ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Training Language Teachers to Sustain Self-Directed Language Learning: An Exploration of Advisers' Experiences on a Web-Based Open Virtual Learning Environment
Author: Bailly, Sophie
Date: 2013-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Language Teachers,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Personal Autonomy,Independent Study,Social Networks,Communities of Practice,Computer Simulation,Teaching Methods,Web Based Instruction,Teacher Education,Knowledge Base for Teaching,Audio Equipment,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis,Interviews,Questionnaires,Computer Mediated Communication,Consciousness Raising,French,Foreign Countries

This article describes the rationale for pedagogical, technological and organizational choices in the design of a web-based and open virtual learning environment (VLE) promoting and sustaining self-directed language learning. Based on the last forty years of research on learner autonomy at the CRAPEL according to Holec's definition (1988), we designed a global VLE for researchers working on language learning autonomy, teachers with various degrees of practice and experience in self-directed learning, and language learners. The VLE is thus divided into three spaces for the different types of participant, each offering dedicated social networking possibilities and resources to enrich the others. Our study focuses on the space dedicated to teacher training, the main objective being to help them build knowledge and skills for a new educational role in the paradigm of language learning autonomy (LLA). This space contains specially created Web-TV resources and audio podcasts of self-directed learning advising sessions, is based on reflective analysis and relies on a professional social network, following the principles of the &quot;community of practice&quot; (Wenger, 1998). In line with the principles of self-directed learning, teachers acting as trainers in the VLE mainly enact supportive and facilitative functions as advisers do in face-to-face interactions. We explore how training for advisers is organized in this online environment characterized by a high degree of openness (Jézégou, 2010). We report on findings from the way teachers within their dedicated space, using quantitative and qualitative data collected from interviews, questionnaires and analysis of logs. We look at the tensions that emerge as teachers conceive their new role and engage in new training practices given the opportunities afforded by the environment. The data provide insights to how the VLE can support training practices based on reflection, participation and collaboration.
SMS as a Learning Tool: An Experimental Study
Author: Plana, Mar Gutiérrez-Colon
Date: 2012-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Telecommunications,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Teaching Methods,Learner Engagement,Learning Motivation,Foreign Countries,Control Groups,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis,Student Attitudes,College Students,Majors (Students),Asynchronous Communication,Usability

The aim of this experimental study was to find out the potential of using mobile phones in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL), specifically the use of Short Message Service (SMS) as a support tool in the EFL class. The research questions formulated for this project are the following: (1) Is using SMS messages via a mobile phone an effective tool in terms of motivation and engagement?; (2) What type of mini-lessons do subjects think are better to be sent via SMS in terms of effectiveness, engagement, and usefulness for their learning purposes?; (3) What is the appropriate timing for the activities to be sent?; and (4) Did students who participated in the project perform better than the control group? This experimental study lasted two academic years. As this was a preliminary study of the viability of the SMS methodology, it was conducted with a small group of students (n = 13) from the English Degree at the University Rovira i Virgili (Tarragona, Spain). Researchers designed various types of activities the first year, and used them though a period of 15 weeks. The aim of the first year was to answer research questions 1 through 3. The second year, a new set of exercises was created, with the aim of gathering data to be able to answer the fourth research question. Both qualitative data (from the first year) and quantitative data (from the second year) were analysed. Findings show that the subjects found the experience engaging. The subjects preferred receiving short and direct exercises which could be answered immediately. They preferred receiving the SMS in the afternoon or evening, and the results show that this methodology enhances the retrieval of memorized English language rules.
Learning English Speaking through Mobile-Based Role-Plays: The Exploration of a Mobile English Language Learning App Called Engage
Author: Yang, Bowen
Date: 2013-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Surveys,Telecommunications,Costs,Role Playing,Teaching Methods,Instructional Design,Student Attitudes,Computer Software

Engage is a new form of mobile application that connects students studying English with teachers in real-time via their smartphones. Students receive target language through preparation dialogues, and then apply it to a role-play with a teacher. The conceptualization and development of Engage follows the user-centred design approach; and the product was built through multiple iterations: in the first iteration, students were invited to try out a paper mock-up; in the second iteration, students tried out a mobile prototype; in the external test, a fully functional application was released to App Store between October 25 and November 20, 2012, and 326 users downloaded it. The application was well-received by these test users, reflected in the post-study survey, student ratings, and students' usage records. The external tests proved that the technical environment of the application was feasible for production; and the operationalization of the teacher service and cost model were also proven to be feasible and scalable.
The Challenges of Blended Learning: Critically Evaluating the Chinese Language Case
Author: Hu, Bo
Date: 2012-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Blended Learning,Second Language Learning,Feedback (Response),Chinese,Second Language Instruction,Guidelines,Surveys,Distance Education,Cost Effectiveness,Communities of Practice,Career Development,Course Descriptions,Course Evaluation,Educational Technology,Foreign Countries,Teacher Student Relationship,Management Systems,Educational Quality,Teacher Attitudes,Student Attitudes,College Faculty,Tests,Essays,Attendance,Professional Personnel,Adult Students,Research

