Bridging screens and classrooms: a scoping review of the pedagogical use of audiovisual translation in language education

This chapter reports on a mixed-methods study that examined how factors intrinsic and extrinsic to teachers influence their pedagogical use of modern Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Chinese Language (CL) education. Three-hundred-eleven primary school CL teachers in Singapore participated in an online questionnaire survey that addressed four ICT-related variables: competence to use ICT, availability of resources and support, perceived usefulness of ICT, and pedagogical use of ICT. The results show that the four variables were significantly correlated, and teachers' pedagogical use of ICT was predicted significantly by all the other three variables. To supplement the questionnaire survey, Focus Group Discussions (FGD) were conducted on a randomly selected sample of the teachers who participated in the survey. Teachers reported local (e.g., ICT facilities and resources) as well as global (e.g., national high-stake examinations) factors that determined how ICT-mediated pedagogy was strategically blended with non-ICT-mediated traditional pedagogies. In conclusion, the authors argue that achieving the desired effects of learning through ICT integration necessitates consideration of factors intrinsic to teachers as well as those extrinsic to them that often shape the teacher-intrinsic factors.

Strategic development of oral communication skills (i.e., listening and speaking) in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in China is fraught with difficulties, including lack of contexts for authentic language use, examination-oriented pedagogy, and tacit educational practices. The quantitative study reported here was designed around a research question of how extensively three specific cognitive strategies – translation, deduction, and contextualisation – are used when students are listening and speaking in class. It was conducted with a large sample (N = 1,440) of Chinese EFL learners at the tertiary level who were learning in class to speak and listen in English. Findings indicate all three strategies are used extensively in both modalities, but significantly more so in speaking. These findings are interpreted in relation to instructional objectives of preparing students for oral communication beyond the classroom and for passing the listening test in the College English Test Band 4 (CET-4). The development of oral communication (listening and speaking) skills as opposed to the development of literacy (reading and writing) for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in mainland China has been a slow and cumbersome process for both learners and teachers. Whilst factors such as limitations on access to resources and upgrading teachers’ qualifications are constraining variables, most difficulties stem from lack of authentic contexts and purposes for oral language use, together with use of pedagogy which is culturally inappropriate within the Chinese educational tradition (see Anderson, 1993; Harvey, 1985; Rao, 2002; Y. Wang, 1991). Multilingual communities usually present pragmatic reasons for authentic use of oral English as a medium of intracommunity communication. However, in non-English monolingual contexts such as China, typically there is no need for intracommunity communication in oral English. As a result, Language Education in Asia, 2014, 5(1), 46-65. http://dx.doi.org/10.5746/LEiA/14/V5/I1/A05/Liyanage_Bartlett_Tao Language Education in Asia, Volume 5, Issue 1, 2014 Liyanage, Bartlett, and Tao Page 47 use of oral English has been limited mainly to language classrooms where learners are prepared for end-of-course examinations rather than for out-of-class contexts. Examination-oriented instruction also calls for heavy reliance on textbook-contrived linguistic accuracy. Hence, major focus has been on explicitly teaching and learning grammar (Rao, 2002). The present study is one of several in a large ongoing research project between Australian and Chinese universities to examine the use of language learning strategies (LLS) by Chinese learners of English. The current research stems from one of the studies (Liyanage, Bartlett, Birch, & Tao, 2012) which explored usefulness of strategies in developing listening and speaking skills as perceived by Chinese EFL learners. The authors extended the focus of that study by revisiting its data with specific interest in three language learning behaviours that are used typically by Chinese learners of English in developing oral communication skills in class. The three behaviours are relying on translation to and from Chinese in mediating meaning in oral English, attending to rules of grammar to deduce meaning when engaging in the use of oral English, and using context as an aid to meaning in the comprehension and production of oral English (see Barlow & Lowe, 1985; Harvey, 1985; Maley, 1983; Scovel, 1983). These behaviours are well represented in the literature – for example, they correspond to the cognitive strategies of translation, deduction, and contextualisation respectively, as described by O’Malley and Chamot (1990, p. 137), and were used in their language learning strategy inventory. In the current study, use of these three cognitive strategies by Chinese EFL learners in university settings was investigated. How these strategies are realised in listening / speaking lessons for a regular class of freshmen and the effect of the use of these strategies on the College English Test Band 4 (CET-4) preparation classes is described in detail.

