This chapter focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on language classes in a Paris university in 2020. The first case studied is a Master of Arts (MA) class in translation studies. The forced and sudden switch to online learning was well accepted by students who cooperated with the academic staff to choose an online platform, in the…

In this paper a case of synchronic layering is examined in which Dutch "massa" ("mass") and plural "massa's" ("masses") are attested with lexical uses as a collective noun, quantifying uses ("a large quantity of") and intensifying uses ("very")--with plural "massa's" only--in some Flemish varieties of Dutch. Against the background of…

This paper reports on a study of the interactions between text chat and audio modalities in L2 communication in a synthetic (virtual) world and observes whether the text chat modality was used for corrective feedback and the characteristics of the latter. This is examined within the context of a hybrid content and language integrated learning…

This article describes the use of instructional technology to promote, through a combination of behaviorist/structuralist and communicative/action-based methodologies, correct pronunciation of French as a Foreign Language (FFL) to native Greek-speaking false-beginner-level learners. It is based on the analysis of a teaching programme, complemented…

Improving university students' writing skills is always a challenge. In a third-year French composition course, the researchers introduced the use of public Internet discussion forums to see if that would help achieve the argumentative writing skills goals that were set for this study. The results show that participation in the forums had a…

Most pedagogical applications of wikis in foreign language education draw on this collaborative tool to improve (formal) writing skills or to develop target language cultural sensitivity, missing largely on the opportunity to support student-developed L2 content knowledge. Seeking an alternative to traditional teacher-centered approaches, this…

This book brings together current research by leading international scholars on the often contentious nature of language policies and their practical outcomes in North America, Australia and Europe. It presents a range of perspectives from which to engage with a variety of pressing issues raised by multilingualism, multiculturalism, immigration,…

This paper reports some of the findings of a distinctive innovative use of audio-conferencing involving a population (campus-based advanced learners) and a type of application (task-based language learning) that have received little attention to date: the use of Wimba Voice Tools to provide additional opportunities for spoken interactions between…

This article reports on the variable omission of the French negative particle "ne" (the first marker of verbal negation) in synchronous (i.e., real-time) electronic communication environments. Patterns of variation in a corpus of non-educational chat (i.e., free, public-access Internet chat) are analyzed and compared to data produced by first-,…

This article sets out to illustrate the needs of a registered blind undergraduate student embarking upon a post-A-level French course at the University of Northampton. It also reflects upon (1) some of the challenges faced by the higher education (HE) tutors concerned and (2) the key adjustments put into place with a view to adopting…

With the development of new digital technologies and their gradual introduction into the language classroom, the Internet enables students to reach out beyond the confines of traditional teaching and learning settings, allowing previously non-existent access to foreign languages and cultures. On the one hand, the web allows learners to find…

Researchers studied the use of a suite of synchronous communication tools in support of a Web-based, senior high school French course whose students were dispersed over the vast, sparsely populated province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The objective was to describe interaction according to four types: student-teacher, student-student,…

This collection of conference papers includes the following: (1) "Four Decades of Foreign Language Education: Are We Still at Cheese Station N?" (T. Bruce Fryer); (2) "Teaching French with the Internet: What the Students Want vs. What They Do" (Jean-Louis P. Dassier); (3) "Learning Behind the Screen: Computers,…

Canadians find it necessary to both define and defend their cultural identity partly because their historic, geographic, and political differences from the United States are frequently overshadowed by the many characteristics the two countries share: a continent, a very high standard of living, a language, and a popular culture as presented…