EuroCALL 2023: CALL for all Languages
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The EUROCALL 2023 Conference will be held in Reykjavik on 15-18 August 2023 as an in-person conference on campus of the University of Iceland. This conference will be hosted by three different institutes, the VIC – Vigdís International Centre, the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute for Foreign Languages at the University of Iceland, and the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies. The conference starts with a workshop day on 15 August and continues with a full conference programme on 16-18 August.
The focus of this year’s EUROCALL conference is on inclusiveness of all languages, which is also reflected in the main conference theme “CALL for all languages”. We particularly welcome papers that focus on supporting and promoting indigenous, endangered, and less commonly spoken languages, but themes related to other languages and language technologies in CALL are also very welcome.
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- PublicationEvaluating the effectiveness of Microsoft Transcribe for automating the assessment of pronunciation in language proficiency tests(Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València, 2024-02-12) Nelson, Carey; Cardoso, Walcir[EN] Improvements in Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) have created opportunities for using it as a tool to facilitate second and foreign language (L2) assessment. These technical improvements have not only enabled automation of language proficiency test scoring but also reduced evaluator bias and errors, decreased processing time, and lowered costs for testing organizations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate English as a Second Language (ESL) pronunciation using the ASR feature in the Microsoft 365 product suite, Transcribe (MS-T). The study involved adult ESL learners at a Canadian university that partook in a language proficiency test. We examined the audio recordings of 56 candidates during the pronunciation portion of the test. Building on previous studies that found a strong correlation between scores from Google Voice Typing and human raters, the current study conducted a similar analysis comparing scores derived from MS-T to both human ratings and Google Voice Typing. Our findings indicate that the ASR capabilities of MS-T, similar to Google Voice Typing, can assume an important role in L2 speaking assessment by providing objectivity and reliability to the testing process, expediting scoring, and reducing costs.
- PublicationA process-based perspective on the effects of machine translation on L2 writing(Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València, 2024-02-12) Fonteyne, Margot; Daems, Joke; Montero Perez, Maribel; Macken, Lieve; Ghent University’s Special Research Fund[EN] Most existing empirical work on the effects of Machine Translation (MT) use on second language (L2) writing has concentrated on its impact on writing products, with much less research addressing its effects on L2 learners’ behaviours during writing. We therefore investigate whether the L2 writing process varies depending on whether learners are provided access to MT or to an online bilingual dictionary. Twenty-seven L1 Dutch learners of Swedish were assigned four writing tasks, with two tasks completed in each condition (MT or dictionary). While writing, participants’ keystrokes were registered. Descriptive measures were used to summarize and compare participants’ writing speed, tool engagement, and pausing behaviour across the two conditions. Results indicated that participants wrote more in less time, consulted the tool more frequently but for shorter periods of time, and paused longer between higher textual units when provided access to MT.
- PublicationDeveloping LEMI: A new corpus based literacy support tool for schoolchildren(Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València, 2024-02-12) Rogobete, Roxana; Oravițan, Alexandru; Chitez, Madalina; Csürös, Karla; Administratia Fondului Cultural National, Rumania / AFCN[EN] This study centres on the developing and testing stages of a literacy support tool dedicated to young schoolchildren. The LEMI tool is currently in development (since January 2023) at the CODHUS research centre (Centre for Corpus Related Digital Approaches to Humanities) from the West University of Timișoara, Romania. LEMI aims to stimulate interest in reading during the first individual and collective reading activities (ages 7-11). This aim will be achieved by creating a digital reading repository with a user-friendly interface that verifies reading text complexity and delivers automatic reading-level reports to users. We use corpus linguistics methods to create a text complexity formula adapted to the Romanian language, which can be integrated into the automated complexity evaluation interface in LEMI. The necessity of such an instrument is motivated by the fact that, in Romania, there are increased rates of functional illiteracy and school dropout. We hypothesise that texts must be level-adapted (according to grade or readability) for schoolchildren to relate positively to reading activities. In the Romanian context, LEMI is the first digital tool wholly tailored to children’s literature, which complements national curricula and didactic materials provided to young children. Distinctively, LEMI responds to the need for easy-to-use tools to adapt reading individually, according to the reader’s profile. LEMI is a unique tool, not only for Romanian but also for children’s literature in other languages. The functionalities of the LEMI pilot version will be tested with the partners involved in the project (three schools from Timiș county and an educational NGO).
- PublicationFOCUS - For a functional, digital, and critical literacy(Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València, 2024-02-12) Johansson, Beatrice; Franker, Qarin[EN] This article describes the development of a new educational application, FOCUS, for women who are learning to read and write for the first time in their lives. Their driving force is often to manage their current everyday life better but also to change their future living conditions. Initially the Dispurse Literacy Program and the applications´s prerequisites and previous development are described. Examples of how the content and design has been changed with respect to both technical and pedagogical requirements are also given. The theoretical framework, the Resource Model, is then presented followed by a section where four pedagogical questions guiding the development of the app are examined. Finally, a short section follows where challenges and future possibilities for digitally based literacy education are highlighted.
- PublicationCo-creating CALL content - does it work? Goldilocks compromise or Cruella chaos?(Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València, 2024-02-12) Ward, Monica; Uí Dhonnchadha, Elaine; McGarry, Jennifer; Xu, Liang[EN] Developing Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) resources is a complex task that requires a multidisciplinary team. Each team member brings their unique perspective – the teacher focuses on pedagogy, the developer on software, the Natural Language Processing (NLP) expert on NLP, the game developer on gaming, and the CALL expert strives to maintain a balance between all of these elements. To create effective CALL resources, collaboration and co-creation among team members is crucial. This paper delves into the intricacies of CALL resource development through the lens of a digital, game-based CALL resource for Irish, undertaken by a team comprising a teacher, a game developer, an NLP specialist, and a CALL researcher. It explores the challenges, opportunities, and the delicate balancing act required during development, to achieve a ‘Goldilocks compromise’ rather than ‘Cruella de Vil chaos’.