MFL

ABSTRACT

The Internet as a worldwide literacy practice environment has created a new situation in communication, providing a new dynamic field for research. On the basis of the two articles under discussion, this commentary develops three main aspects of the Internet: as an informal learning environment for English as a second/foreign language; as a discursive space where identities are formed and social relationships are negotiated; and, as a space where the intermingling of the global and the local gives rise to hybrid language varieties. Taking into account that electronic environments are not neutral literacy practice environments but are involved in a complex nexus of power structures and relations that also need to be explored, this paper briefly addresses issues related to theoretical and methodological approaches for the study of language varieties in the Internet.

In the present study we call attention to the close connection between languages and globalization, and we also emphasize the importance of the Internet and online websites in foreign language teaching and learning as unavoidable elements of computer assisted language learning (CALL). We prepared a checklist by which we investigated 28 foreign language teaching websites (4 from each of seven languages including English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish and Turkish). The participants were 14 third-year university students who were enrolled in the French Language teaching department, but had a basic knowledge of the related languages that was sufficient to read and write. All the students had taken CALL classes at university level, and had previous experience of website evaluation and assessment. As a result of the analyses of the language teaching websites, we observed that they were lacking physically, contextually and pedagogically. Consequently, we built a model foreign language website frame considering the feedback that we received from the subjects. We believe that our website evaluation checklist and model website frame might greatly serve the CALL field.

Mobile learning suggests and supports the new concepts of learning such as ubiquitous-, augmented-, personalized-, online-, mixed reality-, context-sensitive-, informal-, and ambient learning and teaching. This paper aims to introduce Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) and its potentials in language learning and teaching. MALL is a merging language teaching methodology which can effectively integrate listening, reading and speaking activities. It can also develop academic study, critical thinking and research skills. MALL is ideal for language learners who travel or commute very often and for those who want to have fun by learning English. Mobile phone is superior to a computer in portability – a very much valued feature by most young English language learners. Professionally developed materials can be delivered through mobile phones to improve English language learners' vocabulary acquisition and critical thinking skills. Students can read the definitions of words, sentences, improve pronunciation skills, and develop their thinking skills through quizzes. Useful MALL software as well as references are readily available and updatable online. This review paper will explore the theoretical foundations and applications of mobile learning in the literature and discuss the feasibility of employing this ubiquitous technology in language learning in Iranian EFL context.

As the use of qualitative inquiry increases within the field of social work, researchers must consider the issue of establishing rigor in qualitative research. This article presents research procedures used in a study of autoethnographies that were written regarding the experience of being Jewish. In this project, the researchers utilized reflexivity, audit trail, triangulation by observer, peer debriefing, member check and prolonged engagement in order to manage the threats to trustworthiness as discussed by Padgett (1998). Implications of the project suggest that research procedures utilized by qualitative researchers to establish rigor are an important way to increase our confidence that the voice of the participants is heard, therefore fitting the mission of the social work profession.

This paper deals with the question of how graphic novels can be introduced in the MFL class and how they might affect student’s learning process. By using multiliteracy pedagogies, students were asked to read some chapters of Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis. Then they were asked to create their own graphic narratives to represent their own learning journey, hoping that it will increase their motivation and learning empowerment. The results of the study indicated an increase in their motivation and their interest not only in Satrapi’s novel but in any other graphic novel. Hopefully, this communication will provide new ideas on how to use literature and creative writing for language learning/teaching.

La dott.ssa Falconi ha realizzato uno studio dalle solide
basi teoriche, che ha saputo affrontare con sicurezza e rigore scientifico questo tema cruciale dell’innovazione della
formazione mediata dai nuovi media, e del podcast in particolare, con una validazione accurata e di dettaglio, ottenuta
dall’analisi di sperimentazioni effettuate nell’ambito dell’insegnamento delle lingue.

As 2011 marked the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Germany and Japan, an audio and video competition (Hertz und Pixel) for Japanese learners of German was launched. For this competition two groups of mature learners at a private language school in Tokyo produced audio contribution in the form of podcasts. This article recounts the production process of one of these groups, from planning phase to recording and editing, and then through to the final products, which can also be found as podcasts online: http://radio-onichi.podspot.de/

Since the early 1990s, the increasing availability of the computer and the advent of the Internet have led to a new form of communication which helps overcome the limits of time and space, namely that which researchers and scholars refer to as Computer-Mediated-Communication (CMC). The aim of this paper is to provide a brief description of CMC, its distinctive features and its potential benefits for foreign language learning. The paper begins with a brief historic perspective on CMC in relation to Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) practices and Network-Based Language Teaching (NBLT), i.e. language teaching activities carried out by means of local or global communication networks. It then looks at the potential benefits of CMC in foreign language education.

In this paper I argue that online intercultural interaction and exchange remains a relatively
peripheral ‘add-on’ activity in most foreign language classrooms. In its current state, it is yet
to be considered an integral part of curricular activity and it does not yet form a significant
part of high stakes assessment procedures. Against this background, it is becoming
increasingly difficult for educators to justify to learners the value of their online work. I present
here an overview of what online intercultural exchange involves and discuss what have been
its contributions to foreign language education. I then present findings from a survey of
telecollaborative practices and discuss why this activity has yet to become a ‘normalised’ part
of foreign language learning.

Learner corpora, or searchable collections of the written or spoken production of language learners, have become increasingly vital in the field of applied linguistics.  As advances in computational linguistics and natural language processing have allowed for the automatic or semi-automatic parsing, tagging and coding of large chunks of learner-produced text, there is increasing interest in the analysis of large-scale corpora of many millions of words, collected from a broad range of linguistic tasks, language backgrounds, and learner proficiencies.  As language teachers, we set our students a wide range of written and spoken tasks that, after completion, are forgotten about or deleted when the term ends.  In doing so, the opportunity to compare and actually describe what your students can (and cannot) do linguistically in quantifiable terms is wasted, and a valuable resource for shaping future curricula, lesson planning and assessments is lost.  This short ‘idea’ paper will outline some of the interesting work currently being undertaken by those working on learner corpora, how language educators can build their own learner corpora, and how the application of the findings from learner data can be used to build a detailed profile of the learners in your institution.

(FREE ACCESS THROUGH THE LINK BELOW) Plan Ceibal is an interinstitutional undertaking which has distributed XO laptops and Internet connectivity among primary school learners and teachers across Uruguay and developed a wide range of educational programmes. Ceibal administration believes that it is imperative to introduce English as a Foreign Language in primary education through the use of new modes of teaching which incorporate the OLPC XO laptop as a tool for learning engagement and democratisation. Uruguay has secured funds for a project based on blended learning which integrates remote teaching through videoconferencing, the use of a learning management system, and professional development. Plan Ceibal seeks to demonstrate that lessons delivered by remote teachers via videoconferencing with support from classroom teachers (CTs) with very limited or no command of English can facilitate successful learning outcomes in learners and CTs.

Abstract—Aboriginal languages all over the world are threatened with extinction. Aboriginal youth from Canada to New Zealand are not becoming fluent in their language and culture, and the number of fluent speakers is declining severely. The use of computer games in ...