RecallPub Date : 2023-12-20DOI: 10.1017/s0958344023000253
M. Mohsen, Sultan Althebi, Rawan Alsagour, Albatool Alsalem, Amjad Almudawi, Abdulaziz Alshahrani
{"title":"Forty-two years of computer-assisted language learning research: A scientometric study of hotspot research and trending issues","authors":"M. Mohsen, Sultan Althebi, Rawan Alsagour, Albatool Alsalem, Amjad Almudawi, Abdulaziz Alshahrani","doi":"10.1017/s0958344023000253","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0958344023000253","url":null,"abstract":"For years, computer-assisted language learning (CALL) has thrived as an interdisciplinary subfield, linking applied linguistics and educational technology. Despite its significance and a number of syntheses, CALL research has not yet undergone a comprehensive scientometric synthesis. This study synthesizes CALL research over a period of 42 years by employing a scientometric analysis of sources and document co-citation analyses. Scopus was used to retrieve original articles with a timespan limit from 1980 to 2021. Our records identified 4,631 articles representing CALL-based research, which were published in 63 peer-reviewed journals and collectively contained 186,589 references. The findings indicate that CALL research is supported by robust theoretical frameworks, grounded in socio-cultural and second language acquisition theories. Our research findings have revealed several significant clusters of interest within the realm of CALL, with a pronounced focus on writing among CALL scholars. Additionally, the study identified emerging research areas such as mobile-assisted language learning, synchronous computer-mediated communication, and data-driven learning in CALL literature. Notably, “CALL-core” journals exhibited high productivity, with Language Learning & Technology, Computer Assisted Language Learning, and Computers & Education standing out as top-ranked journals in terms of the Hirsch index (h-index) and co-citation. Suggestions for future research are outlined in the conclusion.","PeriodicalId":47046,"journal":{"name":"Recall","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139169376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RecallPub Date : 2023-12-14DOI: 10.1017/s0958344023000228
Yordanka Chimeva, Mireia Trenchs-Parera
{"title":"Different interlocutors, different EFL interactional strategies: A case study of intercultural telecollaborative projects in secondary classrooms","authors":"Yordanka Chimeva, Mireia Trenchs-Parera","doi":"10.1017/s0958344023000228","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0958344023000228","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The purpose of this article is to investigate the interactional strategies that secondary school EFL learners use during telecollaboration with interlocutors from a different cultural and linguistic background. Its novelty lies in the educational level and cultural contexts explored as well as in the goal of examining whether frequency of strategy use may depend on the interlocutor and, if so, what the relevant factors are for such variation. The study focuses on two projects in which 10 participants from one Bulgarian school and 18 partners from two schools in Spain took part in dyadic synchronous videoconferences discussing culture-related topics. Data were collected via video recordings, field observations, semi-structured interviews, and questionnaires. The article presents both descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis of the communicative behavior of three case study students interacting with different telecollaborative partners. We found that the participants demonstrate differences in interactional behavior and utilize strategies with varying frequency depending on their interlocutor. The results also reveal crucial factors in the design of telecollaborative educational projects if learners are to successfully implement skills of discovery and interaction in real time.","PeriodicalId":47046,"journal":{"name":"Recall","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139002283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RecallPub Date : 2023-11-06DOI: 10.1017/s0958344023000204
Guangxiang Leon Liu, Yue Zhang, Rui Zhang
{"title":"Examining the relationships among motivation, informal digital learning of English, and foreign language enjoyment: An explanatory mixed-method study","authors":"Guangxiang Leon Liu, Yue Zhang, Rui Zhang","doi":"10.1017/s0958344023000204","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0958344023000204","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This explanatory mixed-method study seeks to understand the relationships between second language (L2) motivation (including the ideal L2 self and the ought-to L2 self) and students’ informal digital learning of English (IDLE) and whether such relationships are mediated by the most prominent positive emotion – enjoyment. A total of 391 Chinese university students participated in the survey, and 15 of them were interviewed later. Quantitative analysis revealed a strong positive relationship between the ideal L2 self and participants’ IDLE, which was partially mediated by foreign language enjoyment (FLE), while the hypotheses that the ought-to L2 self significantly predicted FLE and IDLE were rejected. The qualitative data added details to how a vivid and elaborate L2 vision contributed to enhanced English learning enjoyment and served as the most influential motivator for IDLE practices. Meanwhile, the external and instrumental motives could not predict Chinese university students’ enjoyment, disempowering them to invest in productive language learning practices in the informal and digitalized environment. The discussion of these findings and pedagogical implications helps to chart the path for utilizing the power of the ideal L2 self to engage Chinese university students with the extramural and digitalized language learning ecology.","PeriodicalId":47046,"journal":{"name":"Recall","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135633990","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RecallPub Date : 2023-08-07DOI: 10.1017/S0958344023000174
