Language Learning Resources Research Articles

Instructor use on online language learning resources: A survey of socio-institutional and motivational factors

In response to the need for research on the contextualized use of CALL resources, the authors conducted a survey on instructor use of a popular online Spanish language learning resource to provide insight into how foreign language instructors’ use of online resources are influenced by socio-institutional factors and instructor motivational factors such as personal background and teaching philosophy. From the 118 survey participants, the authors used quantitative techniques to choose three case studies that represented the diversity of respondents who use the resource in their teaching. They present overall trends and qualitative profiles of the three instructors with the intent to gain an overall understanding of the nature of how the resource is used, not only to provide direction for future quantitative research, but also to illustrate the utility of qualitative research in providing such understanding. Upon analysis of the case studies, the authors conclude that the actual use of a CALL resource may be far from the ideal use the designer intended, and that the use of CALL resources is highly contingent on the sociocultural context of the implementation of the resource. Instructor comments seem to point not towards the physical CALL infrastructure of an instructor’s workplace as a determining factor of resource use, but towards the CALL culture and collegiality of the environment. Most revealing of the nature of an instructor’s use of a resource seems to be the congruence of site features with the instructor’s teaching philosophy, itself the product of a variety of factors.

Language teaching

Language teaching

WELL done and well liked: online information literacy skills and learner impressions of the web as a resource for foreign language learning

One of the most common uses of the World Wide Web for foreign language learning is as a resource for students to find information when researching essay topics. When language instructors ask students to perform searches for information about a given issue it is assumed that students know how to perform those searches and appreciate the usefulness of the Web. However, we do not really know much about the relationship between learners and the Web: what processes are involved, how the students go about the search process and what their perceptions of the Web are. It is therefore essential that these assumptions are examined and researched. To find out more about these questions, a study was initiated with the aim of obtaining information on how foreign language higher education students interact with the Web in general and in the context of a search for content/reading tasks in particular. The goal was to produce a descriptive snapshot of student impressions and abilities at one given moment. For this purpose 198 students of Spanish at the University of Southampton were asked how they use the Web, what for, how they go about finding the information they need, what they perceive to be the advantages and disadvantages of using the Web as a research tool for language learning, to compare it to other resources and what their perceptions of it are. To measure their degree of online information literacy, a scale was created. In this paper the details of the project will be presented, and the findings of the study discussed.

Teaching WELL in a Computerless Classroom

The widespread availability of the Internet has meant that the traditional CALL lab is no longer the only place where students can access and utilize web resources for language learning. University students in Japan regularly browse the web using their mobile phones. However, even though Japanese students are proficient in browsing the web in their mother tongue, they lack the skills necessary for browsing the 80% of the websites on the Internet, which are in English. In this paper, first we outline how we use the web as a resource for enhancing our English language course (WELL – Web-Enhanced Language Learning) in a computerless classroom, how we prepare our students for using English websites outside the classroom, and what the students do with the information they find on the web. Secondly, we will present the results of a study that we conducted at the end of our WELL course in order to assess our students’ attitudes towards the use of the web as a language learning tool outside the classroom and towards the web-based activities used in this course.

Transnational Piloting of a CD-ROM for European Works Council Representatives: the CISL METE Project

This case study reports on some of the issues arising from the transnational piloting of a multimedia English language learning resource. The CD-ROM was designed for European Works Council representatives who need to develop their English language skills to enable them to function more effectively as Works Council representatives within a multinational company with a working language of English. The case study describes the composition and needs of the target group, the pedagogic approach and materials design and then focuses on the pilot study which took place in three European countries. The findings are presented and some conclusions are drawn.

Interaction among proficient learners: are input, feedback and output needs addressed in a foreign language context?

As a consequence of methodological changes in the classroom environment, learners are increasingly becoming each other's principal interlocutors and resource for language learning. This study asked whether the interaction between proficient EFL learners could address their needs for L2 input and for feedback focused on form in ways that interaction with native speakers (NSs) has been shown to do. The interaction of seven dyads of proficient EFL learners was compared with that of seven dyads of learners and NSs on two communication tasks. Results of the comparison revealed few differences between the two groups with respect to their patterns of interaction as neither pairing displayed difficulty in comprehending the meaning of each other's messages and, therefore, did not interact through the negotiation of meaning. Other interactional patterns, such as scaffolding and repairs, were used by proficient EFL learners.

