What’s in a Bot? L2 Lexical Development Mediated Through ICALL

In recent years, the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) has made great strides to refocus its attention on the essential role that vocabulary plays in becoming a proficient L2 learner (Nation, 2001). Moreover, Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) has made advances in providing interactive online tools that help L2 learners strategically engage and work through their vocabulary development. This present study reports on how an Intelligent CALL tool (ICALL), Langbot, helps learners at the beginner and intermediate levels with their lexical acquisition. Modeled after instant messaging systems, which create a synchronous communicative environment, Langbot acts like a pedagogical scaffold or online buddy that caters to the vocabulary needs of each individual learner. It provides 1) translation requests with examples in context, 2) a frequency- based “word of the day” and 3) quizzes based on recent inquiries and a specific frequency range according to the learner’s level. The results from breadth and depth tests (N = 142), suggest that learners at all levels that have access to Langbot significantly improve their vocabulary breadth, while only intermediate-high learners with access to Langbot improve their vocabulary depth. Furthermore, survey data demonstrate Langbot’s effectiveness and accessibility based on learner perceptions

Looking for a Needle in a Haystack: CALL and Advanced Language Proficiency

The goal of this meta-analysis is to evaluate how instructional technology has impacted advanced second language (AL2) development. Although numerous meta-analyses have been conducted within the CALL literature over the past two decades, they primarily focus upon learning outcomes and related effect sizes. None focus on advanced learning per se. Where AL2 is even mentioned, which is only rarely, little or no attention is paid to critical research parameters within the studies that are analyzed. Most notably, in summarizing learning outcomes, the linguistic competence of learners claimed to be at advanced level is simply taken at face value. So, too, no consideration is given to the difficulty level of tasks undertaken by students or their appropriateness to students’ claimed proficiency. It is the intent of this general overview of the contribution of CALL to AL2 to address these issues through a comprehensive analysis of the publications in four prominent CALL journals (CALICO, CALL, Language Learning & Technology, and ReCALL) over some 30 years. In so doing, the Performance Descriptors (PD) and NCSSFL- Can-Do Statements (CDS) of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages’ (ACTFL) are adopted as external criteria for establishing student competence level, task difficulty and appropriateness. This study concludes that not only are CALL AL2 studies extremely limited in number and focus, but also that they suffer from serious design flaws that call into question a great portion of the claims made regarding the contribution of instructional technology to the furthering of advanced-level foreign language competence

Individual Factors and Successful Learning in a Hybrid Course

What personality factors make for a successful hybrid L2 learning experience? While previous studies have examined online learning in comparative terms (i.e. Which format is better: in class or hybrid?), this study examines certain personality and cognitive factors that might define the ideal hybrid language learner. All informants studied introductory Spanish with multimedia materials supported by synchronous chat (video, voice, text). Personality and cognitive traits were probed using the Big Five Inventory scale (BFI1) and the Shipley Institute of Living scale (SILS2), respectively. The results were correlated with course outcomes and learner preferences for online, chat, or in-class activities. Exit interviews were conducted with an eye to offering a richer understanding of how hybrid students viewed online learning. The quantitative data revealed that conscientiousness (per BFI) had a significant, positive correlation with final grades. Low-verbal learners (per SILS) registered a definite preference for working with online materials, as opposed to learning in class or chatting online. The results suggest that students who are conscientiousness learners perform well within the hybrid-learning environment; low-verbal learners, in particular, value the online materials which create the possibility to work online at one\u27s own pace

Protein Folding and Misfolding on Surfaces

Protein folding, misfolding and aggregation, as well as the way misfolded and aggregated proteins affects cell viability are emerging as key themes in molecular and structural biology and in molecular medicine. Recent advances in the knowledge of the biophysical basis of protein folding have led to propose the energy landscape theory which provides a consistent framework to better understand how a protein folds rapidly and efficiently to the compact, biologically active structure. The increased knowledge on protein folding has highlighted its strict relation to protein misfolding and aggregation, either process being in close competition with the other, both relying on the same physicochemical basis. The theory has also provided information to better understand the structural and environmental factors affecting protein folding resulting in protein misfolding and aggregation into ordered or disordered polymeric assemblies. Among these, particular importance is given to the effects of surfaces. The latter, in some cases make possible rapid and efficient protein folding but most often recruit proteins/peptides increasing their local concentration thus favouring misfolding and accelerating the rate of nucleation. It is also emerging that surfaces can modify the path of protein misfolding and aggregation generating oligomers and polymers structurally different from those arising in the bulk solution and endowed with different physical properties and cytotoxicities

