2010 Friday Sessions

CALICO 2010

Conference Presentations Day Two

June 11

8:00 – 8:45

Localisation Education — Teaching Aid Toolkit

Dimitra Anastasiou Localisation Research Centre, Centre for Next Generation of Localisation
Naoto Nishio Localisation Research Centre
Enda Quigley Localisation Research Centre, Centre for Next Generation Localisation

audio recording

Localisation is the adaptation of digital content to a target combination of language and culture, called locale. We present an educational programme which encourages children to appreciate the cultural and linguistic diversity of the world. The Localisation Research Centre at the University of Limerick, the Curriculum Design Unit at Mary Immaculate College and the Centre for Next Generation Localisation develop a Primary School Localisation Toolkit.

ISLE: An Open-source Gaming Platform for Learning Languages
Robert Blake UC Davis
Alex Chisholm Learning Games Network

audio recording

This presentation reflects on Gee’s (2007) learning principles as instantiated by language games developed within an open–source platform (ISLE). Online language learning is enabled through games and activities that are task-based with social interaction, collaboration, and competition. Activities are designed to be stand-alone, self-contained Flash modules nested within a single portal that taps the platform’s resources, makes extensive use of CMC tools, and permits performance reporting and learning path customizations. ESL materials will be showcased with an eye to illustrating the advantages of this gaming platform for the curriculum of other world languages.

An Analysis of the Spelling Errors of L2 English Learners

DJ Hovermale The Ohio State University

audio recording

Recent studies have shown that commercial spelling correction programs perform rather poorly on learner English (Mitton and Okada, 2008; Hovermale 2008). One explanation for this poor performance is that these spellcheckers exploit patterns in native speaker spelling errors which do not hold for L2 English learners (cf.e.g. Hovermale, 2008). This study examines approximately 1500 English spelling errors made by Japanese learners of English and provides empirical evidence that learner errors do, in fact, differ in predictable ways from those of native speakers. The study provides a detailed analysis of the errors and suggests how ESL spellcheckers could use this knowledge to improve performance.

Developing a LCTL Website for a Multi-Cultural Student Body

Derek Roff University of New Mexico

audio recording

Less-commonly taught languages face problems of access. Universities lack sufficient students for a viable learning program, while dispersed students lack local classes. The Web is an obvious resource, but many pedagogical, resource, and design decisions must be addressed. When the target learning community spans several cultures and language groups, access must include multiple languages of introduction and instruction. This presentation will explore the development of one successful learning portal, created with significant volunteer collaboration. It offers a wide array of learning materials, accessible via more than ten languages. We are developing student-accessed automatic writing evaluation tools as learning aids.

The Role of CALL in Meeting the Needs of Working Life and Lifelong Learning
Maija Tammelin Aalto University School of Economics
Pasi Puranen Helsinki School of Economics
Berit Peltonen Helsinki School of Economics
Lis Auvinen University of Helsinki

audio recording

This panel presentation by a team of language educators representing English, Spanish and Swedish focuses on the use of CALL and the foreign language learning goals and teaching practices in Finnish higher education. Maija Tammelin will exemplify how blended learning and the use of technology are used to meet the institutional, national and European goals in language learning. Pasi Puranen will focus on guidance in an online environment in teaching Spanish to Finnish students. Berit Peltonen and Lis Auvinen will demonstrate how they use videoconferencing tools, language karaoke and student-produced podcasts in their Swedish courses in a Finnish context.

Arabic without Walls: A Platform for Teaching and Learning about Learning

Michael Bush Brigham Young University

audio recording

The development of online language learning materials is expensive and must rely on unsettled theory. Work is underway at BYU to revise the successful Arabic Without Walls software in order improve instruction as well as inform SLA theory. We are revising the curriculum to achieve better integration between in-class and out-of-class activities and improve feedback to teachers regarding student preparation. Changes target online materials as well as the design of the course syllabus and schedule. The presentation will include demonstrations of architectural modifications to achieve “tool and content malleability” through openness, interoperability, and modularity for designing, developing, delivering, and evaluating courses.

