Contained within this issue is a selection of papers presented at the 2003 annual EUROCALL Conference, hosted during September in Limerick, Ireland. This was the second time that Ireland had the privilege of welcoming EUROCALLers, the first being the conference at Dublin City University in 1997 organised by Françoise Blin. The theme of EUROCALL 2003, “New literacies in language learning and teaching”, aimed to focus attention on the changing concepts and practices concerning literacy brought about by technological developments, particularly in relation to language learning and teaching. Sub-themes focused on the changes in practices involving literacy brought about by the World Wide Web; the need to re-interpret current teaching paradigms; the relationship between the more “traditional” language skills and the “new literacies”; interactivity, learner interaction, and feedback; and spoken and written corpora in language teaching and learning. This last theme re-introduced to EUROCALL an important research area which had been well represented in the early days of the association, and has led directly to the creation of a new SIG within the association in March 2004.

This paper reports on research carried out on an intercultural telecollaborative exchange between language learners in Germany and Ireland and focuses particularly on what was required of the teachers in the development of the project. The review of the literature looks at the role of telecollaboration within the field of network-based language learning and also offers an overview of the different types of interaction which have been identified on on-line message boards. Following that, the different tasks of the teachers in the German-Irish exchange are explored. These include developing learners’ understanding of intercultural learning, improving learners’ ability to make effective contributions to the on-line interaction, increasing their awareness of the difference between on-line monologues and dialogues and finally, establishing a good working relationship with the partner teacher. Based on these findings, recommendations are outlined on how to prepare teachers for telecollaborative projects.

This paper presents an online course for assessing and developing lexical competence which grew out of one simple question: How many words do our students have? We start by highlighting the importance of vocabulary teaching in the second language learning process and the beneficial effects of multimedia on developing lexis. The first response to the aforementioned query took the shape of a research study which evaluated the lexical competence of students in their final year of an English Philology degree course. As a result, the lecturers involved in the project undertook a further study entitled ADELEX – ‘Assessing and Developing Lexical Competence through the Internet’ – aiming to develop a web-based course that would improve the vocabulary levels of our students (http://www.ugr.es/~inped/index.htm). The instructional design of the online vocabulary project, ADELEX, developed through Web Course Tools (WebCT), is detailed in the second part of the paper. First we set out its pedagogical objectives and describe the main characteristics of this modular course. We then address the issue of syllabus design describing its lexicographical, lexicological, semantic and discoursal contents, and offer a brief profile of its nine modules. Needless to say, we establish some methodological guidelines for the implementation of a virtual course which may help students control their own learning and provide constant feedback and interaction. In fact, learner autonomy is one of its main objectives. In addition, its teaching procedures are examined, emphasizing the tools of WebCT: online assignments, forums, online vs. on campus sessions, students’ projects, grading, test design, etc. An unavoidable research question is also addressed: how to assess lexical competence both at the diagnostic level, to obtain initial feedback, and at the achievement level, i.e. when a word can be said to be acquired in a web-based environment. The answer to this question has been to develop a complex system of computer-based tests (CBTs). Finally, we draw some pedagogic conclusions.

There are now many CALL authoring packages that can create interactive websites and a large number of language teachers are writing materials for the whole range of such packages. Currently, each product stores its data in different formats thus hindering interoperability, pooling of digital resources and moving between software packages based in different technology. The use of Extensible Mark-up Language (XML) for data storage goes a long way to solve this problem and allows for the easy conversion of exercises. Starting from a desire to develop a common format between Hot Potatoes, WELTS (part of the WELL project) and the Interactive Language Learning package from London Metropolitan University, a new version of the Interactive Language Learning software, now renamed Guildhall Interactive Software for Multimedia On-line (GISMO), has made such conversion possible. Given the immense resources required to develop the critical mass of material required to make online CALL relevant to an individual’s teaching practice, such a common approach is required to facilitate the pooling of resources. Should a bureaucratic or financial decision in an institution result in a change of software, teachers need to be able to easily convert their legacy material. XML technology can facilitate interoperability, thereby increasing potential accessibility by allowing teachers and students to have the use of a greater amount of pedagogical material. It is further proposed, using these developments, to create a large pool of exercises for practice and assessment that is independent of the delivery approach employed. This will obviate the need for teachers to keep reproducing basic language learning material and allow for the expansion of online CALL into more imaginative areas. This possibility introduces the question of standards within XML and whether it is necessary to further specify how the material is stored, perhaps using a standard such as the ‘IMS Question & Test Interoperability Specification’ or whether XML is a sufficient standard in itself.

