scholarly journals The Web-Based Online Virtual Language Center

2004 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-62
Author(s):  
Peter Yang
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Self Service ◽  
Networked Multimedia ◽  
The Web

The Web-based virtual language center (VLC) has become areality for language learning on many campuses. It offersstudents obvious convenience of time and location. Theycan attend lab at any time they want (it is open 24 hours aday, 7 days a week) and from any location where they havea networked multimedia computer.However, the decision about which language center servicesshould migrate to Web-based delivery is a difficult onebecause the VLC is "self-service" without lab assistants andis based on emulating the existing physical languagelearning environment. There are many open theoretical andpractical issues concerning its validity as a languagelearning environment and its establishment andmaintenance. Furthermore, it has not yet proven to be anideal learning environment for oral communication activitiesbetween students and the instructor and among the students.This article will attempt to address some of these basicissues. Although it is not intended to give the reader a readymademodel of the VLC, the author hopes to be able toprovide those who are interested in setting up a Web-basedlanguage center with some practical suggestions. It is alsothe author's desire that this article stimulate those who areexperienced with the VLC to open a broader discussion ofrelated issues, such as aspects that must be considered forsetting up such a center and the ways in which existingVLCs could be further improved.

A web-based language learning environment: general architecture

ReCALL ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 11 (S1) ◽  
pp. 31-39
Author(s):  
Pierre-Yves Foucou ◽  
Natalie Kübler
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
General Architecture ◽  
The Web

In this paper, we present the Web-based CALL environment (or WALL) which is currently being experimented with at the University of Paris 13 in the Computer Science Department of the Institut Universitaire de Technologie. Our environment is being developed to teach computer science (CS) English to CS French-speaking students, and will be extended to other languages for specific purposes such as, for example, English or French for banking, law, economics or medicine, where on-line resources are available.English, and more precisely CS English is, for our students, a necessary tool, and not an object of study. The learning activities must therefore stimulate the students' interest and reflection about language phenomena. Our pedagogical objective, relying on research acquisition (Wokusch 1997) consists in linking various texts together with other documents, such as different types of dictionaries or other types of texts, so that knowledge can be acquired using various appropriate contexts.Language teachers are not supposed to be experts in fields such as computer sciences or economics. We aim at helping them to make use of the authentic documents that are related to the subject area in which they teach English. As shown in Foucou and Kübler (1998) the wide range of resources available on the Web can be processed to obtain corpora, i.e. teaching material. Our Web-based environment therefore provides teachers with a series of tools which enable them to access information about the selected specialist subject, select appropriate specialised texts, produce various types of learning activities and evaluate students' progress.Commonly used textbooks Tor specialised English offer a wide range of learning activities, but they are based on documents that very quickly become obsolete, and that are sometimes widely modified. Moreover, they are not adaptable to the various levels of language of the students. From the students' point of view, working on obsolete texts that are either too easy or too difficult can quickly become demotivating, not to say boring.In the next section, we present the general architecture of the teaching/learning environment; the method of accessing and using it, for teachers as well as for students, is then described. The following section deals with the actual production of exercises and their limits. We conclude and present some possible research directions.

Constructing a ‘third space’ for EFL learners: Where language and cultures meet

ReCALL ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
MEEI-LING LIAW
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Discussion Boards ◽  
Online Forums ◽  
Extensive Reading ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Web Based Learning ◽  
On Line ◽  
The Web

