To respond to students' need for more speaking practice, the Open University's Centre for Modern Languages is currently investigating the benefits of using an Internet-based, real-time audio application in distance learning/teaching. During a four-month trial period, French and German students met at weekly intervals to use the target language and participated in role-plays or other pre-arranged learning tasks requiring collaborative interaction. This paper describes the FLUENT (Framework for Language Use in Environments Embedded in New Technology) project from the tutors' point of view, focusing on how learner autonomy and the tutor role were affected by the new learning environment.

The Open University (OU) is UK's largest modern foreign language learning provider with a current enrolment of approximetely 8000 students, all of whom study individually at home, at a distance from each other and their tutors. However, while most OU students work with trditional course material such as books, video- and audio-cassettes and face-to-face tutorials, research at the centre for Modern Languages (CML) has also investigated alternative methods in order to account for those learners who might be unable to attend face-to-face tutorials. The study described in this paper outlines work in progress that is part of a larger, long-term project seeking to establish a framework for the use of networking technologies in distance language learning with a particular emphasis onl the ldevelopment of scenarios – that is task design and learning environments – which will enable participants to improve their spoken and communication skills in the target language.

The Internet offers a wealth of information and unlimited resources that teachers can use in order to expose students to authentic language use. Exposure, however, is not enough to trigger language acquisition. Students need to be involved in tasks that integrate the use of computers and enhance language acquisition. This paper outlines an instructional system designed to guide English as a Second Language (ESL) students through their exploration of the Internet and carry out projects that will ultimately help them improve their reading and writing skills and enrich their vocabulary. Through this instructional system the benefits of using the Internet for ESL purposes with different types of students in different educational environments can be maximised.

This paper stems out of the author's work developed thanks to her secondment as the representative for Languages to the Task Force for Teaching, Learning and Assessment at Coventry University. The aim of the secondment is to disseminate a recognised model of good CALL practice, the FREE - Fluid Role-Exchange Environment (Orsini-Jones and Jones 1996, Orsini-Jones 1999), to other areas of Italian Studies, to languages other than Italian and to the rest of the university. This paper will show how the model was disseminated to the teaching of EFL and Italian translation studies via the use of the Web. The paper will finally consider a few issues relating to the impact of the implementation of C&IT change in Languages.

This paper looks at the design of a computing course for modern languages students. The goals of this course are to raise the level of IT skills with which modern languages students typically enter higher education; to ensure that students gain the maximum benefit and enjoyment from their programme of study; and to equip students with valuable transferable skills appropriate for a modern languages graduate of the twenty-first century. The rationable behind the key decisions affecting the design of the course is explained and practical suggestions for teaching the major topics are given. Particular attention is given to the sensitive issue of assessment which can have a powerful influence on student motivation.

Language learning should be enhanced by information and communication technology (ICT). This article describe a foundation-year curriculum for future language teachers. In this curriculum the training in the use of information and communication technology tools was integrated with language learning and language teaching methodology. A learning environment ‘Professional Skills’ is described as well as the database applications ‘Wordbook’ and ‘Reading file’. Data of a summative evaluation are presented.

Much has been published on the subject of the role of concordancing in foreign language teaching, most of itin the field of EFL. Of crucial importance is the corpus on which concordances are based. This article describes how a pedagogic corpus can be downloaded from the Web as well as its experimental exploitation with first and second year undergraduates.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the application of a computer mediated curriculum in the instruction of advanced written academic communication skills in a non-immersion situation. While previous studies have focused upon collaborative writing within a computer networked environment (Gregor & Cuskelfy 1994), the use of computer-tutorial programs (Warschauer, Turbee & Roberts 1996), or the additive effects of supplemental computer-based instruction (Chun 1994), the present study dealt with the implementation of a fully computer based EFL writing curriculum through the use of authentic electronic computer programs. The following research questions were posed at the outset of the study:

1. To what extent does the use of authentic tools, tasks and environment encourage communicative competence in the computer networked EFL academic writing classroom?

2. What is the effect of computer mediated instruction on teacher-student interaction, collaborative learning, and students' attitudes and motivation?

3. What are the benefits gained from a computer-assisted portfolio assessment?

The investigation design consisted of an experimental group which studied exclusively in the computerised lab and a control group which was taught in a regular classroom according to conventional teaching methods. Data collecting instruments comprised background and attitude questionnaires, on-site observations, informal interviews, and systematic evaluation and assessment. Findings indicate that authentic tools, tasks and environment are a strong motivating factor. While the compter-nelworked environment enhanced the teacher-student interaction, it diminished peer collaboration. Computer-assisted portfolio assessment appears to be advantageous to both the instructor and students.

Whereas improvements in CALL design are dependent on theories of language learning and acquisition, limitations to the former have arisen from widespread disagreements over the latter. This paper attempts to point towards a way forward using an evolutionary epistemological understanding of language learning, and some implications of such an approach for CALL. An evolutionary approach, involving trial and error elimination, requires a multi-dimensional learner-centred model that takes into account advancements in psychology, education and linguistics, areas that have often been ignored by CALL researchers and practitioners.

Dans le domaine de l'apprentissage, les attitudes et les représentations des apprenants jouent un rôle fondamental. La recherche exposée dans cet article met en évidence des différences sensibles de profil d'apprentissage chez des étudiants linguistes et non-linguistes. Elle montre également que les représentations de I'apprentissage des langues et celles des Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication (TIC) chez ces deux populations sont bel et bien des représentations sociales, qui montrent un remarquable recouvrement entre les deux domaines étudiés. Enfin, une étude longitudinale d'un échantillon de la population étudiée montre que les profils d'apprentissage et les représentations sont susceptibles d'évolution. La question reste posée de I'influence de I'environment multimédia d'apprentissage de la langue sur cette évolution constatée.

A multimedia learning environment would appear to benefit from an intelligent tutoring system that draws on didactic expertise, knowledge of the program structure, and knowledge of the learner's previous activities. On the other hand, one may argue against a tutor because of the damaging effects on learner autonomy: the tutor may hamper genuine learning by taking the learner by the hand, whereas what the learner needs is to have sufficient space to move freely through material in an explorative rather than an executive mode, generating her own queries and finding her own solutions. It is argued that tutoring may be a necessary stage on the road to autonomy.

This paper sketches the place and function of grammar in the context of language learning in general and attempts to show the relevance and usefulness of these formal concepts of grammar to Computer-Assisted Language Learning in particular. The approach to grammar described here will be illustrated through a brief discussion of a grammar checker for English learners of German, ‘Textana’, which is being developed at UMIST.

This article discusses strategies for creating a supportive grammar learning environment, which have been implemented in CALL packages for Dutch. They stem from recent advances in cognitive psychology and cognitive linguistics, as well as our own experience. The basic metaphor behind our conception of the ideal CALL package is that of a toolbox rather than a set of instructions. Users select a tool from a range of available instruments because they think it is the one that suits their purpose best. Different learners may pick out different tools and use them in different ways, even if their goals are the same.

This paper reports on the experimental use of a broadband computer network hypermedia environment for language learning (French, English and Spanish). Using Web-based resources, students engage in a collaborative task over a network which offers high quality video-conferencing, application sharing and access to authentic multimedia resources. One of the main aims was to establish the practicalities of providing learners of languages with opportunities to engage in reciprocal peer tutoring. After outlining the pedagogical assumptions, and describing the set-up of the network-based learning environment, the trials are analysed, and the effectiveness of network-based language learning in supporting collaborative learning is discussed.