{"title":"Blogging Effect on English as a Foreign Language Writing Motivation: Blogging and Writing Motivation","authors":"E. Özdemir, Selami Aydın","doi":"10.4018/IJCALLT.2017040103","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCALLT.2017040103","url":null,"abstract":"Not many studies have been present on the effects of blogging, particularly with respect to English as a Foreign Language EFL writing motivation. Those studies did not focus on the effect of the use of blogs on Turkish EFL learners' writing motivation. Thus, this study aims to examine how the use of blogs affects EFL writing motivation among EFL learners in a Turkish EFL learning context. A questionnaire interrogating demographic information, a pre-test and a post-tests measuring writing achievement were administered to a group of participants including 48 language learners. According to results, blogging on its own does not increase motivation; however, the process-based writing instruction mainly has positive influences on EFL learners' motivation in both traditional pen-paper and blog environments. Thus, EFL teachers need to know that the use of blogs does not increase motivation among Turkish EFL learners. To increase their motivation level, it is also recommended that teachers should use a writing environment where their students are encouraged to write in the target language.","PeriodicalId":282169,"journal":{"name":"Int. J. Comput. Assist. Lang. Learn. Teach.","volume":"177 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123506976","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mobile Assisted Vocabulary Acquisition and Wikis to Enhance Writing Skills","authors":"R. Vurdien","doi":"10.4018/IJCALLT.2017040101","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCALLT.2017040101","url":null,"abstract":"This project examined how a group of advanced-level EFL students read articles on their smartphone to acquire new vocabulary which they later inserted in their essays on wikis. The aim of the study was (a) to explore the students' perceptions regarding learning vocabulary from their smartphone followed by the use of wikis to improve their writing skills; (b) to analyse how peer editing and feedback can help students towards grammar and vocabulary accuracy with a view to enhancing their writing skills. The twenty-one participants used a Google application on their smartphone to perform reading and vocabulary exercises before writing essays on the wikis, followed by peer editing and feedback. Data were gathered from two questionnaires, interviews and 168 essays. The findings suggested that positive learning took place throughout the development of the study. The smartphone was considered a convenient tool for reading and performing vocabulary exercises. Peer editing and feedback were deemed crucial towards grammar and vocabulary accuracy to enhance writing skills.","PeriodicalId":282169,"journal":{"name":"Int. J. Comput. Assist. Lang. Learn. Teach.","volume":"254 17","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"113983175","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Developing a Project-Based CALL Environment with Technical Communication in an Exploratory 3D Printing Context","authors":"Debopriyo Roy","doi":"10.4018/IJCALLT.2017040105","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCALLT.2017040105","url":null,"abstract":"Involving EFL students in 3D printing in a language classroom introduces the idea of project-based CALL, where different technology interfaces engage students in complex technical writing activities and social interactions in a fluid language-learning environment. This paper took an instructional approach to explaining how project-based CALL environment could be created with 3D printing based practices, combining technical communication with systems thinking, online research, 3D scanning, computer-aided design, sketch boarding and concept mapping, prototyping, and digital content management. Class performance in this collaborative, autonomous and social language-learning environment suggested that students were able to produce technical writing, prepare documentation, demonstrated critical thinking and brainstorming, and develop design and implementation strategies while handling 3D printing-enabled processes. Results and patterns of student engagement with technology indicated that project-based learning (PBL) approach in TC classroom is engaging, unique, realistic and feasible.","PeriodicalId":282169,"journal":{"name":"Int. J. Comput. Assist. Lang. Learn. Teach.","volume":"18 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130420493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Helping Language Learners Put Concordance Data in Context: Concordance Cards in The Prime Machine","authors":"Stephen Jeaco","doi":"10.4018/IJCALLT.2017040102","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCALLT.2017040102","url":null,"abstract":"While corpus tools provide several different ways to display relationships between words within texts and across texts, the main format for viewing concordance data is Key Word in Context (KWIC). In Computer Aided Language Learning, concordance lines in KWIC format may be accessed inside a concordancer or within other software through links to corpus data. Language learners can and do gain useful insights from exploring concordance data in KWIC format, but some kinds of information may be harder to see, some patterning of use may not be so obvious, and reading of complete examples