Efforts have been made by language educators and researchers to use computer technology to assist L2 learners’ growth in either linguistic or intercultural competence. Nonetheless, web-based environments devoted to developing both types of competences in tandem are new and experimental. The purpose of this project, which involves the collaboration of EFL educators and computer engineers in Taiwan, is to establish an innovative web-based environment to support students in tertiary levels to develop both types of competences. This web-based EFL learning environment experiments with a few main features: (1) instead of reading articles about a foreign culture, the users of this website read articles about their native culture; (2) two on-line computer-based support tools, a bilingual concordancer and a dictionary, are made available to provide students with contextual supports for language learning; and (3) discussion boards are provided for intercultural communication. The web-based learning environment contains several instructional units. While working on a unit, students read an article and then answer comprehension and vocabulary questions. After reading, students share their responses to the articles with intercultural conversation partners via online forums. To evaluate the effectiveness of the learning environment, the researcher recruited a group of Taiwanese university students to test-use the system. Frequencies of the uses of the two e-referencing tools were calculated. The students’ responses to a questionnaire were examined and informal interviews with the students were conducted. Finally, the students’ forum entries were analyzed. The findings revealed initial interest in using e-referencing tools but a dramatic decrease in use after the first few units had been completed. The students used the concordancer as a link to extensive reading materials and suggested adding pronunciation tools to the dictionary. Questionnaire findings showed that students were generally satisfied with the design of the web-based learning environment. An analysis of the students’ forum entries revealed increases in the length and complexity of sentences in their writings, as well as reductions in grammatical errors, as more units were completed. As for intercultural learning, the content analysis of the forum entries demonstrated different types of intercultural competences. Based on the findings, some implications for revision of the virtual environment to enable more effective learning of English as a foreign language and greater development of intercultural competence are drawn.

AWLA

2006 ◽  
pp. 254-270
Author(s):  
Manuel O. Cantero ◽  
Pedro P. Sanchez-Villalon
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Interactive Systems ◽  
Web Based ◽  
The Core ◽  
Learning Content ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Constructivist Perspective ◽  
Enhanced Learning ◽  
The Web

As e-learning gets more widespread, its definition is becoming more distinctive, implying the use of the Web for learning. The Web’s original functionality was to provide access to materials located in servers. This has been the core strategy for e-learning. However, the Web is becoming more versatile. The new interactive Web functionalities are organized in services offered to users. The content-based Learning Management Systems are evolving into more interactive systems providing agent-like learning services rather than only learning content. By designing an interactive environment with a learning objective, we can develop an effective e-learning appliance: the application of strategic Web functionalities on a technologically enhanced learning environment. Designed under the constructivist perspective, A Writing e-learning Appliance (AWLA) is an organized set of interactive Web-based utilities that, when applied in a technologically enhanced learning environment, allow learners to develop their writing skill in language learning and fulfil writing activities in any other discipline, both individually and in collaboration.

Investigating Chinese University Students’ Enjoyment in a Web-Based Language Learning Environment: Validation of the Online Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale

2021 ◽  
pp. 003151252110417
Author(s):  
Xin Wang ◽  
Yang Wang ◽  
Yizhi Yang ◽  
Lu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
First Language ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Chinese University ◽  
Confirmatory Factor

The revolution in web-based technologies has enriched pedagogical practices and motivated scholars to address learners’ positive and negative emotions in the web-based language learning environment. In this study, we first examined the psychometric properties of the Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale (FLES) and then developed the Online Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale (OFLES). We adopted a mixed-method approach using a sample of 383 first language Chinese EFL undergraduates. In stage one of the research, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis supported an 11-item and 4-factor OFLES structure with an ideal model fit. The four sub-domains of the new enjoyment construct were OFLES- Teacher, Private, Interaction, and Competence. The Teacher domain accounted for most variance. In stage two, the qualitative analyses of feedback on an open-ended question concerning enjoyable episodes from 56 of the 383 participants revealed various sources of enjoyment for Chinese university EFL learners attending online English courses. Our findings contribute to an emerging wave of research examining the cross-contextual application of the FLES and provide important pedagogical implications for L2 practitioners and researchers. We discuss suggestions for future research.

scholarly journals Using Open-Source Software for Sign Language Learning and Assessment

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (19) ◽  
pp. 188
Author(s):  
Tobias Haug ◽  
Sarah Ebling
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Swiss German ◽  
Feedback Questionnaire ◽  
The Web

This study reports on the use of an open-source software for sign language learning and (self-)assessment. A Yes/No vocabulary size test for Swiss German Sign Language (Deutschschweizerische Gebärdensprache, DSGS) was developed, targeting beginning adult learners. The Web-based test, which can be used for self-assessment or placement purposes, was administered to 20 DSGS adult learners of ages 24 to 55 (M = 39.3). The learners filled out a background questionnaire, took the Yes/No test tests, and filled out a feedback questionnaire. The comments provided by the learners about the suitability of the Web-based DSGS vocabulary self-assessment instrument provided concrete feedback towards improvement of the system.

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