This article reviews the Mid-Career Development Chinese Language course (MCDCL) funded by the British Inter-university China Centre, a project funded from various public sources in the UK. The discussion focuses on how and why the MCDCL course has adopted the blended learning construct and with what outcomes. Using two frameworks for blended learning--the Community of Inquiry and the Sloan-C Pillars--it offers a thorough examination of the MCDCL course, and discusses the results of a survey which was devised to collect feedback from participants on the course. The article concludes that the MCDCL course throws up particular challenges for the blended learning concept as a whole. A detailed evaluation highlights areas for attention ranging from how the course is organised and workloads are balanced, to the approach of teachers in their level of involvement in distance learning, and the overall management of the course with regard to the use of technology, cost-effectiveness and a host of other considerations.
Training and Research in Phonetics for Spanish as a Second Language with Technological Support
Author: Blanco Canales, Ana
Date: 2013-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Spanish,Phonetics,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Oral Language,Computational Linguistics,Educational Resources,Web Sites,Pronunciation,Social Influences,Cultural Influences,Auditory Perception,Phonology,Error Patterns,Databases,Pronunciation Instruction

Foreign language acquisition must inevitably start with phonetics, an aspect of language whose importance is matched only by its neglect. Different research has shown how the systematic teaching of pronunciation is beneficial not only because it aids the comprehension of messages and their expression, but also because it diminishes the anxiety students feel when communicating orally. Furthermore, pronunciation is the first indication of social identity, with all that means for one's integration in or exclusion from a speech community. But nevertheless, phonetics practice takes a back seat in foreign language teaching programmes, in teacher training, in teaching material and, above all, in research work, and this is particularly true in the case of teaching Spanish as a second language. In order to redress this situation, researchers from nine universities have put together an oral corpus and developed a series of resources, tools and applications which can all be accessed at a website for cooperative and interactive work called Fono.ele. The corpus is the first to gather together a significant and representative number of oral recordings of learners of Spanish. It also breaks new ground in embarking on a general study of the pronunciation of Spanish/L2 in relation to social, cultural and educational factors. In addition, it makes available data regarding oral production and auditory perception. As for its applications, they enable those who may be interested (researchers and/or teachers) to handle and manage the speech extracts from the oral corpus, to carry out searches in the phonological errors data base, to obtain quantitative and statistical data, to interconnect text, sound and data, and to devise training exercises. All the foregoing can be done using our materials (that is, in collaboration with the &quot;AACFELE&quot; Project) or the user's own materials (for the preparation of new projects). Our article describes these resources, explains their features and functions, and indicates the options they offer different kinds of users.
Using Blogs: Authentic Material and Ranking Quality for SLA
Author: Coppens, Xulian
Date: 2013-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Electronic Publishing,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Web 2.0 Technologies,Language Teachers,Role,Instructional Materials,Social Networks,Linguistic Theory,Teaching Methods,Web Sites

Exposure real life language experiences forms an integral part of the acquisition process. Authentic materials--those derived from the culture of the target language rather than specially produced for language learners--increase the relevance of the learning experience by reusing texts taken directly from the target culture. Web 2.0 technologies increase opportunities for bringing authentic materials into formal language learning environments by allowing material to be collected, reused and shared amongst language teachers and learners. This paper aims to look at the role of blogs in facilitating the use of authentic material by English language teachers and learners and the impact of the most authoritative blogs in the wider Web and in Social Media. To reach this objective, the blog ranking site Technorati was used to select the most popular blogs for English language learners and teachers and each blog was analysed according to the authenticity of the cultural material used for language learning. The analysis reveals that 100% of the material on 56.25% of the blogs selected was authentic material and over 70% of the material on a further 35.3% of blogs was authentic. Secondly, the impact of these blogs in the wider Web and Social Media was measured in order to draw some conclusions regarding the role of language learning blogs outside the world of blogging and the communities they serve and provide an image of the relationship between blogs and bloggers, the Web and Social Media. The results show an inherent bias within Web 2.0 technologies towards providing contemporary authentic material for language learning--the technology itself encourages its use--and that sometimes blogs can have an impact beyond their communities through the Web and Social Media.
Issues in Integrating Information Technology in Learning and Teaching EFL: The Saudi Experience
Author: Al-Maini, Yousef Hamad
Date: 2013-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Information Technology,Technology Integration,Educational Administration,Teaching Methods,Teacher Attitudes,Barriers,Budgets,Case Studies,Computer Centers,Second Language Instruction,Language Teachers

