On using intelligent computer-assisted language learning in real-life foreign language teaching and learning

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Mobile-assisted language learning [Revised and updated version]

Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) is the use of smartphones and other mobile technologies in language learning, especially in situations where portability and situated learning offer specific advantages. A key attraction of mobile learning is the ubiquity of mobile phones. Typical applications can support learners in reading, listening, speaking and writing in the target language, either individually or in collaboration with one another. Increasingly, MALL applications relate language learning to a person’s physical context when mobile, primarily to provide access to location-specific language material or to enable learners to capture aspects of language use in situ and share it with others. Mobile learning can be formal or informal, and mobile devices may form a bridge connecting in-class and out-of-class learning. When learning takes place outside the classroom, it is often beyond the reach and control of the teacher. This can be perceived as a threat, but it is also an opportunity to revitalize and rethink current approaches to teaching and learning. Mobile learning appeals to a wide range of people for a variety of reasons. It may exclude some learners but it is often a mechanism for inclusion. It is likely that the next generation of mobile learning will be more ubiquitous, which means that there will be smart systems everywhere for digital learning. Mobile learning is proving its potential to address authentic learner needs at the point at which they arise, and to deliver more flexible models of language learning

Mobile Learning Revolution: Implications for Language Pedagogy

Mobile technologies including cell phones and tablets are a pervasive feature of everyday life with potential impact on teaching and learning. “Mobile pedagogy” may seem like a contradiction in terms, since mobile learning often takes place physically beyond the teacher's reach, outside the walls of the classroom. While pedagogy implies careful planning, mobility exposes learners to the unexpected. A thoughtful pedagogical response to this reality involves new conceptualizations of what is to be learned and new activity designs. This approach recognizes that learners may act in more self-determined ways beyond the classroom walls, where online interactions and mobile encounters influence their target language communication needs and interests. The chapter sets out a range of opportunities for out-of-class mobile language learning that give learners an active role and promote communication. It then considers the implications of these developments for language content and curricula and the evolving roles and competences of teachers

Developing cross‐cultural communicative competence via computer‐assisted language learning: The case of pre‐service ESL/EFL teachers

Based on a qualitative research project, this article presents a view on the use of computer technology to develop a critical cross‐cultural communicative competence in English as a Second Language (ESL) / English as a Foreign Language (EFL) for pre‐service teachers. The article includes a brief critical theoretical framework, some classroom pedagogical implications, and a data‐based discussion of pre‐service teachers’ views. These views included: (1) critical views and an awareness of cultural power relations in computer‐assisted language learning (CALL), (2) uncritical views and a lack of awareness of cultural power relations in CALL, and (3) uses of metaphors in CALL. The powerful contribution of CALL can be found in its potential for providing ways to connect people and build communities, for offering opportunities for cross‐cultural communicative competence to be developed and used, and for improving processes of democratization via computer‐mediated communication. However, a socio‐cultural criticism revealed that this powerful tool, like any other media, is non‐neutral because it can serve to reinforce further the hegemonic aspects of education, that is, the dominant culture will be strengthened and protected via computer technology. Computer‐based technologies and software are increasingly incorporated into the curricula of ESLIEFL teacher education programmes. However, this integration is often done in ways that seem to leave unquestioned the potential cultural and hegemonic ramifications of such technology. Hence there is a need for a more critical technological competence

Preparing teachers for the application of AI-powered technologies in foreign language education

As any other area of human lives, current state of foreign language education has been greatly influenced by the latest developments in the modern information communication technologies. The paper focuses specifically on the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI), which includes a wide range of technologies and methods, such as machine learning, adaptive learning, natural language processing, data mining, crowdsourcing, neural networks or an algorithm, into foreign language learning and teaching. First, the paper is concerned with changes brought to foreign language education specifically through the application of AI-powered tools and discusses ICALL (intelligent computer assisted language learning) as a subset of CALL. Second, it summarizes eight types of AI-powered tools for foreign language education and related results of the existing research, however scarce it is. Third, it discusses the frame for effective preparation of foreign language teachers in order to integrate AI-powered tools into their teaching to make it easier, less time-consuming and more effective. The author argues for reconsideration of the existing frames of requirements for CALL teachers.[KEGA 001TTU-4/2019

Learning cultures on the move: where are we heading?

The paper analyzes the globally recognized cultural move towards a more learner-centred education and discusses the implications for the adoption of mobile technologies and design for learning. Current expectations vis-à-vis learner attributes, skills and competences are explored. The pervasiveness of mobile technologies is precipitating these developments, whilst also generating a distinct mobile culture where learners take mobility and context-awareness as starting points and become more visible as innovators, creators and producers. Language learning, one of the most popular application areas of mobile learning, provides fertile ground for the growth of this phenomenon. The paper reviews several innovative language learning applications and concludes by indicating the directions in which we are heading

New Trends in Second Language Learning and Teaching through the lens of ICT, Networked Learning, and Artificial Intelligence

In the last few decades, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) applications have been shaping the field of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) paved the way for ubiquitous learning. The advent of new technologies in the early 21st century also added a social dimension to ICT that allowed for Networked Learning (NL). Given that language learning is fundamentally a socio-cultural experience, networked learning capabilities have provided the potential for language learning in community settings. This has revitalized the earlier frameworks provided by CALL. NL has empowered language learners today to connect globally, to access Open Educational Resources, and to self-regulate their learning processes beyond the scope of traditional curricula. In parallel, the rising pervasiveness of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications and their relevance to language learning has led CALL to branch out into Intelligent CALL (ICALL). The first section of this article provides a brief historical overview of CALL, examines it through the lens of ICT, networked learning, and open access. The second section focuses on the implications of AI for creating new trends in second language education, the challenge for providing customization at scale, and raises important issues related to transparency and privacy for future research