We report on how technological developments have enabled us to change our concepts and practices regarding voice and text coaching and how this in turn has raised the level of literary competence among non-native doctoral students seeking publication in English in scientific journals. We describe models for marking, peer reviewing and coaching spoken delivery and written text. Our models spring from our dedicated physical CALL environment and take into account learner expectations and further develop tangible learner strategies. As our models are applied in an open learning platform they are accessible, interactive and facilitate both differentiated progressive feedback and student profiling. The four skills are revisited through very traditional means in a methodological paradigm requiring some ‘new literacy’. Between 1997 and 2000 we were devoted to developing and testing our dedicated physical CALL classroom model; in the period 2000–2003 we have focused on both sustaining this and improving our procedures. Refining the coaching and interactive feedback procedures for both text and voice development within the virtual classroom model (established at the Institute for Living Languages at KULeuven in 1997) informs the focus of our research. During the latter period, the resulting models have been rigorously tested by about three hundred KULeuven students, half of whom are post graduates and half of whom are undergraduates. The specific need for refined coaching and feedback for doctoral students is first defined, then the concept, procedure and results of three models are outlined and illustrated. The models include a text marking and coaching model, a speech marking and coaching model and a model to contextualise and manage the interactive cycle of learner, peer and coach writing and speaking processes. Key to our findings is the fact that our models help us to help learners differentiate between passive and active retrieval, plus transfer issues versus knowledge gap issues. The discussion centres on further model development integration.

Cell phones are now widespread in many countries including Japan where we teach, and are particularly popular among university students. Although they can be a distraction in the classroom, functions such as Internet access and e-mail capability have transformed them into sophisticated communication tools. But are they also potentially useful in language learning? While task-based approaches (Nunan, 1989) adapted to desktop e-mail are now a growing area of research in CALL (Greenfield, 2003; Gonzalez-Lloret, 2003), cell phones have yet to receive much attention. This paper reports on a classroom research project aimed at evaluating the use of mobile phones as tools for classroom learning. Freshman university students in intact EFL classes (2 elementary classes, 2 lower intermediate) were first surveyed regarding their cell phone use and pre-tested to assess their knowledge of certain target learning structures. Following this they were subdivided into three groups: (a) using cell phone text messages, (b) using computer e-mail, and (c) speaking. The learners were paired, trained with warm-up tasks, and given two further sets of tasks to complete (one in class and the other at home). The target vocabulary appeared in the initial narrative task. All messages sent while doing the tasks were saved for analysis. The speaking task pairs were recorded and samples were transcribed for comparison. Finally learners took a post-test the following week to assess short-term learning gains. This project drew attention to a number of potential advantages of mobile phones as well as highlighting some limitations, but overall suggested that mobile phones represent a language learning resource worthy of further investigation.