Web-Based Technology as a Resource for Form-Focused Language Learning

Web-Based Technology as a Resource for Form-Focused Language Learning

Some pedagogical experiences of an ESP teacher on the internet

Everyone seems to be talking about the internet, but who is actually using it and what can it offer language teachers ? How can we use e-mail and chatlines for teaching ? What are Moos, forums and mailing lists and do they concern us ? How can we use our institution's interned server as a source of teaching and learning ? This article provides some feedback, if not many answers, from a language teacher's experiences as a debutant cybernaut. It looks at the failures as well as the successes, and considers the future of information technology both in the classroom and as a language-learning resource.

The ‘third place’ – virtual reality applications for second language learning

Recently we have seen a shift of focus in using the Internet from often inappropriate human-computer interactivity to human-human interaction, based on collaborative learning concepts like learner autonomy and tandem learning. The renewed discussion of interface design has provoked a reconsideration of me traditional graphical user interface and a shift towards more intuitive interfaces like virtual reality, mainly building on the concept of constructionism. The MOO (multi-user domain, object oriented) system provides a flexible, easy-to-use multiple user virtual reality that allows for the integration of language learning tools and resources in a common environment, a third place.

Room for talk: Peer support for getting into english in an ESL kindergarten

Early childhood classrooms characterized by a predominance of second language learners from a wide mix of language backgrounds have emerged in unprecedented numbers on the American urban scene, lending urgency to the question: What happens when such diverse language learners are increasingly each others' only available peer resource for language learning in the classroom? This article highlights peer support for “getting into English” in one such setting—an ESL kindergarten where the children came from eight different language backgrounds and the teacher was the only native English speaker. Over 6 months of participant observation using qualitative, sociolinguistic methodology, the researcher documented the range of contexts in which case study children came to use English, and the efforts they and their teacher made to understand each other and be understood. In informal contexts for peer talk, children of like and different backgrounds served as resources for each other's use of English. They helped each other begin to use English among a broadening network of peers, for an expanding variety of purposes, and—at least to some extent—with more precision. Moreover, they pushed each other to elaborate and clarify their English. A model of peer collaboration is explored to take into account how children's evolving social relationships served as an impetus for talk in English. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Internet-aided Language Learning

A hypertext decision making activity is designed and located on the Internet, targeting English-language learners wishing to review exponents associated with conducting business meetings: assuming a learner-centred approach to learning and a functional approach to language organisation. The evaluation of the system by 65 users revealed them to be enthusiastic about using the Internet given a specific language-learning task involving decision making and negotiation. Positive backwash was apparent as users felt encouraged to return to the activity, seeking further Internet language-learning resources.

French: Its acquisition as a second language. Seán Devitt. Dublin, Ireland: Authentik Language Learning Resources Ltd., 1993. Pp. 80.

French: Its acquisition as a second language. Seán Devitt. Dublin, Ireland: Authentik Language Learning Resources Ltd., 1993. Pp. 80.

Using the Robert Electronique as a language learning resource

The Robert Electronique is the CD-ROM version of the nine volume Grand Robert, roughly the French equivalent of the OED. This article outlines a project to produce some learning materials using this lexical database. It describes various types of exercises ranging from the semantic to the stylistic. Most of the exercises can be completed on screen within a wordprocessing application and can be done by a student working independently. The activities exploit as far as possible features specific to the CD-ROM version of the dictionary.

Learning foreign languages from authentic texts: theory and practice. Little David, Devitt Sean, and Singleton David. Dublin: Authentik Language Learning Resources, 1989. Pp. vi + 122. £8.25.

Learning foreign languages from authentic texts: theory and practice. Little David, Devitt Sean, and Singleton David. Dublin: Authentik Language Learning Resources, 1989. Pp. vi + 122. £8.25. - Volume 14 Issue 2

Paying attention to the words: Practical and theoretical problems in watching television programmes with uni-lingual (CEEFAX) sub-titles

In this article, a study is described which aimed at gaining insights into how learners of English may best make use of television programmes with uni-lingual sub-titles intended for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. While these sub-titles do appear to make a wide variety of programmes accessible that would otherwise be impossible or at least very difficult to follow, there are several limitations to their value as a language learning resource. The findings of the study also suggest that a complex model is needed to capture the processes observed in and reported by learners who make use of the extensive comprehensible input available in television programmes.