may not be very easy. The Prime Machine was developed for language learners and aims to make corpus data easier to access and interpret. This paper introduces the design of the Cards Tab, which provides an additional way of viewing concordance data. Results from three evaluations with language learners and teachers show positive attitudes towards this display.","PeriodicalId":282169,"journal":{"name":"Int. J. Comput. Assist. Lang. Learn. Teach.","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127010260","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"L2 Languaging in a Massively Multiplayer Online Game: An Exploration of Learner Variations","authors":"Jinjing Zhao","doi":"10.4018/IJCALLT.2016100101","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCALLT.2016100101","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines L2 learner variations in the context of massively multiplayer online games MMOGs. MMOGs have gained much attention among CALL researchers because this particular game genre is perceived to promote informal, contextualized interaction in a learner's target language, including interaction with native speakers. However, there is little research on differences between L2 learners in terms of how they engage in language learning and use in the context of gameplay. Drawing on data from questionnaires, interviews, gaming sessions, and gaming journals, this paper argues that affordances of MMOGs must be understood in relation to the learner's history, ability, and preference within the social context of game play; L2 learners engage with various game discourses that align with their preferences of game play and goals of language learning. In closing, the paper discusses procedural challenges in conducting research on MMOGs and similar gaming contexts.","PeriodicalId":282169,"journal":{"name":"Int. J. Comput. Assist. Lang. Learn. Teach.","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115639453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Interplay of Game Design and Pedagogical Mediation in Game-Mediated Japanese Learning","authors":"Kayo Shintaku","doi":"10.4018/IJCALLT.2016100103","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCALLT.2016100103","url":null,"abstract":"Commercial off-the-shelf, or vernacular digital games have been studied in foreign language FL pedagogy. However, few have examined how a game design interacts with pedagogical mediation. This study explores the interplay of game design and pedagogical mediation for learners of Japanese. Learners played a vernacular game in Japanese and used activity worksheets and a reference list. Findings from the vocabulary tests and questionnaires show that materials can focus learner attention on particular vocabulary, but that vocabulary functionality also plays a role in learning. In-game vocabulary was identified as primary or secondary based on its necessity for successful game completion. When both types of vocabulary were combined, results showed good retention between the posttest and delayed test. When separated, the primary vocabulary was retained well, but the secondary vocabulary was not retained. This confirms that in-game vocabulary functionality impacts learning and implicates the careful design of supplemental materials to guide FL learners' attention.","PeriodicalId":282169,"journal":{"name":"Int. J. Comput. Assist. Lang. Learn. Teach.","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115901179","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Method and Model for De- and Reconstructing Player-Game Interaction: The Case of the Arabic Simulation-Management Game Baalty","authors":"K. Ibrahim","doi":"10.4018/IJCALLT.2016100102","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCALLT.2016100102","url":null,"abstract":"The potential of player-game interaction to facilitate L2 learning in stand-alone digital games has been established in many empirical investigations e.g. Miller & Hegelheimer, 2006; Hitosugi, Schmidt, & Hayashi, 2014; Sundqvist & Sylven, 2012; however, the fine-grained dynamics that comprise it are still largely underexplored. A potential reason for this gap is that, to date, there is a lack of refined methodologies for conceptualizing and analyzing the various processes that occur during gameplay between a learner-player and the game. The present study proposes an ecology-sensitive, multidimensional approach to de-and re-constructing player-game interaction dynamics through analysis of thick detail-rich play data from a variety of sources and levels: cognitive, virtual, and sociocultural. Using a model of player-game interaction detailing how activities interrelate and/or interact across different levels, it reconstructs player-game interaction as a holistic activity. To this end, it utilizes a variety of qualitative data sources that offer empirical information about different facets and dimensions of player-game interaction, including thinkaloud protocol, gaming journals, walkthroughs, and debriefing interviews. To illustrate the approach, this paper will apply it to interpretation of player-game interactions of one learner of Arabic as a foreign language in the Egyptian Arabic simulation-management game Baalty PPIC-Work, 2004. Findings include the observation that the L2 learner-player played their game in her L2 by decoding in-game discourses and using in-game semiotic resources. The paper will include discussion of theoretical background, research implications, and potential applications of this