Volume 27 Number 1, 2023
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ItemLearning processes in interactive CALL systems: Linking automatic feedback, system logs, and learning outcomes(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2023-09-25)Interactive digital tools increasingly used for language learning can provide detailed system logs (e.g., number of attempts, responses submitted), and thereby a window into the user’s learning processes. To date, SLA researchers have made little use of such data to understand the relationships between learning conditions, processes, and outcomes. To fill this gap, we analyzed and interpreted detailed logs from an ICALL system used in a randomized controlled field study where 205 German learners of English in secondary school received either general or specific corrective feedback on grammar exercises. In addition to explicit pre-/post-test results, we derived 19 learning process variables from the system log. Exploratory factor analysis revealed three latent factors underlying these process variables: effort, accuracy focus, and time on task. Accuracy focus and finish time (a process variable that did not load well on any factors) significantly predicted pre-/post-test gain scores with a medium effect size. We then clustered learners based on their process patterns and found that the specific feedback group tended to demonstrate particular learning processes and that these patterns moderate the advantage of specific feedback. We discuss the implications of analyzing system logs for SLA, CALL, and education researchers and call for more collaboration.
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ItemMotivation in computer-assisted pronunciation training: Online and face-to-face environments(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2023-09-18)This study investigated how learners’ motivation to improve their pronunciation (i.e., pronunciation-focused motivation) influences their L2 pronunciation achievements. This relationship was explored separately in an online (n = 28) and a face-to-face (F2F) (n = 49) learning environment with beginner learners of German. In the online learning environment, learners were divided into two groups: a group that received computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) over the course of the semester and a group that did not receive targeted pronunciation training. In the F2F learning environment, learners were divided into three groups: a group that received CAPT assigned as homework, a group that received teacher-led, in-class pronunciation training, and a group that did not receive pronunciation training. Pronunciation gains were assessed by means of native speaker ratings of learners’ comprehensibility and accentedness at the beginning and end of the semester. Pronunciation-focused motivation was measured with a 12-question survey administered at the beginning of the semester. Results from both learning environments showed a relationship between motivation and pronunciation achievement, but only among the groups that had received pronunciation training. Findings further suggested that motivation had a larger influence on gains in accentedness than in comprehensibility. Pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed.
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ItemStudent use and instructor beliefs: Machine translation in language education(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2023-09-11)The use of machine translation (MT) tools remains controversial among language instructors, with limited integration into classroom practices. While much of the existing research into MT and language education has explored instructor perceptions, less is known about how students actually use MT or how student use compares to instructor beliefs and expectations. In response to this gap, the current article explores how students use MT while writing and how this use compares to instructor perceptions via two studies: a computer-tracking study of how 49 second semester-level language learners (French, Spanish) use MT and a qualitative survey of 165 US-based second language educators’ beliefs about MT. Findings highlight important areas of alignment (e.g., MT input at word level) and divergence (e.g., MT output analysis strategies) between student use and instructor perceptions as well as layered tensions in what mediates student use of MT tools. The article concludes with calls for more research on student use and an outline for how to approach MT tools in language education in ways that support existing student practices.
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ItemThe use of lexical complexity for assessing difficulty in instructional videos(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2023-09-04)Although measures of lexical complexity are well established for printed texts, there is currently no equivalent work for videos. This study, therefore, aims to investigate whether existing lexical complexity measures can be extended to predict second language (L2) learners’ judgment of video difficulty. Using a corpus of 320 instructional videos, regression models were developed for explaining and predicting difficulty using indices of lexical sophistication, density, and diversity. Results of the study confirm key dimensions of lexical complexity in estimates of video difficulty. In particular, lexical frequency indices accounted for the largest variance in the assessment of video difficulty (R2 = .45). We conclude with implications for CALL and suggest areas of further research.
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ItemSecond language learners’ post-editing strategies for machine translation errors(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2023-08-21)Considering noticeable improvements in the accuracy of Google Translate recently, the aim of this study was to examine second language (L2) learners’ ability to use post-editing (PE) strategies when applying AI tools such as the neural machine translator (MT) to solve their lexical and grammatical problems during L2 writing. This study examined 57 students’ MT output and post-edited (PEd) texts to analyze MT errors and the PE strategies that L2 learners employed to express target meaning. The MT errors occurred from mistranslation, missing words, ungrammaticality, and extra words. To modify the MT sentences, the learners employed PE strategies such as deletion, paraphrase, and grammar correction. Successfulness of PE was gauged by comparing sentence adequacy scores of the MT output and PEd texts. The results of the study highlight that L2 proficiency influences the learners’ ability to deploy appropriate PE strategies. The taxonomy of MT errors and PE strategies provides a model for understanding the competence required as part of the new writing ability in the AI era. Implications are discussed as to how L2 learners are required to be trained in using MT by detecting MT errors and deploying appropriate PE strategies.
