This paper introduces "FineTune," a mobile application currently in development that features a gamified version of High Variability Phonetic Training (HVPT). The aims of this paper are twofold: (1) to outline the theoretical motivation for the app's features, which includes a discussion of HVPT, gamification, and Self-Determination…

Despite the unquestionable academic interest on corpus-based approaches to language education, the use of corpora by teachers in their everyday practice is still not very widespread. One way to promote usage of corpora in language teaching is by making pedagogically appropriate corpora, labelled with different types of problems (for instance,…

This piece explores technologies for freer communication "with" machines, i.e. bots (chatbots or conversational agents), rather than the concept of speaking "to" machines, such as Intelligent Assistants (IA) like "Alexa." Bots are computer programmes which simulate natural intelligent communication using text or…

Reflecting the inter-connected reality of today's world, contemporary education is striving to keep up with the exponentially rapid changes that individuals around the globe are facing. Innovative educational proposals carry labels such as connective learning (Downes, 2006), e-learning 2.0 (Downes, 2005), education 2.0 (Carr et al., 2008), or…

Using a corpora approach involves using a series of texts in the language under study as a type of corpus on which to base acquisition. Languages in all forms (written, spoken, performed, formal, informal, etc.) are captured all the time through online and digital platforms, apps, etc. making them highly accessible. Applying corpora in teaching…

Robin (n.d.) defines digital storytelling as "the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories", stressing that "they all revolve around the idea of combining the art of telling stories with a variety of multimedia, including graphics, audio, video, and Web publishing" (n.p.). While engaging in digital storytelling,…

While translation has been used for centuries for the purpose of language learning, there is no doubt that recent approaches in the area of language and translation pedagogy have helped re-conceptualise -- and re-operationalise -- translation in radically new ways. In the last two decades, the role of translation in language teaching and learning…

Comparative Judgement (CJ) has emerged as a technique that typically makes use of holistic judgement to assess difficult-to-specify constructs such as production (speaking and writing) in Modern Foreign Languages (MFL). In traditional approaches, markers assess candidates' work one-by-one in an absolute manner, assigning scores to different…

Voice interaction assistants, such as "Siri," "Alexa," or "Google Assistant," offer new opportunities to create meaningful, fun tasks for language learning that require accurate spoken production. Designing good tasks requires an understanding of the learning context and needs as well as the interactional…

Interactional data is often central to research in plurilingual learning environments. However, getting a grip on the processes of collecting, organizing, transcribing, analyzing and presenting audio and/or visual data is possibly the most exciting, but also one of the most challenging things about learning to do qualitative research. Although the…

We present a tool for the creation and curation of C-tests. C-tests are an established tool in language proficiency testing and language learning. They require examinees to complete a text in which the second half of every second word is replaced by a gap. We support teachers and test designers in creating such tests through a web-based system…

In 2013, Stockwell and Hubbard published an article on emerging principles in Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL). In that article, they mentioned three issues that could perhaps impede learning in the domains of the physical, pedagogical, and pyscho-social. The physical issue they imply, refers to the general size of screens, which at the…

This handbook has been conceived as a guide for young researchers embarking on the exciting journey of investigating different aspects of plurilingual education. The text can also serve to review ideas previously encountered, and perhaps as a means of interrogating research methodologies in plurilingual contexts for those who already have ample…

This article describes how a complex and large Pre-Sessional (PS) programme at the University of Southampton (UoS) moved online at pace during the COVID-19 pandemic. It outlines the scale of the challenge and the ideas that informed our approach. It gives an overview of the technical and learning design used to deliver the programme, and makes…

Translation Studies MSc students at the University of Edinburgh take part in a Wikipedia translation assignment as part of their independent study component. The students make use of the free and open encyclopaedia's Content Translation tool which enables them to create translations side-by-side to the original article and automates the process of…