The potential for computer-supported learning in educational contexts has opened up the possibilities for learners to interact in informal contexts outside the classroom. The context of the present research is a young American individual's vlog on YouTube sharing his experiences as a learner of French. This paper focuses on the potential use of…

This article discusses a study that investigated pronunciation development in second language learners by monitoring willingness to communicate variables. Students (N = 37) in a second-semester, introductory French course participated in online interpersonal audio discussions with classmates through VoiceThread. Pronunciation development and…

The use of reflective tasks, such as journals, as a means to enhance learning is not uncommon in higher education. However, the formative value of reflective tasks is not easily reconciled in tertiary settings where assessment requirements traditionally favour product over process. While learner perception and resolution of this tension have…

This study adopts a case study approach to investigate the impacts of synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) learning environments on learners' perception of social presence. The participants were twelve French as a foreign language (FFL) beginners in a Taiwanese university. Divided into three groups, they conducted some tasks in three…

This comparative case study explored the motives and goals of two American students participating in short-term study abroad (SA). Findings, interpreted from an activity theory perspective, demonstrated that despite similar language-learning histories and demographic characteristics, the students were learning French and participating in SA for…

This study examined the relationship between the metalinguistic reflections produced by French-speaking elementary school students and their actual learning of ESL. Using a before-after design, data was collected at the beginning (Time 1) and at the end (Time 2) of a 3-month period during which the participants kept a metalinguistic journal.…

The primary aim of this study was to assess the impact of a curricular intervention on study-abroad students' use of language- and culture-learning strategies and on their acquisition of requests and apologies. The intervention consisted of a brief face-to-face orientation to learning speech acts, a self-study guidebook on language and culture…

Describes two experiments carried out with a class of foreign language learners in the Department of French studies at the University of Sydney. The first experiment involved keeping a learner's diary, and the second experiment focused on learner's self-assessment of their writing performances. (CB)

Presents and compares findings from both teaching and learning diaries from French conversation courses, assembling and evaluating the perspectives of teacher, student, and researcher. (Author/VWL)

Examines diaries kept by 18 anglophone high-school students of French while they spent 3 months in Quebec as part of an exchange program. Research focused on insights into language-learning process provided by student diarists; affective factors in language learning; extralinguistic benefits of exchange; and ways in which the diaries supplement…

Explores conception of foreign language learning of a group of 28 university students in the Caribbean. Data were drawn from learner journals kept during an undergraduate French program at a local university. Looks at the metaphors used by the learners in their autobiographical accounts of their language learning. (Author/VWL)

Describes the self-reported strategies of 30 adults who were independent language learners for a period of 6 months and kept diaries of their language learning experiences. High achievers showed significantly more instances of communication-making and context-making activities, treating language as a medium of communication rather than as a…

Reflects on the configuration of methods--personal language-learning history, journals, video observations, interviews, and pre/post-language proficiency tests--used to explore the experiences of 23 French second-language learners as they worked independently with an interactive-video program. (Author/VWL)

This study is part of a larger research project investigating the effects of using metalinguistic reflection integrated into a communicative class as a way of promoting second language acquisition among French-speaking Grade six (i.e. 10-11 year old) ESL learners (n=81). Even though metalinguistic reflection is thought to promote language…

Examined the effect of differential feedback (corrections, commentaries), and a combination of the two) on the journal writing accuracy of minority- and majority-language students being educated in the same classrooms. Journal writing samples were collected from 112 fifth grade students over 4 months. Outcomes of the study are discussed in light…