9:00 – 9:45

There’s no I in We: Collaborative Writing Using Web-based and Desktop-based Word Processing
Greg Kessler Ohio University
Dawn Bikowski Ohio University
Robert Donald Stewart Ohio University
This study observes web-based and desktop-based collaborative writing. Students in two NNS undergraduate freshman composition courses (with 13 and 15 students, respectively) each participated, with students randomly assigned to groups. One class used a wiki for a five-week group-writing project, while the other class used desktop word processing. Multiple iterations of student writing throughout the revision process as well as follow-up focus group interviews were analyzed. The presenters observed differences in quality and experience between these two approaches. Pedagogical implications, challenges to collecting and analyzing data of this nature, and the changing nature of collaborative writing will be discussed.

Longitudinal Development of Language Learners: A Corpus-based Approach

Nina Vyatkina University of Kansas

This longitudinal study investigates the second language (L2) development in college-level learners of German. A written electronic corpus of learner productions elicited at dense time intervals starting from the novice level and continuing over several semesters of study is analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The focal features include selected vocabulary and grammar features. I also track how learners use the available input by modifying it and applying it to their own L2 production. The study responds to numerous calls for more longitudinal L2 research.

Design and Implementation: Mobile, Place-Based Games and Language Learning
Julie Sykes University of New Mexico
Linda R Lemus University of New Mexico

audio recording

This project focuses on the design, implementation, and evaluation of the first place-based mobile game for the learning of Spanish pragmatics in traditionally Hispanic neighborhoods in the United States – Mentira. The presentation will describe the development process of the Mentira game, including the theoretical model for learning, programming, graphic design, and piloting. It will then report on a design-based research project aimed at improving intercultural communication and pragmatic abilities in Spanish. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of future implications for pedagogy and research, as well as suggested applications to learner-created mobile games for language learning.

Google Wave Roundtable Discussion

J. Scott Payne Amherst College

audio recording

While still a preview, Google’s new communication platform, called Wave, shows great promise as a tool for language learning and research. This roundtable discussion will begin with a brief presentation of what Wave is and a demonstration of how it works. This roundtable will serve as an informational session for those who have yet to see Wave in action and as a venue for exploring how Wave could be leveraged to promote language learning and SLA research. Presenters in the roundtable will be drawn from members of the “Using Google Wave in CALL” group with the intent of fostering an open and unstructured discussion.

Life Among the “Natives”: The Trials and Tribulations of Creating an All-Digital Curriculum
Amy Rossomondo University of Kansas
Jonathan Perkins University of Kansas

audio recording

It is commonplace to refer to today’s students as “digital natives,” whose familiarity with and reliance on technology has so altered the way that they process information that their “digital immigrant” teachers must adopt new pedagogical approaches to reach them. This presentation will describe the creation and implementation of a web-based curriculum to serve the approximately 700 students enrolled in intermediate-level Spanish at the University of Kansas every semester. Student reaction, measured via a series of online surveys, will be discussed, along with insights on the relative preparedness of both students and graduate teaching assistants to adopt such a curriculum.

Webcam-based Communicative Language Learning Practice

Jack Burston

audio recording

If learners are going to make significant use of the language they are studying, this necessarily has to be done out of the classroom. And if instructors are to monitor such activity, it needs to be recorded and retrievable. The purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate how a web-based virtual learning system, WebSwami, can provide language learners with realistic out-of-class communicative language practice anywhere and anytime. This is made possible through the integration of webcam technology, both receptively and productively, into a range of activities, all of which can be recorded to allow instructors to easily monitor student progress, make corrections, and provide feedback to students.

10:00 – 10:20

Planning a Podcasting EFL Course for Future Teachers in Iraq
Vanessa Lazo-Wilson Texas State University
Gina Mikel Petrie Eastern Washington University

audio recording

 

