TAILORING CONTEMPORARY METHODS TO STUDENTS’ NEEDS WITH ADEQUATE RESOURCES FOR PRODUCTIVE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSES

Reviewed by: Brave New Digital Classroom: Technology and Foreign Language Learning by Robert J. Blake Raquel Oxford Blake, Robert J . Brave New Digital Classroom: Technology and Foreign Language Learning. 2nd ed. Washington, DC : Georgetown UP , 2013 . Pp 222 . ISBN 978-1-58901-976-8 Technology integration in teaching and learning is an area of concern, interest, and discovery for many educators and administrators at all levels for multiple reasons, from enrollment management to enhanced learner engagement. The field of language learning is no exception, and guidance for those willing to explore various technologies is desirable. In this second edition of Brave New Digital Classroom: Technology and Foreign Language Learning, in eight reader-friendly chapters—each conclude with discussion questions and activities and a glossary sufficient for both the novice and more advanced reader—Robert Blake adeptly presents the case for anchoring implementation of various technologies on a strong foundation of principles of language acquisition. In chapter 1, “Second Language Acquisition, Language Teaching, and Technology,” Blake begins an exploration and delineation of how technology meshes with tenets of second language acquisition and within language learning contexts. The groundwork is set to emphasize that it is the learning—not the technology—that should drive the design for curriculum and instruction. Myth busting of four myths about technology and second language acquisition also sets the tone for inquiry and thoughtful implementation of technology with a purpose. The author addresses perhaps the most daunting challenge for those interested in technology integration in the absence of a strong language lab staff or university instructional technology services, the need for continuing education with the ever-changing landscape of new technologies. Blake seems ever mindful of the need to encourage appropriate technology use, as the title of chapter 2 suggests, “Web Pages in Service of L2 Learning.” Again, technology is in service of learning. A brief history, along with basic functioning, of the Internet is presented with preliminary thoughts on the pitfalls of simply superimposing technology on traditional grammar-driven pedagogy. The author leads to a more collaborative, student-centered approach with task-based instruction (TBI), but the generic formula he presents as a suggested procedure to start building a web-supported learning environment may itself be daunting to some neophytes to either the technology or TBI. A natural progression follows as Blake moves to chapter 3, “CALL and Its Evaluation: Programs and Apps.” The author starts with a history of the original computer-assisted language instruction (CALI) and moves to computer-assisted language learning (CALL), which as a “paradigm assumes that students bring certain schema to the learning process” (52). A table summarizing the stages of structural CALL in the 1970s and 1980s, communicative CALL in [End Page 701] the 1980s and 1990s, and the integrative CALL of the twenty-first century includes technology type, teaching paradigm, view of language, principal use of computers, and principal objective, in order to graphically show the evolution of CALL. Another key point is the desirability to be able to evaluate CALL; Blake shares the complexity of the task since such “may examine design, procedures, approaches or a combination of all of these factors” (71). Communication is a central component of language learning and earns singular focus in chapter 4, “Computer-Mediated Communication.” Blake begins with the ubiquitous nod to interactionist practices fundamental to SLA theories and makes an excellent presentation and synthesis of research, weaving together theory and practice, minus a somewhat lengthy inclusion of a case study of bimodal synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC). Even as he advocates for use of certain technologies, the author is honest about limitations and difficulties that both instructors and students may encounter when using such. In chapter 5, “Theory in Practice: Putting It All Together,” Blake recaps the pedagogical threads that should guide the integration of technology into the FL curriculum: multiple technological entry points . . . ; theory-driven applications of new technologies, not just for the sake of the use of any specific digital tool; student-centered classrooms; interactivity, agency, and students as co-producers of technologically enhanced materials; and pursuit of a third place in the quest for bilingualism and the development of intercultural communicative competence. (109) The author once more builds...

This article explores the potential of the classroom as a venue for authentic, real-life language use, and highlights the importance of unplanned classroom communication. Examples from the lessons of prospective English teachers in Hungary and Turkey indicate that, when given the opportunity, EFL students enjoy using the L2 spontaneously. The classroom observations provide evidence that unplanned interactions can create conditions which give rise to humour and linguistic creativity, both of which feature prominently in language use outside the classroom as well. By raising metalinguistic awareness and promoting fluency, humorous language play facilitates language acquisition as it enables learners to experiment as well as express their own meanings and find their voice in English. Teachers should, therefore, encourage off-task conversations and make good use of students’ humorous repartee and asides. Teacher educators should also encourage prospective teachers to create and exploit opportunities for naturally occurring interaction in their future classes.

