Independent Language Learning Research Articles

Grammar Instruction in the Digital Age: The Impact of Corpus Linguistics

The potential of corpus linguistics to transform grammar training in the digital era is examined in this study. An in-depth review of the literature looked at the benefits and challenges of corpus-based approaches. Teachers may customize education to meet the unique needs of each student by using corpus linguistics, which provides insightful information about how language is used in everyday situations. Through the integration of real-world language samples and theoretical grammar principles, corpora can foster critical thinking and increase student engagement. Nevertheless, integrating corpus linguistics necessitates resolving technological issues, creating useful teaching resources, and educating educators. The study provides suggestions for using corpora in grammar training as well as future research topics. Using online corpus tools for student exploration, utilizing corpus analysis to uncover typical student mistakes, and creating activities that motivate students to study corpus data in context are some of these proposals. By using corpus linguistics, teachers may close the gap between grammar instruction theory and practice and enable students to become independent language learners.

The formation of foreign language competence of future teachers when working with flash cards

Problem statement . The modernization of higher education is a good ground for the use of electronic resources in ensuring accessibility, continuity and quality of teaching foreign languages. The use of interactive tools (simulators, flash cards, virtual whiteboards) meets the requirements to educational training programs for students of pedagogical directions and the challenges of modern society. A flash card is a card with a word, a concept, an image on one side and a translation on the other. The study aimed at substantiating the effectiveness of the use of flash cards for the formation of foreign language competence of future teachers. Methodology . Theoretical and methodological analysis and generalization were used to determine trends in the development of language education, the inclusion of informatization tools in foreign language activities and professional communication. The online platform Quizlet was chosen to work with ready-made flash cards and to create new thematic sets in digital format. The questions for the control work grouped into two blocks “Digital educational technologies” (50 points) and “Foreign language in professional communication” (50 points) were compiled. The study involved 54 students from Vyatka State University (the direction of 44.03.05 “Pedagogical education”, with two training profiles, bachelor's degree level). Pearson's chi-squared criterion was applied at the stage of statistical processing of the results. Results . The system of working with flash cards in the foreign language professional communication of future teachers is described: the study of the Quizlet functionality, working with ready-made sets of cards, automating and improving lexical units, developing their own thematic sets. In the course of independent work and network collaboration the students of the experimental group used Flashcards, Speller, Scatter, Quizlet Live modes. Statistically significant differences in the qualitative changes that occurred in the level of formation of foreign language competence were determined. Conclusion. The use of flash cards in the preparation of students of pedagogical specialties has a significant didactic potential for the development of their foreign language competence: the effect of immersion, competitiveness and obtaining positive emotions; resources for independent language learning in extracurricular time; overcoming the language barrier in the virtual gaming environment of information interaction. However, there are some drawbacks: monotony of forms for tests, lack of opportunity to practice pronunciation, partial support of operating modes in the mobile version.

USE OF MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN ENGLISH LESSONS

This article discusses effective methods and technologies of teaching English in educational institutions, as well as measures for their implementation in practice. The purpose of teaching a foreign language is the formation of intercultural communication on the subject and the use of new information technologies in teaching a foreign language. Teaching a foreign language with the help of information and communication technologies is an effective system that helps improve the skills of independent language learning. The integrated use of new technologies and technical means when teaching English in the classroom simplifies many of the complex functions of a teacher, contributes to the emergence of new approaches to this skill, and opens up access to the best world practice.

“YouTube as my second classroom”: Indonesian nursing students’ self-regulated language learning on YouTube

This study investigated the independent language learning that Indonesian nursingstudents did after school on YouTube. Six undergraduate nursing students who have alot of experience with YouTube viewing and have level of English equal to B1 wereasked to participate in a one-on-one interview to discuss their opinions of this selfregulated language learning. A narrative inquiry design was deployed to explore thestories of how learners felt about this technologically mediated language learning andhow it affected their language skills. The results show that discovering motivation forlearning English, searching for extra learning materials, and potential metacognitivelearning styles were the three most popular reasons for studying English on YouTube.Students perceived that learning English on YouTube was more flexible, entertaining,and approachable than traditional classroom instruction. However, this informaleducation does not promote socialization or an awareness of cultural differencesbetween nations. The findings have made a significant contribution to the futureinstructional design of ESP classroom where the integration of YouTube videos maybecome an alternative for more engaging ESP classroom interaction. Besides, promotingawareness of cultural diversities and appropriate online social interaction need to beconsidered for YouTube mediated learning activities to help students use the languageappropriately within its socio-cultural settings

Should Machine Translation have a role in language classrooms or not?

