Digital tools can guide and support teachers in professional development programmes. The aim of this study was four-fold: (1) to explore changes introduced in classroom methodology by secondary school teachers during their participation in a professional development programme, using the digital tool EVALOE-DSS, based on conversational methodology;…

Intelligent personal assistants (IPAs) are a valuable tool in language learning because they provide opportunities for authentic interaction. However, their effectiveness, compared with that of human interlocutors, in facilitating second and foreign language interaction has not been explored. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of IPAs…

The present study adopted a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach to explore the impact of e-tandem on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' speaking skills (i.e. speaking fluency and coherence, lexicon, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation) and willingness to communicate (WTC). To this end, two classes at a language…

In recent years, there has been an upsurge of interest in the use of computer technologies for L2 writing instruction. Many researchers have empirically investigated the effects of the applications of educational technologies on language learners' writing performance and have highlighted the effectiveness of the use of educational technology in…

This study investigated student perceptions and opinions on an English Oral Presentation Application (EOPA), a mobile learning application designed to assist English learners develop oral presentations and online collaboration skills. This study was part of a Design Based Research (DBR) project which incorporated an adapted Technology Acceptance…

Grammatical information, embedded at the word level, makes the acquisition of morphologically rich languages quite complex as well as the language exercise generation process for teachers. This study introduces a new gamification approach for complex morphology learning and aims to analyze the students' perceptions towards it. In this approach,…

Despite repeated calls for the integration of digital multimodal composing (DMC) into English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching, the effect of the pedagogical use of DMC has been rarely investigated in the EFL context. Even less is known about the effects of DMC on students' L2 writing development. This study aims to address this issue by…

Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL), which provides access to learning without the constraints of place and time, is worthy of exploration for pedagogical purposes. Given the use of gaming applications and social media as potential instructional methods for MALL, this study investigated the effect of these two methods, along with traditional…

Although social networking apps and dictation-based automatic speech recognition (ASR) are now widely available in mobile phones, relatively little is known about whether and how these technological affordances can contribute to EFL pronunciation learning. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of feedback from peers and/or…

This research applied a web-based dynamic assessment system, GPAM-WATA system, to help low English achievers to perform self-directed learning of junior high school English grammar. A quasi-experimental design was adopted. A total of 124 seventh graders from four classes participated in this research. Participants were randomly divided into the…

The objective of our study was to understand learners' experiences in an LMOOC (Language Massive Open Online Course) and to highlight those elements that make an LMOOC successful. Our research focused on three questions: how do learners perceive their overall experience in the course, which specific LMOOC components learners appreciate, and to…

This study aims to design an authoring system of robots and IoT-based toys for creating a scenario-based interactive learning environment for young English as a Foreign Language learners. This study adopts a design-based research approach to investigate the pedagogical needs, the critical features and usability of such a authoring system. Twelve…

Despite the rapid development of telecollaboration in foreign language education, telecollaborative exchanges involving Chinese as the target language have not received sufficient attention. Adopting an action research approach, this study focuses on examining the student perceptions as well as the challenges of a carefully designed…

VR technology allows learners to access simulated, immersive and interactive virtual environments to perform authentic learning activities. In particular, VR has emerged as a valuable tool for L2 learning. However, VR research has tended to pay more attention to desktop-based VR than to VR via mobile-rendered HMDs, leaving the potentials of VR…

This article reports the study of a novel way of raising tertiary-level students' native cultural awareness (NCA) via an informal mobile learning community. Through two cycles of action research at a teacher-education university in East China, the study drew upon the Community of Practice (CoP) theory to form a synchronous English chat group.…