Faced with reduced numbers choosing to study foreign languages (as in England and Wales), strategies to create and maintain student interest need to be explored. One such strategy is to create ‘taster’ courses in languages, for potential university applicants. The findings presented arise from exploratory research, undertaken to inform the design of a selection of web-based taster courses for less widely taught languages. 687 school students, aged 14-18, were asked to identify a web site that they liked and to state their main reason for liking it. They were invited to include recreational sites and told that their answers could help with web design for the taster courses. To explore the reasons, two focus groups were conducted and student feedback on the developing taster course site was collected. Students nominated search engines and academic sites, sites dedicated to hobbies, enthusiasms, youth culture and shopping. They liked them for their visual attributes, usability, interactivity, support for schoolwork and for their cultural and heritage associations, as well as their content and functionality. They emerged as sensitive readers of web content, visually aware and with clear views on how text should be presented. These findings informed design of the taster course site. They are broadly in line with existing design guidelines but add to our knowledge about school students’ use of the web and about designing web-based learning materials. They may also be relevant to web design at other levels, for example for undergraduates.

The acquisition of new vowel sounds is one of the most challenging tasks for the adult learner of a second language. It is also an aspect which requires a great deal of time and individual attention. Learners of English are particularly hampered by the irregular orthographic representation of vowel sounds. This paper reports on research in progress into the development of an application to provide learners with real time feedback on their vowel production. This process includes the calculation and plotting of formants on a graph using the PRAAT programme. The patterns which result are highly reminiscent of the traditional vowel chart, which in turn reflects articulation, i.e. articulatory changes are reflected on the graph. This application can provide feedback on both pure vowels and diphthongs. Some of the difficulties and obstacles which as yet prevent it from being a tool which can be used by the learner autonomously will also be outlined and discussed. Foremost amongst which are: the question of speaker normalisation (how to compensate for the difference in values between male, female and pre-pubertal speakers) which may be resolved by way of statistical elaboration of the formant data; and the methods used to isolate the vowel sound from the rest of the signal.

This presentation is a discursive treatment of the migration of a classroom based translation class to online delivery using the Virtual Learning Environment WebCT. The main focus is not on the VLE itself, but on the pedagogical challenges posed by the move to online delivery and the course structure developed to retain as many of the advantages of face-to-face delivery as possible. Key to this is the use of an innovative colour-coding system of error analysis combined with constructivist comments designed to promote reflection on the translation process. The application of colour-coded feedback to categories relevant to translation training is flexible and can be adapted to other disciplines where essay-type answers are appropriate and differentiated comment by the tutor is expected. Since translation is a process-heavy activity rather than content rich, special attention has been paid to pedagogical considerations. Emphasis is also placed on using the VLE to build up a durable learning resource. The advantages and weaknesses of both forms of delivery are compared.

This article draws on second language theory, particularly output theory as defined by Swain (1995), in order to conceptualise observations made in a computer-assisted language learning setting. It investigates second language output and learner behaviour within an electronic role-play setting, based on a subject-specific problem solving task and the Internet as source of primary information. Students were given a task which includes the collaborative development of a marketing strategy for a chosen product. Data collected consists of the following corpora: emails exchanged between groups, the recorded discussions between each group’s members while engaged in the problem solving activity, oral presentation of the groups’ results as well as the individually written summaries. One area of particular interest is the analysis of the oral L2 output while solving a computer-assisted language learning task. How can the oral interaction be characterised? What kind of conclusions regarding the use of CALL can be drawn from the comparison of the oral interaction and the written output? Another area of interest is the analysis of the written L2 output. Is there evidence of second language acquisition and/or acquisition of content? Can such a CALL setting promote second language acquisition (SLA) and/or acquisition of content? Finally, the study aims to identify whether student-initiated focus on language form can be found. The article answers the questions posed above. Furthermore, the results of this study show that a very high percentage of all communication took place in L2 and occurrences of acquisition of content and language can be demonstrated.

