Game On With Kahoot!

The landscape of technology in language classrooms is changing so quickly that it's hard for us to keep pace. Games-based student response systems (GBSRS) in a bring-your-own-device environment have only recently become widely available for language classrooms; consequently, little research has been conducted into the efficacy of GBSRSs for foreign language learning. This quasi-experimental study explores the efficacy of one application called Kahoot! at a medium-sized university in South Korea for vocabulary learning and motivation. Both the traditional control group and the experimental group learned more vocabulary during the course of the study; however, no significant difference in vocabulary learning was found between the groups. The change in motivation level, on the other hand, was significantly higher for the Kahoot! group. Therefore, the findings recommend the use of the Kahoot! GBSRS particularly for often low motivated Asian university EFL students.

FL Instructor Beliefs About Machine Translation

Machine translation (MT) platforms have gained increasing attention in the educational linguistics community. The current article extends past research on instructor beliefs about MT by way of an ecological theoretical framework. The study reports on a large-scale survey (n=165) of FL university-level instructors in the U.S. Findings indicate strong lines being drawn around acceptable MT use (e.g., in relation to text length and skill, policies), an acknowledgement of widespread student use driven by diverse motivations, and the Janus-faced nature of MT's potential threat to the profession. These findings reveal several salient tensions in how MT mediates relationships in language education (e.g., constructions of students, the nature of language and language learning, goals of the profession) that shed new light on the impact of MT technologies on the field. Implications for future research and the development of pedagogical practices anchored in digital literacies conclude the piece.

Developing an Online Test to Measure Writing and Speaking Skills Automatically

As a result of the Japanese Ministry of Education's recent edict that students' written and spoken English should be assessed in university entrance exams, there is an urgent need for tools to help teachers and students prepare for these exams. Although some commercial tools already exist, they are generally expensive and inflexible. To address these shortcomings, a new open-source, online test for assessing English ability was developed. The test features the automatic grading not only of reading and listening, but also of speaking and writing. Thus, the general English ability of large numbers of students can be checked quickly online, making the test suitable for use in entrance exams and placements tests. It is based around the Moodle LMS and features several new plugins to automatically grade speaking and writing. This paper details plugin development, shows preliminary samples, and explains how test reliability will be verified by comparing students' scores with human-ratings and widely used tests such as IELTS, TOEIC, and CASEC.

Seamless Integration Between Online and Face-to-Face

This study explores learners' perceptions of and experiences in a flipped-blended Chinese-as-a-Foreign-Language (CFL) course. Based upon dynamic complex system and social interaction theory for language learning as well as on instructional design approaches, this study examines the seamless integration between the online and face-to-face (FTF) components. Twenty-three first-semester CFL learners participated in the study. Data were collected via student surveys and a semi-formal focus group interview. The findings show that students' perceptions are highly positive and that the seamless integration of the two modes is beneficial and conducive to meeting the learning outcomes. The students also pointed out weaknesses of the design, such as the length of the videos, the need for more interesting writing tasks in the FTF meetings, and the lack of immediate help during the video watching process.

Teacher Engagement With Technology-Enhanced Text Adaptation for Reading Assessment

In the assessment of English as a foreign language (EFL) reading proficiency, text adaptation is an important and challenging task for teachers. Although an increasing number of technology tools are available to facilitate text adaptation, research exploring how teachers engage with technology-enhanced text adaptation (TETA) is scarce. Drawing on a three-dimension framework consisting of behavioral, cognitive, and affective criteria of engagement, this case study investigated four Chinese EFL teachers' engagement with TETA facilitated by Eng-Editor, an online text complexity evaluation tool, in preparing reading assessment materials. Data from multiple sources were collected in the study. Firstly, the teachers' original and adapted texts were analyzed to reveal their behavioral engagement. Secondly, individual interviews were conducted with each teacher to unveil their cognitive and affective engagement. Results show diverse characteristics of teacher engagement with TETA along the three-dimension framework; moreover, various factors that influenced their engagement are also revealed. The paper concludes by providing suggestions for designing training programs to support teachers' employment of TETA.