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ItemApplying educational data mining to explore individual experiences in digital games(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2023-08-07)Research involving digital games and language learning is rapidly growing. One advantage of using digital games to support language learning is the ability to collect data on students learning in real time. In this study, we use educational data mining methods to explore the relationship between in-game data and elementary students’ Chinese language learning. Thirty-six students in the sixth grade played a digital game for eight 25-minute sessions as part of their Chinese Dual Language Immersion classroom instruction. We used classification and regression tree analyses and cluster analyses to explore how in- game indicators, such as battles, time spent reading a text, and the use of an in-game glossing tool are associated with language learning and change in affect. The results indicate that time on task and use of the glossing tool were the most important variables in determining language learning gains. We also identified four subgroups of gameplay styles. While there were no significant differences in learning or affective factors based on the subgroups, these gameplay styles allow for a more individualized approach to analyzing learning within digital environments
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ItemWillingness to communicate and oral communicative performance through asynchronous video discussions(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2023-07-24)Speaking in a foreign/second language is a challenge for many learners, even when they have linguistic knowledge. Drawing on González-Lloret and Ortega’s (2014) framework for technology-mediated tasks and MacIntyre’s (2007) framework for willingness to communicate in a second language, this mixed- methods study investigated the impact of asynchronous video discussion tasks on learners' willingness to communicate and oral communicative performance. Two groups of intermediate learners of Spanish participated in the study, (a) a video discussion Flip group (the experimental group) (FG, n = 28), and (b) a control group (CG, n = 24). Measures included a pre-post survey, speaking quizzes, a final oral presentation, and semi-structured interviews. Results showed that the video discussion tasks facilitated the increase of FG students’ willingness to communicate and oral communicative performance, and their frequency and confidence in using Spanish. The qualitative findings revealed FG students' positive but challenging experiences in the tasks. Implications for practice and further research are provided.
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ItemLearning pronunciation through television series(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2023-07-10)While there is ample research on the effect of exposure to foreign language (FL) video materials on developing vocabulary knowledge and listening skills, research on the impact of watching videos on acquiring pronunciation skills, especially in terms of both perception and production, is still in its infancy. This study investigates the effect of viewing an English language video in different subtitling conditions (L1, L2, and no subtitles) on learners’ recognition of the correct pronunciation of words and on learners’ ability to produce words intelligibly. The relationship between recognition, intelligibility, and comprehension of the video material is also examined. In the study, 54 Polish intermediate learners of English were divided into three experimental groups based on the subtitling condition. They completed pre-tests and post-tests on recognition and production of words, as well as a comprehension test. The results show that watching the video, either with or without subtitles, significantly improved the recognition of how words are pronounced. As for gains in production, L1 subtitles turned out to be the least effective; however, they led to highest comprehension. These results have practical implications for teachers’ use of video material in pronunciation work in the classroom.
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ItemGame-based instruction of pragmatics: Learning request-making through perlocutionary effects(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2023-06-26)Using the single-group pre-posttest design, this exploratory study examined whether L2 learners of English can learn a speech act by experiencing perlocutionary effects of the act as feedback (observing their interlocutor’s reactions to their choice of speech act expressions). Sixty undergraduate English learners at a university in China played a digital game, developed at the researcher’s institution, involving 10 hypothetical request-making interactions that took place on a university campus. For each interaction, participants read a brief scenario description and watched a video that depicts that scenario. After watching the video, they were presented with four options of request-making expressions and asked to select the most desirable expression directed to the speaker in each video. Each option was linked to specific reactions depicted by speakers in the videos (perlocutionary effects). After choosing a response, participants were shown a reaction video designed to give feedback on the appropriateness of their selected response. Recognition and production tests were used for pre, post, and delayed posttests to assess participants’ knowledge of targeted request-making forms. Results revealed a significant gain from the pre to immediate post-test in both modalities, but the gain was not retained at the delayed post-test. The effect of game-based instruction appeared larger in the production (Cohen’s d = 0.83) than in the recognition test (d = 0.45). Participants’ game performance significantly correlated with their test scores.
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ItemReview of Identity, multilingualism and CALL: Responding to new global realities(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2023-06-15)