Re-aligning research into teacher education for CALL and bringing it into the mainstream

2012 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Motteram
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
Effective Theory ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Computer Assisted Language Learning ◽  
Traditional Research ◽  
Conference Presentations ◽  
Teaching Situations

This paper explores three research projects conducted by the writer and others with a view to demonstrating the importance of effective theory and methodology in the analysis of teaching situations where Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), teacher practice and teacher education meet. It argues that there is a tendency in the field of teacher education for CALL to make use of what might be considered quite traditional research methodology, often drawing on research traditions not connected to teacher education. In teacher education and CALL, research theory is quite often drawn from the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), which despite its connection with CALL, is less relevant to the specific combined demands of researching teacher education for CALL. At the same time we are seeing some moves in recent publications and conference presentations towards the use of sociocultural theories as part of an analysis of CALL teacher practices and teacher education for CALL. In this paper, I argue that this is a positive step in the direction of establishing teacher education for CALL as a more mature field of enquiry. In order to avoid the pitfalls of inappropriate research methodology, the paper then presents an argument for a range of methodologies, chosen on the basis of a fashioning of research instruments (Czarniawska 1998), or a ‘bricolage’ (Levi-Strauss 1962/1966) that enables us – in conjunction with the theory – to explore different teaching situations in an informed and effective way.

Disrupting course design in online CALL teacher education: An experimentation

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 146-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Bangou ◽  
Gene Vasilopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Computer Assisted Language Learning ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Course Materials

This article experiments with creativity, ambiguity, design thinking, research, and teacher education in computer-assisted language learning within the development of a distance teacher education course on computer-assisted language learning. By deploying philosophy of immanence, the associated agencements of teacher becoming in computer-assisted language learning, and design thinking, this article generates new ways of thinking about creativity, ambiguity, design thinking, language-teacher education, and research. Data collection included course materials, student interviews, and assignments. The paper uses rhizoanalysis to map affective connections within the research agencement, highlighting potential for transformation. It presents vignettes to palpate, disrupt, and encourage further concept creation.

Observations in the computer room: L2 output and learner behaviour

ReCALL ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTINE LEAHY
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Computer Assisted Language Learning ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Oral Interaction

This article draws on second language theory, particularly output theory as defined by Swain (1995), in order to conceptualise observations made in a computer-assisted language learning setting. It investigates second language output and learner behaviour within an electronic role-play setting, based on a subject-specific problem solving task and the Internet as source of primary information. Students were given a task which includes the collaborative development of a marketing strategy for a chosen product. Data collected consists of the following corpora: emails exchanged between groups, the recorded discussions between each group’s members while engaged in the problem solving activity, oral presentation of the groups’ results as well as the individually written summaries. One area of particular interest is the analysis of the oral L2 output while solving a computer-assisted language learning task. How can the oral interaction be characterised? What kind of conclusions regarding the use of CALL can be drawn from the comparison of the oral interaction and the written output? Another area of interest is the analysis of the written L2 output. Is there evidence of second language acquisition and/or acquisition of content? Can such a CALL setting promote second language acquisition (SLA) and/or acquisition of content? Finally, the study aims to identify whether student-initiated focus on language form can be found. The article answers the questions posed above. Furthermore, the results of this study show that a very high percentage of all communication took place in L2 and occurrences of acquisition of content and language can be demonstrated.

scholarly journals Young L2-learners' meaning-making in engaging in computer-assisted language learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Anna Hell ◽  
Anna-Lena Godhe ◽  
Eva Wennås Brante
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Computer Assisted Language Learning ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Young Students

<p>This study explores how newly arrived young students created meaning, communicated, and expressed themselves using digital technology in the subject of Swedish as a second language (SSL).  The qualitative case study presented in this article focuses on how the orchestration of teaching contributed to opportunities for digital meaning-making in the SSL subject in four classrooms at three schools in a city in Sweden. The notion of language as being fluid, which involves a critical approach to languages as separable entities, considers linguistic and embodied meaning-making, including digital technology, in social processes. This approach recognizes the roles of technology and digital meaning-making in young students’ second language acquisition. Moreover, technological innovations facilitate immediate and accessible communication.  In today’s language studies, ethnicity only is not considered an adequate focus of analysis. Furthermore, the meaning-making practices of newly arrived primary school-aged students remain under-investigated. In the present study, data collected in classroom observations and teacher interviews revealed three themes regarding the students’ utilization of digital technology to develop their multilingual skills. One insight was that the newly arrived students used digital technology strategically when they engaged in meaning-making activities with peers and teachers. When the students took the initiative in computer-assisted language learning, they displayed agency in meaning-making by being their own architects. The findings of this research provided insights into how the orchestration of teaching in Swedish as a second language to newly arrived students affects their opportunities to use multilingualism in meaning-making while employing digital technology.</p>

scholarly journals Reflections on the connection between computer-assisted language learning and second language acquisition

