ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
What Do Students Learn by Playing an Online Simulation Game?
Author: Franciosi, Stephan J.
Date: 2015-08-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Educational Games,Simulation,Outcomes of Education,College Students,Accidents,Nuclear Energy,Play,Learning Activities,Attitude Change,Statistical Significance,Coding

Studies suggest that simulations and games not only improve target language skills, but they can also support knowledge creation regarding a broader variety of topics. Thus, we wanted to explore how playing an online simulation game affected knowledge of energy supply and its relationship to environmental and economic factors among learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Japan. This particular topic was selected due to its immediate relevancy in Japan which faces energy supply and environmental issues in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident. The presentation will report on a qualitative exploration of debriefing reports produced by Japanese university students after playing Energy City, an online simulation game. The game models various urban scenarios in which the objective is to supply sufficient energy to power a city with electricity while minimizing environmental impacts, addressing stakeholder concerns and balancing a budget. Students used the game in small groups, after which they completed debriefing reports designed to foster reflection on the game playing experience. We performed a content analysis on the reports to identify major trends and themes which could offer insights regarding the learning outcomes. The results indicate the possibility that gameplay may influence attitudes toward nuclear power production and personal behavior with regard to energy consumption. The principal investigator intends to use these results to author a quantitative survey instrument for the purpose of investigating whether attitude and/or behavior change occurs at a statistically significant level. [For full proceedings, see ED564162.]
The Alignment of CMC Language Learning Methodologies with the Bridge21 Model of 21C Learning
Author: Bauer, Ciarán
Date: 2015-08-00
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: Computer Mediated Communication,Workshops,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Case Studies,Models,Oral Language,Student Projects,Teaching Methods,Foreign Countries,Cooperative Learning,Constructivism (Learning),Communicative Competence (Languages),Secondary School Students,German,English (Second Language),Questionnaires,Interviews,Observation,Distance Education,Program Descriptions,Writing Skills

This paper explores the intersection of learning methodologies to promote the development of 21st century skills with the use of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) tools to enhance language learning among adolescent learners. Today, technology offers a greater range of affordances in the teaching and learning of second languages while research shows that student classrooms still continue to concentrate on linguistic competences rather than communicative competences (Gilmore, 2011). The Bridge21 model, which is technology-mediated, team-led and project-based, brings a particular approach to 21st-century learning and is distinguished by the mixture and focus of scaffolding and consistency in the application (Lawlor, Conneely, &amp; Tangney, 2010). An exploratory case study was designed to extend the Bridge21 model to include spatially-separated teams, based in Ireland and Germany, learning together and enhancing the use of oral and aural skills for second language acquisition. Thirty-six students worked on project-based tasks during a six day workshop focused on the usage of authentic materials and CMC tools. The findings suggest that using the Bridge21 learning model succeeded in allowing students to collaborate at a distance and to participate in second language acquisition. [For full proceedings, see ED564162.]
Using Mobile Devices and the Adobe Connect Web Conferencing Tool in the Assessment of EFL Student Teacher Performance
Author: Bolona Lopez, Maria del Carmen
Date: 2015-08-00
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: Telecommunications,Handheld Devices,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Foreign Countries,Video Technology,Student Teachers,Performance Based Assessment,Web Sites,Videoconferencing,Computer Software,Language Teachers,Student Teaching

This paper describes a project to use mobile devices and video conferencing technology in the assessment of student English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher performance on teaching practice in Ecuador. With the increasing availability of mobile devices with video recording facilities, it has become easier for trainers to capture teacher performance on video without recourse to expensive purpose-made video camera equipment and time-consuming editing of video material. Mobile devices and web conferencing tools enable trainers who may be widely separated geographically to share video material of student teacher performance as the basis for the calibration of classroom practice assessment. Ecuadorian EFL teacher trainees on teaching practice were recorded using mobile devices. Videos were then uploaded to a video sharing website and made available to all participating trainers. Using the Cambridge ESOL Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT) score criteria, teacher trainers were asked to rate student performance as captured in the video sequences using the four band rating scale (1-basic; 4-very good). The video material then served as the basis for an online discussion and calibration of student teacher performance using the Adobe Connect web conferencing tool. Trainers were then asked to evaluate the efficacy of mobile device-recorded video material and web conferencing platforms as instruments in the assessment of student teacher performance. [For full proceedings, see ED564162.]
Evaluating Text-to-Speech Synthesizers
Author: Cardoso, Walcir
Date: 2015-08-00
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: Assistive Technology,Audio Equipment,Computer Mediated Communication,Program Evaluation,Oral Language,Usability,Statistical Analysis,Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,Pronunciation Instruction,Language Skills,Computer Assisted Instruction,College Students,Foreign Countries,Speech

