Social networked game dynamics in web 2.0 language learning communities

Language learners have a need to complement their classroom learning activities with experiences outside the classroom and interact with other speakers and learners of the language to practice it. Communities play a major role in supporting language learners. A class of university students studying French is, as such, a community of language learners. A mobile community blog was used to establish and support a sense of community among the students in the classroom as well as outside, particularly when some of the students travel to France as part of their studies. The blog was intended to facilitate active participation, social interaction and collaboration among the members of the community. This paper evaluates the use of the blog and analyses the results to identify the issues that are important in supporting a community of mobile language learners.

This article deals with the methodology of Community Language Learning (C.L.L.) from a cultural and discourse perspective. It seeks to demonstrate how C.L.L. can be exploited effectively in the classroom as a means of addressing the socio-cultural dimension of language learning and teaching. The original C.L.L. model (Charles Curran’s) is examined, and a modified version described and analyzed. The central feature of counselling strategies is highlighted and illustrated, demonstrating the importance of negotiating rather than imposing meaning. The article then explores how C.L.L. is effective in reaching a number of short-term goals: e.g. text repair; learning about socio-cultural conventions and learning to use language appropriate to these conventions; exposing incidents of language failure and reasons for these. The importance of the teacher’s understanding of discourse conventions is underlined. Finally C.L.L. is reviewed in terms of both its weaknesses and strengths.

Building self-confidence in speaking is a fundamental challenge in English language learning, particularly in non-native settings. Many students experience anxiety and hesitation when asked to speak in a second language, making it essential to adopt supportive teaching approaches. Addressing this issue requires innovative and student-centered teaching methods that foster a positive and engaging learning atmosphere. This study examines English teachers' perceptions of Community Language Learning (CLL) in enhancing students' self-confidence in speaking classes. Adopting a qualitative research design, the study involved interviews with four experienced English teachers at SMP 2 Boja, who shared their insights and classroom experiences. The findings indicate that CLL creates a supportive, low-pressure classroom environment that helps reduce language anxiety and encourages active student participation. Teachers emphasized the importance of the teacher's supportive role, the use of group interactions, and the collaborative nature of CLL in boosting students' speaking confidence. The study concludes that CLL is an effective method for improving students' self-confidence in speaking activities, highlighting its potential for broader application in similar educational contextsKeywords: Community Language Learning (CLL), English Speaking Confidence, Teacher Perceptions

This study aims to explain and describe the implementation of functional approaches in learning Arabic through the method of community language learning. Community language learning method is a method that aims for students to learn to use language that is learned communicatively. Community language learning (CLL) is the name of a method developed by Charles A Curran and his colleagues. Community language learning (CLL) is often used in communicative learning or speaking skills. research in this study is the Research field. Collecting data in this study is qualitative (not in the form of numbers) through a review of some literature and using qualitative analysis in the presentation of data, data analysis and conclusion. The results of his research are detailed descriptions and explanations of the details of Arabic learning instruments that use the community language learning method in terms of a functional approach to realize the goals of modern Arabic learning, namely factual communication, in the sense that students are able to function foreign languages learned as communication tools, in this case Arabic.

<p>Arabic language learning with a functional approach through the Community Language Learning (CLL) method aims to develop students' communication skills in real contexts. This approach emphasizes language as a tool for social interaction, not just grammatical rules. In practice, CLL encourages collaboration between students in a supportive atmosphere, thereby increasing self-confidence and practical understanding of the language. Teachers act as facilitators in creating participatory activities such as group discussions and role-playing. Technology integration in CLL also enriches the learning experience and encourages student independence. Real performance-based assessments are used to measure students' communication skills. In addition to linguistic aspects, this approach also fosters character values such as empathy and cooperation. Thus, the functional approach through CLL is expected to produce a generation that is communicative, collaborative, and sensitive to socio-cultural values in facing global challenges.</p>

This chapter is a reflection of the author's service-learning (SL) experience as a graduate student as well as a faculty member practicing SL in the department of language at a northeastern university. In this chapter, the author mainly focuses on the experience and learning in the SL course and how SL project research focusing on students' perception of using WhatsApp as a language learning tool shaped the author's teaching and research in the Chinese language teaching and learning community. Findings from this study can then be utilized to help the Chinese language teaching community reflect on their teaching and consider ways of adjusting their use of technology in classroom instruction to engage their students actively. As an SL project, these efforts will contribute to developing effective teaching strategies in the Chinese language learning community.