The open access sound and video library of the University of Cambridge: Progress report and development

This paper intends to outline some of the pedagogical and administrative problems involved in the organisation and development of an open access and video library. In the first part of the paper, we briefly describe the layout of the library and the audience for which the system was created. The second part of the paper describes how we set about to improve the present system in practical terms in order to match the facilities available to the learners' needs, and part 3 offers a quantitative evaluation. Lastly, in part 4, we make a critical assessment of the limitations of the set up and describe how we intend to develop the sound and video “on the spot” library into a language learning resource centre, by creating a counselling service which will operate as a matching device between the resources available and individuals' needs and will be responsible for the provision of new materials used outside the premises to small independent groups of learners engaged in communicative activities.

Cyberl@b kids: a technology- enhanced language learning resource for primary school children in Costa Rica

This paper makes an analysis of the literature that supports the creation and implementation of CyberL@bKids. CyberL@bKids is a digital platform designed for teaching and learning English according to the curriculum of the Ministry of Education in Costa Rica. It was created by researchers at the University of Costa Rica (UCR), in order to meet the needs of I and II Cycle of public education in the area of English. The design and structure of this digital platform are student-centered. Within this paper, there is a description of the representative colors and characters for each grade (1st to 6th), examples of interactive activities, samples of the presentation of vocabulary, illustrations of the presentation of grammatical structures in context, and examples of the integration of skills, among others. The literature emphasizes the use of meaningful learning strategies, task-based and contentbased teaching methods for the teaching and learning of English as a foreign through the integration of technology (ICT). This platform was piloted by the Ministry of Education for a year, and since 2012, CyberL@bKids is used by all primary schools in the country. Este ensayo hace un análisis de la literatura que sustenta la creación e implementación de CyberL@bKids. CyberL@bKids es una plataforma digital diseñada para la enseñanza y aprendizaje del inglés de acuerdo al currículo del Ministerio de Educación de Costa Rica. La misma fue creada por investigadores de la Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR), con el propósito de cumplir con las necesidades de la educación del I y II Ciclo de Educación Pública en el área de inglés. El diseño y la estructura de esta plataforma digital están centrados en el estudiante. Dentro de este ensayo se describe los colores y personajes representativos para cada grado (primero a sexto grado), ejemplos de actividades interactivas, muestras de la presentación del vocabulario, de las estructuras gramaticales en contexto, y de la integración de destrezas, entre otros. La literatura enfatiza la utilización de estrategias de aprendizaje significativas y métodos de enseñanza basado en tareas y en contenidos auténticos para la enseñanza y el aprendizaje del inglés como lengua extranjera mediada por las TIC. Esta plataforma fue piloteada por el Ministerio de Educación por un año, y a partir del año 2012, es utilizada por todas las escuelas primarias del país.

Cyberl@b kids: a technology- enhanced language learning resource for primary school children in Costa Rica

This paper makes an analysis of the literature that supports the creation and implementation of CyberL@bKids. CyberL@bKids is a digital platform designed for teaching and learning English according to the curriculum of the Ministry of Education in Costa Rica. It was created by researchers at the University of Costa Rica (UCR), in order to meet the needs of I and II Cycle of public education in the area of English. The design and structure of this digital platform are student-centered. Within this paper, there is a description of the representative colors and characters for each grade (1st to 6th), examples of interactive activities, samples of the presentation of vocabulary, illustrations of the presentation of grammatical structures in context, and examples of the integration of skills, among others. The literature emphasizes the use of meaningful learning strategies, task-based and content-based teaching methods for the teaching and learning of English as a foreign through the integration of technology (ICT). This platform was piloted by the Ministry of Education for a year, and since 2012, CyberL@bKids is used by all primary schools in the country. Este ensayo hace un análisis de la literatura que sustenta la creación e implementación de CyberL@bKids. CyberL@bKids es una plataforma digital diseñada para la enseñanza y aprendizaje del inglés de acuerdo al currículo del Ministerio de Educación de Costa Rica. La misma fue creada por investigadores de la Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR), con el propósito de cumplir con las necesidades de la educación del I y II Ciclo de Educación Pública en el área de inglés. El diseño y la estructura de esta plataforma digital están centrados en el estudiante. Dentro de este ensayo se describe los colores y personajes representativos para cada grado (primero a sexto grado), ejemplos de actividades interactivas, muestras de la presentación del vocabulario, de las estructuras gramaticales en contexto, y de la integración de destrezas, entre otros. La literatura enfatiza la utilización de estrategias de aprendizaje significativas y métodos de enseñanza basado en tareas y en contenidos auténticos para la enseñanza y el aprendizaje del inglés como lengua extranjera mediada por las TIC. Esta plataforma fue piloteada por el Ministerio de Educación por un año, y a partir del año 2012, es utilizada por todas las escuelas primarias del país.