Text-To-Speech (TTS) synthesizers have piqued the interest of researchers for their potential to enhance the L2 acquisition of writing (Kirstein, 2006), vocabulary and reading (Proctor, Dalton, &amp; Grisham, 2007) and pronunciation (Cardoso, Collins, &amp; White, 2012; Soler-Urzua, 2011). Despite their proven effectiveness, there is a need for up-to-date formal evaluations of TTS systems. The present study was an attempt to evaluate the language learning potential of an up-to-date TTS system at two levels: (1) speech quality (comprehensibility, naturalness, accuracy, and intelligibility) and (2) focus on a linguistic form (via a feature identification task). For Task 1, participants listened to and rated human- and TTS-produced stories and sentences on a 6-point scale (1); for Task 2, they listened to 16 human- and TTS-produced sentences to identify the presence of a target feature (English regular past -ed). Results of paired samples t-tests indicated that for speech quality, the human samples earned higher ratings than the TTS samples. For the second task (past -ed perception), the TTS and human-produced samples were equivalent. The discussion of the findings will highlight how TTS can be used to complement and enhance the teaching of L2 pronunciation and other linguistic skills both inside and outside the classroom. [For full proceedings, see ED564162.]
Towards a Learner Need-Oriented Second Language Collocation Writing Assistant
Author: Ramos, Margarita Alonso
Date: 2015-08-00
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: Second Language Learning,Phrase Structure,Teaching Methods,Second Language Instruction,Spanish,Vocabulary Development,Computer Assisted Instruction,Writing (Composition),North Americans,Computer Software,Visual Aids,Writing Instruction

The importance of collocations, i.e. idiosyncratic binary word co-occurrences in the context of second language learning has been repeatedly emphasized by scholars working in the field. Some went even so far as to argue that &quot;vocabulary learning is collocation learning&quot; (Hausmann, 1984, p. 395). Empirical studies confirm this argumentation. They show that the &quot;collocation density&quot; in learner corpora is nearly the same as in native corpora, i.e. that the use of collocations by learners is as common as it is by native speakers. At the same time, they also find that the collocation error rate in learner corpora is about 32% (compared to about 3% by native speakers). A CALL-based collocation writing aid could help learners to better master collocations. However, surprisingly little work has been done so far on collocation learning assistants. We propose a collocation writing assistant for American English learners of Spanish which may be used as checker of both isolated collocations and collocations in texts. In addition, it offers the possibility to actively explore and administer collocation resources. [For full proceedings, see ED564162.]
Applied Linguistics Project: Student-Led Computer Assisted Research in High School EAL/EAP
Author: Bohát, Róbert
Date: 2015-08-00
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: Applied Linguistics,Computational Linguistics,Research Papers (Students),Foreign Countries,International Schools,Computer Software,Computer Assisted Instruction,Teaching Methods,Research Design,Conference Papers,High School Students,Metacognition,Critical Thinking,Scaffolding (Teaching Technique),English for Academic Purposes,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction

The Applied Linguistics Project (ALP) started at the International School of Prague (ISP) in 2013. Every year, Grade 9 English as an Additional Language (EAL) students identify an area of learning in need of improvement and design a research method followed by data collection and analysis using basic computer software tools or online corpora. Mimicking authentic research, they write a research paper and present it in front of a panel of experts at Charles University in Prague. The papers are collected in a proceedings book. This research project confirms that high school students--with appropriate scaffolding--are capable of academic research, meta-cognition, and applying data-driven critical thinking to academic language learning with a responsible application of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL). [For full proceedings, see ED564162.]
Tablets in English Class: Students' Activities Surrounding Online Dictionary Work
Author: Bunting, Leona
Date: 2015-08-00
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Handheld Devices,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Electronic Learning,Dictionaries,Electronic Publishing,Second Language Instruction,Learning Activities,Cooperative Learning,Video Technology,Observation,Teacher Student Relationship,Participatory Research,Data Analysis,Task Analysis,Teaching Methods,Preadolescents

