Recent studies on the use of Intelligent Personal Assistant (IPA) for second language (L2) learnring have found that IPAs such as Amazon's Alexa is useful and motivating for L2 learners and that ...learners' language proficiency might influence their perceptions toward IPAs. However, most existing studies focused on the potentials of Alexa and paid little attention to Google Assistant (GA). This study was thus conducted to investigate how L2 learners at different proficiency levels perceive the potentials of GA. Twenty-nine EFL college students were recruited to try various voice commands for an hour in order to investigate learners' perceptions toward the potentials of GA for language learning. Results of the survey and interview show that these learners enjoyed interacting with GA and considered GA an inspiring tool to learn English. They also found that GA can be useful in improving their speaking and listening skills. They perceived GA's pronunciation to be quite natural and its utterances to be easily comprehensible. Results also reveal that higher level learners achieved better mutual comprehensibility with GA, whereas lower level learners encountered more challenges due to their mispronunciations. Based on these findings, future research directions and pedagogical suggestions on IPA-assisted L2 learning are provided.
With advances in technology, intelligent personal assistants (IPAs) have become available to assist users with a variety of tasks using voice commands. Because IPAs may induce dialogic interactions, ...researchers speculated that they may benefit second language learning, especially regarding pronunciation, listening and speaking skills. So far, very few experimental studies have examined the effects of IPAs. The present study examined the effects of one popular IPA, the Amazon Echo Show, on L2 learners' listening and speaking skills as well as the learners' perceptions of the IPA. Two classes were recruited and randomly assigned as a control and an experimental group. While the control group continued with their regular lessons, the experimental group received seven Alexa sessions (each of around 50 minutes). Both groups took mock TOEIC listening and speaking tests before and after the experiment and the experimental group completed a survey exploring their perceptions of working with the IPA. A significant difference was found regarding speaking, suggesting that learners can improve their speaking skills through interacting with an IPA. The learners reported that IPAs offered more oral interactions and also reduced their speaking anxieties. These positive findings suggest that researchers should further explore the potential of IPAs.
► I examine effects of collaborative writing on L2 learning. ► I examine students’ perceptions of collaborative writing in L2. ► Collaborative writing has significant effects on students’ L2 writing. ...► Students find the experience enjoyable and beneficial to L2 learning. ► Collaborative work must include collaborative writing in L2 classroom.
This study investigated the effectiveness and students’ perceptions of collaborative writing (CW) in second language (L2). The study involved 38 first year students in two intact classes at a large university in the UAE (United Arab Emirates). One class consisted of 18 students and was considered the experimental group, and the second consisted of 20 students and was considered the control group. In the control group, writing tasks were carried out by students individually; in the experimental group, these tasks were carried out in pairs. The study lasted 16 weeks and involved a pre- and post-test. Writing quality was determined by a holistic rating procedure that included content, organization, grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics. Results of the study showed that CW had an overall significant effect on students’ L2 writing; however, this effect varied from one writing skill area to another. Specifically, the effect was significant for content, organization, and vocabulary, but not for grammar or mechanics. In addition, most students in the CW condition found the experience enjoyable and felt that it contributed to their L2 learning. Results of the study are discussed in light of the social constructivist perspective of learning. A number of theoretical and pedagogical implications of the study, and limitations and directions for further research, are presented.
Recent reviews of the L2 collaborative writing (CW) literature have highlighted a propensity for researchers to rely on learner and task-related variables to explore CW phenomena. However, this focus ...limits how scholars conceptualize CW by overlooking the wider educational context that accompanies CW activities and how writers orient to said spaces. Investigating how writers perceive the CW landscape is important as their perceptions are known to impact writing development. Engaging a systems orientation to writing spaces, this study examined how students in different writing conditions perceive the writing landscape. This work followed two intact university classes (one engaged in CW, and one not) over one semester, and collected data from five iterations of a system mapping task and interviews with students. The CW group perceived a more nuanced and complex perspective of the writing space, comparatively. Cluster analyses also revealed that both groups oriented similarly to two variable sets: task and environmental factors, and learner and environmental variables. This study demonstrates how CW positively impacts writers’ perceptions of the writing space and encourages instructors to help CW students realize and take advantage of the wider context that CW is embedded in. This work also expands the CW research framework.