approach.","PeriodicalId":282169,"journal":{"name":"Int. J. Comput. Assist. Lang. Learn. Teach.","volume":"45 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115170010","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An Experienced Austrian Educator's View on the 3-D Skills Implemented to Design and Integrate an Alien Mystery in OpenSim","authors":"Stella K. Hadjistassou, J. Molka-Danielsen","doi":"10.4018/IJCALLT.2016100104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCALLT.2016100104","url":null,"abstract":"With their playful game-oriented nature, virtual learning environments can form constructive ecosocial settings for enacting game-driven collaborative tasks that have real pedagogical, learning, and teaching implications. Even though multiple studies have been undertaken in virtual learning environments, there is a dearth of studies on the constellation of complex interrelated skills and knowledge that second or foreign language educators integrate in actual situated contexts to design and offer task-oriented game-driven learning activities. Building on Compton's 2009 framework, this study investigates the complex set of technological, pedagogical, and evaluation skills that an expert Austrian educator, Franziska integrated to design a multifaceted game-oriented plot in the virtual village of Chatterdale in OpenSim in order to engage thirteen-year-old Austrian and Norwegian high school students in oral interactions during three slightly different task-oriented quests to solve an alien mystery. Data analysis of an interview, reflective comments on a wiki, and follow-up emails indicate that the design and integration of an epistemic game in praxis forms a collaborative endeavor involving the integration of a set of complex and multifaceted sets of skills and knowledge. The study investigates the skills that emerged during two stages, the planning, preparation, and student training stage and integration stage. The findings of this study can be used to broaden the pedagogical discussion on the skills and knowledge that second or foreign language teachers need to acquire and apply to design successful playful task-driven learning quests in virtual learning environments.","PeriodicalId":282169,"journal":{"name":"Int. J. Comput. Assist. Lang. Learn. Teach.","volume":"163 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131815116","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mentoring Teachers of English Learners in an Online Community of Practice","authors":"Karla del Rosal, Paige Ware, Nancy Montgomery","doi":"10.4018/IJCALLT.2016070101","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCALLT.2016070101","url":null,"abstract":"This study contributes to a growing research base investigating how teachers interact and learn from each other in online communities of practice. It specifically investigates the online mentoring conversations between five cohorts of in-service mentor teachers that participated in graduate-level courses about language pedagogy and their mentee pre-service teachers, while they discussed effective practices for English learner (EL) students. The authors used qualitative methods to ask what types of knowledge and skills related to ELs' instruction the participating mentor teachers displayed when they were situated in the role of online mentors of mentee pre-service teachers. Findings showed that mentor teachers demonstrated knowledge and skills in adjusting general learning strategies to support ELs, in applying language development strategies to teach academic language in English, and in using emotional strategies to offer ELs a welcoming environment. Findings also showed that mentor teachers found a favorable space in the online mentoring environment to position themselves as teacher leaders and ELs' advocates.","PeriodicalId":282169,"journal":{"name":"Int. J. Comput. Assist. Lang. Learn. Teach.","volume":"41 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122443441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Spanish-Finnish Telecollaboration to Develop Intercultural Competence and Learner Autonomy","authors":"R. Vurdien, Pasi Puranen","doi":"10.4018/IJCALLT.2016070103","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCALLT.2016070103","url":null,"abstract":"Telecollaboration enables students from different geographical locations to interact in a more authentic environment, share their views with their partners, create profiles as well as build online communities enjoying common interests. With this in mind, a Spanish-Finnish task-based project was designed to examine how students perceived their cultural exchange via Facebook and the extent to which such online interactions assisted them in becoming autonomous learners. Nineteen Spanish and seventeen Finnish participants were provided with the opportunity to interact with each other outside the classroom with a view to exploring the target culture and, consequently, experiencing intercultural learning. The findings suggest that the learning experience was positive and that the participants felt motivated to examine each other's cultural traits and manage their own learning tasks. Sharing information and reciprocally exchanging views on comments are paramount in developing skills to become independent learners.","PeriodicalId":282169,"journal":{"name":"Int. J. Comput. Assist. Lang. Learn. Teach.","volume":"165 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131679310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}