The EuroCALL Review - Vol 22, No 2 (2014)
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Articles
- Sustainability in CALL Learning Environments: A Systemic Functional Grammar Approach
- Lessons Learned in Designing and Implementing a Computer-Adaptive Test for English
- How EFL students can use Google to correct their “untreatable” written errors
- Podcasts for Learning English Pronunciation in Igboland: Students’ Experiences and Expectations
- Constructing an evidence-base for future CALL design with ‘engineering power’: The need for more basic research and instrumental replication
URI permanente para esta colecciónhttps://riunet.upv.es/handle/10251/81731
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Item type: Artículo , Access status: Abierto , Sustainability in CALL Learning Environments: A Systemic Functional Grammar Approach(Universitat Politècnica de València, 2014-09-25) McDonald, Peter[EN] This research aims to define a sustainable resource in Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL). In order for a CALL resource to be sustainable it must work within existing educational curricula. This feature is a necessary prerequisite of sustainability because, despite the potential for educational change that digitalization has offered since the nineteen nineties, curricula in traditional educational institutions have not fundamentally changed, even as we move from a pre-digital society towards a digital society. Curricula have failed to incorporate CALL resources because no agreed-upon pedagogical language enables teachers to discuss CALL classroom practices. Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) can help to provide this language and bridge the gap between the needs of the curriculum and the potentiality of CALL-based resources. This paper will outline how SFG principles can be used to create a pedagogical language for CALL and it will give practical examples of how this language can be used to create sustainable resources in classroom contexts.Item type: Artículo , Access status: Abierto , Podcasts for Learning English Pronunciation in Igboland: Students’ Experiences and Expectations(Universitat Politècnica de València, 2014-09-25) Mbah, E.E.; Mbah, B.M.; Iloene, M.I.; Iloene, G.[EN] This paper studies students’ experiences and expectations on the use of podcasts in learning English pronunciation in Igboland. The study is based on a survey where two universities were studied. A proportional sampling technique with the aid of a structured questionnaire was used to elicit information. The data gathered were analysed using mean, standard deviation, t-test, and ANOVA with the aid of Statistical tool for the Social sciences. The study concluded that the students agreed to the fact that podcasts improved their English pronunciation. The hypotheses tested showed that there was no significant difference in the use of podcasts with regard to the students' internet usage habits, language proficiency level, or gender. Thus, it was concluded that this technology was appropriate for second language learningItem type: Artículo , Access status: Abierto , Lessons Learned in Designing and Implementing a Computer-Adaptive Test for English(Universitat Politècnica de València, 2014-09-25) Burston, Jack; Neophytou, Maro[EN] This paper describes the lessons learned in designing and implementing a computer-adaptive test (CAT) for English. The early identification of students with weak L2 English proficiency is of critical importance in university settings that have compulsory English language course graduation requirements. The most efficient means of diagnosing the L2 English ability of incoming students is by means of a computer-based test since such evaluation can be administered quickly, automatically corrected, and the outcome known as soon as the test is completed. While the option of using a commercial CAT is available to institutions with the ability to pay substantial annual fees, or the means of passing these expenses on to their students, language instructors without these resources can only avail themselves of the advantages of CAT evaluation by creating their own tests. As is demonstrated by the E-CAT project described in this paper, this is a viable alternative even for those lacking any computer programing expertise. However, language teaching experience and testing expertise are critical to such an undertaking, which requires considerable effort and, above all, collaborative teamwork to succeed. A number of practical skills are also required. Firstly, the operation of a CAT authoring programme must be learned. Once this is done, test makers must master the art of creating a question database and assigning difficulty levels to test items. Lastly, if multimedia resources are to be exploited in a CAT, test creators need to be able to locate suitable copyright-free resources and re-edit them as neededItem type: Artículo , Access status: Abierto , How EFL students can use Google to correct their “untreatable” written errors(Universitat Politècnica de València, 2014-09-25) Geiller, Luc[EN] This paper presents the findings of an experiment in which a group of 17 French post-secondary EFL learners used Google to self-correct several “untreatable” written errors. Whether or not error correction leads to improved writing has been much debated, some researchers dismissing it is as useless and others arguing that error feedback leads to more grammatical accuracy. In her response to Truscott (1996), Ferris (1999) explains that it would be unreasonable to abolish correction given the present state of knowledge, and that further research needed to focus on which types of errors were more amenable to which types of error correction. In her attempt to respond more effectively to her students’ errors, she made the distinction between “treatable” and “untreatable” ones: the former occur in “a patterned, rule-governed way” and include problems with verb tense or form, subject-verb agreement, run-ons, noun endings, articles, pronouns, while the latter include a variety of lexical errors, problems with word order and sentence structure, including missing and unnecessary words. Substantial research on the use of search engines as a tool for L2 learners has been carried out suggesting that the web plays an important role in fostering language awareness and learner autonomy (e.g. Shei 2008a, 2008b; Conroy 2010). According to Bathia and Richie (2009: 547), “the application of Google for language learning has just begun to be tapped.” Within the framework of this study it was assumed that the students, conversant with digital technologies and using Google and the web on a regular basis, could use various search options and the search results to self-correct their errors instead of relying on their teacher to provide direct feedback. After receiving some in-class training on how to formulate Google queries, the students were asked to use a customized Google search engine limiting searches to 28 information websites to correct up to ten “untreatable” errors occurring in two essays completed in class. The findings indicate that a majority of students successfully use material from the various snippets of texts appearing on the Google results pages to improve their writing.Item type: Artículo , Access status: Abierto , Constructing an evidence-base for future CALL design with ‘engineering power’: The need for more basic research and instrumental replication(Universitat Politècnica de València, 2014-09-25) Handley, Zöe; Economic and Social Research Council, Reino Unido; British Academy[EN] This paper argues that the goal of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) research should be to construct a reliable evidence-base with ‘engineering power’ and generality upon which the design of future CALL software and activities can be based. In order to establish such an evidence base for future CALL design, it suggests that CALL research needs to move away from CALL versus non-CALL comparisons, and focus on investigating the differential impact of individual attributes and affordances, that is, specific features of a technology which might have an impact on learning. Further, in order to help researchers find possible explanations for the success or failure of CALL interventions and make appropriate adjustments to their design, it argues that these studies should be conducted within the framework of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theory and research. Despite this, a recent review of research examining the effectiveness of CALL in primary and secondary English as a Foreign Language (EFL) found that CALL vs. non-CALL comparisons are still common and studies focusing on individual coding elements are rare. Further, few studies make links with SLA and few measure linguistic outcomes using measures developed in the field of SLA. One reason for this may be poor reporting of methods and difficulty in obtaining the instruments used in SLA research. Reporting guidelines and the use of the IRIS database (www.iris-databse.org) are introduced as possible solutions to these problems.