One aspect of online classes that has recently experienced a paradigm shift is fully online language environments (FOLEs) – that is, learning settings where 100% of the content of the class is being ...delivered online. The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) outbreak in 2020 called for the use of fully online teaching in schools and universities in many countries due to confinement measures. Accordingly, schools have made extraordinary efforts towards implementing home-based schooling and delivered online courses to their students during the pandemic. In many universities, online platforms such as Blackboard Collaborate are being used to fulfil the need to keep up with the requirements of academic programmes. However, research findings addressing specific FOLE platforms are scarce, with even fewer studies focusing on learners’ engagement perceptions in those settings. Therefore, the purpose of this mixed-methods exploratory study was to delve into aspects involved in engagement, such as participation, group work, instructional materials, and learning strategies, regarded as key factors influencing the success of FOLEs. Thus, a FOLE questionnaire was administered to 54 EFL university learners, which was followed by semi-structured interviews conducted with seven participants. Our analysis drew from FOLE engagement research (Sun, 2014) and the community of inquiry (CoI) framework (Garrison & Arbaugh, 2007; Garrison et al., 2000). The main findings revealed that the poor interactions with peers and the lack of peer rapport negatively influenced the social presence of students (Garrison & Arbaugh, 2007), that the instructor can use teaching presence to increase student awareness of the relevance of the online environment and overcome adaptation issues (Kebritchi et al., 2017), and that teaching presence can help increase cognitive presence and facilitate effective interactions with the content. Implications for pedagogy were put forward as part of a FOLE approach.
This study explored learners' attitudes and perceptions toward collaborative writing in pairs and small groups. Fifty-five intermediate level learners of Spanish as a foreign language were asked to ...complete a collaborative writing task as part of their classroom activities. Half of them worked in pairs and the other half in groups of four. Afterward, they all received the same post-task questionnaire. Learners' reactions to the collaborative writing experience were overall very positive and only 4 out 55 said they would have preferred to write individually. The learners who wrote in pairs tended to prefer this condition, because it offered more opportunities for active participation. However, those who wrote in groups felt that there were more ideas and knowledge to share, and therefore more possibilities for language development. Most of them saw a positive impact of collaboration on both the grammatical and lexical accuracy of their texts. These learners' perceptions concur with the findings of most previous research on collaborative writing.
Utilizing a pre-experimental pre-test post-test design, this study investigated the effect of an authentic audio-visual American sitcom (
) on the intercultural sensitivity (ICS) and intercultural ...effectiveness (ICE) of a sample of male and female upper-intermediate English students. To this aim, 34 Iranian EFL students were selected through convenient non-random sampling. In order to assure the participants' homogeneity in English proficiency, the selected students were given the Oxford Quick Placement Test prior to the intervention. Over a 10-week period, the participants were presented with nearly 30-min-long episodes of
in a flipped context, two episodes every week uploaded to the accompanying website. An online 10-item quiz on the day of watching and a next-day meeting were held. During the online discussion meetings, the participants discussed cultural questions tailored to the aims of the study. The required data were collected through the administration of the intercultural sensitivity scale (ISS) and intercultural effectiveness scale (IES) in pre- and post-test assessments. The analyses of the data indicated that both ICS and ICE improved significantly during the intervention. However, ICS indicated more improvement. In addition, a semi-structured interview was administered to the participants to examine their perception of the flipped classroom experience. Having analyzed the data using MAXQDA 2020, some significant themes emerged which are reported. On the whole, the participants portrayed positive attitudes toward using technology in flipped classes. The educational and practical implications are discussed.
Specialized learning institutions (SLIs) feature organizational cultures, learning environments, and Postgraduation expectations that typically differ from traditional 4‐year universities. For ...students pursuing foreign language (FL) study within an SLI, coursework is frequently accompanied by a range of nonacademic tasks that are required for graduation. This exploratory study focuses on one such SLI, a US military academy. Four FL majors (i.e., cadets) completed seven interviews over 4 years of FL study. A narrative inquiry and thematic analyses of cadets' interview responses highlighted both opportunities for and challenges to FL study. Overseas immersions, applicability of FL learning to their future careers, and interactions with foreign cadets positively affected FL development, while increased nonacademic requirements and institution‐specific classes greatly limited time for FL study. This report can inform FL instructors at SLIs or SLI‐like organizations on how to make appropriate pedagogical decisions to both facilitate FL learning and help maintain FL motivation.
The Challenge
Learning a foreign language at a specialized learning institute includes extracurricular requirements not generally included at more traditional learning institutions. For curricular and pedagogical reasons, it is necessary to understand not only the benefits of learning in such settings but also the challenges learners face in finding balance in their studies.
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