The Saudi education system is facing a climate of change characterized by an interest in integrating new technology and educational approaches to improve teaching and learning. In this climate, the present paper explores the issues in integrating information technology in learning and teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in government intermediate schools in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. The background to information technology use in Saudi education is introduced, with specific reference to the &quot;Watani&quot; project for integrating computer and internet use into educational administration and teaching. Taking an interpretive approach, the author offers insights into the current status and use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) facilities in the two intermediate schools. A discrepancy is found between intention and practice. Issues are highlighted that contribute to the failure to exploit fully the potential of ICT: teacher resistance, lack of training and budgetary or resource constraints. The author concludes that the wider exploitation of information technology in learning English, supported by appropriate training, could benefit both students and teachers and offers recommendations for its implementation.
Electronic Feedback: Pedagogical Considerations for the Implementation of Software
Author: García-Yeste, Miguel
Date: 2013-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Feedback (Response),Electronic Publishing,Computer Mediated Communication,Computer Software,Courseware,Program Implementation,Needs Assessment,Literature Reviews,Scholarship,Guidelines,Educational Technology,Formative Evaluation,Educational Quality,Technology Uses in Education,Program Design

As university lecturers, we often struggle to provide our students with good quality feedback in a consistent manner. This is usually caused by the increasing imbalance in teacher-student ratios (Hounsell et al., 2008), as well as the pressure of academic life and the lack of time (Sadler, 2010). In addition, assessment practices should be transparent enough to ensure all students are evaluated in a similar way (O'Donovan et al., 2004), especially when different instructors teach different groups of students taking the same course. This paper, which focuses on designing a feedback scheme that helps instructors to provide good quality feedback in a consistent manner, begins with a needs analysis based on the author's experience as an instructor of academic writing in English. A literature review follows, focusing on: (a) the scholarship on feedback in higher education; and (b) the research on the use of technology for the provision of feedback. Finally, a feedback scheme is presented, and some guidelines for its implementation are provided.
A Set of Free Cross-Platform Authoring Programs for Flexible Web-Based CALL Exercises
Author: O'Brien, Myles
Date: 2012-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Web Based Instruction,Computer Software,Error Correction,Feedback (Response),Memorization,Computer Assisted Instruction,Programming,Teaching Methods,Acoustics,Vocabulary Development,Cloze Procedure,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Verbal Communication,Japanese,English (Second Language),Multiple Choice Tests

The Mango Suite is a set of three freely downloadable cross-platform authoring programs for flexible network-based CALL exercises. They are Adobe Air applications, so they can be used on Windows, Macintosh, or Linux computers, provided the freely-available Adobe Air has been installed on the computer. The exercises which the programs generate are all Adobe Flash based. The three programs are: (1) Mango-multi, which constructs multiple-choice exercises with an optional sound and/or image; (2) Mango-match, which is for word/phrase matching exercises, and has an added feature intended to promote memorization, whereby an item must be matched correctly not once but an optional consecutive number of times; (3) Mango-gap, which produces seamless gap filling exercises, where the gaps can be as small as desired, down to the level of individual letters, and correction feedback is similarly detailed. Sounds may also be inserted at any desired points within the text, so that it is suitable for listening or dictation exercises. Each exercise generated by any of the programs is produced in the form of a folder containing all of the necessary files for immediate upload and deployment (except that if sound files are used in a Mango-gap exercise, they must be copied to the folder manually). The html file in which the flash exercise is embedded may be edited in any way to suit the user, and an xml file controlling the appearance of the exercise itself may be edited through a wysiwyg interface in the authoring program. The programs aim to combine ease of use with features not available in other authoring programs, to provide a useful teaching and research tool.
Comparing Vocabulary Learning of EFL Learners by Using Two Different Strategies: Mobile Learning vs. Flashcards
Author: Azabdaftari, Behrooz
Date: 2012-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Vocabulary Development,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,English (Second Language),Literature,Translation,Instructional Materials,Telecommunications,Foreign Countries,Learning Strategies,Comparative Analysis,Word Lists,Computer Assisted Instruction,Undergraduate Students,Control Groups,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis