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (19) ◽  
pp. 11-19
Author(s):  
Olmedo Bula Villalobos
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Computer Assisted Language Learning ◽  
Nuevas Tecnologías

La tecnología ha tenido un gran impacto en la educación en los últimos veinte años. Con el desarrollo de nuevas tecnologías, se puede decir que la Adquisición de una Segunda Lengua (A2L) ha adoptado la Enseñanza Asistida por Ordenador (EAO) como una nueva y útil herramienta. Las diferentes aplicaciones y efectos de las computadoras en el aprendizaje y la enseñanza de un idioma pueden ser relacionadas con la adquisición de una segunda lengua, especialmente con el número de las aplicaciones de las computadoras en un ambiente de aprendizaje de un idioma. El propósito principal de este ensayo es explorar las conexiones existentes entre la Adquisición de una Segunda Lengua y la Enseñanza Asistida por Ordenador. Primero se muestran los antecedentes históricos de la EAO. Después las implicaciones y aplicaciones de la EAO sobre la A2L son discutidas. Asimismo la evaluación de la EAO en relación con la A2L y el futuro de la EAO son también analizados. Una de las principales conclusiones es que hay conexiones significativas y pertinentes entre la Adquisición de una Segunda Lengua y la Enseñanza Asistida por Ordenador.

scholarly journals Re-orienting CALL through the lens of complexity theory

2019 ◽  
pp. 151-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Godwin-Jones
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Complexity Theory ◽  
Ecological Model ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Learning System ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Computer Assisted Language Learning ◽  
The People

Complexity Theory (CT) provides a useful framework for understanding Second Language Acquisition (SLA). Using an ecological model, CT studies the dynamic processes of change and emergent outcomes over time, tracing back how trajectories may have been affected by changes in and interactions among multiple variables and subsystems. Language learners do not follow linear learning paths, but rather their progress depends on a variety of interlocking variables. Developmental trajectories will look different for each learner. That is particularly the case for informal language learning, in which learners co-adapt from a wide variety of resources, leading to divergent outcomes (Godwin-Jones, 2018a). A CT approach emphasizes the dynamics of the interplay between learner variables and the people, artifacts, and services constituting the L2 learning system. It aligns well with usage-based linguistics. Viewing language learning from a CT perspective has a number of consequences for Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) research, explored here.

Learning languages: Implications for student modelling in ICALL

ReCALL ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Bull
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Approaches To Learning ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Computer Assisted Language Learning ◽  
Student Model ◽  
Traditional Student ◽  
Student Models ◽  
Learning Software ◽  
Great Burden

Many factors affect the learning of a foreign language. When designing computer assisted language learning software it is usually not sufficient to think only about creating an exercise in the language, but students should be modelled in order to allow the program to take account of individuals' beliefs and learning. However, student models are criticised for various reasons, the most common of which include: 1. Modelling the learner places a great burden on the system, as it has sole responsibility for the creation of an accurate student model. 2. Student models are inadequate because it is not possible to model all aspects of a student's knowledge and learning. This paper describes the student model of an intelligent computer assisted language learning (ICALL) system which strives to overcome problems of traditional student models by taking into account issues important in the field of second language acquisition, and research in collaborative approaches to learning.

Providing graduated corrective feedback in an intelligent computer-assisted language learning environment

ReCALL ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haiyang Ai
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Computer Assisted Language Learning ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Design Effectiveness ◽  
Intelligent Computer ◽  
Scholarly Attention

AbstractCorrective feedback (CF), a response to linguistic errors made by second language (L2) learners, has received extensive scholarly attention in second language acquisition. While much of the previous research in the field has focused on whether CF facilitates or impedes L2 development, few studies have examined the efficacy of gradually modifying the explicitness or specificity of CF as a function of a learner’s response to the feedback. Yet, the type and extent of CF needed by a learner, as suggested by Vygotsky (1978), sheds light on whether a learner is developing his or her abilities in a particular area and the ways in which they do it. This paper reports on a study that explores the design, effectiveness and learners’ perception toward agraduated(Aljaafreh & Lantolf, 1994) approach to CF, i.e., feedback that progresses from very general and implicit to very specific and explicit, in an intelligent computer-assisted language learning (ICALL) environment. The results show that the graduated approach to CF is effective in helping learners to self-identify and self-correct a number of grammatical issues, although an onsite tutor provides necessary remedies when the ICALL system occasionally fails to do its part. Implications for CF research, particularly on the notion of individualized feedback, are also discussed.

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