Mobile augmented reality (AR) games offer a novel and unexplored context for situated language learning. In these games, players engage in authentic communication influenced by game mechanics, community norms, and shared objectives. This study employs Engeström’s (1987) Activity Theory (AT) framework to analyze language production and learning within the Pokémon Go gaming community. By conducting content analysis of a gameplay vlog and first-person observations of the game application, the study investigates how the six components of the activity system—subject, object, mediating artifacts, rules, community, and division of labor—interact to create conditions for language use and learning. The analysis reveals that language functions as both a mediating artifact and an outcome of participation. Game-specific lexical items emerge from and reinforce the activity system’s structure, while contradictions between components, particularly between game-imposed rules and community-driven knowledge-sharing practices, generate opportunities for language development. These findings contribute to the growing body of research on game-based language learning and extend the application of Activity Theory to mobile AR gaming environments.

Reviewed by: Français interactif by Karen Kelton, Nancy Guilloteau and Carl Blyth Julian Ledford Kelton, Karen, Nancy Guilloteau, and Carl Blyth. Français interactif. 4th ed. COERLL, 2019. ISBN 978-1-937963-20-0. Pp. 345. As research on language learner identity reveals more about the plural identities of Generation Z students and the connection between learner visibility and engagement, the use of pedagogical materials that allow for sustained and substantial inclusive language instruction is essential. Similarly, pedagogical materials that support the inclusion of diverse cultural contexts are needed to honor the identities of the instructors who make up the language learning commu nity. Far from being a static first-year French textbook, Français interactif presents the open-access curriculum from Tex’s French Grammar <https://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex> and Français interactif <https://laits.utexas.edu/fi> via a highly customizable and robust online platform. While the grammar references, exercises, and verb conjugation tables that both Tex’s French Grammar and Français interactif provide are beneficial for the practice phase of language instruction, the customization that Lingco <https://lingco.io> offers is essential for the overview and communication phases. Additionally, the Lingco platform allows instructors to enhance obsolete templates within those texts and remove cultural references that are no longer relevant or present problematic ontologies. Beyond this, the platform has several additional benefits. First, the Lingco personnel are very responsive and eager to help. They are also eager to learn how they might enhance their product from language instructors and language students alike. Second, the Lingco platform is compatible with other learning management systems such as Brightspace, Canvas, or Moodle. Third, with specific regard to language instruction, the platform allows for multimodal and interactive student engagement. For example, instructors can upload various forms of audiovisual media on which to base units, assignments, and assessments. The feedback that learners receive can also be of various forms. The Lingco platform also offers the ability to create vocabulary sets that are ostensibly more pertinent to learners than those found in traditional textbooks. Seeing that the platform is equipped with voice-to-text capabilities, learners can listen to the vocabulary sets that the instructor creates. Instructors may also include visual cues for each word. Thanks to this customization, traditional topics encountered in the French curriculum can be presented more inclusively. Perhaps most importantly, Lingco provides a platform for exploring language learning pedagogies that affirm disability, gender, sexual, and trans identities. What is more, these inclusive approaches to language learning can also be shared, as instructors have access to the global community of French teachers who have opted to share their materials in the Lingco content library. To be clear, Français interactif works best for instructors who have grown weary of not finding inclusive material among the thick volumes of language-learning textbooks and have resorted to finding various ways of including supplemental pedagogical material. Though the successful [End Page 240] execution of the Lingco program will require the instructor to do more preparation up front, the platform provides the tools that such instructors need to create, store, and promote the language-learning experiences they have always envisioned for their students. Julian Ledford University of the South (TN) Copyright © 2022 American Association of Teachers of French