Can Spanish Programs Evaluate Oral Proficiency Gains for \u3cem\u3eAll\u3c/em\u3e Learners?: An Empirical Analysis of Traditional and Nontraditional Spanish Majors\u27 Oral Proficiency Development

Higher education Spanish programs in the United States are diverse and complex, especially when it comes to student linguistic background. However, most studies on language proficiency were designed for traditional learners (L2s). In this study, we examine oral proficiency development of 125 Spanish majors in light of four linguistic profiles: Extended Stay Abroad learners, Second Language Learners, Native Speakers, and Spanish Heritage Language Learners. Data were collected using an oral exam based on the ACTFL Oral Proficiency guidelines at the beginning and end of students\u27 upper division coursework. Quantitative analysis reveals significant differences within groups for senior exit oral proficiency exam scores as well as level gains. These findings suggest that oral proficiency exams are a valuable tool for understanding differences in oral proficiency development for the four student categories. This information is pertinent for program assessment and has important research and pedagogical implications

Experimental MALL Research in SLA: Past, Present, and Future

The focus of this chapter is the exploitation of mobile technologies in second language acquisition (SLA). Besides its intrinsic intellectual purpose of furthering understanding of SLA processes, SLA research has an underlying practical goal to apply such knowledge to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of language teaching and learning. Throughout the twentieth century, through radio, film, and television, audio and video recording, and the advent of digital computers and the Internet, instructional technology has played a critical role in the application of SLA insights. With the ability of mobile devices to integrate the features of all these technologies, increasingly over the past two decades, the exploitation of mobile hardware and software has emerged as a prolific subject of language learning research. In fact, in this short time such research has generated over 3900 studies relating to Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL)

Partnering Higher Education and K–12 Institutions in OER: Foundations in Supporting Teacher OER-Enabled Pedagogy

Open educational resources (OER) are disproportionately created and/or accessed by institutions of higher education as compared to K–12 even though teachers confront the challenge of outdated teaching materials or, worse, an increasing trend by school districts to discontinue textbook adoption altogether. In this paper, we describe a sustainable and innovative example of OER-enabled pedagogy (OEP) that partners teachers and students across institutional boundaries to address these problems. The Pathways Project (PP) is a higher education and K–12 community of 350 world-language teachers, students, and staff that engage in the 5Rs (retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute) of OEP with a repository of more than 800 OER ancillary activities that support standards-based pedagogy for 10 world languages and cultures. The PP is innovative because it fosters renewable assignments for the entire disciplinary ecosystem unlike most OEP studies that discuss renewable assignments limited to a single course. Teacher education is one of the best places to engage OEP because teachers are trained to personalize and contextualize OER materials for their local classroom needs. In so doing, the PP community receives timely discipline-specific professional development that is in high demand, especially in rural communities where teachers are isolated. Higher education-K–12 OEP partnerships are rare, and yet teacher education programs exist in most universities and can be a logical place to start. This paper provides concrete examples and practical steps that are transferable to other disciplines looking to engage in similar types of OER-OEP collaboration and community engagement

Making it personal: performance-based assessments, ubiquitous technology, and advanced learners

This pedagogical implementation study advocates for performance-driven assessments to help learners become aware of and improve upon presentational speaking skills at the advanced level. A social media content creation tool, Adobe Spark Video, enabled learners to practice oral skills outside of class. The task design, implementation, and evaluation met the principle objectives of learner autonomy-namely awareness, choice, reflection, and goal setting. A step-by-step guide with examples and survey results about student perceptions is included. While the case study targeted upper-division Spanish majors, the pedagogical model could be adapted for intermediate and advanced learners of any second or foreign language

Data Management Plan for Enhancing the Humanities

Data Management Plan for 2021 NEH Digital Humanities Advancement Grant Proposa