This paper discusses a framework for designing online tasks that capitalizes on the possibilities that the Internet and the Web offer for language learning. To present such a framework, we draw from constructivist theories (Brooks and Brooks, 1993) and their application to educational technology (Newby, Stepich, Lehman and Russell, 1996; Jonassen, Mayes and McAleese, 1993); second language learning and learning autonomy (Benson and Voller, 1997); and distance education (Race, 1989; White, 1999). On the one hand our model balances the requirements of the need for control and learning autonomy by the independent language learner; and on the other, the possibilities that online task-based learning offer for new reading processes by taking into account new literacy models (Schetzer and Warschauer, 2000), and the effect that the new media have on students’ knowledge construction and understanding of texts. We explain how this model works in the design of reading tasks within the specific distance learning context of the Open University, UK. Trayectorias is a tool that consists of an open problem-solving Web-quest and provides students with ‘scaffolding’ that guides their navigation around the Web whilst modelling learning approaches and new learning paradigms triggered by the medium. We then discuss a small-scale trial with a cohort of students (n = 23). This trial had a double purpose: (a) to evaluate to what extent the writing task fulfilled the investigators’ intentions; and (b) to obtain some information about the students’ perceptions of the task.

In the rapidly changing environment of language learning and teaching, electronic literacies have an increasingly important role to play. While much research on new literacies focuses on the World Wide Web, the aim in this study is to investigate the importance of corpus consultation as a new type of literacy which is of particular relevance in the context of language learning and teaching. After briefly situating the theoretical and pedagogical context of the study in relation to authenticity and learner autonomy, the paper describes an empirical study involving eight postgraduate students of French. As part of a Masters course they write a short text and subsequently attempt to improve it by using concordancing software to consult a small corpus containing texts on a similar subject. The analysis of the results reveals a significant number of changes made by the learners which may be classified as follows in order of frequency: grammatical errors (gender and agreement, prepositions, verb forms/mood, negation and syntax); misspellings, accents and hyphens; lexico-grammatical patterning (native language interference, choice of verb and inappropriate vocabulary); and capitalisation. The conclusion notes that the situation in which these students found themselves (i.e. faced with a text on which the teacher had indicated phrases which could be improved) is replicated in many cases every day, and suggests that corpus consultation may have a useful role to play in the context of interactive feedback, particularly in cases where traditional language learning resources are of little use.

We have developed an English pronunciation learning system which estimates the intelligibility of Japanese learners' speech and ranks their errors from the viewpoint of improving their intelligibility to native speakers. Error diagnosis is particularly important in self-study since students tend to spend time on aspects of pronunciation that do not noticeably affect intelligibility. As a preliminary experiment, the speech of seven Japanese students was scored from 1 (hardly intelligible) to 5 (perfectly intelligible) by a linguistic expert. We also computed their error rates for each skill. We found that each intelligibility level is characterized by its distribution of error rates. Thus, we modeled each intelligibility level in accordance with its error rate. Error priority was calculated by comparing students' error rate distributions with that of the corresponding model for each intelligibility level. As non-native speech is acoustically broader than the speech of native speakers, we developed an acoustic model to perform automatic error detection using speech data obtained from Japanese students. As for supra-segmental error detection, we categorized errors frequently made by Japanese students and developed a separate acoustic model for that type of error detection. Pronunciation learning using this system involves two phases. In the first phase, students experience virtual conversation through video clips. They receive an error profile based on pronunciation errors detected during the conversation. Using the profile, students are able to grasp characteristic tendencies in their pronunciation errors which in effect lower their intelligibility. In the second phase, students practise correcting their individual errors using words and short phrases. They then receive information regarding the errors detected during this round of practice and instructions for correcting the errors. We have begun using this system in a CALL class at Kyoto University. We have evaluated system performance through the use of questionnaires and analysis of speech data logged in the server, and will present our findings in this paper.

