Restructuring multimodal corrective feedback through Augmented Reality (AR)-enabled videoconferencing in L2 pronunciation teaching

The problem of cognitive overload is particularly pertinent in multimedia L2 classroom corrective feedback (CF), which involves rich communicative tools to help the class to notice the mismatch between the target input and learners’ pronunciation. Based on multimedia design principles, this study developed a new multimodal CF model through augmented reality (AR)-enabled videoconferencing to eliminate extraneous cognitive load and guide learners’ attention to the essential material. Using a quasi-experimental design, this study aims to examine the effectiveness of this new CF model in improving Chinese L2 students’ segmental production and identification of the targeted English consonants (dark /ɫ/, /ð/and /θ/), as well as their attitudes towards this application. Results indicated that the online multimodal CF environment equipped with AR annotation and filters played a significant role in improving the participants’ production of the target segments. However, this advantage was not found in the auditory identification tests compared to the offline CF multimedia class. In addition, the learners reported that the new CF model helped to direct their attention to the articulatory gestures of the student being corrected, and enhance the class efficiency. Implications for computer-assisted pronunciation training and the construction of online/offline multimedia learning environments are also discussed

Developing video-conferenced English speaking test (VEST) for classroom-based assessment in tertiary education

A proper speaking test may pose challenges to teachers due to suboptimal assessment literacy and the laborious administration of a speaking test. Technology can help alleviate the labor while enabling teachers to ascertain the accuracy and validity of the speaking test. In this direction, this study aims to develop a videoconferenced English-speaking test (henceforth VEST) with the aid of videoconferencing technology. Aligned with the empirics on the use of technology for speaking assessment, this study addresses the gapping void in how videoconferencing technology can be harnessed to escalate the practicality and positive impacts of a classroom-based speaking test in an Indonesian EFL setting. The development adhered to the ADDIE framework involving Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. The test prototype was evaluated using a test usefulness analysis framework. The evaluation results were coupled with reflection results of test takers’ experiences to guide test revision. Given the small sample size, this study has unveiled the potential of VEST to improve the praxis of speaking assessment and the resultant test takers’ experience. Implications and recommendations for future studies are also discussed

A Comparison of Avatar-, Video-, and Robot-Mediated Interaction on Users’ Trust in Expertise

Communication technologies are becoming increasingly diverse in form and functionality. A central concern is the ability to detect whether others are trustworthy. Judgments of trustworthiness rely, in part, on assessments of non-verbal cues, which are affected by media representations. In this research, we compared trust formation on three media representations. We presented 24 participants with advisors represented by two of the three alternate formats: video, avatar, or robot. Unknown to the participants, one was an expert, and the other was a non-expert. We observed participants’ advice-seeking behavior under risk as an indicator of their trust in the advisor. We found that most participants preferred seeking advice from the expert, but we also found a tendency for seeking robot or video advice. Avatar advice, in contrast, was more rarely sought. Users’ self-reports support these findings. These results suggest that when users make trust assessments, the physical presence of the robot representation might compensate for the lack of identity cues

Negotiation of meaning via virtual exchange in immersive virtual reality environments

This study examines how English-as-lingua-franca (ELF) learners employ semiotic resources, including head movements, gestures, facial expression, body posture, and spatial juxtaposition, to negotiate for meaning in an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment. Ten ELF learners participated in a Taiwan-Spain VR virtual exchange project and completed two VR tasks on an immersive VR platform. Multiple datasets, including the recordings of VR sessions, pre- and post-task questionnaires, observation notes, and stimulated recall interviews, were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively with triangulation. Built upon multimodal interaction analysis (Norris, 2004) and Varonis and Gass’ (1985a) negotiation of meaning model, the findings indicate that ELF learners utilized different embodied semiotic resources in constructing and negotiating meaning at all primes to achieve effective communication in an immersive VR space. The avatar-mediated representations and semiotic modalities were shown to facilitate indication, comprehension, and explanation to signal and resolve non-understanding instances. The findings show that with space proxemics and object handling as the two distinct features of VR-supported environments, VR platforms transform learners’ social interaction from plane to three-dimensional communication, and from verbal to embodied, which promotes embodied learning. VR thus serves as a powerful immersive interactive environment for ELF learners from distant locations to be engaged in situated languacultural practices that goes beyond physical space. Pedagogical implications are discussed

Quality of experience in telemeetings and videoconferencing: a comprehensive survey

Telemeetings such as audiovisual conferences or virtual meetings play an increasingly important role in our professional and private lives. For that reason, system developers and service providers will strive for an optimal experience for the user, while at the same time optimizing technical and financial resources. This leads to the discipline of Quality of Experience (QoE), an active field originating from the telecommunication and multimedia engineering domains, that strives for understanding, measuring, and designing the quality experience with multimedia technology. This paper provides the reader with an entry point to the large and still growing field of QoE of telemeetings, by taking a holistic perspective, considering both technical and non-technical aspects, and by focusing on current and near-future services. Addressing both researchers and practitioners, the paper first provides a comprehensive survey of factors and processes that contribute to the QoE of telemeetings, followed by an overview of relevant state-of-the-art methods for QoE assessment. To embed this knowledge into recent technology developments, the paper continues with an overview of current trends, focusing on the field of eXtended Reality (XR) applications for communication purposes. Given the complexity of telemeeting QoE and the current trends, new challenges for a QoE assessment of telemeetings are identified. To overcome these challenges, the paper presents a novel Profile Template for characterizing telemeetings from the holistic perspective endorsed in this paper

A mixed methods study on choice of media influence on construction industry communication

This study focuses on the use of different communication media for solving problems in the construction industry. The focus of this research is on design-problems containing spatial information and are informally reported between site supervision and design professionals. Due to the fragmented nature of the construction industry, miscommunication is a well-known and common problem. Yet, this fragmented nature is necessary in order to build a complex product involving many different types of professionals. To better understand the issue, this study uses previous literature, such as those published on media richness theory, problem-solving strategy, and construction specific communications, in a three-phased sequential mixed-methods approach. The phases included an online survey with industry professionals (phase 1), interviews with industry professionals (phase 2), and a quasi-experiment (phase 3). Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed depending on the phase. Results indicate that construction industry communication relies strongly on face-to-face interaction, and telephone and email communications. The need for a `paper trail\u27 is an important factor driving communication patterns. Finally, phase 3 suggested that communication media that allow for immediate feedback and visual cues are more helpful in solving design-problems containing spatial information. Based on these results, guidelines for effective use of different types of media in the construction industry were then developed as a final product of this study. These guidelines seek to improve awareness about the importance of effective communication in the construction industry

A system for gaze-contingent image analysis and multi-sensorial image display

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