The Effects of Different Caption Modes on Chinese English Learners' Content and Vocabulary Comprehension

This empirical study investigates the effects of different caption modes on the content and vocabulary comprehension by Chinese English learners with different levels of English proficiency. The results show that the full captioned group performed better on content comprehension than the keyword group, while no significant difference was found on vocabulary comprehension between the two captioned groups. For the beginning-level learners, the full captioned groups did better both in content and vocabulary comprehension than the keyword caption group; meanwhile, for the advanced learners, both full captions and keyword captions similarly facilitated content and vocabulary comprehension. Therefore, the present findings suggest that keyword captioning is insufficient for foreign language learners' content comprehension, yet might be appropriate for their vocabulary learning. Furthermore, choosing the content caption mode for teaching EFL depends on students' English proficiency and their learning purpose.

Exploring EFL Learners' Willingness to Communicate in Multimodal Videoconferences

The current study explored how the participation in multimodal videoconferencing sessions affected one of the affective factors: willingness to communicate (WTC) in second language learning. Participants from the experimental group took part in three 30-minute communication tasks via videoconferencing that included interactions in textual, audio, and visual modes while their counterparts completed the same tasks face-to-face. Instruments included an adapted WTC scale, semi-structured interviews, and learner reflections. The results showed that learners in the experimental group exhibited significantly higher levels of WTC than those in the control group, suggesting that multimodal videoconferencing increased learners' WTC. Next, qualitative findings indicated that learners' WTC in multimodal videoconferences was influenced by the support from multimodal texts and the affordances of multimodal interaction. EFL professionals are recommended to create multimodal environments to not merely foster learners' negotiation of meaning but also promote WTC through diverse patterns of interaction.

The Effects of Different Caption Modes on Chinese English Learners’ Content and Vocabulary Comprehension

This empirical study investigates the effects of different caption modes on the content and vocabulary comprehension by Chinese English learners with different levels of English proficiency. The results show that the full captioned group performed better on content comprehension than the keyword group, while no significant difference was found on vocabulary comprehension between the two captioned groups. For the beginning-level learners, the full captioned group did better both in content and vocabulary comprehension than the keyword captioned group; meanwhile, for the advanced learners, both full captions and keyword captions similarly facilitated content and vocabulary comprehension. Therefore, the present findings suggest that keyword captioning is insufficient for foreign language learners’ content comprehension, yet might be appropriate for their vocabulary learning. Furthermore, choosing the content caption mode for teaching EFL depends on students’ English proficiency and their learning purpose.

Using Automatic Speech Recognition to Facilitate English Pronunciation Assessment and Learning in an EFL Context

With the advancement of automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology, ASR-based pronunciation assessment can diagnose learners' pronunciation problems. Meanwhile, ASR-based pronunciation training allows more opportunities for pronunciation practice. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of ASR technology in diagnosing English pronunciation errors and to explore teachers' and learners' attitudes towards using ASR technology as a pronunciation assessment tool and as a learning tool. Five Chinese EFL learners participated in read-aloud tests, including a human-assessed test and an ASR-assessed test. Pronunciation error types diagnosed by the two tests were compared to determine the extent of overlapping areas. The findings demonstrate that there were overlaps between human rating and machine rating at the segmental level. Moreover, it was found that learners' varied pronunciation learning needs were met by using the ASR technology. Implications of the study will provide insights relevant to using ASR technology to facilitate English pronunciation assessment and learning.

The Role of Mobile Technologies in Impacting Learner Autonomy in an EFL Context

This article reviews previous research conducted on the role of mobile devices that support learner autonomy (LA) in English is a foreign/second language (EFL) context from 2010 to 2021 based on a number of criteria that included research design, publication type, period, field of study, and use of technology. Mainly, the review examined design features of the empirical studies on mobile technologies and learner autonomy (LA) in EFL contexts and the ways mobile technologies impact LA. A coding sheet was used to analyze the papers (N = 23) having met the selection criteria in terms of education form and level, instrumentation, location, context, gender, use of technology, English as a foreign/second language (EFL) skills, and learning impact. It was revealed that all of the examined studies were conducted in Asia and Europe. Also, most of the studies had male and female participants. In addition, most studies on utilizing mobile devices to impact LA were investigated in higher education informally. Moreover, literature has paid more attention to reading and writing skills, vocabulary/grammar skills, and EFL in general. Finally, the analysis showed that mobile devices played a vital role in impacting LA in EFL contexts in a positive sense. Future research gaps and recommendations are suggested based on the findings of this review.