Presentation: https://www.pechakucha.com/presentations/sotel-2023-neil-cowie-and-keiko-sakui-machine-translation
 Machine translation (MT) of languages has been around nearly 30 years but the importance of its role in language learning has grown exponentially in recent years. This paper summarizes recent research on teacher and learner attitudes to MT, and suggests ways that MT can be used in language classrooms.
 Studies in the 2010s (Pym, 2013) suggest that teachers were against the use of MT because of its poor quality. However, the level of MT dramatically improved from 2016 when Google Translate adopted a neural-network system. As a result, teachers’ attitudes shifted to more acceptance of MT. Even so, teacher views about MT tend to fall into two camps: those who feel it is a form of cheating (Carré et al., 2022) and those who see it as an appropriate teaching tool. The former take the general approach of “detect, react and prevent”, whilst the latter wish to “integrate and educate” (Jolley & Maimone, 2022).
 Research has shown that students use MT in different ways according to their level. More advanced students tend to check words and phrases rather than translating a whole report. They understand the limits of MT but at the same time they believe it can help learn a language (Godwin-Jones, 2022; Jolley & Maimone, 2022). Research suggests that training in the use of MT can increase chances for such students to reflect on their language learning (Pellet & Myers, 2022) and that they can become aware of and correct MT errors (Zhang & Torres-Hostench, 2022). On the other hand, lower level students use MT differently as they may lack confidence in their language abilities (Organ, 2019). There are studies that claim lower level students can be linguistically overwhelmed in trying to notice and compare their own translations with MT; therefore, they do not correct the output of MT and submit it as their own work (Lee, 2022: Niño, 2020).
 In general, the accuracy of MT has improved so quickly that many teachers who previously dismissed MT as poor can no longer ascertain whether their students have actually used it or not (Jolley & Maimone, 2022). This creates doubt in how to assess student work fairly. Furthermore, as teachers vary in their attitudes towards the use of MT for learning, students can be very confused as to whether they are allowed to use MT in different teachers’ classes; and, if they are allowed, in what ways can they do so appropriately. In order to overcome this uncertainty and confusion, it is suggested that, after Reinders (2022), institutions, students and teachers become partners in exploring MT to find the best way to use it for learning. This will vary according to each educational context, particularly concerning student level, but it is vital to create commonly accepted guidelines, approaches and practices so that MT can be best used for language learning and not just as a tool to complete tasks with little or no educational meaning. 
 References
 
 Carré, A., Kenny, D., Rossi, C., Sánchez-Gijón, P. & Torres-Hostench, O. (2022). Machine translation for
 language learners. In D. Kenny (Ed.), Machine translation for everyone: Empowering users in the age of 
 artificial intelligence (pp. 187–207). Language Science Press. Doi: 10.5281/zenodo.6760024
 Godwin-Jones, R. (2022). Partnering with AI: Intelligent writing assistance and instructed language learning.
 Language Learning & Technology, 26(2), 5–24. https://doi.org/10125/73474
 Jolley, J. & Maimone, L. (2022). Thirty years of machine translation in language teaching and learning: A
 review of the literature. L2 Journal, 14(1). Doi: 10.5070/L214151760
 Lee, S.-M. (2022). Different effects of machine translation on L2 revisions across students’ L2 writing
 proficiency levels. Language Learning & Technology, 26(1), 1–21. https://hdl.handle.net/10125/73490
 Niño, A. (2020). Exploring the use of online machine translation for independent language learning. Research in 
 Learning Technology 28, 2402. https://dx.doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v28.2402
 Organ, A. (2019, July 5). L’éléphant dans la salle / la pièce / le salon? Student use of Google Translate for L2 
 production: Student and staff attitudes, and implications for university policy. [Conference presentation
 abstract]. Translation Technology in Education – Facilitator or Risk? University of Nottingham, UK.
 https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/conference/fac-arts/clas/translation -technology-ineducation%E2%80%93 
 facilitator-or-risk/videos/conference-videos.aspx
 Pellet, S. & Myers, L. (2022). What’s wrong with “What is your name?” > “Quel est votre nom?”: Teaching
 responsible use of MT through discursive competence and metalanguage awareness. L2 Journal, 14(1). Doi:
 10.5070/L214151739
 Pym, A. (2013). Translation skill-sets in a machine-translation age. Translators’ Journal, 58(3), 487–503. Doi:
 0.7202/1025047ar
 Reinders, H. (Host) (2022, September 7). A conversation with Jim Ranalli and Volker Hegelheimer [Audio
 Podcast Episode]. In Voices from LLT. https://www.lltjournal.org/media/voices-from-llt/
 Zhang, H., & Torres-Hostench, O. (2022). Training in machine translation post-editing for foreign language
 students. Language Learning & Technology, 26(1), 1–17. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/73466

