Modernization of the military system and its content has enhanced the value of the foreign language as a subject aimed at the formation of communicative competence of future officers. It mainly concerns a professional language, which is an obligatory part of the cadets' professional training. One of the main tasks of foreign language training of…

eTwinning is a telecollaboration initiative which was launched in 2005 by the European Commission. Turkey joined the platform in 2009 with a number of schools, teachers and projects. However, there is still plenty of room for studies on the role of eTwinning in the field of EFL. Aiming to discover the role of eTwinning in a specific Turkish EFL…

This study investigates an instantiation of a 3D virtual world-based Japanese learning curriculum within the context of a Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) classroom. Through a mixed-method case study approach, participants' natural acquisition of Japanese in a 3D virtual environment was examined. In the present study, four sources of data from…

This article discusses insights gained from a case study on telecollaboration for intercultural communication in foreign language school contexts. Focus was on non-native English and German lingua franca conversations between pairs of students (aged 14-16, B1 level) from schools in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. Telecollaboration…

Within the European TILA project a case study was carried out where pupils from schools in Finland and the Netherlands engaged in debating sessions using the 3D virtual world of OpenSim once a week for a period of 5 weeks. The case study had two main objectives: (1) to study the impact that the discussion tasks undertaken in a virtual environment…

Since the early 2000s, foreign language practitioners and researchers have shown an increasing interest in exploring the affordances of multimodal telecollaborative environments for the linguistic and intercultural development of their students. Due in part to their inherent complexity, one-on-one desktop-videoconferencing contexts have not been…

This edited volume brings together large-scale research as well as case studies from a range of geographical contexts and represents a variety of educational settings involving second language learners and users. Its aim is to explore the interrelated issues of psychology and technology use in second language learning settings as well as in more…

As one of the emerging technologies, the Second Life virtual world provides learners of English as a Foreign Language with a unique opportunity of learning authentic language with native and non-native speakers of English in a virtual environment. It enables them to learn the target language in a real-life-like social communication environment. To…

Within a European project on Networked Interaction in Foreign Language Acquisition and Research (NIFLAR), "Second Life" was used as a 3D virtual world in which language students can communicate synchronously with native speakers in the target language, while undertaking action together. For this context, a set of design principles for…

Research has shown that simply linking learners from different countries using technology does not automatically bring about learning benefits; instead it frequently ends in tensions that, if not addressed, could potentially hinder learning. Using the lens of Vygotsky-inspired sociocultural theory, activity theory, and Engestrom's activity systems…

One of the key concerns of educators is to come to know what works in language teaching and under which conditions (Intercultural) Communicative Competence can be furthered. This concern is even bigger among professionals experimenting or willing to experiment with new media. Following socio-constructivist theories of learning (Vygotsky, 1978) and…

Computer-Assisted Foreign Language Teaching and Learning: Technological Advances highlights new research and an original framework that brings together foreign language teaching, experiments and testing practices that utilize the most recent and widely used e-learning resources. This comprehensive collection of research will offer linguistic…

The purpose of this case study is to understand ways to plan, organize and facilitate experiences in which experts who are geographically dispersed act as effective consultants. Graduate students enrolled in an advanced course in instructional technology at a large university in the Midwestern United States interacted with colleagues studying at a…

Develops a conceptual framework for understanding how intercultural communication, mediated by cultural artifacts, creates compelling, problematic, and surprising conditions for additional language learning. Three case studies of computer-mediated intercultural engagement draw together correlations between discursive orientation, communicative…

Presents a case study of the development of intercultural competence in a German-American e-mail partnership by examining the electronic interaction produced in this exchange within the framework of appraisal theory, a Hallidayan-inspired linguistic approach to the investigation of evaluative language. (VWL)