This paper reports on the results of an action research project at Coventry University that consisted of the evaluation of a curriculum innovation supported by the use of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) WebCT, i.e. a new module (course): Academic and Professional Skills for Language Learning. The project was carried out collaboratively by staff – all the linguists teaching level 1 modules in EFL, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish – and students over a period of ten months in 2002–2003. The module aims at engaging students actively with the new literacies and skills required by the ‘knowledge society’. The provisional hypothesis was that skills-based teaching and learning activities that are aligned with the needs of language learners would raise confidence in academic and professional skills and increase motivation and proficiency in language learning. The use of the Virtual Learning Environment Web Communication Tools (WebCT), available within the online learning portal both on and off campus for students at Coventry University, would be instrumental in testing the hypothesis, as it provided an interactive reflective forum for both staff and students involved. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. The paper will show how the use of the Virtual Learning Environment facilitated the creation of exercises that developed both ICT skills and language-specific ones. On a less positive note, the results confirmed the outcomes of other research in the field, i.e. that students find it challenging to become reflective, autonomous learners and that we cannot assume that the use of technology automatically leads to autonomy. Many students also found it challenging to see the relevance to their studies of skills and literacies that went beyond the four basic language skills. The paper will conclude by illustrating both the positive and the negative outcomes of the project and outlining the staff/student-agreed way forward in the light of the issues encountered.

One of the most common uses of the World Wide Web for foreign language learning is as a resource for students to find information when researching essay topics. When language instructors ask students to perform searches for information about a given issue it is assumed that students know how to perform those searches and appreciate the usefulness of the Web. However, we do not really know much about the relationship between learners and the Web: what processes are involved, how the students go about the search process and what their perceptions of the Web are. It is therefore essential that these assumptions are examined and researched. To find out more about these questions, a study was initiated with the aim of obtaining information on how foreign language higher education students interact with the Web in general and in the context of a search for content/reading tasks in particular. The goal was to produce a descriptive snapshot of student impressions and abilities at one given moment. For this purpose 198 students of Spanish at the University of Southampton were asked how they use the Web, what for, how they go about finding the information they need, what they perceive to be the advantages and disadvantages of using the Web as a research tool for language learning, to compare it to other resources and what their perceptions of it are. To measure their degree of online information literacy, a scale was created. In this paper the details of the project will be presented, and the findings of the study discussed.

This paper presents the overall considerations and pedagogical approach which were at the basis of the development of an innovative web-based CALL application, Ellips (Electronic Language Learning Interactive Practising System). It describes the program’s most salient features, illustrating in particular the technical challenges involved in the realization of this multilingual, server-hosted, database-supported language-learning application. Ellips, the product of a cooperative project between four Dutch universities, offers effective web-based support for language learning in Higher Education (HE) institutions. Ellips focuses particularly on grammar training, listening and pronunciation skills; although it can be accessed on its own, it has been created with integration with virtual learning environments (VLEs) like Blackboard and WebCT in mind. As a matter of fact, Ellips offers functionality lacking in these systems, which have not been specifically developed for language learning and offer more assessment than practising opportunities. Moreover, in Ellips all learning materials are coded with language-specific metadata (mainly based on descriptors derived from the Common European Framework), so that developers can easily find and reuse materials and so-called ‘semi-adaptivity’ is allowed (students automatically receive more exercises on the topics which they have not yet mastered). Other important features of Ellips are full Unicode support, extensive feedback (for every item in an exercise and for the whole exercise), a student-tracking system, the use of (streaming) audio and video, and the possibility to record student input and store it in a portfolio.

This paper reports on a large-scale project designed to replicate an earlier investigation of tertiary students (Felix, 2001) in a secondary school environment. The new project was carried out in five settings, again investigating the potential of the Web as a medium of language instruction. Data was collected by questionnaires and observational procedures to ascertain student perceptions of the usefulness of Web-based learning, their views on its advantages and disadvantages, their personal comfort and enjoyment when working with the Web, their preferred mode of delivery, their evaluation of the quality of resources used, and their learning styles and study preferences. Results of both studies showed that students were on the whole positively inclined to working with the Web and found it useful, with the majority preferring to use the Web as an add-on to face-to-face teaching. Reported advantages in both studies outweighed disadvantages. The secondary students felt significantly more comfortable on the Web, worked longer hours and reported more evenly distributed study preferences. Most favoured a kinesthetic learning style and significant relationships between learning style and mode preference were found. Differential findings related to gender emerged in the two studies.