L2 learners' perceptions of a chatbot as a potential independent language learning tool

Independent language learning is paramount for those wishing to develop proficiency in a second or foreign language. Language learners often have few opportunities to communicate and interact actively in their target language. In this two-phase study, a chatbot was developed to assist second-language learners at a tertiary education institution in Hong Kong with independent language learning. I employed a questionnaire (N = 128) followed by semi-structured interviews (N = 12) to gain holistic insight into learners' experiences with the chatbot. The results suggested that the participants enjoyed interacting with the chatbot both in and out of class and perceived that it improved their English skills. These findings have implications for language teachers and the future development of chatbots.

L2 learners' perceptions of a chatbot as a potential independent language learning tool

L2 learners' perceptions of a chatbot as a potential independent language learning tool

Factors Affecting Learner Autonomy in Tertiary Level English Learning: A Study at Van Lang University

In the era of the Industrial Revolution, learning is acknowledged as a continuous process, with learner autonomy as one of its most crucial elements. Numerous studies have found that independent language learners benefit more than learners who study passively. Consequently, it is vital to comprehend the aspects that drive learner autonomy. The objective of this study was to identify the factors that both foster and impede the growth of learner autonomy. Data was collected from 233 English majors at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Van Lang University, using qualitative and quantitative methods (VLU). The findings revealed that there are a number of elements that both help and hinder students' capacity to study English independently. The study also found that learners can learn independently with the support of their surroundings, intrinsic motivation, learning preferences, and technology advancements. Teachers' viewpoints on issues impacting learner autonomy are urged to be taken into account.

The Use of Livemocha: A Platform for Independent Language Learning

The Covid -19 pandemic has affected all aspect of human’s life including the educational institution. All the activities are then held mostly online. Many online platform are used as a tool to interact between teacher and students. Despite their massive growth in online teaching, little research has been conducted about the use of online language learning community in learning foreign language. The aim of this study is to examine the use of Livemocha to learn foreign language independently. This study uses autoethnography method which uses the researcher personal experience to describe and analyze the data. Result of this study shows that the site is useful for learning English independently. This study concludes with suggestions for English Learning through social networking site.

EFL Students’ Independent Learning With Pear Deck Interactive Slides

This paper introduces the implementation of Pear Deck to provide a self-learning platform for students. As online classes have become common due to the COVID 19 pandemic, teachers have been using additional tools to support students’ independent language learning. Among others, Pear Deck is superior as it allows students to access interactive slides at their own pace. This paper gives details about Pear Deck, including how to access it as well as what features this tool provides. In this review, the authors argue that despite a few limitations, Pear Deck offers a wide array of benefits and can motivate students to study independently and enable teachers to supervise them.

The Level of Digital Literacy and Its Impact for Self-Regulated and Effective Language Learning

This study aims to discuss the effect of digital literacy level on independent language learning skills and effective learning abilities. The research respondents (n = 147) were the students of Universitas Islam Indonesia from various years who took English courses as General Education (MKU). Respondents were chosen randomly from students who participated in researcher English courses. This research is quantitative. The data was obtained through a Likert scale questionnaire with a range number; 0-1 and 1-5. The quantitative data were analyzed by correlation (Pearson product-moment) and regression (ANOVA) techniques. The results displayed; first, there is no significant effect of digital literacy variables on Self-Regulated language learning skills. Second, there is a substantial impact of digital literacy on effective learning abilities. Third, there is a significant impact of Self-Regulated language learning on effective language learning. This study suggested that higher education institutions need to provide formal programs in training or workshops to increase digital literacy capacity and student academic skills to achieve effective learning goals.