Tablets have become increasingly popular among young people in Sweden and this rapid increase also resonates in school, especially in classrooms for younger children. The aim of the present study is to analyze and describe how the students deal with the open instructions for a task of using online dictionaries on tablets. Specific focus is on how they act upon the teacher's instruction and how they collaborate with each other and the tablets and whether the teacher contributes to the solving of the task and if so, how. A video-recorded observation of ten minutes in which three students and the teacher interact was chosen for analysis. The recordings were transcribed verbatim and actions described in writing. The students in the sequence went beyond the teacher's instructions of becoming acquainted with online dictionaries and compared variations in search results. Also, the teacher could only see the activities she was directly involved in. Her interaction with the students interrupted and disturbed their focus. To conclude, open instructions demand more of the students and rely heavily on their ability to interpret and understand what is expected in school at the same time as the tablets supported the students' inquisitiveness and power of initiative. [For full proceedings, see ED564162.]
Vocabulary Acquisition in L2: Does CALL Really Help?
Author: Averianova, Irina
Date: 2015-08-00
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: Vocabulary Development,Second Language Instruction,Computer Assisted Instruction,Educational Technology,Teaching Methods,Language Skills,English (Second Language),Foreign Countries,Intentional Learning,College Students,Web Based Instruction,Conventional Instruction,Scores,Standardized Tests,Second Language Learning,Language Tests

Language competence in various communicative activities in L2 largely depends on the learners' size of vocabulary. The target vocabulary of adult L2 learners should be between 2,000 high frequency words (a critical threshold) and 10,000 word families (for comprehension of university texts). For a TOEIC test, the threshold is estimated to be 3,000-4,000 words. The average English vocabulary size of most Japanese university students is significantly beyond these thresholds. Since incidental learning of English vocabulary in Japan is impossible due to the low exposure to the target language, vocabulary should be acquired through intentional learning. This paper reports on the outcomes of two different approaches to intentional vocabulary learning experienced in one Japanese university: using a Web-based vocabulary-learning tool &quot;Word Engine&quot; and non-electronic techniques of rote learning and memorization. During the period when independent vocabulary acquisition with &quot;Word Engine&quot; was included in course requirements, research revealed a significant improvement in mean scores in standardized TOEIC tests and course examinations for students of the equivalent cohorts, i.e. the same year of study and similar curriculum level and content, as well as general student satisfaction with the program and increased motivation towards independent deliberate vocabulary learning. [For full proceedings, see ED564162.]
Corpus of High School Academic Texts (COHAT): Data-Driven, Computer Assisted Discovery in Learning Academic English
Author: Bohát, Róbert
Date: 2015-08-00
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: Computational Linguistics,Content Analysis,Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,High School Students,Syntax,Language Styles,Writing (Composition),English for Academic Purposes,Discovery Learning,Critical Thinking,Metacognition,International Schools,Computer Assisted Instruction,Teaching Methods

Corpus of High School Academic Texts (COHAT), currently of 150,000+ words, aims to make academic language instruction a more data-driven and student-centered discovery learning as a special type of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), emphasizing students' critical thinking and metacognition. Since 2013, high school English as an additional language (EAL) students at the International School of Prague (ISP) have worked with corpora to discover the patterns of English in academic contexts. The positive results of their work with corpora inspired the creation of COHAT, providing a high school level bank of exemplary academic English texts by their native and non-native peers. Our focus is on detecting patterns of correct word choice, syntax and style in student writing. [For full proceedings, see ED564162.]
The Word Frequency Effect on Second Language Vocabulary Learning
Author: Koirala, Cesar
Date: 2015-08-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Word Frequency,Spanish,Portuguese,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Phonetics,Vocabulary Development,Task Analysis,Syllables,Correlation,Language Usage,Native Language,Identification

This study examines several linguistic factors as possible contributors to perceived word difficulty in second language learners in an experimental setting. The investigated factors include: (1) frequency of word usage in the first language, (2) word length, (3) number of syllables in a word, and (4) number of consonant clusters in a word. Word frequency is often treated as the quantifiable correlate of word familiarity, and word length and number of syllables measure structural complexity of a word. Consonant clusters were introduced as the measure of phonetic complexity. A total of 217 native speakers of Spanish and Portuguese were given a vocabulary identification task in which they had to determine whether the words were 1) &quot;Easy to learn,&quot; 2) &quot;Difficult to learn,&quot; or 3) &quot;Unknown.&quot; The findings showed that there is a correlation between English word frequency and perceived word difficulty of the ESL learners. In contrast, there were no clear effects of the other factors on perceived difficulty when the words were controlled for frequency. [For full proceedings, see ED564162.]
Are Teachers Test-Oriented? A Comparative Corpus-Based Analysis of the English Entrance Exam and Junior High School English Textbooks
Author: Tai, Sophie
Date: 2015-08-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Communicative Competence (Languages),Test Items,Item Analysis,High School Students,Curriculum Based Assessment,English (Second Language),Textbook Evaluation,College Entrance Examinations,Incidence