Vocabulary acquisition is one of the most important aspects of language learning. There are a number of techniques and technologies which enhance vocabulary learning in the year 2012, e.g. wordlists, flashcards and m-learning. Mobile phones are among those devices which not only meet the expectations of their users for communication, but are also good devices for language learning. Mobile phones can be used anywhere and anytime, and students are free to use them inside or outside the classroom setting. The present study compared the use of two strategies for vocabulary learning (i.e. flashcards and m-learning) among 80 students studying English Literature and Translation at BA level in a non-profit, non-governmental university in the city of Tehran, the capital of Iran. The findings showed that the use of mobile phones for language learning and vocabulary learning would be a better strategy compared to the use of other paramount techniques, such as flashcards.
Can Gamification Be Introduced within Primary Classes?
Author: Marín, Veronica
Date: 2015-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Games,Video Games,Primary Education,Curriculum Development,Media Literacy,Information Technology,Questionnaires,Student Attitudes,Preservice Teachers,Gender Differences,Influence of Technology,Instructional Effectiveness,Foreign Countries,Education Courses,Statistical Analysis,Correlation

Training through gamification is everyday a more evident reality in Primary Education classes. The teachers' view about this has been modified as it is shown in the study published by aDeSe in 2012. However, does it really have place in the students' curricular development in the primary education stage? For the sake of responding to this question, we have carried out a descriptive study about the opinion that the future teachers from primary education have got about this &quot;new&quot; form of implementing the curricular contents. The sample, conformed by 244 students of second course of Media Literacy and Didactic Application of ICT, answered a questionnaire consisting of 23 questions, of which 14 are devoted to determine the attitude that future teachers have facing videogames and the remaining 9 indicate the educative dimension that they give to it within the primary class. The most significant initial result we find is that while they consider having a proactive view as users of this, women are less active within this tool, although the female teachers conclude, however, that it could be an attractive resource for the learning of the youngest students.
Strategies of Collaborative Work in the Classroom through the Design of Video Games
Author: Muñoz González, Juan Manuel
Date: 2015-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Video Games,Classroom Environment,Classroom Techniques,Cooperative Learning,Learning Processes,Student Attitudes,Investigations,Statistical Analysis,Questionnaires,Learning Experience,Curriculum Design,Curriculum Development,Preservice Teacher Education,Preservice Teachers,Learning Strategies,Early Childhood Education,Likert Scales,Computer System Design,Educational Technology,Teaching Methods,Educational Games,Foreign Countries

At the present time, the use of video games goes beyond mere amusement or entertainment due to its potential for developing capacities, dexterity and skills. Thus, video games have extended to environments like that of education, serving as didactic resources within dynamics that respond to the interests and necessities of the 21st century student. In this study, we approach the design of video games in initial teacher training. In this respect, we aim to collect the student's views regarding the learning process of the different tools used for designing video games within a framework of collaborative learning. The investigation is approached through a quantitative methodology applying a 28-item questionnaire on the learning experience of designing video games. We used a sample of 200 second-year students majoring in Childhood Education during the 2013/2014 academic course. The results obtained show that the students value in a positive way the collaborative learning methodology for mastering the video games designing tools.
Social Interactions and Games
Author: Uz, Cigdem
Date: 2015-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,College Students,Video Games,Interpersonal Competence,Interpersonal Relationship,Internet,Simulated Environment,Social Environment,Friendship,Personality Traits,Gender Differences,Preferences,Self Disclosure (Individuals),Extraversion Introversion,Statistical Analysis,Questionnaires,Personality Measures,Computer Games,Time on Task,Self Concept

Digital games have become popular due to great technological improvements in recent years. They have been increasingly transformed from co-located experiences into multi-played, socially oriented platforms (Herodotou, 2009). Multi-User Online Games provide the opportunity to create a social environment for friendships and strengthen the relationships. However, several researchers supported the idea that gamers seeking meaningful relationships within a game environment might have problems in forming meaningful relationships in the real environment (as cited in Redmond, 2010). This study was conducted with the sample of 168 university students to explore the social interactions in and out of game environment in terms of personality type, gender and game preferences. As a result of the study, it was found that participants mostly prefer playing multi-player games with their real life friends and family members. While they tend to make friends in game environments, they do not prefer sharing sensitive issues with their gaming friends. Moreover; students who reported themselves more extraverted, spend more hours in games. This paper contributes to the debates on the impact of games on social interactions of players in and out of the game environment.