Examines the role of metacognition, particularly problem solving strategies, in how second language students learn in a multimedia environment, studying problem solving strategies used by students completing exercises in Mydlarski and Paramskas' program, Vi-Conte. Presents recommendations for training teachers, noting that the flexibility of…

Investigated whether college-level second language learners would learn better from an exercise in which they repeated the original sentence they got wrong or when presented with a different, parallel sentence. Results found that some students preferred to redo the same sentence, while others preferred a different one. One main difference was in…

Describes a course that used e-mail to improve the German and Spanish written language skills of Canadian Foreign Service Officers. To lower attrition rates, the course required completion of authentic professional tasks, exposing participants to formal, technical, and informal language. Though initial interest was high, attrition was also high,…

Examined how Omani college students studying English for Academic Purposes used concordance and database software to create their own dictionaries of words to learn. A control group used a word list and dictionary. The experimental method combined the benefits of list coverage with some of the benefits of lexical acquisition through natural…

Describes a project designed to make second language reading more pleasurable, noting how computers can help students achieve this goal. The researcher used HyperCard to create reading software with translations appearing in pop-up windows, allowing students to read text with minimal interruption. Students reacted positively to the software, and…

Describes how a Canadian college professor uses WebCT to provide a highly interactive Internet seminar for international graduate students. The virtual seminar acts as a resource and supplement to a regular graduate course on second language methodology for teachers. Examines the WebCT bulletin board and the enhanced interactivity it allows,…

Examined the effectiveness of computer assisted language learning among two groups of students enrolled in an intermediate French course. One group of students spent more time each week in a computer laboratory than did a second group of students. Overall, students who spent more time in the laboratory had higher class averages at the end of the…

Describes an effective model for a collaborative approach to designing integrated multimedia materials for language courses. The University of Winnipeg is successfully using the model to create a first-year French course. The model includes collaboration between departments, colleagues, and instructors with their students to design a…

Reflects on the configuration of methods--personal language-learning history, journals, video observations, interviews, and pre/post-language proficiency tests--used to explore the experiences of 23 French second-language learners as they worked independently with an interactive-video program. (Author/VWL)

Reports results of an investigation into how educational computer games can benefit resource-advantaged (RA) and resource-deprived (RD) learners in English second-language teaching at Grade 6 in the primary school in South Africa. (Author/VWL)

Reports on the use of qualitative methods to investigate instructor attitudes towards project-based computing in second-language study. Analysis of transcripts of semistructured interviews resulted in a six-part framework that aims to characterize attitudes in the tertiary setting. (Author/VWL)

Offers a series of reflections on the theoretical bases of language teaching viewed from the perspective of the New Technologies (NT), and proposes a reconfiguration of the pedagogical triangle. In light of the tremendous impact of NT, different ways of treating the four language skills in traditional and virtual environments are considered.…

Demonstrates how teachers can create electronic portfolios using the World Wide Web. Highlights the benefits of creating and using electronic portfolios, presents the content of electronic portfolios, and demonstrates some of the tools that can be used to create electronic portfolios. (Author/VWL)

Introduces a computer-assisted language-learning system called L2tutor that is designed to provide an immersion experience to travelers before they leave on a trip to a country where a different language is spoken. The learner takes part in a fully mixed-initiative dialog with the system to gain fluency and hone vocabulary and grammatical skills.…

Examines the learning motivation and strategies of first-year university students of Japanese in relation to the learning of kanji via computer-assisted language learning (CALL). Findings indicate that instrumental motivation was a dominant factor; metacognitive strategies and a positive attitude toward the CALL program are also influential…