German language classrooms lack authentic materials, especially at the intermediate and beginner levels. Authentic materials are generally substituted for mock materials in the target language, which creates an unrealistic and inauthentic second language (L2) environment. Additionally, authentic materials are oftentimes reserved for advanced L2…

In 21st century classrooms, students use a variety of languages to communicate their ideas in both the spoken and written word. These languages vary between standard and nonstandard forms of English, and each speaker may alter their language use based on context or intended audience. One unique language form that appears in many classrooms is…

Teaching and learning online was extensively adopted in English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher education program, as well in education of all levels in China with the advancement of the internet, multimedia information processing, cloud computing, and other information technologies since 1994. However, online education has remained more of a…

The availability of information in different languages on the Internet allows multilingual web users to search in multiple languages for the same search task. When web users can search in multiple languages, they may combine these languages in various ways during searching. Few studies have examined multilingual web users' code-switching search…

This doctoral dissertation explores diverse facets of online research and comprehension among college students with English as a second or foreign language (L2 students). The research involves three distinct investigations within this overarching theme. Firstly, the study delves into the online reading and writing practices employed by Korean L2…

While the use of educational technology in online instruction has increased in higher education, it is still limited in intensive, academic English programs. Precipitated by COVID-19, U.S. Intensive English Programs (IEPs) quickly transitioned from face-to-face (F2F) instruction to the emergency remote teaching environment (ERTE) when the public…

Based on Afflerbach and Cho's (2009) theoretical model of Constructively Responsive Reading on the Internet (CRRI model), this study aims to explore the patterns of reading strategies that 40 proficient, college-level, Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners use while reading online. It also seeks to identify the strategies' relations…

The inclusion of three-dimensional (3D) virtual tools has created a need to communicate the engagement of 3D tools and specify learning gains that educators and the institutions, which are funding 3D tools, can expect. A review of literature demonstrates that specific models and theories for 3D Virtual Reality (VR) learning do not exist "per…

Using a data-driven qualitative approach and drawing from language socialization and communities of practice theories, this dissertation study examines the second language (L2) identity-building strategies of 22 American learners of Russian who engaged in a six-week telecollaborative project with Russian native speakers in two genres of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate Internet usage and its relationship with the acculturation of the Horn of Africa immigrants residing in urban Minnesota. Technology has and continues to be a cultural amplifier; in just two decades from its initial availability to the general public, the Internet has made geographical differences…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine the impact of Web multimodality plus dialogical interactions in the acquisition and retention of novel lexical items among EFL students under a social constructionist framework. The lexical acquisition of 107 1st-year English majors at the University of Costa Rica was analyzed through…

With the Internet, foreign language learners can interact more easily with native speakers from other countries than in previous generations. For learners to develop the ability to function in foreign environments, it is vital to understand their experiences in postsecondary online foreign language classes. If educators and educational theorists…

Many of the commercial Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) programs available today typically take a generic approach. This approach standardizes the program so that it can be used to teach any language merely by translating the content from one language to another. These CALL programs rarely consider the cultural background or preferred…

This study is about the information-seeking behavior that bilingual users -- specifically, native Chinese speakers whose second language is English -- exhibit when performing an online search. Bilingual online searching occurs when bilingual users submit queries to search for information in two languages. This study seeks to explore the…

This study explored how the learners-as-ethnographers (LAE) approach facilitated intercultural learning among American students learning Chinese as a foreign language. Two research questions addressed the effectiveness of the LAE approach and students' learning experiences in a non-immersion context. I designed six ethnographic tasks for the…