Second language (L2) learning research suggests that virtual reality (VR) has the potential to enhance the development of language skills due to its immersive nature and its situated learning opportunities. This quantitative, between-subjects study compared the effectiveness of three learning conditions. University students (N = 63) studied…

Clickers are hand-held devices that wirelessly transmit student input to a computer: students answer multiple-choice questions using their clickers and the answer distribution is displayed on a screen. Previous studies suggest that the pedagogical use of these devices may contribute to learning and that they are positively perceived by students in…

An Activity Theory framework has been increasingly applied for understanding the tension or contradictions in telecollaboration. However, to date, few researchers have applied it to the analysis of digital stories, and none of them, to our knowledge, have used it to analyze the co-creation of multilingual digital stories. In this study, we explore…

Currently there is a push toward offering more language courses online because they can provide students with new forms of social and learning interaction, widen their access to education, and offer an individualized learning experience in large classes. Little research exists examining how students transition between online and on-campus language…

This case study investigated the effectiveness of the United Beyond Our Diversity (UBOD) project for the development of language skills and intercultural communicative competence (including attitudes, knowledge, skills, and critical intercultural awareness) in Taiwanese seventh grade learners. The learners' attitudes and evaluations of UBOD were…

This study was designed to determine if language acquisition can occur in a virtual situation in the absence of explicit instruction. After spending 1 year establishing a virtual community, the authors observed and analyzed interpersonal interactions and the development of Chinese communication competence, communication models, and interaction…

We examine the impact of the pedagogical use of mobile TTS on the L2 acquisition of French liaison, a process by which a word-final consonant is pronounced at the beginning of the following word if the latter is vowel-initial (e.g. peti/t.a/mi = > peti[ta]mi "boyfriend"). The study compares three groups of L2 French students learning…

This article reports on a study which took place in the context of the design and development of an online dictionary prototype for learners of French. Aspects of the "usability", i.e. the quality of the "learner-task-dictionary interaction" of the prototype were tested. Micro-tasks were designed to focus on learners'…

The choice of grammatical framework in ICALL--the branch of CALL that applies artificial intelligence techniques--has important implications for both research and development. Matthews (1993) argued for one "that potentially meshes with SLA (second language acquisition)" (p. 5) and sketches three criteria that facilitate the crucial…

This study investigates the effect of a cross-cultural bilingual communication project on students' second language learning. A collaborative key-pal project was conducted between Japanese university students learning English and Canadian university students learning Japanese. Ethnographic data were collected from the students' exchanged messages…

Describes a project designed to make second language reading more pleasurable, noting how computers can help students achieve this goal. The researcher used HyperCard to create reading software with translations appearing in pop-up windows, allowing students to read text with minimal interruption. Students reacted positively to the software, and…

Presents the results of a research project subsidized by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council in Canada. The research constitutes one project of a number in a strategic research network "EvNet" on the evaluation of computer technologies. The focus here is on the impact of voice recognition software on the language…

Compares results from surveys conducted in 1987 and 1998 on how computer-assisted language learning (CALL) was being used in Canadian universities. Results provided information on what types of hardware and software were being used, languages taught using CALL, the impact of CALL on various courses, and teachers' and students' attitudes about…