Few people who did not grow up speaking Zulu have learned the language later. There are limited resources for second language Zulu learning, whether textbooks, readers, or computerised resources. We set out to develop software for this purpose, to support learners' independent learning. Drawing on research on language learning, we used a number of…

In this article, we describe an online English collocation explorer developed to help English L2 learners produce correct and appropriate collocations. Our tool, which is able to visually represent relevant correct/incorrect collocations on a single webpage, was designed based on the notions of collocation clusters and intercollocability proposed…

The purpose of this paper is to present a specific case of CALL task design adopting the patterns-based learning design approach. The approach provides a common framework/vocabulary for educational designers, particularly teachers, to systematically capture, articulate, make explicit, share and reuse expert knowledge of teaching and good design.…

This article describes the development of "Bande à Part", a mobile music application (app) for second language (L2) learners of French. Our focus on the pedagogical use of music results from the reported benefits that it offers language learners (e.g., it encourages repetitive exposure to the L2 in an enjoyable way, it extends the reach…

With the ever-increasing number of available language technology products, there is also a need to evaluate them objectively. Unsubstantiated beliefs about what language technology can and cannot do inside or outside the language classroom often influence decisions about the choice of language technology to be used. The declarative/procedural…

Contextualised mobile assisted language learning (MALL) has been known for its potential in language learning rooted in social constructivism theories. However, a consistent approach to constituents of contextualised MALL, in addition to a quantitative tool to evaluate it, is missing in reported case studies. The present research, drawing upon…

In an attempt to promote telecollaborative exchanges in the field of teaching Chinese as a foreign language, this paper conducts a comprehensive review of telecollaborative practice from the past twenty years and focuses on five important themes emerging from the literature on telecollaboration, i.e. models, tasks, challenges, technologies, and…

Research has shown that any assumption that L2 learners of English do well to rely on the feedback provided by generic spell checkers (for example, the MS Word spell checker) is misplaced. Efforts to develop spell checkers specifically for L2 learners have focused on training software to offer more appropriate suggestion lists for replacing…

This paper will describe pedagogical approaches for re-purposing an open educational resource (OER) designed and produced by the Deutsche Welle. This free online program, "Deutsch Interaktiv," consists of authentic digital videos, slideshows and audio texts and gives a contemporary overview of the culture and language in Germany, Austria…

Pronunciation errors may be caused by several different deviations from the target, such as voicing, intonation, insertions or deletions of segments, or that the articulators are placed incorrectly. Computer-animated pronunciation teachers could potentially provide important assistance on correcting all these types of deviations, but they have an…

This article builds on a previous article published in 2007, which aimed at clarifying the concept of tutoring. Based on a new epistemological stance (emergentism) the authors will here show how the various components of the computer-assisted language learning situation form a complex chaotic system. They advocate that modelling is a way of…

Various language learning projects using "Second Life" (SL) have been documented; still, their specific learning potentials, particularly in English as a foreign language (EFL) context, remain to be explored. The current study aims to add one piece of empirical evidence on how SL can be infused into a computer-assisted language learning…

This article proposes an instructional design model for blended learning writing courses for English language learners (ELLs). It will do so by combining the main points of the cognitive load, activity, sociocultural, and transactional distance theories to present four tenets essential for optimal learning for ELLs: structure, environment,…

This article describes a series of exploratory L1 to L2 dubbing projects for which students translated and used editing software to dub short American film and TV clips into their target language. Translating and dubbing into the target language involve students in multifaceted, high-level language production tasks that lead to enhanced vocabulary…

This article describes the development and evaluation of a computer-assisted language learning approach which integrates a finite state dialogue engine with an animated pedagogical agent. The design of the request game is theoretically motivated by interlanguage pragmatics and Long's Interaction Hypothesis. The tutoring system creates a venue in…