Foreign language learning attitude as a predictor of attitudes towards computer-assisted language learning

Corpus Linguistics in the context of English as a Second Language (ESL) is high in demand as an approach that guides ESL practitioners in making informed decisions about language teaching. This discipline of Corpus Linguistics can be efficiently incorporated into material designing and teaching methodology, paving the way for both feasible and quality teaching and learning processes. The tool used for corpus analysis in this research is AntConc software. This research aims to unravel how the data derived from AntConc software can be used to make materials that reflect the real-life language use. The analysis derived from studying and analyzing a corpus is indeed an effective guide in the context of English Language Teaching (ELT). The text analysis performed by this software proves that the frequent patterns of language it identifies are a valuable resource for creating materials that accurately represent real-life language use.

<span>Significant use of Computer Assisted Language Learning CALL began in the 1960s. Since then development of CALL software has followed the changes in teaching methodologies. As teaching methods changed to audio-lingual and communicative approaches, CALL software included simulations and more interactive programs. Research has shown that learning strategies employed in CALL can affect the quality of learning in the language. A case study approach was used to investigate the language learning strategies employed by students using the NihingoWare I software for the learning of Japanese. The participants studied at Monash University in the Department of Japanese Studies. Investigation of the strategies used showed that there were special Program Use Strategies which have not previously been noted in language learning. In addition, language using strategies which are commonly used in non-computer learning situations were not employed by the participants. This suggests that computer software designers need to be aware of language learning strategies for effective design of CALL to enhance learning.</span>

This project presents the new and improved version of A Little Life (ALL): Verse and Schedule for Your Soul, which was originally developed as a planner book that combines undated daily and monthly planner with written entries. The upgraded version of “ALL” is developed as a mobile application to support English language learning among English as Second Language (ESL) learners. The mobile application retains the foundational elements of the original planner such as daily and monthly digital planner sheets, interactive writing prompts, and original creative writings, while adding new interactive features designed for digital engagement. Moreover, users are exposed to curated emotional vocabulary lists derived from literary entries which include definitions to support real-life language use. To further engage its users, this one-of-a-kind application incorporates gamification elements such as digital journaling badges, streak milestones, and a personal dashboard which the application can track mood tags, vocabulary growth, and writing consistency. This approach aims to transform language learning into a personal journey to encourage users to regularly express themselves and track their emotional improvement. By integrating language learning strategies, writing therapy techniques, and mobile technology, “ALL” provides its users with both practical tools for journaling and emotional connection through relatable literary materials. It is intended that by focusing on shared experiences through expressive writing, the application seeks to provide the users with a sense of companionship in terms of comprehending their feelings and planning their day ahead. Ultimately, “ALL” serves as a digital companion that grows with its users to make language learning a personal, expressive, and healing journey.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing many aspects of education and is gradually being introduced to language education. This article reviews the literature to examine main trends and common findings in relation to AI technologies and applications for second and foreign language learning and teaching. With special reference to computer-assisted language learning (CALL), the article explores natural language processing (NLP), data-driven learning (DDL), automated writing evaluation (AWE), computerized dynamic assessment (CDA), intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs), automatic speech recognition (ASR), and chatbots. It contributes to discussions on understanding and using AI-supported language learning and teaching. It suggests that AI will be continuously integrated into language education, and AI technologies and applications will have a profound impact on language learning and teaching. Language educators need to ensure that AI is effectively used to support language learning and teaching in AI-powered contexts. More rigorous research on AI-supported language learning and teaching is recommended to maximise second and foreign language learning and teaching with AI.

The framework of depicting put forward by Clark (2016) offers a schematic vantage point from which to examine iconic language use. Confronting the framework with empirical data, we consider some of its key theoretical notions. Crucially, by reconceptualizing the typology of depictions, we identify an overlooked domain in the literature: “speech-embedded nonverbal depictions,” namely cases where meaning is communicated iconically, nonverbally, and without simultaneously co-occurring speech. In addition to contextualizing the phenomenon in relation to existing research, we demonstrate, with examples from American TV talk shows, how such depictions function in real-life language use, offering a brief sketch of their complexities and arguing also for their theoretical significance.

