This paper presents research findings of a longitudinal empirical case study that investigated an innovative Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) professional development program for pre-service English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers. The conceptualization of the program was based on the assumption that pre-service language teachers…

Applying Communicative Project theory (Linell, 2009), we identify and distinguish between the different coordination and language activities that emerged during an episode of "World of Warcraft" ("WoW") gameplay involving English Language learners (ELLs). We further investigate ELLs' coordinations between killing and caring, self and others, in…

This study aims at exploring the effectiveness of using an online-based course on the learning of sentence types inductively and deductively. To achieve this purpose, a computer-mediated course was designed. The sample of the study consists of four groups taught under four treatments of grammar: (1) with computer-based learning inductively, (2)…

Collocations are of great importance for second language learners, and a learner's knowledge of them plays a key role in producing language fluently (Nation, 2001: 323). In this article we describe and evaluate an innovative system that uses a Web-derived corpus and digital library software to produce a vast concordance and present it in a way…

Although "annotation" is a widely-researched topic in Corpus Linguistics (CL), its potential role in Data Driven Learning (DDL) has not been addressed in depth by Foreign Language Teaching (FLT) practitioners. Furthermore, most of the research in the use of DDL methods pays little attention to annotation in the design and implementation…

This article describes the influence of tool and task design on student interaction in language learning at a distance. Interaction in a multimodal desktop video conferencing environment, FlashMeeting, is analyzed from an ecological perspective with two main foci: participation rates and conversational feedback strategies. The quantitative…

This paper deals with the implementation of an "online pedagogical assistant" in a blended learning device for English for Special Purposes (ESP) students in a French university (UPMC, Paris VI). As it is now, it comprises a customized website designed to serve as a guide through the development of the students' work. The architecture of…

The following paper presents two stages of an action research project involving two oral proficiency courses held in the virtual world Second Life. Course 1 was conducted during the Autumn of 2007. Based on the experiences of this course, we redesigned many aspects of it in order to improve student activity in terms of oral participation and gave…

Faced with reduced numbers choosing to study foreign languages (as in England and Wales), strategies to create and maintain student interest need to be explored. One such strategy is to create "taster" courses in languages, for potential university applicants. The findings presented arise from exploratory research, undertaken to inform…

The advantages of computer-assisted grammar teaching and more recently, web-based grammar teaching, include the possibility, for the instructor, of devoting class time to teaching communication skills, and the capacity of individualizing the course work. Several websites have been created for these very reasons. However, most of these sites…

This paper describes some of the pedagogical and technical issues involved in adopting a hybrid approach to CALL materials development. It illustrates some of these issues with reference to a vocational CALL project, LANCAM, which took such a hybrid approach. It describes some of the benefits and considerations involved in hybrid development and…

CALL evaluation might ideally draw on principles from fields such as second language acquisition, language pedagogy, instructional design, and testing and measurement in order to make judgments about criteria such as elaborated input, feedback, collaborative learning, authentic tasks, navigation, screen design, reliability, validity, impact, and…

Whilst the potential of online Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in terms of access, immediacy and exposure is widely acknowledged, as yet remarkably little is known about its impact on the user population, be they language teachers or learners. Indeed, beyond its technological development, online CALL design is still affected by a dearth…

As more and more teacher preparation programs realize the need to include courses that deal with computer-assisted language learning, a crucial decision as to what is taught needs to be made, taking into consideration the various post-graduation goals ranging from teacher or teacher-trainer to researcher. Thus, the question of whether to go beyond…

The acquisition of new vowel sounds is one of the most challenging tasks for the adult learner of a second language. It is also an aspect which requires a great deal of time and individual attention. Learners of English are particularly hampered by the irregular orthographic representation of vowel sounds. This paper reports on research in…