Synchronous communication technologies for language learning: Promise and challenges in research and pedagogy

We propose a definition of synchronous communication based on joint attention, noting that in certain mediated communication settings joint attention is a matter of perception rather than determinable fact. The most salient properties of synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) are real-time pressure to communicate and a greater degree of social presence relative to asynchronous communication. These properties underlie the benefits and challenges of SCMC for language learning, which we discuss under three headings: (1) SCMC as learning tool; (2) SCMC as target competence; and (3) SCMC as setting for learner dialogue, intracultural and intercultural. We survey research themes in SCMC and preview the contributions of the Special Issue. Finally, we identify questions for future research

The Interplay between attention, experience and skills in online language teaching

The demand for online teaching is growing as is the recognition that online teachers require highly sophisticated skills to manage classrooms and create an environment conducive to learning. However, there is little rigorous empirical research investigating teachers’ thoughts and actions during online tutorials. Taking a sociocultural perspective, this study explores the interplay between the attention focus of language teachers during synchronous online tutorials and their reflections on their own teaching practices. Eyetracking data show that patterns of attention focus on different areas of the screen (representing technical facilities, social interaction and content) are related to practitioners’ experience in online teaching including familiarity with a particular platform. In particular, those with less online teaching experience display greater attention to technical areas than their more experienced colleagues. These findings are confirmed in the teachers’ reflective interviews, stimulated by watching gazeplot videos of their online tutorials. Their reflections also yield deeper insight into reasons for particular actions. Thematic analysis was used to relate the reflections on teaching strategies to the levels of online teaching skills (Hampel & Stickler 2005, New skills for new classrooms: Training tutors to teach languages online. Computer Assisted Language Learning 18(4). 311–326). Our research has extended Bax’s normalisation (2003, CALL – past, present and future. System 31(1). 13–28. doi: 10.1016/s0346-251x(02)00071-4) of the use of technology in face-to-face classroom learning into online learning environments. Mirroring the ontogenetic development of increasing digitalisation, teachers in online environments appropriate the skills necessary to free cognitive resources for attending to social and pedagogic aspects of their teaching

Face-to-face and online interactions - is a task a task?

This study contrasts two different ways of analysing interaction and participation in language learning tutorials: Social network analysis of frequency and QSR analysis of type of interaction. One task from three German beginners' language tutorials (one delivered face-to-face, the other two online) is analysed. A description of the background and method of the study is provided together with some examples of the findings. As this is work in progress, only tentative conclusions can be provided at this stage

Distance and virtual distance: Preliminary results of a study of interaction patterns in synchronous audio graphic CMC and face-to-face tutorials in beginners’ language tutorials

This paper presents preliminary results of a larger study of interaction patterns in beginners’ language tutorials held at the Open University. The tutorials are voluntary, supplementing a distance learning course in German as a Foreign Language. Tutorials are offered in two versions: traditional face-to-face tutorials in a classroom or online tutorials held through an internet based audio-graphic conferencing system. Interaction patterns are compared between the two modes of presentation, between different tasks performed by students and between different tutors initiating the same task. Results of the completed study will be published in 2005 / 06

Qualitative research in CALL

This introduction to the Special Issue of the CALICO journal positions research in Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in the wider field of qualitative and quantitative approaches to research. It discusses the merits of the different approaches and links them to research paradigms that dominate the different subject areas constituting CALL research. The authors put forward arguments for the use of qualitative and mixed-method studies in CALL, claiming that not only the richness of data gathered through qualitative and mixed studies but also the epistemological stance of hermeneutic ‘understanding’ of the learner and learning can add descriptive breadth and theoretical depth to research and advance the field of CALL

Eye movements of online Chinese learners

Although online tutorials are becoming commonplace for language teaching, very few studies to date have provided insights into learners’ behaviours in synchronous online interactions from their own perspective. This study employs eyetracking technology to investigate ten learners’ attention during synchronous online language learning in a multimodal environment. The participants were learners of Chinese as a Foreign Language at beginner’s or lower-intermediate level. While learners took part in two different online activities, one focusing on reading, the other on interaction with others, their gaze focus was tracked, and in subsequent stimulated recall interviews the learners reflected on their engagement with the screen and their intentions while reading or speaking online. Our findings show that during reading tasks, when Pinyin transcriptions as well as Chinese characters were presented, all beginner and lower intermediate participants focused to some degree on the Pinyin. In the interactive task learners’ gaze was drawn to elements of the screen that were not immediately necessary for technical or linguistic reasons but that could be interpreted as containing social presence information, e.g. names listed and emoticons employed by other users