Contents: Introduction. Part I: Important Social Contexts in Research on Second Language Teaching and Learning. Introduction. M.E. Brisk, Bilingual Education. M.R. Hawkins, ESL in Elementary Education. P.A. Duff, ESL in Secondary Schools: Programs, Problematics, and Possibilities. D.E. Murray, ESL in Adult Education. S. Carkin, English for Academic Purposes. P. Master, English for Specific Purposes. C. Roberts, English in the Workplace. B. Tomlinson, English as a Foreign Language: Matching Procedures to the Context of Learning. Y. Kachru, Teaching and Learning of World Englishes. Part II: Methods in Second Language Research. Introduction. L. Harklau, Ethnography and Ethnographic Research on Second Language Teaching and Learning. L. van Lier, Case Study. A. Lazaraton, Quantitative Research Methods. D. Nunan, Classroom Research. A. Burns, Action Research. Part III: Applied Linguistics and Second Language Research. Introduction. T. Pica, Second Language Acquisition Research and Applied Linguistics. S.L. McKay, Sociolinguistics and Second Language Learning. J. Zuengler, K.M. Cole, Language Socialization and Second Language Learning. G. Kasper, C. Roever, Pragmatics in Second Language Learning. J.P. Lantolf, Sociocultural and Second Language Learning Research: An Exegesis. N. Markee, Conversation Analysis for Second Language Acquisition. R.B. Kaplan, Contrastive Rhetoric. S. Conrad, Corpus Linguistics and L2 Teaching. Part IV: Second Language Processes and Development. Introduction. G. Ioup, Age in Second Language Development. R. DeKeyser, A. Juffs, Cognitive Considerations in L2 Learning. Z. Han, L. Selinker, Fossilization in L2 Learners. M. Swain, The Output Hypothesis: Theory and Research. E. Tarone, Speaking in a Second Language. M. Rost, L2 Listening. T.G. Wiley, Second Language Literacy and Biliteracy. P. Byrd, Instructed Grammar. D.E. Eskey, Reading in a Second Language. I.S.P. Nation, Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. J.S. Hedgcock, Taking Stock of Research and Pedagogy in L2 Writing. E. Hinkel, Analyses of Second Language Text and What Can Be Learned From Them. Part V: Methods and Curricula in Second Language Teaching. Introduction. S.J. Savignon, Communicative Language Teaching: Strategies and Goals. S. Fotos, Traditional and Grammar Translation Methods for Second Language Teaching. J. Williams, Form-Focused Instruction. M.A. Snow, A Model of Academic Literacy for Integrated Language and Content Instruction. R. Ellis, Instructed Language Learning and Task-Based Teaching. M. Celce-Murcia, E. Olshtain, Discourse-Based Approaches: A New Framework for Second Language Teaching and Learning. C.A. Chapelle, Computer-Assisted Language Learning. N.J. Anderson, L2 Learning Strategies. Part VI: Second Language Testing and Assessment. T. McNamara, Introduction. A.J. Kunnan, Language Assessment From a Wider Context. A. Davies, C. Elder, Validity and Validation in Language Testing. M. Chalhoub-Deville, C. Deville, A Look Back at and Forward to What Language Testers Measure. T. Lumley, A. Brown, Research Methods in Language Testing. D. Douglas, Testing Languages for Specific Purposes. C. Leung, Classroom Teacher Assessment of Second Language Development: Construct as Practice. Part VII: Identity, Culture, and Critical Pedagogy in Second Language Teaching and Learning. Introduction. T. Ricento, Considerations of Identity in L2 Learning. M. Byram, A. Feng, Teaching and Researching Intercultural Competence. S. Canagarajah, Critical Pedagogy in L2 Learning and Teaching. Part VIII: Language Planning and Policy and Language Rights. R.B. Baldauf, Jr., Introduction. R.B. Baldauf, Jr., Language Planning and Policy Research: An Overview. T. van Els, Status Planning for Learning and Teaching. A.J. Liddicoat, Corpus Planning: Syllabus and Materials Development. R.B. Baldauf, Jr., R.B. Kaplan, Language-in-Education Planning. D.E. Ager, Prestige and Image Planning. S. May, Language Planning and Minority Language Rights.

In hopes of finding an appropriate way to integrate virtual worlds into Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), this paper introduces a 3D virtual platform for language education set up by OpenSimulator and Moodle. The resulting 3D virtual world can not only create a graphic immersive context for students to practice language use, but also offer teachers a better management tool to keep student records and teaching content. Furthermore, some teaching aids and learning tools are developed to support language learning and teaching, and three types of task-based instructional activities are designed to offer an appropriate, appealing and meaningful context where the target language can be acquired naturally with less anxiety. We hope that the 3D virtual world can be an option for the English classroom to provide students an input-rich and immersive environment where learning can be fun.KeywordsComputer Assisted Language Learning (CALL)virtual worldssimulation and gameOpenSimulator (OpenSim)Moodle

This chapter explains the overview of Technology-Enhanced Language Learning (TELL); the overview of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL); the relationship between Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) and language learning; the overview of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL); and the technological utilization for language learning in the digital age. TELL, CALL, and MALL significantly deal with the impact of technology on teaching and learning the second language or foreign language. TELL, CALL, and MALL are the utilization of the advanced devices as the technological innovation to display multimedia as the modern language learning methods in the digital age. TELL, CALL, and MALL effectively improve learning motivation and develop better attitudes in students and language learners toward language learning. The chapter argues that encouraging the applications of TELL, CALL, and MALL has the potential to improve language learning performance and reach strategic goals in the modern language learning environments.