This paper describes the collaboration between five key university faculty and staff in the United States who planned an English language distance education course for Iraqi future teachers. In a time of war, the chasm between course developers in a rural city in western United States and students in Baghdad seemed too wide to bridge; however, communication technologies offered promise as a way to narrow the gap. But was that possible? The current paper outlines the need for face-to-face meetings on a weekly basis to consider curricular technological and pedagogical innovations as well as cultural aspects for an English language curriculum. Through email and face-to-face meetings, the five key players collaborated to co-construct and strengthen the curriculum. Although the course was not delivered due to infrastructure breakdown in Iraq, this presentation will underscore the planning, deliberation, and challenges to successfully pilot future projects.
A Web-based System for Automatic Measurement of Lexical Complexity
Xiaofei Lu Pennsylvania State University
Haiyang Ai The Pennsylvania State University

audio recording

Lexical complexity, i.e., the range and degree of sophistication of L2 learners’ productive vocabulary, has been recognized as an important construct in L2 teaching and research. We present a user-friendly web-based system for automatic measurement of lexical complexity using 25 different measures of lexical density, lexical sophistication, and lexical variation that have been proposed in the first and second language acquisition literature. The system will be demonstrated with real language data to show how it can be useful to language researchers and practitioners for assessing L2 lexical proficiency and tracking L2 lexical development.

Foreign Language Learning in 3D MUVEs: How Second Life’s User Interface Influences Social Presence and Student Motivation

Jessamine Cooke-Plagwitz Northern Illinois University

This paper examines specific features of the 3D MUVE Second Life and their effect on social presence and student motivation in two university-level courses: one graduate-level hybrid course for foreign language teachers and one elementary-level German class which held five of its regular meetings within Second Life. Students completed surveys at the end of the semester(s), which focused on specific characteristics of the Second Life environment and on students’ perceptions of how these features influenced social presence and motivation. The nature of the courses’ online interactions and the results of the student surveys will be discussed.

Teacher Education and Professional Development: Some Strategies that are Working

Kathryn Murphy-Judy Virginia Commonwealth University

audio recording

Language teacher education in Virginia faces many of the same hurdles as do other regions, especially where CALL is involved. One of the major problems is that the very teacher educators responsible for training new teachers, themselves lack technology proficiency and, thus, can offer little but cursory glances at various affordances and the social dimensions of their integration into FLE. I will demonstrate three projects that target global media new literacies: the Foreign Language Exchange (FLEX) of Greater Richmond, the Virginia Foreign Language Teacher Education and Development Consortium, and my WRLD 203 service learning project for undergraduates. In all three instances, the vehicles for bringing new media resources to educators are the media themselves such that the medium is the message. We use wikis, nings, blogs, Google Docs, podcasts and more to facilitate the education and professional development of teachers and teacher educators. This presentation explains the projects and the Web 2.0 media that support them.

Development of Intercultural Competence through Internet-Mediated Intercultural Discussion: The Case of American-Korean Telecollaboration

Minjung Park

This study explores how Internet-mediated intercultural communication facilitates the intercultural competence in Americans learning Korean by looking at the questioning technique as an index. It also presents the source of communicative tensions, which emerge in written dialogue, and suggests pedagogical considerations in conducting a tightly-structured telecollaborative project.

Principles of Advance Organizer Design for Multiple-Episode Video Programs

Bernd Conrad Northern Arizona University

audio recording

Using the TV-series “Berlin Berlin”, the presenter will show how to design advance organizers that help sustain students’ curiosity in the development of the plot. Controversial situations in a story told via video that evolve verbally can conclude visually, allowing the conclusion to remain the same kind of surprise for L2 learners that it is for native speakers, an advantage that previews should preserve. Therefore, reducing the complexity of the listening comprehension task is only one of two purposes to be served by scene previews. Examples will have English subtitles to accommodate the non-German speaking audience.

10:30 – 10:50

EFL Collaborative Opportunities in a Wiki Environment

Long V Nguyen Massey University

audio recording

 

This paper presents part of a larger study on the role of CMC, both synchronous and asynchronous, in the development of English as a foreign language collaborative learning. Subjects of the study included 60 Vietnamese students from two in-tact classes in a large university in Central Vietnam, assigned as the control class learning in the traditional format of pen-and-paper and the CMC class using PBWiki as a platform for collaborative learning. Data collected for analysis included all peer comments from both modes of learning. Results from the analysis revealed a positive orientation from the CMC class, as compared with the control class, in all three levels of collaborative learning, i.e. socioaffective, organisational, and sociocognitive.

