As emerging technologies rapidly evolve, language teachers in the 21st century face an increasing challenge in determining how to integrate them into their language classrooms. The existing literature emphasises that a crucial element for successful technology integration is for teachers to hold sufficient proficiency in technology and adopt…

The use of three-dimensional virtual worlds (3DVWs) in language education has been widely acknowledged in the field, and researchers have expressed a growing interest in their proliferation in second language (L2) learning and instruction. In order to improve the Thai-speaking abilities of learners of Thai as a foreign language (TFL) in three…

This article originated from a working group on "Learning beyond formal schooling through human--computer--human interaction (HCHI)" convened at the UNESCO EDUSummIT 2023 in Kyoto (Japan). A polylogue approach was adopted by engaging eight co-authors whose diverse perspectives culminated in propositions that addressed the pivotal…

This research aimed to investigate the effects of pronunciation monitoring on learners' affective factors through self-monitoring activities using speech recognition systems. The effect of a specifically designed pronunciation activity for Japanese university students was analyzed. The worksheet form of the activity was based on the use of speech…

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, universities in Japan had been slow to transition from paper-based to digital methods and materials. In addition, the most applicable theories for teaching and learning languages with digital technologies had not been considered deeply by many university teachers, and their beliefs about these theories had not been…

This study investigated the effects of using an online High Variability Phonetic Training (HVPT) program for university students whose first language is Japanese and who studied English as a foreign language. The target sounds were English fricatives, which many of the participants felt were challenging to distinguish and articulate. The training…

Computer-mediated learning initiatives have recently increased due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Implications are thus created for self-regulation, learning and achievement as computer-mediated learners face unique motivational and metacognitive demands. The current research uses a serial mediation approach to test the effect of goal…

This study investigated the relationship between a metaphor-based approach to teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) and involvement of the brain's right hemisphere. Specifically, it examined learners' understanding of three levels of sureness associated with different expressions in English -- those that are "certain,"…

Previous research comparing communicative to non-communicative computer-mediated tasks requiring output production found an advantage in L2 vocabulary learning efficiency in favor of the communicative task (Hughes, 2023). The present study analyzes the chat data from Hughes (2023) to determine what features of interaction may have contributed to…

The study is the second in a series of mixed-methods studies on the integration of The Sims 4, a life-simulation game, into language classrooms. In this study, the researcher explores the effect of game-based language learning (GBLL) on students' English communicative competence from three aspects, interaction, fluency and content, in a Japanese…

The integration and normalization of multiple CALL systems with more traditional face-to-face learning, or blended learning, is an emerging trend of research. Evaluators are urged to investigate the processes involved in normalization of language learning tools in the classroom. Grounded in blended learning evaluation, this paper adopts an…

A browser-based system to facilitate practice in asking and answering simple questions in English was developed. The user may ask or answer by speaking or typing, and the computer's output is in the form of speech and/or text. The types of questions handled and the permitted vocabulary are limited, though the vocabulary items may be edited freely.…

This study aims to analyse the initial use of Digital Storytelling (DS) in primarily asynchronous classes in order to yield results and recommendations for future courses. All participants were students in elective English courses at a Japanese university in Spring, 2020. Due to COVID-19, the courses were redesigned and conducted remotely with the…

This article describes the development of a tense and aspect identifier, an online tool designed to help learners of English by harnessing a natural language processing pipeline to automatically classify verb groups into one of 12 grammatical tenses. Currently, there is no website or application that can automatically identify tense in context,…

This one-group quasi-experimental study aimed to determine the effectiveness of using a gamified course management system with points, badges (and consequently competition) to facilitate the development of English phonology in a foreign language context in Japan. To implement this idea, we focused on the acquisition of English segments /r/ and /l/…