This paper explores the experiences and perspectives of advanced language learners on the use of Machine Translation Tools (MTTs). The study focuses on how learners navigate their use of tools like Google Translate, DeepL, and Reverso, and how their usage is influenced by instructional recommendations. Nine learners, studying different languages at an advanced level, were interviewed in focus groups. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts revealed key themes related to the use of Online Language Learning Tools (OLLTs) and MTTs, students' uncertainty about MTT functionalities, policies regarding MTT use, and suggestions for MTT training. The findings highlight the significant impact of initial encounters with MTTs on learners' long-term perceptions and use of these tools. Participants demonstrated strategic use of MTTs to support their reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills, while being aware of their limitations. Although learners found MTTs helpful, they also emphasised the importance of authentic communication in language learning. The study concludes with recommendation for a collaborative approach between teachers and learners to effectively integrate MTTs into the language learning curriculum.

Although a substantial amount of cross-cultural psychology research has investigated acculturative stress in general, little attention has been devoted specifically to communication-related acculturative stress (CRAS). In line with the view that cross-cultural adaptation and second language (L2) learning are social and interpersonal phenomena, the present study examines the hypothesis that migrants’ L2 social network size and interconnectedness predict CRAS. The main idea underlying this hypothesis is that L2 social networks play an important role in fostering social and cultural aspects of communicative competence. Specifically, higher interconnectedness may reflect greater access to unmodified natural cultural representations and L2 communication practices, thus fostering communicative competence through observational learning. As such, structural aspects of migrants’ L2 social networks may be protective against acculturative stress arising from chronic communication difficulties. Results from a study of first generation migrant students (N = 100) support this idea by showing that both inclusiveness and density of the participants’ L2 network account for unique variance in CRAS but not in general acculturative stress. These results support the idea that research on cross-cultural adaptation would benefit from disentangling the various facets of acculturative stress and that the structure of migrants’ L2 network matters for language related outcomes. Finally, this study contributes to an emerging body of work that attempts to integrate cultural/cross-cultural research on acculturation and research on intercultural communication and second language learning.

Online activities have spiked due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including language learning activities. As the world is aging, this affects senior citizens too. Yet, few studies have been conducted studying online (language) learning in this age-group. Moreover, no concrete pointers exist on how to go about such an online language learning course. This paper examines what should be considered when designing and implementing online language learning courses for seniors. To that end we present data from 73 senior language learners from two independent language learning contexts: the Netherlands and Scotland. The data were collected between May 2020 and August 2021. Data includes spoken and written samples from lessons, focus groups, interviews and questionnaires. Given the qualitative nature of the data and the aim of identifying patterns of meaning across the respective datasets, a reflexive thematic analysis (TA) approach was adopted. We employed an inductive approach to coding, using both semantic (explicit or overt) and latent (implicit, underlying) coding frameworks, in order to inform two overarching themes: “Navigating the digital highway” and “Camera ready for new friends.” We discuss these themes and their sub-themes and arrive at concrete recommendations for the third-age language learning classroom.

There has been an increasing interest in the integration of technology into language education. Meanwhile, computational thinking (CT) skills are fostered which influence communicative language teaching and learning. Despite CT's established importance in science education, its significance in language teaching remains scarce. This study contributes to knowledge synthesis and methodological development by reviewing 16 journal articles, analyzing CT applications in language learning across educational contexts, intervention tools, CT skills, language acquisition, and assessment methods. The results indicate that (a) more CT-involved activities are needed for primary, secondary, and tertiary education, (b) educational robots and Scratch stand out as the most trending intervention tools, (c) CT skills such as decomposition, abstraction, generalization and so on have a positive effect on students’ foreign language acquisition, especially in grammar and writing, (d) assessment of CT development can be surveyed through a validated and reliable instrument such as computer programming self-efficacy scale or an online platform: Dr. Scratch; Conversely, there is a diversity of evaluation tools in foreign language learning. This study is the first to review experimental research on integrating computational thinking into foreign language learning and offers significant implications for future research.

