This study investigated the effects of Facebook and Twitter on foreign language (Chinese) learners' written production in both short- (10 days) and long-term (50 days) pseudo-experimental settings. Adopting two concepts (i.e. symmetric vs. asymmetric) from matrix theory in social network analysis, we categorized Facebook as a symmetric social…

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…

This paper reports on task interaction, task success and word learning among second language (L2) learners of different levels of word recognition from speech (WRS) proficiency who used a CALL application previously shown to be effective in the development of L2 WRS. Participants (N = 65) were categorised into three levels of L2 WRS proficiency…

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…

Instruction in English is a priority around the globe, but instructional methodologies have not always kept pace with the changing needs of students. To explore the benefits of the flipped classroom model for learners of English as a Foreign Language, the researchers used flipped learning and Wen's Output-driven/Input-enabled model to design a…

This case study focuses on the feedback that is provided by tutors to learners in the course of synchronous online teaching. More specifically, we study how trainee tutors used the affordances of Visu, an experimental web videoconferencing system, to provide negative feedback. Visu features classical functionalities such as video and chat, and it…

Data-driven learning (DDL), or corpus-based language learning, involves the learner in an exploratory task to discover appropriate expressions or collocates regarding his writing. However, the problematic units of meaning in each learner's writing are so diverse that conventional corpora often prove futile. The search engine Google with the…

The framework of this study is cooperation between students of English at a Chinese university and their counterparts at a Danish university, i.e. neither group of students are native speakers of English. The theoretical framework for the study is Vygotsky's sociocultural approach combined with the work by a number of researchers on the link…

This study explores the use of the interactive whiteboards in teaching the non-Latin based orthographies of Hindi, Pashto, Dari, Persian (Farsi), and Hebrew. All these languages use non-roman scripts, and except for Hindi, they are cursive. Thus, letters within words are connected and for beginners the script may look quite complicated,…

Generalised access to the Internet and globalisation has led to increased demand for translation services and a resurgence in the use of machine translation (MT) systems. MT post-editing or the correction of MT output to an acceptable standard is known to be one of the ways to face the huge demand on multilingual communication. Given that the use…

Describes a course that used e-mail to improve the German and Spanish written language skills of Canadian Foreign Service Officers. To lower attrition rates, the course required completion of authentic professional tasks, exposing participants to formal, technical, and informal language. Though initial interest was high, attrition was also high,…

Focuses on the use of word processers during revision in an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) writing context. The study attempts to identify the magnitude of the effects of ESL writing expertise, text importance for students and computer familiarity upon the types of revision. (24 references) (Author/CK)