Ana Gimeno-Sanz
{"title":"ReCALL editorial September 2023 issue","authors":"Ana Gimeno-Sanz","doi":"10.1017/S0958344023000174","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344023000174","url":null,"abstract":"Given the breadth and scope of the topics covered in this issue, we can safely say that it represents the wealth of topics that are currently at the core of computer-assisted language learning research. This issue includes eight articles that explore virtual exchange (VE), virtual reality (VR), gameenhanced learning, automated writing evaluation, automatic translation, data-driven learning (DDL), and massive open online language courses (LMOOCs). The first, by Irina Rets, Bart Rienties and Tim Lewis, focuses on the impact of VE on perceived intercultural effectiveness (IE) development among pre-service teachers. In their study, they conclude that three factors were crucial in determining the students’ perceptions of their IE development – that is, (1) their ability to overcome challenges during VE, (2) the level of engagement with and from their VE partners, and (3) engagement with cultural difference. The study that follows, that by Alice Gruber, Silvia Canto and Kristi Jauregi-Ondarra, also focuses on VE, only this time it is based on the use of high-immersion VR for synchronous online collaboration among learners of English. The authors analyse student perceptions regarding their level of presence and engagement, their communication, and their views on using VR for intercultural encounters compared to traditional videoconferencing tools. Their findings revealed that there was a significant correlation between student willingness to communicate in the VE-VR setting and their positive attitudes towards meeting students from other countries in VR. The third study, by Sangmin-Michelle Lee, explores the factors that affect incidental L2 vocabulary acquisition and retention in a game-enhanced learning environment. The results provided evidence that playing the game greatly facilitated this and concluded that conscious learner attention, in conjunction with the salience of the word, was the main facilitating factor in incidental vocabulary acquisition and retention when using a game-enhanced language learning environment. The fourth article, by Svetlana Koltovskaia, draws on user perceptions to explore how Grammarly shaped post-secondary L2 writing teachers’ feedback when used to complement their own feedback to their learners. She concludes that despite Grammarly being a useful tool, it should never replace teacher feedback and, most importantly, teachers should train their students beforehand on the use of the tool and how to respond to automated feedback, as, among other issues, Grammarly sometimes misses some of the L2 errors. We move now from automated feedback to automatic translation in the study by Assim S. Alrajhi, who investigates and compares the quality of Google-translated texts (GTTs) across writing genres and explores student attitude toward Google Translate output. The findings show that GTTs have greater literacy levels and richer content in persuasive and expository genres, and higher style levels in narrative and descriptive genres","PeriodicalId":47046,"journal":{"name":"Recall","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2023-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41670973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RecallPub Date : 2023-06-26DOI: 10.1017/s0958344023000162
O. Ballance
{"title":"Sampling and randomisation in experimental and quasi-experimental CALL studies: Issues and recommendations for design, reporting, review, and interpretation","authors":"O. Ballance","doi":"10.1017/s0958344023000162","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0958344023000162","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The majority of research papers in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) report on primarily quantitative studies measuring the effectiveness of pedagogical interventions in relation to language learning outcomes. These studies are frequently referred to in the literature as experiments, although this designation is often incorrect because of the approach to sampling that has been used. This methodological discussion paper provides a broad overview of the current CALL literature, examining reported trends in the field that relate to experimental research and the recommendations made for improving practice. It finds that little attention is given to sampling, even in review articles. This indicates that sampling problems are widespread and that there may be limited awareness of the role of formal sampling procedures in experimental reasoning. The paper then reviews the roles of two key aspects of sampling in experiments: random selection of participants and random assignation of participants to control and experimental conditions. The corresponding differences between experimental and quasi-experimental studies are discussed, along with the implications for interpreting a study’s results. Acknowledging that genuine experimental sampling procedures will not be possible for many CALL researchers, the final section of the paper presents practical recommendations for improved design, reporting, review, and interpretation of quasi-experimental studies in the field.","PeriodicalId":47046,"journal":{"name":"Recall","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2023-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49330740","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RecallPub Date : 2023-06-23DOI: 10.1017/s0958344023000137