This study hypothesized “that one who has nothing to say has nothing to write” to investigate the effects of grammatical awareness on performance in language proficiency test among first-year university students at the University of Buea (UB). The sample comprised 100 first-year students purposively sampled from Use of English classes at UB. Using Piaget’s (1936) Theory of Cognitive Development, data for the study was collected and analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that pre-university students upon enrolment harbour stereotyped and somewhat erroneous forms and structures of grammar that eventually become difficult to get out of their minds, and these are often introduced by their teachers or sometimes the environment they come from. Based on the findings, the study recommends that teachers of English at every stage should endeavour to engage students with real-life language use as this has the potentials to improve the communicative abilities.

<p>This review article examines the concept of collocational competence in learning English as a foreign language, considering its theoretical foundations, definitional development, empirical research, and pedagogical implications. Drawing on Firth’s principle that word meaning is shaped through its typical co-occurrence patterns and Halliday’s concept of lexicogrammar, collocational competence is situated within contemporary theories of phraseology. The paper synthesizes findings from corpus-based studies and classroom research, which demonstrate that collocational knowledge plays a crucial role in the development of idiomaticity, fluency, and overall communicative competence across diverse educational contexts. Existing research consistently shows that collocational competence develops more slowly than vocabulary size, and that even advanced learners experience difficulties in the productive use of conventionalized word combinations. Verb–noun collocations, low-frequency and semantically opaque combinations, as well as collocations that are incongruent with learners’ first-language patterns, are particularly problematic. These findings confirm that collocational knowledge does not emerge spontaneously through exposure to language alone but requires targeted and systematic pedagogical intervention. The paper further highlights the importance of explicit, corpus-informed, and strategy-based instruction, which has proven significantly more effective than implicit learning. Successful approaches include working with authentic corpora, developing noticing and memory strategies, and integrating collocations into tasks focused on real-life language use. At the same time, key methodological and conceptual challenges are identified, including inconsistent definitions, a limited number of longitudinal studies, and insufficiently contextualized assessment models. The study concludes by emphasizing the need for integrated curricular frameworks and mixed-method assessment approaches that link collocational competence to communicative outcomes across different proficiency levels.</p>

Two communication types of the Chinese [búshì … ma] patterning can be found in earlier studies in which Type 1 is understood as a yes-no question (default form) and Type 2 a rhetorical question carrying a negative semantic prosody, both types taking place in a “2-party” dialogue. This research has further identified an emergent “construction” (Croft, 2001) that figures also as a rhetorical question (Type 3) except in a “3-party” conversation setting. This Type 3 is found to serve a primary communicative purpose, that is, for “positive interpersonal bonding.” Other findings discussed include: (a) that [búshì … ma] has defaulted from Type 1 to Type 2 in today’s Mandarin Chinese, (b) that there exist subjectivity-based variations in interpreting the thematic agents of a Type 2 expression, (c) that Type 3 expressions have emerged on the grounds of “intersubjectivity,” and (d) that while both Types 2 and 3 are rhetorical questions, they indeed require very different sets of pragmatic competence for implementing an intended illocutionary force. The study looks particularly at how Type 2 and Type 3 [búshì … ma] constructions differentiate themselves from each other and how the [búshì … ma] patterning reflects linguistic economy and efficiency in real-life language use through grammaticalization (grammatical constructionalization).

This article explores how Norwegian teenagers experienced the development of spoken fluency of English as a second language (L2) through varied and sensuous learning in an outdoor environment. The article is based on six semi-structured group interviews with 23 year-8 students (13–14 years old) in a lower secondary school in Norway. The interviews were analysed qualitatively using thematic analysis, and the results indicate that the students found their English fluency to be improved and that the outdoors environment increased their confidence and intrinsic motivation for developing their spoken English skills. The results are interpreted as a consequence of new and varied affordances in an outdoor environment. Students reported increased willingness to communicate in the target language due to increased confidence, real-life language use, and interesting ways of learning.