Volume 4, Issue 1 - Special Issue: Online Technologies for Language Learning and Teaching: Innovations, Practices and Perceptions from Students and Teachers; Guest Editors: Qing Ma and Lixun Wang

In the young learner (YL) foreign language (FL) classroom, oracy is more important than literacy, but teaching speaking is still primarily repetitive in many contexts. Free speaking activities are difficult to create for teachers and accomplish for learners. This research investigated the ways in which imaginative digital storytelling (DST) tasks can improve oracy and the prior knowledge needed to negotiate meaning. The main data of this study, which were collected over one academic year, comprised a questionnaire of 19 Swiss Year 4 students, video and audio recordings of two dyads working on four collaborative oral DST tasks and a semi-structured interview with the four children and their class/English teacher. The results revealed that collaborative end-of-unit tasks enabled the children to creatively recycle the language learnt. Scaffolding and language support provided on the task sheet allowed a creative and personal approach to DST, which was a motivating experience. Clear guidance for classroom talk fostered collaboration and personal, social and problem-solving competences. These findings have implications for YL FL pedagogy and highlight the need for further theoretical insights into task-based DST.

Over the past decade, mobile-assisted language learning technologies, such as smartphone applications, have become increasingly prominent in language learning; however, empirical research on how the use of mobile apps can influence students’ willingness to communicate (WTC) is scarce. This study assessed two mobile apps with distinct language learning approaches: Duolingo, grounded in grammar-translation and behaviourist principles, and HelloTalk, based on social constructivist theory and communicative language learning. The research examined the impact of these apps on Chinese students’ WTC in the UK. A mixed-methods approach, including a quasi-experimental design, was adopted, involving 67 International Foundation Year Chinese students from a Confucius Heritage Culture background. The participants were randomly assigned to two experimental groups (Duolingo, N  = 33; HelloTalk, N  = 34) and used one app for five weeks. Quantitative data were collected through pre- and post-treatment using a WTC scale and an English media usage frequency questionnaire. Qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured interviews. Results indicated that both apps enhanced WTC, with Duolingo exhibiting a slightly stronger effect. Participants displayed greater WTC with emotionally and socially connected individuals, while WTC with strangers remained lowest. Factors such as usage time, communication goals, and frequency of use influenced participants’ WTC with various groups of people.

This study evaluates student perceived effectiveness of a guided inductive approach for synonym learning through a 36-week, two-round data-driven learning (DDL) and task-based instruction design. Presented as a student-centered “mini-lecture” task, it integrates pre-task training, during-task guidance, and post-task feedback. Data were collected from 23 business English university students via questionnaires and interviews. Results show that learners generally held consistent positive attitudes toward this long-term data-driven learning. Enhanced instruction in the second round underscored the importance of scaffolding, reducing learners’ anxiety, and promoting cognitive development. Task complexity and language proficiency seemed unrelated to learner perceptions. Although task motivations influenced learners’ perceptions, learners with lower motivation were not overwhelmed by technical difficulties involved in DDL, supporting the effectiveness of the long-term practice in improving learners’ corpus query skills. Learners often used their native language to explain key concepts in the “mini-lecture” presentation. The results suggest the task-based “mini-lecture” design is effective and that guided inductive DDL is a promising alternative in language pedagogy. Based on the findings, a task-based data-driven synonym learning model is proposed.

This study examines the development of students’ cognitive skills through hands-on concordancing, also known as the inductive Data-driven learning (DDL) method (Cobb, T. 1997. Is there any measurable learning from hands-on concordancing? System 25(3). 301–315). This method involves learners directly using concordance software to identify language rules by observing and working with concordance results. While previous research has explored DDL’s role in language acquisition, its impact on cognitive growth has received less attention. Building on a corpus-based language pedagogy (CBLP) (Ma, Q., J. Tang & S. Lin. 2022a. The development of corpus-based language pedagogy for TESOL teachers: A two-step training approach facilitated by online collaboration. Computer Assisted Language Learning 35(9). 2731–2760, Ma, Q., R. Yuan, L. M. E. Cheung & J. Yang. 2022b. Teacher paths for developing corpus-based language pedagogy: A case study. Computer Assisted Language Learning . 1–32), we designed a three-step training scheme that included an online task, a computer lab lesson, and a student independent corpus exploration task. The study involved 45 second-year English majors. The data were collected through surveys, interviews, and written reports, focusing on student learning of cognitive skills such as speculating, noticing, inferring, and verifying, as synthesized by Chun (2011. Learners as corpus researchers: Developing cognitive skills through hands-on concordancing. Foreign Languages Education 18(3). 73–103). The results indicate a positive response to the CBLP, with students’ independent exploration task contributing to improved critical reading and thinking skills. This highlights the effectiveness of our three-step CBLP scheme in developing cognitive skills and enhancing independent research. Overall, the study emphasizes the potential of hands-on concordancing and CBLP in fostering critical reading skills.

This research paper is based on a case study of an introductory English literature course that is being offered at a community college in Hong Kong, China. The 2020–2021 cohort was unique as it had the entire course online using Zoom without any face-to-face or hybrid teaching, which was considered the “new normal” of higher education under the pandemic. This study employs narrative inquiry (Barkhuizen, G. (2014). Revisiting narrative frames: An instrument for investigating language teaching and learning. System , 47, 12–27; Clandinin, D. J. (2016). Engaging in narrative inquiry . Routledge), semi-structured interviews, and analysis of student essays to demonstrate that online essay consultations and collaborative writing are useful for enhancing the essay writing skills of second language learners. The paper specifically reports and highlights how individual Zoom essay consultations, together with collaborative writing on Padlet, scaffold and enhance students’ essay writing and critical thinking skills. Essentially, the paper argues that online technologies expand the dimension of literature education and empower it as a form of content-based ESL instruction for long-term use.

This paper provides an example for how online technology can be utilised to increase efficiency and validity of assessment procedures beyond simple computerization of testing. We report the first steps of the development of an online assessment procedure for the measurement of language learning aptitude that is based on the concept of dynamic testing. Online adaptive dynamic tests provide learning opportunities in the test situation, allowing test takers demonstrate their ability to benefit from feedback. Test performance shown in such test procedures has been demonstrated to be more useful in predicting future learning and to represent a more valid indication of test takers’ learning potential. The newly developed online assessment procedure aims at measuring young learner’s ability to improve performance based on inductive reasoning across lexical, morphological and syntactic rules of an artificial language using pictorial stimuli. The test was administered on ten mainland Chinese children aged between 9 and 13. The tentative analysis indicates that the newly developed test is feasible and has the potential to be a useful diagnostic tool for measuring language learning aptitude. We report and discuss insights gained and outline how these will be utilised for the further refinement of this online assessment tool.

Over the years, social media have gained popularity as tools for language teaching. The social media platform WeChat has been employed for teaching Chinese as a foreign language (TCFL). While studies have investigated the use of WeChat for TCFL, no systematic reviews have been conducted to provide an overview of existing research. This review article examines empirical studies on WeChat in TCFL, summarising their main characteristics, findings, and critically assessing the quality and relevance of the available evidence. Scopus and Web of Science were used as primary databases for this review. Relevant studies were identified by using keyword sets such as “WeChat Chinese language”, “WeChat Mandarin”, “WeChat Hanyu ” and “WeChat Putonghua ”. The review identified the contexts, research methods and themes of the selected articles. The main themes include language learning, social interactions, learner agency and motivation. The paper also discusses the implications of using WeChat for TCFL and highlights areas for future research. It is hoped that the insights provided here will inform the design and implementation of future courses that use WeChat or other technology-assisted applications for language teaching.