This chapter introduces the PFC-EF programme (Phonology of Contemporary French—French language education), which aims at pedagogical exploitation of the PFC corpus in French-language education and linguistics teaching. It offers a brief overview of the history of oral corpora and language education in France before detailing the PFC project’s approach to turning phonological data into multipurpose pedagogical resources. These resources are freely available on the project’s website and have been subdivided into four categories: illustration of varieties of spoken French, pedagogical explanations of the linguistic features of sample conversations, pre-formatted linguistic material for pedagogical use, and ready-to-use teaching and learning material.

A pedagogical model for transitional English bilingual classrooms is developed to meet the goals of teacher training and guidance, program evaluation, and empirical validation of bilingual theories. The pedagogical model consists of four dimensions: (a) Activity Structures, (b) Language of Instruction, (c) Language Content, and (d) Communication Mode. The model defines and integrates those theoretical principles which show most promise for pedagogical usefulness, (i.e. notions which can be translated into manipulable elements of the classroom environment). Model elements also can be adjusted or manipulated by teachers to enhance student learning. Teachers can monitor themselves through model-based observation and use the results prescriptively in planning. Importantly, the model can be translated into reliably observable and codable elements. This permits its potential use in program evaluation (formative evaluation of the learning process) and in theory validation.

This paper presents a methodological proposal designed by the TRADILEX project, which stands for Audiovisual Translation as a Didactic Resource in Foreign Language Education. The main goal of TRADILEX is to determine the degree of improvement in the foreign language learning process after including the pedagogical use of audiovisual translation (AVT) as a didactic tool. To this end, a methodological proposal has been articulated including complete lesson plans which make use of diverse AVT modes (subtitling, voice-over, dubbing, audio description and subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing) in order to enhance communicative competence and mediation skills in an integrated and differentiated manner. The methodology designed by TRADILEX will be piloted with B1-B2-level English as a foreign language adult students in non-formal educational contexts, especially in language centres of the universities involved. Both the methodological proposal of didactic sequence, based on the pedagogical use of the main AVT modes, and a sample lesson plan on subtitling, will be described in this paper to present the basic elements that underlie this research project.

Parsers are rarely used in language instruction as a primary tool towards a pedagogical end. Visual Interactive Syntax Learning (=VISL) is a programme which is basically a parser put to pedagogical use. It can analyse sentences in 13 different languages, the most advanced programmes being English and Portuguese. The pedagogical purpose is to teach English (Portuguese, etc.) syntax to university students at an advanced level. The programme allows the students to build sophisticated tree diagrams of English sentences with provisions for both functions (e.g. subjects, objects, etc.) and forms (simple or complex, incl. subclauses). The language study programmes at the University of Southern Denmark aim to give the students a sound grounding in metalinguistic knowledge for which they need to acquire the terms and concepts of the field. Sentence analysis is at the heart of this endeavour. VISL was initiated as an attempt to facilitate the learning process. The present study was conducted as an experiment in order to investigate the effectiveness of VISL and student attitude towards it. The results showed that VISL was indeed effective, but so was a more traditional approach. The great advantage lay in the improved acceptance of the subject matter by the students. Pedagogically the advantage of integrating the VISL program was obvious. It also yielded some interesting results in that it turned out that one group of students benefited more than another group of students.

Technology has become part and parcel of the teaching operation. Its effectiveness was proven by a multitude of studies investigating its usefulness in the instruction of the four language skillsand other language aspects. Still, despite the increasing awarenessof the urge to integrate technology; especially computer, in language instruction, there is a great deal of reluctance among teachers of the different levels to integrate it in their classrooms. Thisstudy, therefore, was an attempt to explore the set of factors leading to such reluctance and also to suggest way in order to encourage ICTs integration by instructors. According to the findings,teachers’ reluctance to technology integration stems; most of thetime, from the lack of preparedness to the integration of such tools

The use of social media in language education is evident in the plethora of online content generated by education organizations. Teachers and learners alike have used platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram to access and disseminate learning content in the forms of text, images, podcasts, and videos. However, despite the prevalence of social media in the language-learning sector, its pedagogical use has been limited to learning language features. This chapter analyzes the potential use of an ecosystem of social media platforms to augment varied modes of TESOL instruction, namely live, online, and hybrid, through a critical lens in higher and adult education. The integration of critical content and critical thinking development in social media platforms, in which authentic content is directly consumed, co-created, and disseminated, enables TESOL teachers to help learners become aware of how power shapes information, how to resist coercion, and challenge the status quo.