Modelling typical online language learning activity

This article presents the methods and results of a four-year-long research project focusing on the language learning activity of individual learners using online tasks conducted at the University of Guanajuato (Mexico) in 2009-2013. An activity-theoretical model (Blin, 2010; Engeström, 1987) of the typical language learning activity was used to analyse and interpret data. The study revealed (1) problems for learners to move beyond the task’s objective (i.e. making a video) to attain the set language learning outcomes (e.g. developing speaking skills), and (2) the prevalence of orality over literacy in learning practices. Methodologically, a sample of 10 learners individually engaged with a purpose-built task. This was followed up by stimulated recall sessions (Gass & Mackey, 2000). The resulting video data was segmented using the concept of disturbances (Montoro & Hampel, 2011, p. 124; adapted from Engeström & Sannino, 2011), that is, deviations in learner behaviour from teacher expectations. Twenty-three dimensions and six processes were used to categorise data. A major systemic contradiction (Engeström, 2001), stemming from institutional and societal mass-production and efficiency-oriented practices, emerged, which partly led learners to take an other-than-language-learning orientation associated with, for instance, their underuse of learning tools and an over reliance on memory, perception, oral instruction and private speech

A developmental framework for online language teaching skills

This article focuses on the need for teachers to develop online skills and describes how experiential, participant focused workshops can change the way in which language teachers can integrate technology into their teaching and help them to successfully implement these 21st century skills. It starts by briefly sketching the development of online language teaching in distance pedagogy and introducing the skills development for teachers and the necessity of online teaching skills before outlining previously developed frameworks in this area. The article then describes how – within a European context of increasing demands on language teachers’ technological competence – a dynamic framework for experiential teacher training workshops was developed that is based on a pyramid of online teaching skills. Bringing together insights from research and more than a decade of experience in online teacher training, this article sets out this developmental framework and argues for the need of participant focused, flexible and dynamic training opportunities for language teachers

Chinese-English eTandem Learning: the role of pre-project preparation and collaboration

With the acceleration of information and communication technology, Tandem learning as a form of collaborative language learning has moved from face-to-face to distance learning: the language exchange partners using various online tools to communicate in writing and speaking. The eTandem learning has caught the attention of language teachers and researchers in recent years. However, the majority of eTandem learning projects and research has been between European languages. This paper outlines a 6-week Chinese-English eTandem learning project jointly conducted by the beginners’ Chinese course team at The Open University (UK) and the Distance Education School of Beijing Jiaotong University. The focus of the paper is on the role of pre-project preparation and collaborative facilitation between the two institutions. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data indicates that pre-project preparation and on-going facilitating collaboratively between two institutions of the project are of paramount importance to the success of eTandem learning project, especially when it involves a language that is entirely different from any European language

Expressivity of Creativity and Creative Design Considerations in Digital Games

Currently little is known about how creativity is expressed in digital entertainment games or what specific design elements may foster it. Using a qualitative methodology, this article reports on the findings of 24 semi-structured interviews and 14 narrative surveys with regular players of different types of digital games. Using a hybrid thematic approach to analysis involving both deductive and inductive phases, three main categories relating to the expressivity of creativity were discovered and one category relating to the specific game design considerations which give rise to such creative opportunities. Creativity was found to be expressed in terms of creative problem-solving involving the creation of novel strategies, solutions and approaches to problems; in terms of appropriation involving emergent play practices and how gameplay was adapted for alternative goals; and finally, in terms of affective change involving the personally meaningful insights and changes in attitudes/perceptions which games elicited. Design considerations were also identified relating to: freedom of play, environment, replayability, tools, avatar design and content creation. By shedding light on the grey area of creativity in digital games and illuminating how games may support and promote creativity in players, this article provides a basis for future research and can help inform game design practices in both digital entertainment games and games specifically designed to facilitate creativity