College Oral English Teaching Reform Driven by Big Data and Deep Neural Network Technology

The ultimate goal of English teaching is to cultivate the students’ ability to communicate information in English, master good language learning methods, and become independent language learners and users. Therefore, successful English language teaching needs to be achieved through language communication training between teachers and students and between students. This article investigates the importance of promoting the reform of oral English teaching in China’s English teaching environment. We believe that to promote the reform of oral English teaching, an oral teaching environment must be available. However, the current common problem in oral English teaching in colleges and universities is that the spoken conversation objects are not standard enough, or there is no person who can talk to. Therefore, an intelligent spoken dialogue system based on big data and neural network technology is particularly important, and the quality of dialogue depends on accurate spoken speech evaluation. We first extracted six features of pronunciation quality, fluency, content richness, topic relevance, grammar, and vocabulary richness. Secondly, we propose an evaluation model that connects specific TDNN layers in a feedforward manner, using the feature representation of target words in different TDNN layers, which can obtain richer context information and greatly reduce the amount of model parameters. Finally, we conducted a simulation experiment. The experimental results show that the proposed model is accurate in evaluating spoken English and can effectively assist the reform of spoken English teaching in colleges and universities, and its performance is better than SVM by 9.2%.

The Role of Technology in ELL Classes in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

In the contemporary English language classroom, technology keeps an important role to support language learning. The present research focuses only on the tools, i.e., Smart Boards, tablets/laptops, and LMS (online learning management system), which English language teachers utilize in their class at the level of English Preparatory School, BS and Master in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Moreover, the present qualitative and observational research examines the role of technology, which is utilized at the English Preparatory School in Cyprus International University to teach English to the learners who learn English as a Second Language. For the present research, the researchers collect the data through 2 interviews of the teachers who teach at Cyprus International University (CIU) and from an in-depth literature review. Through the findings of the present research, the researchers observe that: a) all the teachers in TRNC utilize technology, i.e., Smart Boards, tablets and LMS during the teaching of English language and English subjects, i.e., Multimedia (only for PowerPoint presentations); b) in TRNC, the technology helps the English Language Learners (ELLs) to enhance their language skills and make them independent language learners; c) in TRNC, teachers, and students who utilize technology in language learning process face technical challenges due to lack of knowledge or less familiarity with the technology. Hence, the present research would explore the pros and cons of technology and intends the knowledge of a teacher who would take an interest in teaching language through technology.

Exploring the use of online machine translation for independent language learning

The free availability of online machine translation (OMT) on the Internet via computers, tablets and smartphones makes it convenient for use by language students of all levels. Google Translate has been widely listed as an independent language learning (ILL) resource and we cannot deny its role for ongoing education. We are aware of the fact that this developing piece of technology was not designed with language learning in mind and, as a consequence, has limited current abilities depending on the language pair, language direction, genre, etc. However, as educators, we cannot help but wonder how the students use it independently and what pedagogical implications this may have in the language class. This study sets to analyse how language learners assess the usefulness of machine translation output and what they think about the use of OMT (in combination with other online language resources) for oral and written comprehension and production (e.g. writing and translation). This will help determining whether its use by language learners can be counterproductive or whether, if used wisely, can assist ILL and help boosting language instant communication.

Dunkin’ the Donut: A Study on Students’ Patterns of Language Use through Technology Applications in Independent Language Learning

Any language can be acquired at any time, but to acquire the language, one needs to learn the language. Learning a second or foreign language is not a favourite among second or foreign language learners. This is because learning a language is a very intense time-consuming activity. Learning is often unsuccessful because learners receive impoverished or insufficient input and lack of motivation. To this, second language or foreign language teachers play the most significant role to help and motivate the students to acquire the said language. The preferred method is to be immersed into the actual ecosystem of the target language and become part of the language ecosystem. The other way is to dunk the learners into the artificial ecosystem of the language classroom. In dunking, the learners are immersed temporarily and repeatedly into the simulated ecosystem language. As can be seen now, technology remains the only viable option to get enough interactive contact with the target language. Using interesting software is one of the methods in making learning more interesting. Furthermore, the students are able to practice the language not only during class time, but on their own free time outside of class hours, that is during students’ independent time of learning. The findings revealed that most students found using the applications has improved their language learning. The role of teachers on the other hand is to provide instructions and assist whenever necessary and needed by the students.