Yazdan Choubsaz, A. Jalilifar, A. Boulton
{"title":"A longitudinal analysis of highly cited papers in four CALL journals","authors":"Yazdan Choubsaz, A. Jalilifar, A. Boulton","doi":"10.1017/s0958344023000137","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0958344023000137","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This study traces the evolution of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) by investigating published research articles (RAs) in four major CALL journals: ReCALL, Computer Assisted Language Learning, Language Learning & Technology, and CALICO Journal. All 2,397 RAs published over four decades (1983–2019) were included in the pool of data, and the Google Scholar citation metric was adopted to assess the impact of the papers. By selecting the top 15% of widely cited papers from each individual year, we minimized the time bias between years, enabling a balanced narration of the history of CALL through a representative dataset of 426 high-impact RAs. To identify the evolution of research trends, the contexts, methodologies, theoretical underpinnings and research foci of all 426 RAs were investigated using NVivo 12 and AntConc. The analysis of the data yielded encouraging results such as the upward trend in the number of publications and the international reach of CALL in the last two decades, the physical or virtual presence of language learners with diverse language profiles, and the growing tendency to triangulate methodology for increased complexity. However, long-standing issues such as the heavy reliance on traditional research contexts, poor reporting practices of basic demographic information, the large number of atheoretical papers and the concentration on a limited number of research foci continue to pose challenges in CALL research. Based on the findings, the paper suggests solutions for the controversies and addresses key issues for future research in CALL.","PeriodicalId":47046,"journal":{"name":"Recall","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2023-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44177324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RecallPub Date : 2023-06-20DOI: 10.1017/s0958344023000149
Jack Burston, A. Athanasiou, K. Giannakou
{"title":"Quantitative experimental L2 acquisition MALL studies: A critical evaluation of research quality","authors":"Jack Burston, A. Athanasiou, K. Giannakou","doi":"10.1017/s0958344023000149","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0958344023000149","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 With more than 1,200 publications over the past two decades, experimental mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) studies targeting second/foreign language (L2) acquisition outcomes are certainly not lacking in quantity. Their research quality, on the other hand, has often been brought into question, most notably with regard to the adequacy of their assessment instruments and statistical analyses. Yet limiting the determination of research quality to the evaluation of testing procedures, and the statistical analysis of the results they produce, ignores the critical relevance of the underlying research parameters that generate the results in the first place. A comprehensive evaluation of quantitative experimental L2 acquisition MALL research quality, encompassing design as well as assessment instruments and statistical analysis, thus remains to be undertaken. The present investigation endeavors to do so based on an extensive compilation of 737 MALL studies published between 2000 and 2021. The research quality of these publications is evaluated according to four main parameters: language acquisition moderators, treatment intervention conditions, assessment instruments, and statistical analysis. These are applied according to a modified version of the Checklist for the Rigor of Education-Experiment Designs (CREED), which classifies research design quality into five levels: low, medium-low, medium, medium-high, high. With over three quarters of all studies falling within the low category, the result leaves much to be desired. Since the modified CREED algorithm developed here can equally be applied to studies from their inception, it offers a way forward to improve the research quality of future experimental MALL studies.","PeriodicalId":47046,"journal":{"name":"Recall","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2023-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42119241","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RecallPub Date : 2023-06-15DOI: 10.1017/S0958344023000150
Miguel Blázquez-Carretero
