empty verbs like give in favour of full-verb forms. The detailed findings in this paper come to shed light on the potential of CALL resources for improving the collocational usage of foreign-language learners, as quantitative and qualitative comparisons of collocations based on electronic corpora serve to highlight the similarities and, more importantly, the lexical and typological differences between both languages, thereby substantiating the invaluable role that corpus analysis may play for language teaching in general and for collocational knowledge and proficiency in particular.

The Internet offers a wealth of information and unlimited resources that teachers can use in order to expose students to authentic language use. Exposure, however, is not enough to trigger language acquisition. Students need to be involved in tasks that integrate the use of computers and enhance language acquisition. This paper outlines an instructional system designed to guide English as a Second Language (ESL) students through their exploration of the Internet and carry out projects that will ultimately help them improve their reading and writing skills and enrich their vocabulary. Through this instructional system the benefits of using the Internet for ESL purposes with different types of students in different educational environments can be maximised.

The genesis of the ASTCOVEA project for French and German grammar learning under Phase 2 of TLIP is explained and the paper goes on to describe the design and structure of the system, showing representative screen shots and giving an example of how the system may be used to explore a particular grammar point in German. The point is mode, in condusion, that the ASTCOVEA approach can readily be adopted for other languages, including EFL, without major new programming.

Several Modern Languages departments and Directors of Language Centres have approached the CTI Centre for Modern Languages for advice on networking CD-ROMs. Tim Hooton of Aston University has dealt with many of these queries on our behalf, and it is hoped that this article will prove useful to others who may be considering this issue.

Formes Cachées is a visuo-spatial puzzle in the form of a computer game. Users participate in the game by means of a natural language interface through which they ask questions and give instructions. Solving the puzzle therefore involves using language in a purposeful way as a tool rather than as subject matter. This article describes a French version of the game. In its current form the game would be mainly of novelty value in foreign language teaching, but its techniques could be used in creating software to cover a more extensive range of language.

The software, which runs under Microsoft Windows in 800 x 600 SVGA, may be downloaded from the CT1 Modern Languages World Wide Web server, http://www.hull.ac.uk/cti/software.htm

The globalisation of business and the internationalisation of companies witnessed over the past decade has increased the need for business people operating across cultures to become both culturally and linguistically aware. The evolution of multimedia computing means that learning material can be created which amalgamates video, subtitles, tasks, text and a variety of support tools. This environment lends itself to the provision of learning opportunities and materials which aim to develop cultural understanding. This paper describes an on-going development project entitled SELECT which is creating multimedia courseware to develop cross-cultural awareness of the British business context. The paper outlines the background to the creation of the courseware and the needs it aims to meet. The theoretical underpinning of the development is outlined, covering the nature of cross-cultural competence, its development and the fit between the capabilities of multimedia and such competence. The approach taken and methods used to research and construct a valid, empirically-based cross-cultural syllabus relevant for those doing business with Britain is described and exemplified. The process of creating the courseware, including the authentic video assets and configuration of the learning design is discussed. The paper concludes with projections of future developments in technology assisted development of cross-cultural competence.

The paper presents the results of an evaluation study conducted in the context of a project called “Computer assisted Learning of German as a Foreign Language” for children of non-German mother tongue, undertaken in Hesse, Germany. The study aimed at finding out whether the integration of an audio component enhances the effectiveness of learning (remembering) vocabulary with CALL materials. LeseWelt, a computerised vocabulary development game for children, was used for the experiment. It is available in two different manners of presentation: visual only and visual plus acoustic. The paper briefly presents the two versions of the program, then describes the design of the experiment and reports the results.

