Until recently, most foreign language education has been centered on the acquisition of grammar and vocabulary. While recognizing that grammar and vocabulary are essential tools for communication, the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning advocate "the acquisition of the ability to communicate in meaningful and appropriate ways with…

This paper explores eight hypotheses regarding trends in CALL literature relative to research subjects: small number of subjects, overuse of questionnaires, limited time, lack of experience with the application, task type and CALL in general, and lack of training before and during the study. Based on a review of 78 articles from four CALL-oriented…

Mobile learning has long been identified as one of the natural directions in which CALL is expected to move, and as smaller portable technologies become less expensive, lighter and more powerful, they have the potential to become a more integral part of language learning courses as opposed to the more supplemental role often assigned to computer…

Describes LEARN, a software system for computer assisted foreign language vocabulary acquisition. Notes that the system processes English unrestricted text by translating selected English words in it into foreign words before presenting the text to the student. Points out that the natural path for the system's future is to add more languages. (23…

Focuses on student modeling within an Intelligent Tutoring System. Describes three domain-independent properties that the formalism representing student knowledge and the processes synthesizing this knowledge must possess to build accurate student models for second-language learning. Notes when, how, and where hypothetical reasoning mechanisms…

Describes a computer program designed to provide language learners with the relevant knowledge to recognize or produce linguistic forms appropriate to a given setting, and to choose one form among a set of similar alternatives. Shows how the influence of pragmatic factors are explored by contrasting learner usage with a computer-based model.…

Reports on two projects dedicated to the compilation of a basic French vocabulary list, the translation of this list into five European languages, and the publication of the results as an electronic reference book for teachers and learners of French as a second language. (Author/VWL)

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…

Examined the effectiveness of computer assisted language learning among two groups of students enrolled in an intermediate French course. One group of students spent more time each week in a computer laboratory than did a second group of students. Overall, students who spent more time in the laboratory had higher class averages at the end of the…

Previous work in the literature reveals that EFL learners were deficient in collocations that are a hallmark of near native fluency in learner's writing. Among different types of collocations, the verb-noun (V-N) one was found to be particularly difficult to master, and learners' first language was also found to heavily influence their collocation…

This study examines potential designs in the usage of synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) for communicative language learning in learner-centered communication. In this study, the authors compared four types of SCMC: text-based chat with and without interlocutors' image, video conferencing, and audio conferencing, each supporting of…

Looks at an innovative organizational tool for syllabus design of English-as-a-Foreign-Language, computer-assisted language learning writing classes that is borrowed from the interdisciplinary field of information architecture. The tool around which this syllabus design is structured is the Location-Alphabet-Time-Category-Hierarchy (LATCH), to…

Describes the design and implementation of a computer-based listening test--the "Text dictation." The article first discusses the importance of listening centering on a coherent text, rather than short listening fragments, and discusses drawbacks of listening programs wherein the required responses consist of noninteractive test types, such as…

Discusses the assessment of learner strategies in the computer assisted language learning context, and the pros and cons. Reviews empirical studies that have used the computer to record the interactive process where second language learners demonstrate different on-line language learning behavior, operationalized as types of learner strategies.…

Concordancing in the classroom is fairly a new approach that has emerged with the use of corpora in language learning. In a concordance, language is presented in an authentic context; learners are able to examine a key word in the context of a string of sentences which can exemplify the use of that particular word. This exploratory study examined…