Drawing on interactionist and socio-cultural theories, tools provided in computer-mediated communication (CMC) environments have long been considered able to create an environment that shares many communicative features with face-to-face communication. Over the past two decades, researchers have employed a variety of strategies to examine the…

As various means of computer mediated communication (CMC) have been incorporated within language classrooms over the past two decades, it has become important to critically understand whether, to which extent, and under what contextual factors, a particular type of CMC is more effective than other modes of communication. This study examined the…

As often as language teachers lecture about the importance of continual practice to adolescent learners, the dullness of homework exercises designed primarily to be educational has difficulty competing with popular media designed solely to be entertaining. Recently, numerous attempts have been made to develop "edutainment" titles that seek to…

Highlights the emerging technologies of e-books, electronic versions of texts, and the Tablet PC, a new hybrid laptop computer and personal digital assistant that features a writing tablet and stylus-based input/navigation. (Author/VWL)

Reviews visual anthropology, educational anthropology, and ethnographic filmmaking literature on questions concerning collection of valid video recorded data in the second language context. Examines h an interaction should be video recorded, who should be video recorded, and who should do the recording. Examples illustrate the kinds of research…

Explores the complex history of Native American language research and discusses how one Native school is utilizing Web technology. (Author/VWL)

Reflects on what has transpired in the second language (L2) testing field in relation to technology and situates developments within the larger language testing, general measurement, and educational contexts. (Author/VWL)

Reviews research on the acquisition of suprasegmentals by second language learners and the potential of computer-based instructional materials for improving intonation; describes and critiques some of the software previously available for this purpose; and suggests criteria for the conceptualization of multimedia software and concomitant research…

Discusses how second-language reading research is focusing increasingly on the cognitive processes involved in reading--the interaction of lower-level, bottom-up processes such as vocabulary acquisition with high-level, top-down processes such as activating prior knowledge. This knowledge is combined with current research on learning with…

Discusses how schema theory and discourse analysis together form an especially strong theoretical framework for the use of video in the second-language classroom. (Author/OD)

Outlines helpful steps to assist the foreign language teacher in integrating video into the foreign language curriculum. Information is provided on where to find, review, and select video materials; on setting instructional objectives and uses for video; and developing and selecting support materials. (Author/OD)

Discusses the task of finding appropriate materials for the beginning levels of language instruction, and presents a cogent rationale for employing a combination of authentic materials and on-campus production that, together, closely follow and reinforce the course syllabus. (Author/OD)

Surveys some of the often neglected human factors that must be confronted if the total value of video as an instructional tool is to be realized. These factors include fear of technology, literacy issues vs. television, students' media awareness, and the role of the teacher. (Author/OD)

Presents a series of library- and legal-related perspectives on video copyright, and then delineates strategies for clarifying the copyright law for both copyright holders and users. (CB)

Relates the special properties of videodiscs and the economics of videodisc production with the nature of second-language instruction, and suggests ways to design and use cost-effective videodiscs as aural and visual databases for a variety of instructional levels and contexts. (two references) (Author/CB)