German Language Class Podcast Project at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

Vera Leier-Mackenzie

audio recording

Looking for a way to make German language study more relevant and to step out of the conventional classroom setting (Morales and Moses, 2006), I introduced three different types of podcasts (Rosell-Aguilar, 2009, p.13) to my intermediate-level students at the beginning of the 2009 academic year. All three podcasts form part of the overall assessment of the course. In the middle of the year and at the end of the year, the students were given questionaires to gauge their impressions of this approach. Preliminary analysis of the survey results suggests that teaching a modern language using innovative techniques with the help of widely accepted media devices has proved popular with the students. The feedback I received was very positive and the students wish to continue with podcasts next year. Twenty-six out a total of 30 enrolled students participated in the survey. I intend to present the results of my survey in graphical form.

Language Learning Technology – Pedagogical Desiderata

Helene Ossipov School of International Letters and Cultures Arizona State University

audio recording

Courses in technology are now, or should be, part of the language teacher’s preparation, and in fact, such a course will be part of the MAT program being developed by my institution. The content of such courses is still being developed and adjusted. Do teachers want to learn how to use various applications? Do they want to create quizzes and exercises? Do they want to learn how to use Web 1.0 and Web 2.0? In this session, I will present the results of a survey of language teachers to determine their desires based on their experience in the classroom.

Sychronous Computer-Mediated Writing in the ESL Classroom

Allyssa Chamberlain

audio recording

This paper describes a study comparing the collaborative writing process and outcome (essay) for a class of advanced IEP learners in two instructional conditions: one with F2F communication and one with computer-mediated communication. We report results and discuss potential issues for implementation of such tools within the ESL classroom.

Ning as a Learning Environment for Self-Directed Learners

Sharon Scinicariello University of Richmond

audio recording

This presentation reports on the use of a ning to promote both learner autonomy and collaboration among students enrolled in a self-directed language program. The program’s ning allows students to share learning resources and insights about learning strategies while providing a platform for the creation of electronic portfolios to document their work. After outlining why the ning platform was chosen to address the program’s goals, the presenter will show how the ning is used and discuss student reaction. She will conclude with notes on plans to embed more ning-based activities into the program’s syllabi.

1:30 – 2:15

Oral Language Workshops: Pronunciation, Listening Comprehension, and Culture through Authentic Materials

Kara McBride Saint Louis University

audio recording

 

This presentation reports on the creation, launching, and evaluation of oral language workshops that were implemented as mixed-level classes for St. Louis University’s basic Spanish courses. Classes were taught mostly by TAs and centered around video mashups made from multiple sources. The lessons focused on pronunciation, listening comprehension, and culture through careful selection and presentation of authentic materials. The project also aimed to heighten some instructors’ awareness of the importance of these topics and show alternative ways they can be taught. Sample lessons will be demonstrated, the principles and processes behind their creation described, and results from their evaluation presented.

The Impact of Open-ended and Closed Tasks in Synchronous and Asynchronous Environments on Learners’ Language Production

Klaus Brandl

audio recording

This presentation reports on a study that investigated the effect of performing open and closed tasks under time pressure on learners’ quantitative and qualitative language production in online learning environments. Ninety-six beginning German language students participated in this study. Some of the results revealed that students working on the open task produced significantly more language than those working on the closed tasks in synchronous and asynchronous modes. Students working on closed tasks produced significantly fewer errors in the asynchronous mode than those working on the open task. No difference was found on this measure for students working synchronously. The presentation will conclude with an interpretation of the results.

Eye-tracking as a Measure of Noticing in SCMC

Bryan Smith Arizona State University

audio recording

This study examines whether eye-tracking technology can be effectively used as a measure of learners’ noticing of corrective feedback in a synchronous computer-mediated communicative environment. How the proposed measure of noticing correlates with think aloud protocols, modified output, and post-test measures of noticing will be discussed.

Testing the Effectiveness of Technology: Electronic Culture and Identity Revisited

Catherine Caws University of Victoria

audio recording

Today, electronic literacy in second language learning environments is tightly related to individual experience. In fact a successful experience with technology at home will likely lead to satisfaction with technology in the classroom. It is therefore essential to query about the sociocultural factors that are truly impacting success with CALL. Our paper will attempt to address this question by discussing a specific intervention in class with a CALL tool that we have developed over the last 3 years.

