Speaking in a foreign/second language is a challenge for many learners, even when they have linguistic knowledge. Drawing on González-Lloret and Ortega's (2014) framework for technology-mediated tasks and MacIntyre's (2007) framework for willingness to communicate in a second language, this mixed methods study investigated the impact of…

In order to develop pragmatic competence in a language other than our own (L2), it is important to have enough knowledge of the cultural norms of the target language and enough opportunities to interact with a wide range of speakers to deploy different speech acts, registers, levels of politeness, conversational moves, and the like. The…

It has been repeatedly asserted in recent years that telecollaboration is such a powerful and effective tool for both second language acquisition (SLA) and fostering intercultural communication competence (ICC) that it should be regularly included in foreign language instruction (Çiftçi & Savas, 2018; Lewis & O'Dowd, 2016a; O'Dowd, 2016a;…

In this review article for the 20th Anniversary Issue, I look back at research from the last two decades on the role of computer technology in understanding and facilitating second language acquisition (SLA) and forward to what future research might investigate. To be discussed are both how technology has been used to conduct research on SLA…

"Ready access to travel and to technology-enhanced social networking (e.g., Facebook or Skype) has changed the nature of study abroad to the point where today's experiences are fundamentally different from those of earlier eras" (Kinginger, 2013a, p. 345). In addition to more travel options and greater technology availability, study…

Although a number of studies have investigated study abroad or telecollaboration separately, none to date has included both methods with the aim of differentiating their impacts on the development of intercultural communicative competence (ICC). Using mixed methods, the current study compared foreign language learners' perceived ICC development…

The easy accessibility, ubiquity, and plurilingualism of popular SNSs such as Facebook have inspired many scholars and practitioners of second language teaching and learning to integrate networked forms of communication into educational contexts such as language classrooms and study abroad programs (e.g., Blattner & Fiori, 2011; Lamy &…

Although data collection has been used in language learning settings for some time, it is only in recent decades that large corpora have become available, along with efficient tools for their use. Advances in natural language processing (NLP) have enabled rich tagging and annotation of corpus data, essential for their effective use in language…

With a shift toward understanding the goals of foreign language learning as development of intercultural communicative competence (ICC; Thorne, 2010), telecollaborative interaction with geographically distant partners has been seen both as a pedagogical tool that can play a significant role in promoting intercultural negotiation abilities and…

The following commentary presents an overview of earlier studies of discourse functions and syntactic complexity as well as recent investigations that focus on interaction and measures of syntactic and lexical complexity in learners' output in traditional classrooms and computer-mediated environments. Recent studies emphasize the need for better…

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of different types of language tasks performed in Second Life (SL) on the oral performance of beginners of Chinese as a Second Language (CSL), focusing on oral accuracy. The 30 CSL beginners who participated in this study were randomly divided into two groups (n = 15 per group), required to…

This meta-analysis reports the results of a systematic synthesis of primary studies on the effectiveness of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in second language acquisition (SLA) for the period 2000-2012. By extracting information on 21 features from each primary study, this meta-analysis intends to summarize the CMC research literature for…

This paper introduces readers to Wordle, a data visualization tool, and describes how word clouds, or wordles generated by Wordle, were used in an action research project designed to facilitate the teaching of foreign language (FL) writing within a dual coding theoretical framework. Over the course of one semester, students in a third-semester…

The European Union funded LITERALIA project connected adult language learners from four countries with the help of an online workspace and supported visits. The project was based on Tandem principles, whereby learners of different languages support one another in learning one another's language and culture, in turn taking on the roles of learners…

Reviews recent research on intercultural learning and reports on a yearlong e-mail exchange between Spanish and English second year university students. Identifies key characteristics of e-mail exchanges that helped to develop learners' intercultural communicative competence. Outlines elements of e-mail messages that may enable students to develop…