The communicative language teaching approach has dominated English teaching and learning since the 1970s. In Taiwan, standardized and highstakes English tests also put focus on the assessment of learners' communicative competence. While the test contents change, the modifications teachers made are superficial rather than substantial. A comparative corpus-based analysis of the English test items in Senior High School Entrance Exams (SHSEE) and curriculum based English textbooks was conducted to provide more valid information for syllabus design, language instruction, and materials development. Two major corpora were compiled: an exam corpus, consisting of English test items in SHSEE from 2001 to 2014 and a junior high school English textbook corpus. AntConc and Readability Test Tool were employed to analyze the frequency of occurrence of the marked structures (relative, adverbial, and passive clauses) in the two corpora. The results showed rare occurrence of the marked structures in SHSEE but much higher frequency in textbooks. Teachers might be textbook-oriented, rather than test-oriented. It was suggested, based on the corpus-based analysis of the native speakers' use, that a grammar list with finer guidelines for the national curriculum and textbook writers should be built. It could provide teachers easily accessible reference in selecting grammatical patterns for teaching. [For full proceedings, see ED564162.]
Podcast-Mediated Language Learning: Levels of Podcast Integration and Developing Vocabulary Knowledge
Author: Gholami, Mahboubeh
Date: 2015-08-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Multimedia Materials,English (Second Language),Technology Integration,Vocabulary Skills,Pretests Posttests,Statistical Significance,Lexicology,Achievement Gains,Attitude Measures,Teaching Methods,Instructional Effectiveness,Web 2.0 Technologies,Matched Groups,Foreign Countries

Podcasting is being exploited incrementally by teachers as a tool for presenting educational content and encouraging language learning outside traditional classrooms. This paper reports on an investigation of three levels of podcast integration sustaining on the Iranian learner's lexical knowledge learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The learners were divided into three groups with high, low, and no integration of podcast into their syllabus. Data were collected from vocabulary pre- and post-tests administered to the sample: 90 intermediate students between 20 and 30 years old. The findings of the study indicated that there were statistically significant differences between groups with podcast integration and the one with no integration regarding their lexical knowledge in the way that the former outperformed the latter. The findings revealed that the improvement of the students in the high integration group is more than in the low integration group. On administering an attitude survey before and after the project, we found that they unanimously preferred podcasts as an interesting pedagogical tool. [For full proceedings, see ED564162.]
Dynamic Lesson Planning in EFL Reading Classes through a New e-Learning System
Author: Okada, Takeshi
Date: 2015-08-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Reading Instruction,Lesson Plans,Electronic Learning,Technology Uses in Education,Teaching Styles,Evaluation Methods,Blended Learning,Electronic Publishing,Integrated Learning Systems,Foreign Countries,Feedback (Response)

This paper illustrates how lesson plans, teaching styles and assessment can be dynamically adapted on a real-time basis during an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading classroom session by using a new e-learning system named iBELLEs (interactive Blended English Language Learning Enhancement system). iBELLEs plays a crucial role in filling the gaps between the teacher's expectations and students' needs. iBELLEs is used as a feasible tool to help teachers in upper-intermediate level Japanese EFL reading classes gauge students' comprehension of current reading materials, choose appropriate teaching styles and make dynamic assessments to pursue particular sub-goals before reaching the final goal of a given classroom session. iBELLEs is built on a database technology and is used as an electronic textbook equipped with a bidirectional communication facility in face-to-face EFL reading classrooms that are supported by a robust Language Management System (LMS) called WebOCMnext. By obtaining immediate feedback from the students, the teacher can determine an appropriate level of mediation that should be carefully, but quickly adjusted to satisfy individual student's needs. The current study tries to explore how simultaneous feedback from the students can help teachers make dynamic lesson planning and assessment during a single EFL reading classroom. [For full proceedings, see ED564162.]