Learner training in MALL: a Pakistani case study

ABSTRACT This study investigated the effect of an innovative learner-training programme conducted with undergraduate students at a university in Pakistan. The MALL-based programme was designed to develop the students’ competence and confidence in using smartphones to make blogposts as a means of increasing their opportunities to practice writing in English independently and beyond their educational setting. During the eight week programme, the 23 participants engaged in training in the use of technology for language learning purposes, in tandem with other technical, pedagogical and strategic training components to use their smartphones for writing blogposts. This report draws on data from pre- and post-programme surveys, interviews, written feedback, and blogpost output. The findings indicate that this combined learner-training model was successful in enhancing the participants’ independent use of technology for English language practice. The programme also fostered their interest in learning more about new technologies and getting further training in using these for language learning. This study offers valuable insights for educators well beyond the Pakistani context, as it illustrates a model of learner training that can support students to utilize communicative affordances of readily available mobile devices for independent language learning.

Reflections by Some Jordanian EFL Lecturers on Salmon’s Five-Stage E-Learning Model and Its Possible Application to Teaching English in Jordan

This study attempted to evaluate Gilly Salmon’s Five-stage e-learning Model and its possible contribution to learning English language skills by surveying the related literature and obtaining perspectives of some EFL lecturers in Jordan during the 1st semester, 2018–2019. A convenient sample of twenty EFL lecturers participated in a semi-structured interview to reflect on the contribution of the five-stage model to English language instruction. The study revealed some strengths and drawbacks of the above model. While acknowledging the existence of several positive attributes of this model such as exhibiting coherence and being structural and developmental and featuring the engagement of learners via collaborative language learning, this model, according to some EFL specialists, demands further improvement to highlight, for instance, face-to-face mode of language instruction and to be more spiral and bi-directional. The study called for integrating assessment into the model to monitor learner’s learning progress. It also called for achieving independent language learning and enabling learners to transfer their learning beyond the model’s final stage of development. It was suggested that the above model should be modified to account more adequately for online English language learning.

The Application of Vlog in Task-Based Language Learning

Computer and internet technology brought about innovative changes of students life especially their leisure time after class. In light of this, the purpose of this study is to explore learners’ participation of blog-based language learning in their independent learning in order to suggest a motivated and collaborative environment to communicate. The data for this study were collected through questionnaires and interviews and most importantly, the learners’ participation record of tutor blog from 30 second year students in Beijing Wuzi University in China. The questionnaire is designed to analysis learners’ computer literacy and their attitude towards vlog as an independent language learning too while they are doing the assigned tasks by teachers. The tutor blog experimental survey is to collect data which reflect learners’ participation status when they are told to do so after class. The overall findings of the survey show that the majority of respondents have a positive understanding about vlog-based language learning. Students are willing to finish their tasks and enjoys the sense of achievements. But some of them are less motivated in participating and publishing their ideas in the tutor vlog community, regardless of computer literacy levels. The followed interview shows that this is partly because they are lack of language awareness and communicative skills since they emerged so long in the traditional education system which takes teachers as the only source of knowledge.

Игровые методы обучения китайскому языку студентов вузов

Game-based learning methods or gamification is an important direction in the study of foreign languages. The article considers the reasons for the emergence of such approach as a response to the peculiarities of behavioral patterns in modern society, its advantages for both, teachers and students, as well as ways to implement the game-learning method in existing Chinese language programs. The article also gives examples of various promising game mechanics that can be integrated into the learning process. These examples include the use of ready-made free solutions, basic tools of social interaction, as well as the creation of own mechanics using available Internet resources. From the materials of foreign textbooks the most relevant ways of learning in a game form were selected. Options are offered to combine several tools in an integrated approach for greater involvement of students in the learning process, stimulating independent language learning, creating a competitive environment within the group of students learning the language. The ways to encourage students are also considered to implement a closed cyclic system of gamification. The purpose of this article is to find new ways to improve the efficiency of learning Chinese.

Adjudicating the Utilization of Metacognitive, Affective and Social Language Learning Strategies by Preservice Learners of Teacher Education Institutions in Western Visayas, Philippines

Adjudicating the Utilization of Metacognitive, Affective and Social Language Learning Strategies by Preservice Learners of Teacher Education Institutions in Western Visayas, Philippines