Personalized learning has become an important and powerful paradigm catering for various needs, styles, preferences, and modes of learning. Several methods including task recommendations and path planning have recently emerged to effectively implement personalized learning using e-learning systems. The literature shows that the use of task…

This paper explores, through the use of the observation checklist and Conversation Analysis (CA), the discourse functions elicited by the dialogic task of the Free University of Bolzano (IT) speaking test. It aims to contribute to content validation, which has been claimed to be especially relevant in paired speaking tests, where interaction is…

This paper reports the results of a survey that investigated the practice and experience of task management of university students. A total of 202 tasks identified by 24 university students were analyzed. The results suggest that participants had a reasonable sense of priority of tasks, that they tend to perceive a task as a big chunk, not a…

This study examines the effect of recognition-based retrieval practice on vocabulary learning in a university Chinese class. Students (N=26) were given practice retrieving new vocabulary (single or two-character words) in a series of simple form recognition tests administered over four weeks. The test sets consisted of target vocabulary that…

Projects related to the European Language Portfolio (ELP) carried out at the Language Centre of the University of Trieste are concerned to examine whether and to what extent "can do" descriptors can be extended to courses in Languages for Specific Purposes. The project reported in this article had two aims. The first was to explore what…

This paper brings task-based language teaching (TBLT) curriculum development principles into the blended learning context, presenting processes and outcomes from a project to develop a task-based thematic unit--asking and giving directions--in a hybrid web-based university-level class focused on listening and speaking skills in Mandarin Chinese.…