LANGUAGE USE AND PERCEPTIONS OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (EFL) LEARNERS IN A TASK-BASED CLASS IN "SECOND LIFE "

Situated in cognitive interactionist theory and driven by task-based language teaching (TBLT), this study employed a multiple methods design to better address research questions regarding EFL learners' language use and perceptions about their language practices during task-based interaction in Second Life (SL). Findings showed that students perceived SL as a viable platform for language learning. Nine adult EFL learners worldwide were recruited to participate in this virtual course and used avatars to interact with peers via voice chat in simulated real-life tasks. Quantitative results revealed that confirmation checks, clarification requests and comprehension checks were the three most frequently used strategies. Two strategies that had not been documented in previous SL research were found--metacognitive strategy and "spell out the word." Negotiation patterns were also identified: single-layered and multi-layered trigger-resolution sequences. Additionally, the interrelationship among task types, negotiation and strategies was established--jigsaw task prompted the most instances of negotiation and strategy use whereas opinion-exchange task triggered the least. Results also indicated that EFL students had a statistically significant improvement on syntactic complexity and variety as well as on linguistic accuracy across all measured levels. Three core themes emerged from qualitative data: 1) perceptions about factors that impact virtual learning experience in SL, 2) attitudes toward learning English via avatars in SL, and 3) beliefs about the effects of task-based instruction on learning outcomes in SL. SL was endorsed as a promising learning environment owing to its conspicuous features, simulated immersion, augmented reality, tele/copresence and masked identities via avatars. This study demonstrated that implementation of task-based instruction can be maximized by 3-D, simulated features in SL, as evidenced in that 1) convergent tasks with single-outcome conditions stimulate more cognitive and linguistic processes; 2) 3-D multimodal resources in SL provide additional visual and linguistic support; 3) pre-task planning can optimize the quality of learners' linguistic performance; 4) real-life tasks that capitalize on SL features, accommodate learners' cultural/world knowledge, and simulate real-life tasks can make a difference in their virtual learning experiences; and 5) avatar identities boost learners' sense of self-image and confidence

Building Innovative Online Korean and Japanese Courses: A Pilot on Technology- Enhanced Curriculum Development

Our pilot project created blended/online courses to accommodate the growing needs of precollegiate and collegiate students interested in learning Korean and Japanese. In the initial phase, we conducted a survey of students’ experiences with and perceptions about blended/online Asian language learning. We found a general lack of familiarity with, and moderate resistance toward, online language learning modes. With learner attitudes in mind, we developed online modules for beginning Korean and Japanese courses. In this article, we report the survey results and the process of developing these innovative blended and online modalities of content delivery, focusing on the strengths of the modules and the unforeseen development challenges. The impacts that these technology-enhanced environments may have on student perceptions of transactional distance and tele-/copresence are explored. We suggest that transforming conventional East Asian language courses into blended/online modes is not only feasible but also beneficial for foreign language teaching and learning

The effects of pre-task planning on EFL learners’oral performance in a 3D multi-uservirtual environment

Prior research on pre-task planning examines its effects on the quality of second language (L2) learners’ planned output. Planning mitigates the cognitive overload placed upon L2 learners’ oral performance, thus improving language production. Despite the pedagogical benefits, studies on pre-task planning on L2 learners’ oral output are conducted mostly in a lab or class setting. Whether or not similar effects of pre-task planning can be evidenced in three-dimensional (3D) multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs), such as Second Life (SL), is still less explored. Hence, this study investigates whether pre-task planning could enhance the quality and quantity of English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ task-oriented, voice-based outcomes in SL. Nine EFL learners worldwide participated in this 10-session virtual class. Data were collected through students’ oral presentations in performing real-life simulated tasks related to their home cultures and interests. Yuan and Ellis’s (2003) framework of T-units measures was adopted to analyze their linguistic performance measured by complexity and accuracy. Results indicated that EFL learners showed statistically significant improvement on grammatical complexity on the levels of syntactic complexity and variety (but not on lexical variety) and on linguistic accuracy across all measured levels (error-free clauses/T-units/verb forms). It is suggested that pre-task planning can be seeded in task-based instruction either in a classroom-based or 3D MUVE setting to optimize the quality of learners’ linguistic performance. Tasks that are real-world oriented and targeting learners’ cultural repertoires and world knowledge also positively impact their virtual learning experiences. These significant implications add new research and pedagogical dimensions to the field of computer-assisted language learning

The interplay of tasks, strategies and negotiations in Second Life

Driven by interactionist theory and operationalized by task-based interaction, this study aims to investigate EFL learners’ task-based negotiation in Second Life (SL), a 3D multi-user virtual environment (MUVE). A group of adult EFL learners with diverse cultural/linguistic backgrounds in L1 participated in this task-based virtual class. Learners used avatars to interact with peers in communication tasks via voice chat. Discourse samples were collected through their oral production to examine their language patterns during negotiated interaction. A framework of negotiation of meaning was employed to code and analyze the transcribed data. Two types of negotiation routine were identified: single-layered trigger-resolution sequence and multi-layered trigger-resolution sequence. Specifically, the interrelationship among task types, negotiation and strategy use was also established in the study: jigsaw task prompted the most instances of negotiation and strategy use, followed by information-gap and decision-making tasks, whereas opinion-exchange task triggered the least. This study suggests that two-way directed tasks with convergent, obligatory, single-outcome conditions will stimulate more cognitive and linguistic processes of negotiation involving interactional modifications – leading to more complex and lengthy negotiation routine. It is concluded that SL as a 3D MUVE is conducive to theoretically-driven, pedagogically-sound, task-based research in language acquisition