Considers why technology has not lived up to it expectations in bringing about improvements in language learning. Looks at a Website that offers a considerable volume of ICT training materials for language teachers, the ICT4LT website (http://www.ict4lt.org). Examines the aims behind the site as a whole and the pattern of visits to different…

Presents a case study of the development of intercultural competence in a German-American e-mail partnership by examining the electronic interaction produced in this exchange within the framework of appraisal theory, a Hallidayan-inspired linguistic approach to the investigation of evaluative language. (VWL)

Presents a constructivist rationale for introducing virtual reality in language learning and teaching and describes various virtual reality environments that are available. Ways of implementing constuctivist learning through virtual reality are suggested as well as basic guidelines for successful implementation in the classroom. (Author/VWL)

Highlights the use of electronic discussion boards in the English-as-a-Second-Language classroom. Suggests that discussion boards provide flexibility, interconnectiveity, and many other benefits for teachers and learners. (Author/VWL)

Describes a two phase experiment that was conducted at the university of Ottawa using audiocassettes and multimedia while teaching French, specifically French phonetics, intonation, and pronunciation, to a group of low-intermediate level language students. Looks at whether receptive and productive skills are influenced by the explicit teaching of…

Describes a microcomputer program aimed at making reading comprehension exercises more efficient. The program is based on the ideas of hypermedia, a new computer science paradigm. (Author/VWL)

Describes the results of a research project that tested computer assisted language teaching/learning programs in everyday classroom situations. The evaluative principles and the selection of the programs evaluated are discussed, and the applied techniques borrowed from cognitive psychology in the evaluation of text manipulation programs of the…

An experiment tested two software packages, Master Max and Yourturn, in a real learning environment and suggested one possible way of integrating the computer into the language classroom. It is argued that for secondary education the computer's "tool function" is most important, giving more practical emphasis to second-language learning.…

Possibilities and limitations of a natural language processing technology, with its central engine, the parser, are discussed. Observations are drawn from a project by the U.S. Army Research Institute to develop a German tutor, the BRIDGE, which revolves around a parser. (Contains 19 references.) (Author/LB)

By order of the Civil Service Commission of Belgium, Didascalia, the University of Antwerp developed an adaptive system for evaluating second-language proficiency. A computer model based on probability and information theory was developed; the first module of the ATLAS test currently assesses approximately 15,000 civil servants yearly. (one…

The gradual development of Canadian interest in computer-assisted language learning is chronicled. The need for language specialists to continue designing and refining CALL software is noted, and an article on using the Internet and its language-related listservs is summarized. (Contains 21 references.) (LB)

Examines reasons for Arab student use of a student resource center, and particularly the computers located there. A discussion focuses on the factors involved and the philosophy on which computer-assisted language learning (CALL) development was based, the programs used, and student attitudes toward using the computers for self-access learning.…

Describes a project at Australia's University of Melbourne to design and trial a new interactive multimedia package for teaching German to beginners. The package includes an interactive computer-based program and a learner textbook/workbook. The multimedia component comprises dialogs, dictations, and various question formats. Student reaction to…

Offers a series of reflections on the theoretical bases of language teaching viewed from the perspective of the New Technologies (NT), and proposes a reconfiguration of the pedagogical triangle. In light of the tremendous impact of NT, different ways of treating the four language skills in traditional and virtual environments are considered.…

Reviews a commercial software package that was originally developed for English but can be adapted for use in Japanese. The approach here is the adaptation of a generic program to a specific instructional context, with the attendant benefits and limitations. (Author/JL)