Joint Reflection on Teaching Practice through Telecollaboration: Perspectives for Teacher Training and Professional Development
Randall Sadler University of Illinois@Urbana-Champaign
Melinda Dooly

audio recording

Network-based communicative activities have given rise to new pedagogical opportunities for teacher training, including telecollaborative peer- and mentor-supported learning environments. This presentation will outline and analyze the different telecollaborative activities undertaken by teachers-in-training in the USA and Spain during a year-long cross-university online collaboration project. Taking advantage of technological advances, this project endeavored to update and enhance time-tested pillars of reflective teaching and case-based learning by setting up communities of practice online (via email, Zoho, Skype, and Second Life) where trainees shared personal teaching experiences related to the immediate (and required) development of their own teaching materials

Project-based Learning: A Promising Pathway to Develop Teachers’ Knowledge of CALL

Julio C Rodriguez Iowa State University

audio recording

Project-based Learning (PBL) offers unique opportunities for world language teachers to develop the complex types of knowledge they are expected to acquire to be able to effectively integrate CALL into their practice. This presentation will show how PBL was implemented in a preservice teacher course in two complementary ways: a) as a pedagogical process experienced by preservice teachers and b) as part of the content of the course. Preservice teacher products created during the course, a qualitative analysis of their reflections on the technologies used and their perceptions about their learning will be presented and discussed.

LangBot: An Intelligent Agent for Language Learning and Research
J. Scott Payne Amherst College
Luiz Amaral University of Massachusetts Amherst
Weijia Li Amherst College
Michael Lipschultz University of Pittsburgh

audio recording

LangBot is an innovative data-driven language learning and research tool freely available on instant messenger that logs learner behavior, self-report data, generates learner models, and tracks development of vocabulary and syntax while serving as an “intelligent” language reference agent in a conversational “wrapper.” In this presentation we will demonstrate LangBot and discuss its architecture. We will also discuss the process of constructing corpora for each language, the development of the machine learning and NLP tools to support the interactivity and feedback capabilities of LangBot, and present data from an initial pilot study.

2:30 – 3:15

Moodle Reader Module for Extensive Reading with Word Count Feature
Thomas Robb Kyoto Sangyo University
Matthew Claflin Kyoto Sangyo University
Sandra Healey Kyoto Sangyo University

audio recording

 

While extensive reading is now generally accepted as a valuable tool for enhancing language skills, it is difficult to require students to read extensively without a way to ascertain whether they have actually read their books. This presentation describes the MoodleReader Module that allows teachers anywhere to share a database of quizzes for “Graded Readers”. The module is currently being used by over 5000 students. The student record displays a bookcover “stamp” for each book read as well as the total word count, as they work towards a specified reading goal. Statistics on improvement and affective factors will be presented.

Contrasting Research Frames for Investigating CALL and Online Chat

Mike Levy

audio recording

In 2002, Fernández-Garcia and Martínez-Arbelaiz conducted a study examining negotiation of meaning between non-native speakers in synchronous discussions among learners of Spanish. Using a model by Varonis and Gass, they focused primarily on ‘acquisition’. In contrast, Darhower (2002) also examined the interactional features of synchronous CMC chat for Spanish learners. However, he described his work as a sociocultural case study, and focused upon ‘participation’. This presentation compares and contrasts these approaches and considers how they might be further developed to provide a richer understanding of the learning process.

Preparing Teachers for Technology: Current Practices in CALL Teacher Training
Nike Arnold Portland State University
Lara Ducate University of South Carolina

audio recording

 

Organized by the Teacher Education SIG, this panel will provide a review of approaches to teacher training in CALL. Various members of this SIG will share insights from their research and teaching experience about the content and format of CALL teacher training. Topics include: 1) goals of teacher and in-service training, 2) curricular models, 3) assignments to promote future and in-service teachers’ ability to use CALL effectively, and 4) the role of (tele)collaboration.
A Realistic Evaluation of an Unreal World: Second Life
Hajime Kumahata Rice University
Peggy Patterson Rice University

audio recording

 

As the use of 3D virtual environments in language learning becomes more popular, Second Life (SL) stands out as a useful resource. We will share the SL experience and discovery at two different language levels. In third year Spanish Conversation and Composition the students met in SL with their peers from Argentina to communicate in the target language and explore SL. Students in a first year Spanish class (second semester) participated in task-based activities. They worked together to accomplish specific tasks within Second Life. We will present a realistic evaluation of these projects through instructor observations and student self-reports.