Clickers are hand-held devices that wirelessly transmit student input to a computer: students answer multiple-choice questions using their clickers and the answer distribution is displayed on a screen. Previous studies suggest that the pedagogical use of these devices may contribute to learning and that they are positively perceived by students in general and second language education. Despite these optimistic outcomes, clicker studies remain scarce in L2 education and in K-12 contexts. This study investigated 61 adolescent students’ and their teacher’s perceptions of using clickers to learn vocabulary in an English as a Second Language context. Two intact groups of students were assigned to a treatment group (Clicker Group, n = 31; Non-Clicker Group, n = 30). Their perceptions were examined via surveys and interviews, guided by four measures: Learning, Self-assessment, Engagement, and Interactivity. The results suggest that students in the Clicker Group had significantly more positive perceptions than those in the Non-Clicker Group for most measures. This corroborates previous findings regarding students’ perceptions of clickers. Interviews were conducted to assess the teacher’s perceptions. In contrast to the students, the teacher’s perception was predominantly neutral to negative, contradicting existing literature.

With the spread of mobile devices, mobile phones have enormous potential regarding their pedagogical use in language education. The goal of this study is to analyse user experience of a mobile‐based learning system that is enhanced by speech recognition technology for the improvement of EFL (English as a foreign language) learners' speaking proficiency. Speaking English 60 Junior, which is developed for middle‐school students in Korea, is equipped with automatic speech recognition (ASR) for students' self‐regulated speaking practice. Open‐ended survey questions were used to gain insight into users' reactions. The results showed that the students, overall, had positive attitudes towards the use of the application for learning to speak. They particularly expressed great interest in the speech recognition function because it immediately demonstrated the consequence of their speech input. The speech‐interactive activity, in which they interacted with a virtual character via ASR, also received positive comments. The findings highlight the potential use of mobile phones and ASR for learning to speak in the EFL context. Recommendations for future research are discussed based on the results of this study.

Purpose Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI)-powered technologies, particularly ChatGPT, have sparked significant interest in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education. This review aims to explore the landscape of ChatGPT's application in EFL writing. Design/Approach/Method Given the nascence of this field, the study conducts a scoping review by analyzing 16 empirical studies published before December 2023 to investigate the role of ChatGPT in EFL writing. Findings The review explores the current and potential uses of ChatGPT in EFL writing, highlighting its dual role as both a writing assistant and an assessment tool. On one hand, ChatGPT is widely acknowledged for providing real-time feedback that enhances writing quality and efficiency. On the other hand, challenges and concerns remain prevalent. Originality/Value The findings reveal key gaps in the literature, such as the need for more interdisciplinary research, the adaptation of AI models to meet the linguistic and cultural needs of EFL learners, and the integration of multimodal AI tools. The review emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and information literacy training for educators and students while addressing ethical considerations. These insights offer a roadmap for future research and the practical implementation of AI in language education, providing valuable guidance for different stakeholders.

Language learning

Developments in pedagogic science and technology, the rapid diffusion of the internet, as well as social changes, which mean less homogeneous classrooms than before, render necessary the ongoing training of English teachers so that they can keep up with changes. Teacher training programmes should be designed in such a way so as to be in line with teachers’ needs. In this framework, in this paper we present the results of an empirical study on the attitudes of teachers of English as a foreign language in primary and secondary education toward teacher training programmes in innovative teaching practices, and more specifically the pedagogical use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in education. The research results show that the majority of the teachers believe that teacher training programmes are instrumental in enriching the teaching process with innovative and modern teaching practices, which are essential in education, due to the changing social conditions, the developments in pedagogical science and the diffusion of ICT in society and education. Teachers also expressed their preference for participation in teacher training programmes that are practical in nature and help them deal with everyday problems they face in the classroom. The research results provide useful information to those engaged in the planning and implementation of teacher training programmes.

What is it? Translation, explicitly or implicitly, has been a constant presence in the teaching and learning of languages throughout the ages. It may therefore seem surprising that it should find a place in a report on innovative pedagogies. While translation has indeed been used for centuries for the purpose of language learning, there is no doubt that recent approaches in the area of language and translation pedagogy have helped re-conceptualise – and re-operationalise – translation in radically new ways. For decades, translation had been identified with the grammar translation method, and decried as incompatible with a communicative approach. In the last two decades, however, we have seen a thorough re-examination of the role of translation in language teaching and learning. A range of factors have contributed to this trend, among them, the questioning of the monolingual principle in language pedagogy, extensive developments in the area of audiovisual translation, exciting innovations in the field of professional translation didactics, the huge success of translation-based digital platforms such as Duolingo, and, crucially, the introduction of the notion of mediation in the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR, 2001), later expanded in the Companion volume (CEFR, 2018).

A scoping review of research on languaging in second language education