Although the linguistic and sociocultural benefits of class-based email projects are widely acknowledged, there has been little investigation of what occurs after a curriculum activity finishes. In particular, what factors promote continued communication or cause communication breakdown have received less empirical attention. This paper explores factors which promote the continuation or non-continuation of email interactions between Australian and Japanese students after the conclusion of their coursework email exchange task via the analysis of two class surveys, in addition to collected email interaction and interviews with four key students (two continuers and two non-continuers) who serve as case studies. The experiences of these four students who were randomly assigned partners in the project are contrasted with those of a fifth student, Lucas, who chose to communicate with a long-term Japanese friend for the assessment, instead of being paired by the teacher. A number of factors which influence continuation are identified, including past sojourn experience, existing social networks, perceptions towards the curriculum task and their partners, shared topics of interest, time constraints, explicit statement of desire to continue, and potentially face-threatening behaviour, and several recommendations for enhancing online exchanges are given.

As Japanese uses three writing systems (hiragana, katakana, and the ideograms known as kanji), and as materials in the target language include all three, it is a major challenge to learn to read and write quickly. This paper focuses on interactive multi-media methods of teaching Japanese reading which foster learner autonomy.

As little has been published on interactive multi-media methods of teaching Japanese reading, it seems likely that traditional resources are generally used for this activity. The courseware includes sound files showing the pronunciation of each kana as well as simultaneous animation showing how to write each character. This paper investigates whether interactive courseware, used independently of classroom interaction, results in measurably greater recognition of the hiragana syllabary than more traditional methods. After briefly situating the study in the context of research on the teaching of Japanese reading and learner autonomy, the paper will present the courseware as well as an empirical study comparing the results of the use of the courseware by learners at beginners’ level: one group using the courseware, and the other using paper-based materials. This is followed by an account of learner diaries written by zero-beginner level learners of Japanese using the courseware.

The study indicates that acquisition of a recognition-level knowledge of hiragana is approximately twice as fast using the courseware as using paper-based materials. Learners also learned to write the hiragana without explicit instruction.

Collaborative learning has attracted attention as pedagogic mediation to assist learners’ corpus consultation, but some studies have pointed to negative aspects of collaboration. Based on the two sides of collaboration in language learning, this study presents a qualitative investigation of different effects of collaboration depending on task types used in learners’ corpus consultation. This study examined two types of tasks: a conceptual task, which tested students’ competence to draw a generalizable conclusion through a meaning-making process of corpus consultation; and a procedural task, which asked students to complete problem-solving activities strategically through corpus analysis. Two groups of three students were given the same tasks of corpus consultation but asked to complete the tasks either collaboratively or individually. The students’ verbal and nonverbal behaviors during the task completion, pre-and post-interviews, and the instructor’s observation notes were the main sources of data for analysis. The results of this study showed that collaboration has significantly different effects depending on the task types of corpus consultation. The collaborative group (CG) outperformed the individual group (IG) in the conceptual corpus consultation task, but the procedural task was more efficiently completed by the IG than the CG. The underperformance of the CG in the procedural task seemed to be partly attributable to the role of established intersubjectivity and the power inequality in the CG. Despite some limitations, the findings of this study reveal task-dependent effects of collaboration in corpus consultation and suggest practical implications for more effective and pedagogically beneficial use of learners’ corpus consultation in second language (L2) instruction.

This article attempts to define Expert CALL, siting in between traditional data-based CALL and intelligent CALL (ICALL). It relies on the concapts of expert knowledge and expert interaction and feedback. These are explored in the context of inflexional morphology, using as reference the auther's own ‘The Spanish Verb’ program. An electic computational algorithm, rather than a fully-fledged linguistic for malism suffices to deliver a stable and reliable lingustic knowledge basa on which to base Expert CALL applications. A similar ‘intermediate technology’ approach to syntax may bypass current difficulties encountered by ICALL to deliver linguistic reliabity.

EUROCALL continued to operate from the Language Institute at the University of Hull. The former CTI Centre for Modern Languages became part of a much larger Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies, in turn part of the Learning and Teaching Support Network (LTSN) funded by the UK Higher Education funding bodies. The team at Hull is responsible for aspects of the Centre’s activities relating to communication and information technologies (C&IT), and consists of June Thompson, Fred Riley and Julie Venner who serves as EUROCALL membership secretary. We were pleased to be joined in May 2000 by Janet Bartle who is the Academic Co-ordinator, C&IT for the Subject Centre.