{"title":"Building a pedagogic spellchecker for L2 learners of Spanish","authors":"Miguel Blázquez-Carretero","doi":"10.1017/S0958344023000150","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344023000150","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In 2016, Lawley proposed an easy-to-build spellchecker specifically designed to help second language (L2) learners in their writing process by facilitating self-correction. The aim was to overcome the disadvantages to L2 learners posed by generic spellcheckers (GSC), such as that embedded in Microsoft Word. Drawbacks include autocorrection, misdiagnoses, and overlooked errors. With the aim of imparting explicit L2 spelling knowledge, this correcting tool does not merely suggest possible alternatives to the detected error but also provides explanations of any relevant spelling patterns. Following Lawley’s (2016) recommendations, the present study developed a prototype computer-based pedagogic spellchecker (PSC) to aid L2 learners in self-correcting their written production in Spanish. First, a corpus was used to identify frequent spelling errors of Spanish as a foreign language (SFL) learners. Handcrafted feedback was then designed to tackle the commonest misspellings. To subsequently evaluate this PSC’s efficacy in error detection and correction, another learner Spanish corpus was used. Sixty compositions were analysed to determine the PSC’s capacity for error recognition and feedback provision in comparison with that of a GSC. Results indicate that the PSC detected over 90% of the misspellings, significantly outperforming the GSC in error detection. Both provided adequate feedback on two out of three detected errors, but the pedagogic nature of the former has the added advantage of facilitating self-learning (Blázquez-Carretero & Woore, 2021). These findings suggest that it is feasible to develop spellcheckers that provide synchronous feedback, allowing SFL learners to confidently self-correct their writing while saving time and effort on the teacher’s part.","PeriodicalId":47046,"journal":{"name":"Recall","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2023-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46713683","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RecallPub Date : 2023-05-02DOI: 10.1017/S0958344023000125
Alice Gruber, Silvia Canto, Kristi Jauregi-Ondarra
{"title":"Exploring the use of social virtual reality for virtual exchange","authors":"Alice Gruber, Silvia Canto, Kristi Jauregi-Ondarra","doi":"10.1017/S0958344023000125","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344023000125","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Mentored online intercultural interaction offers foreign language learners the opportunity to develop different competences, including intercultural, linguistic, and digital competence (O’Dowd, 2021). Such virtual exchange (VE) projects typically involve computer-mediated communication via, for example, Zoom. However, the use of high-immersion virtual reality (VR) for synchronous online collaboration in VE projects has received little attention. This study investigated the effect of VR on students’ levels of presence and engagement, on students’ communication and on students’ views on using VR for intercultural encounters compared to traditional videoconferencing tools. Twenty-seven university students from the Netherlands and Germany utilised VR to carry out intercultural learning tasks using English as a lingua franca during a four-week implementation period. Participants responded to pre- and post-intervention questionnaires, completed reflection journals, audio- or video-recorded their VR meetings and participated in interviews. Results showed that the levels of presence and engagement and preferences of social VR compared to videoconferencing for intercultural encounters depended on students individually. A VR immersion experience and comfortability scale was created based on the data which showed mixed experiences. VR influenced participants’ interactions, topics of conversation and communication strategies when they explored their spaces together. The results showed that students’ attitudes towards VR and their subjective experience of VR seem to play an important role in the VE-VR setting. VR provided a safe space for many participants. Positive attitudes towards communicating in the VR environment are highly correlated with positive attitudes towards meeting students from other countries in VR. Implications for language education are provided.","PeriodicalId":47046,"journal":{"name":"Recall","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2023-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43502700","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RecallPub Date : 2023-04-14DOI: 10.1017/S0958344023000071
D. Foung, Lucas Kohnke
{"title":"Beyond replication: An exact replication study of Łodzikowski (2021)","authors":"D. Foung, Lucas Kohnke","doi":"10.1017/S0958344023000071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344023000071","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Replication studies have become an emerging line of research in recent decades, including in computer-assisted language learning (CALL). Exact replication, which closely follows a study’s protocol, is rare as it is hard to recreate results without establishing a highly controlled environment. However, using data available online, we were able to conduct an exact replication of Łodzikowski’s (2021) study, which reported on the use of an allophonic transcription tool by 55 Polish learners of English. Allophonic features are used by native speakers to produce acoustic variants of the same phoneme. The original study offered learners an allophonic transcription tool, examined how they used it and considered its association with phonological awareness. This study extended the original research by addressing the limitations of its regression and transcription analyses. Our findings allowed us to offer several suggestions on (1) how an allophonic transcription tool can be better designed to help learners, (2) how CALL researchers can acquire more data for more useful research and (3) why more replication studies are needed in CALL.","PeriodicalId":47046,"journal":{"name":"Recall","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2023-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46127487","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}