This article aims to offer one perspective on ways that Lancaster University supported its staff in the rapid shift to online teaching and learning in the midst of a global pandemic. The approach centred around the upskilling of staff, with mixed engagement across the suite of support tools and resources, which can be compared to similar…

During our six-week Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) module (Oct.-Nov. 2019), 58 students jointly developed task-based projects on expressions of popular culture in Albany (USA) and Caracas (Venezuela). In teams of seven to eight participants, learners from both countries reflected on variations of popular culture through…

This paper explains details of a creative writing project aimed at increasing students' motivation to write in English and develop collaboration skills. Forty-eight first-year -- A2-B1 Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) level -- English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners enrolled in a reading and writing course at a…

This article deals with vocabulary learning in synchronous, multimodal eTandems focussing on Mandarin Chinese as a target language. In doing so, the study adopts an emic, conversation analytic perspective and triangulates self-reported data from learner diaries with recordings of actual eTandem conversations. The analysis of the learner diaries…

In this paper, methodological issues in tracing the evidence of Intercultural Competences (IC) in online intercultural exchanges or telecollaboration are examined. The possibilities and limitations of methods for analyzing IC occurrences are explored. By considering the complementarity of methods, the study contributes to advance the…

Due to the interconnectedness of our world and the ubiquitous presence of technology, it is imperative that students be introduced to and be actively involved in cross-cultural activities. Generation Z (Gen Z) students have been raised with computer-based technology; and as a result, they are cognizant of social and global issues that transcend…

The present chapter examines learners' beliefs and attitudes with regard to speaking in a learning environment that is neither formal nor non-formal. The main research question is whether learners perceive Language Massive Open Online Courses (LMOOCs) as a completely informal context that is free of anxiety or rather as a virtual classroom where…

The aim of this study was to discover what potential benefits of Virtual Reality (VR) use students perceived in comparison to smartphone use in an English-speaking activity. Two surveys were conducted over three interventions in order to ascertain these student perceptions. Ten students enrolled in an elective English class at a Japanese…

This paper discusses a qualitative study which examines the complexity and potential of using Synchronous Computer Mediated Corrective Feedback (SCMCF) for adult learners in English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms in Sri Lanka. Chat conversation was assumed as the medium through which the teacher provides corrective feedback to the students.…

Twitter has over 326 million monthly active users with the number of daily users growing every year since 2016 and is increasingly used by students and academics to interact and build online learning communities. For distance language learners, Twitter offers an open, free, and accessible environment for interaction and engagement which is…

Being a language teacher in the modern world requires sensitivity to complexity, which may pose challenges for student teachers and teachers in the field accustomed to classroom-based learning and teaching. This study examines how language students are managing complex pedagogic situations in a technologyrich environment while exploring new ways…

In this article, the author reflects upon the impact that networked technologies has had on his professional life and teaching practice. Using these tools has undoubtedly helped shape the way he looks at his own professional development and they have certainly contributed to the fact that he views himself as a life-long learner. The author's…

It is well documented that providing assessment feedback through the medium of screencasts is favourably received by students and encourages deeper engagement with the feedback given by the language teacher (inter alia Abdous & Yoshimura, 2010; Brick & Holmes, 2008; Cann, 2007; Stannard, 2007). In this short paper we will report the…

In this qualitative study, we analyze postgraduate students' perceptions of strategic behaviors they developed during their online studies and their ability to extend this behavior to their own praxis. Findings suggest that strategic behavior centers around the development of four core skills: engaging in self-directed thinking; fostering…

This paper introduces a case course with videoconferencing as a way of Synchronous Computer Mediated Communication (SCMC) for foreign language education in Japan. Research questions were to see the effects of videoconferencing on the learners' speaking ability and general English language proficiency, and also to see how the learners'…