The researcher applied Community Language Learning (CLL) in teaching speaking skill. The purpose of this research was to identify the effect of using Community Language Learning (CLL) Method towards speaking skill students who received the class instruction by using CLL than students who do not receive method at the second semester students of ABA Persada Bunda in Pekanbaru. The design of the research was experimental design with the total number of population are 25 students from the second semester students of ABA Persada Bunda in Pekanbaru. Instrument in this research was an oral test speaking by report. Data were analyzed using t-test. The result of the test showed that the average score of students’ pre test was 68,50 and then the average of students post test was 74,58. The results of this research found that the alternative hypothesis was accepted and rejected a hypothesis null. It can be seen from the t-test (0.000) significant at the level of 0.05. The result of N-Gain of experimental class was 0,31. It meant that the significant of strategy that used in experimental class was Middle because the average of N-Gain was 0.31. From the above explanation, the researcher concluded that Community Language Learning (CLL) Method effective for teaching speaking skill at the second semester students of ABA Persada Bunda in Pekanbaru.

Game-based learning has gained significant attention from educational researchers because of its ability to create an engaging and enjoyable learning environment for students. However, there was a research gap regarding the design of game mechanics that specifically helped students understand abstract scientific concepts. Also, the impact of increased motivation, interest, and engagement on conceptual understanding remained uncertain. The objective of this study was, therefore, to analyze the efficacy of using analogy teaching as a learning design principle for creating game mechanics to improve students' conceptions of bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Additionally, the study aimed to investigate whether providing a clear analogy comparison after gameplay could have a significant impact on students' learning outcomes. The research also examined the correlation between students' enjoyment level during gameplay and their learning outcomes. An embedded experimental mixed methods design was utilized to address the research objectives. The participants were 54 undergraduate students from non-science disciplines. They were divided into two groups: the Game-based Learning [GL] group and the Game-based Learning with eXplicit analogy discussion [GLX] group. Both groups used a board game to learn about bioaccumulation and biomagnification. The GL group had reflective discussions about the concepts after playing the game. The GLX group had an additional task where they identified similarities and differences between the gameplay and the scientific concepts, and they explicitly discussed these through a worksheet provided before the discussion. Results showed that after engaging in game-based learning, both groups exhibited a significant improvement in their understanding of bioaccumulation and biomagnification, moving from incomplete or partial understanding to more scientifically accurate concepts. Notably, the GLX group scored higher in post-tests compared to the GL group. Despite high levels of enjoyment during gameplay, there was no correlation between this enjoyment and the post-test scores. An unexpected slight negative correlation was found between immersion during the game and post-test scores. Discussion and implementation of the research results were provided.

&lt;p&gt;One of the main aims behind learning English as a foreign language (EFL) is to communicate effectively with other speakers of the English language. The justification for concentrating on the teaching and learning of English as a second language (L2), and as a foreign language, is that it is the lingua franca (Klimczak-Pawlak, 2014) and the primary language used for communication around the world (Rich, 2014). English language learners are given limited chances to practice speaking in authentic situations in class, and teaching to communicate effectively in an authentic environment is often overlooked. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) emphasizes meaning and communication in language learning, and with CLT the goal is to improve learners’ “communicative competence” (Richards &amp;amp; Rodgers, 2001). Nevertheless, challenges are faced when applying CLT in the EFL classrooms. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to critically explore elements of the CLT approach and to better understand some of the cultural difficulties involved in its application. The paper will propose more application of the CLT in EFL classrooms, in place of language teaching techniques currently used in the Arab context. This paper will also examine issues dealing with the theoretical background of CLT, and focus on the implementation of activities that can encourage students' communicative competence.&lt;/p&gt;