Podcasting Manolito Gafotas: Research of Colloquial Spanish and Culture

Victoria Maillo

audio recording

This presentation describes the use of podcasts to promote cultural research through the reading of Manolito Gafotas. This character was created by Elvira Lindo as a radio personality and later as the protagonist in novels. The students deconstruct the character, starting by analyzing current society and language in Spain and finishing with podcasting their research. Producing these helps students to investigate the cultural aspects of colloquial Spanish language that the textbooks do not include yet is used by native speakers. These podcasts can then be accessed by anyone outside of the classroom.

Designing Tasks for New Media-literacy Skills Development in Online Language Learning and Teaching

Mirjam Hauck Open University

audio recording

Here will be presented a model for task design that draws on Halliday’s social semiotic framework further developed by Kress (2000) and others over the last decade to take account of the modes for making meaning that are available in computer-mediated communication. The presentation is informed by insights gained during a four-way telecollaborative pre- and in-service teacher training project where tasks based on this approach were used to gauge existing levels of multimodal awareness and media-literacy skills among participants.

SANSSpace Virtual Language Learning Environment

Chip Howe Chester Technical Services

SANS Inc. has taken the next step in technology for language learning with SANSSpace Version 6 VLE (Virtual Learning Environment.) SANSSpace is a web-based course content management system with tools geared to the needs of language learners/instructors. A built-in digital comparative recorder to develop listening and speaking skills is a key element. A tracking utility provides educators with details on student interaction with any variety of media files enabling instructors to assess student work and time on task. Communication tools enable easy facilitation of course materials with instructor’s directives and feedback. SANSSpace enables blended or a fully virtual language learning scenario.

3:30 – 4:15

  A Blogging We Will Go: ESL College Students and Grammatical Errors

Mandy Reinig Penn State Altoona

audio recording
This presentation analyzes ESL college students’ grammatical errors in two formats, traditional writing assignments and blog entries. Results indicate little difference in error rates between blogs and traditional writing assignments. In addition, this research examined the types of errors students made, such as prepositions, and compared the errors across first languages, including Korean, Spanish, and Chinese. Overall, the results provide interesting information on how to tailor lessons to students’ errors and that blogging can be viewed as a legitimate writing tool.

A Tale of Two Projects – iPods as Study Tools

Carly Born ITS Carleton College

Mobile devices infuse our culture and are quickly becoming a primary delivery vehicle for much of the content we consume daily. This presentation will detail my work in using iPod Touch devices as a study tool in language classes. All aspects of the project will be outlined, including collaboration with faculty, software used, delivery of training materials, technical support, and the feedback received from faculty and students. For one project, we have will have a qualitative analysis of student feedback and other survey data attempting to quantify the value of the devices in a French 101 class. Participant discussion on the topic of mobile computing will be encouraged!
Toward Successful Integration of Student Videoconferencing for Language Learning
Claire Bartlett Rice University
Wendy Freeman Rice University

audio recording

Based on student experiences with classes from the Rice Center for the Study of Languages and classes in China, France and Mexico, presenters will share their analysis of the videoconferencing implementation process and discuss results of student surveys. Since little research is available yet on the use of oral computer mediated communication, there is a need to collect student videoconferencing audio/video recordings in order to assess the impact that this type of communication may have on language learning. Presenters will provide sample recordings and discuss their plans to conduct a study and integrate, more systematically, videoconferencing to the language curricula. http://lang.rice.edu/bartlett/CALICO2010.pdf

On the Validity and Reliability of Computer-assisted Spoken English Test – An Empirical Study Within the Framework of Communicative Language Testing
Lu Zhihong Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications
Hou Leijuan Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications

audio recording

Ever since its emergence and development, computer-assisted language learning (CALL) has been widely applied to the area of foreign language teaching and testing. Oral testing is an indispensable component of foreign language testing. Validity and reliability are the kernels of a test. Based on an experiment of the author’s own classes, which follow the teaching methodology of communicative language teaching, this article purports to investigate the validity and reliability of a computer-assisted spoken English test within the framework of communicative language testing (CLT) through a series of quantitative and qualitative analyses. It also analyzes the backwash of testing and puts forward corresponding suggestions in terms of oral English teaching.

