Recent years have seen an explosion in video content available online. Yet there is relatively scant research on if, how, and why second language (L2) learners engage with videos in their target language as part of their self-directed study--especially for languages with a smaller media footprint. This paper presents qualitative findings from a…

This study examined the effects of pretask training to promote peer collaboration, encourage learning opportunities, and foster individual L2 writing development in web-based L2 collaborative writing (CW) tasks. The participants were 48 students from two junior English composition classes at a Taiwanese university. One class (n = 24) was assigned…

In this article, we delve into the application of the online game-based learning and testing platform Kahoot! with second language (L2) learners of Russian and explore how this tool can enhance our students' experiences. Following a brief overview of digital game-based learning (DGBL) and previous research on L2 learning through Kahoot!, we…

Bots are destined to dominate how humans interact with the internet of things that continues to grow around them. Despite their still budding intellectual capacity, major companies (e.g., Apple, Google and Amazon) have already placed (chat)bots at the centre of their flagship devices. (Chat)Bots currently fill the internet acting as guides,…

The importance of argumentative writing has long been recognized. However, many foreign language learners struggle to make effective argumentation and use appropriate language in argumentative writing. In this study, we proposed a blended learning design to address students' problems with argumentation and language use in argumentative writing…

The advance of educational technologies and digital devices have made computer-assisted language learning (CALL) an active interdisciplinary field with increasing research potential and topic diversity. Questions like "what topics and technologies attract the interest of the CALL community?," "how have these topics and technologies…

Technology-mediated task-based language teaching is the merger between technology and task-based language teaching (TBLT; González-Lloret & Ortega, 2014) and is arguably now an imperative for language education. As language classrooms are being redefined, training for how to set learners up to successfully do tasks online must be part of…

Culture has long been seen as a fundamental component of language learning. While its importance is universally recognized, there is no consensus on what the term encompasses, how culture should be integrated into language instruction, or on what role technology can and should play in that process. In this column, we will be looking at the latter…

Most L2 instructors implement their curriculum with an eye to improving the four skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Absent in this vision of language are notions of pragmatic, sociolinguistic, and multicultural competencies. Although current linguistic theories posit a more complex, interactive, and integrated model of language,…

In Western countries today, instructed language learning in higher education normally includes use of the Web: as a resource in face-to-face classes, as an equal partner in instructional delivery in hybrid courses, or as the primary teaching and learning environment in distance learning. Most often today this is enabled through use of a learning…

With today's rapid developments in digital technologies, technical obsolescence can occur much faster than in the past. Who would have predicted five years ago that Adobe's Flash would have seen the rapid decline it has experienced as a development environment? Using open, internationally accepted standards for materials development is…

As highlighted in the original call for papers for this special issue, learning with mobile technologies is currently a rapidly developing area of interest for researchers, teachers, materials writers and app developers in the educational field, not least within language education. Yet to what extent is this growing interest realised and shared by…

iTunes U has become the main worldwide provider of educational podcasts but, despite its popularity, little is known about the type of user who downloads iTunes U language resources, or how those resources are used. This paper presents the results of the first major survey (1891 responses) of users of one of the most successful iTunes U content…

Over the past 20 years, project implementation descriptions have accounted for the majority of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) publications, some 345 in total. Those interested in MALL applications thus need to read widely to acquire an adequate perspective of MALL implementations. The intent of this bibliography is to facilitate this…

This paper describes two studies that examined the awareness of pre-service English teachers regarding issues of digital literacy, fair use of digital materials, and e-safety. The participants in Study One designed reading and listening lessons utilizing online materials and then evaluated their lessons in terms of digital literacy and fair use.…