This meta-analytic study explores the overall effectiveness of automatic speech recognition (ASR) on ESL/EFL student pronunciation performance. Data with 15 studies representing 38 effect sizes found from 2008 to 2021 were meta-analyzed. The findings of the meta-analysis indicated that ASR has a medium overall effect size (g = 0.69). Results from moderator analyses suggest that (1) ASR with explicit corrective feedback is largely effective, while ASR with indirect feedback (e.g. ASR dictation) is moderately effective; (2) ASR has a large effect on segmental pronunciation but a small effect on suprasegmental pronunciation; (3) medium to long treatment duration of ASR results in higher learning outcomes, but short duration offers no differential effect compared to a non-ASR condition; (4) practicing pronunciation with peers in an ASR condition produces a large effect, but the effect is small when practicing alone; (5) ASR is largely effective for adult (i.e. 18 years old and above) and intermediate English learners. Overall, ASR is a beneficial application and is recommended for assisting L2 student pronunciation development.

With more than 1,200 publications over the past two decades, experimental mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) studies targeting second/foreign language (L2) acquisition outcomes are certainly not lacking in quantity. Their research quality, on the other hand, has often been brought into question, most notably with regard to the adequacy of their assessment instruments and statistical analyses. Yet limiting the determination of research quality to the evaluation of testing procedures, and the statistical analysis of the results they produce, ignores the critical relevance of the underlying research parameters that generate the results in the first place. A comprehensive evaluation of quantitative experimental L2 acquisition MALL research quality, encompassing design as well as assessment instruments and statistical analysis, thus remains to be undertaken. The present investigation endeavors to do so based on an extensive compilation of 737 MALL studies published between 2000 and 2021. The research quality of these publications is evaluated according to four main parameters: language acquisition moderators, treatment intervention conditions, assessment instruments, and statistical analysis. These are applied according to a modified version of the Checklist for the Rigor of Education-Experiment Designs (CREED), which classifies research design quality into five levels: low, medium-low, medium, medium-high, high. With over three quarters of all studies falling within the low category, the result leaves much to be desired. Since the modified CREED algorithm developed here can equally be applied to studies from their inception, it offers a way forward to improve the research quality of future experimental MALL studies.

This study traces the evolution of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) by investigating published research articles (RAs) in four major CALL journals: ReCALL, Computer Assisted Language Learning, Language Learning & Technology, and CALICO Journal. All 2,397 RAs published over four decades (1983–2019) were included in the pool of data, and the Google Scholar citation metric was adopted to assess the impact of the papers. By selecting the top 15% of widely cited papers from each individual year, we minimized the time bias between years, enabling a balanced narration of the history of CALL through a representative dataset of 426 high-impact RAs. To identify the evolution of research trends, the contexts, methodologies, theoretical underpinnings and research foci of all 426 RAs were investigated using NVivo 12 and AntConc. The analysis of the data yielded encouraging results such as the upward trend in the number of publications and the international reach of CALL in the last two decades, the physical or virtual presence of language learners with diverse language profiles, and the growing tendency to triangulate methodology for increased complexity. However, long-standing issues such as the heavy reliance on traditional research contexts, poor reporting practices of basic demographic information, the large number of atheoretical papers and the concentration on a limited number of research foci continue to pose challenges in CALL research. Based on the findings, the paper suggests solutions for the controversies and addresses key issues for future research in CALL.

The majority of research papers in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) report on primarily quantitative studies measuring the effectiveness of pedagogical interventions in relation to language learning outcomes. These studies are frequently referred to in the literature as experiments, although this designation is often incorrect because of the approach to sampling that has been used. This methodological discussion paper provides a broad overview of the current CALL literature, examining reported trends in the field that relate to experimental research and the recommendations made for improving practice. It finds that little attention is given to sampling, even in review articles. This indicates that sampling problems are widespread and that there may be limited awareness of the role of formal sampling procedures in experimental reasoning. The paper then reviews the roles of two key aspects of sampling in experiments: random selection of participants and random assignation of participants to control and experimental conditions. The corresponding differences between experimental and quasi-experimental studies are discussed, along with the implications for interpreting a study’s results. Acknowledging that genuine experimental sampling procedures will not be possible for many CALL researchers, the final section of the paper presents practical recommendations for improved design, reporting, review, and interpretation of quasi-experimental studies in the field.

This explanatory mixed-method study seeks to understand the relationships between second language (L2) motivation (including the ideal L2 self and the ought-to L2 self) and students’ informal digital learning of English (IDLE) and whether such relationships are mediated by the most prominent positive emotion – enjoyment. A total of 391 Chinese university students participated in the survey, and 15 of them were interviewed later. Quantitative analysis revealed a strong positive relationship between the ideal L2 self and participants’ IDLE, which was partially mediated by foreign language enjoyment (FLE), while the hypotheses that the ought-to L2 self significantly predicted FLE and IDLE were rejected. The qualitative data added details to how a vivid and elaborate L2 vision contributed to enhanced English learning enjoyment and served as the most influential motivator for IDLE practices. Meanwhile, the external and instrumental motives could not predict Chinese university students’ enjoyment, disempowering them to invest in productive language learning practices in the informal and digitalized environment. The discussion of these findings and pedagogical implications helps to chart the path for utilizing the power of the ideal L2 self to engage Chinese university students with the extramural and digitalized language learning ecology.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the usefulness of examples that show typical learner errors in online pedagogical dictionaries of English for the accuracy of error correction as well as immediate and delayed retention of usage. The optimal positioning of examples of errors in entries is also researched. In an online experiment, participants did a sentence correction exercise with the help of purpose-built monolingual dictionary entries, where the provision and positioning of examples showing errors were controlled. Two test versions were created, which differed only in the presence of examples of errors in the entries. Usage retention was observed immediately after the test and two weeks later. The results indicate that it is worthwhile to include examples of errors in online learners’ dictionaries because they contribute greatly to the retention of usage in the long run. They also help to rectify errors, though the effect is not statistically significant. The positioning of examples showing errors in entries has no influence on error correction accuracy or usage retention. The study reveals examples of errors to be a valuable induction-oriented stand-alone dictionary component placed outside warning boxes, which typically include explicit grammar rules and promote deduction.

The purpose of this article is to investigate the interactional strategies that secondary school EFL learners use during telecollaboration with interlocutors from a different cultural and linguistic background. Its novelty lies in the educational level and cultural contexts explored as well as in the goal of examining whether frequency of strategy use may depend on the interlocutor and, if so, what the relevant factors are for such variation. The study focuses on two projects in which 10 participants from one Bulgarian school and 18 partners from two schools in Spain took part in dyadic synchronous videoconferences discussing culture-related topics. Data were collected via video recordings, field observations, semi-structured interviews, and questionnaires. The article presents both descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis of the communicative behavior of three case study students interacting with different telecollaborative partners. We found that the participants demonstrate differences in interactional behavior and utilize strategies with varying frequency depending on their interlocutor. The results also reveal crucial factors in the design of telecollaborative educational projects if learners are to successfully implement skills of discovery and interaction in real time.