Re-visiting Instructional L2 CMC: How Does Recent Research Inform our Practices?
Lyudmila Klimanova The University of Iowa
Svetlana B. Dembovskaya Loyola University Chicago
The paper will examine current research on L2 computer-mediated communicative practices and re-evaluate the practicality and effectiveness of CMC learning environments in light of the recent findings and theoretical assumptions. Among issues to be discussed are problematizing native/non-native speaker telecollaborative partnerships, second language identity building through online discoursal practices, and conceptualizing ‘digital wisdom’ (Prensky, 2009) in L2 instruction. Three practical applications of CMC technologies (asynchronous discussion forums in an ESL academic writing class, long distance computer-mediated French class sessions and assessment via video-conferencing, and ‘facebooking’ in a beginning Russian course) will be discussed in light of the recent research findings.
Pedagogical and Technological Concerns of a Digital Language Class
Thom Thibeault Southern Illinois University
Regina Kaplan-Rakowski Southern Illinois University
The purpose of this presentation is to share the experience of instructing a digital college language class of German. The presenters describe how their digital class is designed so that the students can efficiently practice primary language skills. With special concern for the new generation of learners and their learning styles, we implement several innovative technologies in the class; these include Second Life, Voxopop, Pimsleur, Hypermedia Editor, and Quia. The presenters briefly present sample activities using these technologies. Further, a discussion on certain advantages and limitations of those activates and technologies follows. Both pedagogical and technological concerns are addressed.

4:30 – 5:15

Creating Podcasts about Listening Strategies for University French Immersion Students
Alysse Weinberg University of Ottawa
Helene Knoerr University of Ottawa
Larry Vandergrift University of Ottawa

audio recording

 

French immersion students at the bilingual University of Ottawa, who continue their FI experience in content courses with their francophone peers, receive language support in an accompanying French language support class. A series of seven English language podcasts grounded in metacognitive and L2 listening theory were recorded to provide these students with strategies to enhance their L2 listening success and note taking skills. This session reports on the piloting of the podcasts in the FLS classes with 75 students. The session will also discuss the attitudes of the students towards the podcasts and whether or not they helped enhance language comprehension.
Investigating Social Network Game-mediated Language Socialization
Jonathon Reinhardt University of Arizona
Victoria Zander University of Arizona

audio recording

This presentation reports on a project that investigated the potential for using social networking sites in the L2 classroom. Using a language socialization/community-of-practice framework, the L2-mediated social network practices of 9 intermediate ESL learners were analyzed before, during, and after a pedagogical treatment that introduced social network-based games as a means of affording L2-mediated interaction. The results of the study inform how everyday technology-mediated practices may be bridged and integrated into L2 learning environments while retaining authenticity.

An Examination of Selected Activities in a Virtual World: Practical and Theoretical Perspectives

Regina Kaplan-Rakowski Southern Illinois University

The affordances of the virtual world of Second Life allow for increasingly more creative ways to conduct foreign languages classes. This presentation features several foreign language activities in Second Life that demonstrate some of those unique affordances. Theoretical justifications for the choice of the activities are discussed with a special attention to the issues of situated cognition, color-coding, cultural connections, interactivity, and diminished inhibition. Finally, a brief demonstration of several technological features of Second Life (e.g. communication, logging, basic building) follows.

The Future of CMC Research
Senta Goertler Michigan State University
Julie Sykes University of New Mexico

audio recording

The use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) for language learning is a central theme within CALL research. As innovations in CMC technologies continue to shape contexts and practices of everyday communication (e.g., social networking, multiplayer gaming), it is increasingly important to continue research in this vein. This panel, sponsored by the CMC SIG, will bring together a panel of three CMC experts to discuss future research paradigms and directions in CMC-based research.

Computer Mediated Collaborative Writing in Practice: An Activity Theoretical Study
Francoise Blin Dublin City University
Christine Appel Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

audio recording

This presentation posits that Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) provides conceptual and methodological tools that enable us to model computer supported collaborative writing practices among L2 learners and to identify factors that promote or hinder successful collaboration. The preliminary results of an activity theoretical study of online collaborative writing carried out among 260 distance learners of English at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) are presented and discussed. Design principles for successful computer mediated collaborative writing in L2 are then proposed.