In this article, Camille Debras explores face-to-face tandem interactions between undergraduate university students who are native speakers of French and English and the role multimodality plays in these. Drawing from linguistics research on the multimodality of tandem interactions, four multimodal interactional linguistics studies based on the…

This chapter discusses a form of intergroup dialogue, that is dialogue as a method of communication that can be used to explore shared issues between groups from diverse backgrounds, dialogue that highlights the importance of people's lived experiences. For language learners, this kind of dialogue is an opportunity to communicate about themselves…

Japanese university students (N=253) conversed with human and Artificially intelligent (AI) chatbot partners then recorded their perceptions of these interactions via open-ended written feedback. This data was qualitatively analyzed to gain a better understanding of the merits and demerits of using chatbots for English study from the students'…

The aim of this study was to discover what potential benefits of Virtual Reality (VR) use students perceived in comparison to smartphone use in an English-speaking activity. Two surveys were conducted over three interventions in order to ascertain these student perceptions. Ten students enrolled in an elective English class at a Japanese…

The aim of this research project was to examine the impact of chatbots as conversation partners. First and second year Japanese university students (n=120) from a private university in Southwest Japan were randomly assigned to either conduct a speaking task with an Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot or human partner. Preliminary analysis of the…

Motivational factors play an important role in (language) learning processes and research indicates that this is also true for telecollaboration exchanges (Jauregi, de Graaff, van den Bergh, & Kriz, 2012; Melchor-Couto, 2017; in press). This short paper will introduce a study into how motivational factors play a role in telecollaboration…

Language learning in tandem exchanges offers students a wealth of learning opportunities that are characterised by reciprocal and autonomous learning and foster authentic communication (Brammerts, 2001). Increasingly, these encounters take place online and, in this context, the EU-funded European University Tandem (EUniTa) project developed an…

After Hong Kong returned to China in 1997, those in the Chinese migrant community in the UK who anticipated returning to China saw the significant benefits of learning Mandarin. The challenges are not only related to the social and cultural differences between the Cantonese and Mandarin migrant groups, but also the intrinsic linguistic differences…

Language tandem exchanges offer students valuable opportunities for autonomous learning and authentic intercultural communication encounters. This paper will discuss the key principles of tandem language exchange, and in particular online ones, and then present the EU-funded European University Tandem (EUniTa) project which was developed by…

This article describes the innovations introduced into the undergraduate "ab initio" Italian language programme at the School of Languages at the University of Bristol and the use of a range of online tools and resources. It evaluates to what extent the innovations have enhanced the students' experience. The article describes the course…

This paper reports on the interaction between upper intermediate German as a Foreign Language (GFL) learners in Tokyo and prospective GFL teachers in Berlin in an online videoconferencing environment. It focuses on the way problems in comprehension and production are brought up and solved in the subsequent interaction. Our findings illustrate that…

The present paper addresses the practice of a new English classroom on the model of a free e-learning programme in the context of adult education in Armenia, a country where English is taught as a second foreign language. The research reviews the results and impact of an online English language learning programme initiated for those vulnerable…

The telecollaborative project under study involves, on the one hand, Masters students who are studying to become teachers and who design the tasks as well as tutor them, and, on the other hand, French language students. The relationship in this type of telecollaboration has been shown to be both asymmetric and symmetric. The hypothesis this paper…

This pilot study aims to highlight a) differences in pragmatic function and distribution of discourse markers (DMs) in computer mediated and face to face (FtF) settings and b) any correlation of DM uses and language competence. The data have been collected by video-recording and analysing three speakers of Italian L2 (language level competence:…

The main aim of the present paper is to introduce a model for digital game categorization suitable for use in English language learning studies: the Scale of Social Interaction (SSI) Model (original idea published as Sundqvist, 2013). The SSI Model proposes a classification of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) digital games into three categories:…