Open source lectures not only provide knowledge-seekers with convenient ways to obtain knowledge and information, they also serve as potential language learning resources that provide extensive language input and repeated exposure to vocabulary within specific topics or disciplines. This current study aims to examine the relationship between…

The development of both the materials for an intermediate-level hybrid German writing course and the software in a virtual learning environment for the course may be viewed as activity systems. Viewing the individual components of each system as interrelated enables us to conceptualize the complexities of the development process, which goes well…

The development of online learning materials is a complex and expensive process that can benefit from the application of consistent and organized principles of instructional design. This article discusses the development at Brigham Young University of the online portion of a one-semester course in Swahili using the ADDIE Model (Analysis, Design,…

Multiuser virtual environments (MUVEs) are quickly gaining importance as tools for foreign language instruction by promoting collaboration and social presence in a lifelike 3-D environment. One of the largest and fastest growing of these MUVEs is Linden Lab's "Second Life" (SL). With an international membership of over 9,000,000 residents, SL is…

With the advent of web-based programs that automate the scoring of exercises, materials are now being developed from the outset with the capabilities of the web in mind. Materials developed without consideration of the web's capabilities, on the other hand, must be retrofitted. Texts that are retrofitted to the web have the advantage of being…

Despite the problems presented by lexical errors in second language (L2) communication, most computer assisted language learning (CALL) programs tend to focus on the acquisition of grammar points rather than on the development of the L2 lexicon. In addition, CALL vocabulary tasks are typically limited in scope and mechanical in nature, covering…

In this article we report on an 8-year process that included three successive iterations of the following cycle: (a) development of instructional technology, (b) formative evaluation, and (c) modification of the technology. From the first formative evaluation to the last, our students told us that they found heavily contextualized language…

Current approaches to language pedagogy recognize the fact that ESL learners need explicit help to improve the grammatical accuracy of their writing. This research investigates the utility of an online resource intended to improve advanced-level ESL learners' writing by increasing their grammatical awareness and ability to correct the grammatical…

This paper describes the development of an innovative web-based environment for English language learning with advanced data-driven and statistical approaches. The project uses various corpora, including a Chinese-English parallel corpus ("Sinorama") and various natural language processing (NLP) tools to construct effective English…