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WorldCALL CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS: Global perspectives on Computer-

Assisted Language Learning

Conference Paper · April 2022

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDI
NGS
Global perspectives on Computer-Assisted Language Learning
Glasgow, 10-13 July 2013

PAPERS
 Global perspectives on Computer-Assisted Language Learning
Glasgow, 10-13 July 2013
Papers

Table of Contents

Socially multilingual? An exploration of informal language learning practices on Facebook ............................... 1

Personalizing language learning/teaching in PerLe: An open-source dynamic approach ...................................... 5
SpeakApps Open Educational Resources ............................................................................................................... 9
Creating a sustainable video annotated corpus: Issues and opportunities in a constantly evolving digital world 12
Collaborative learning in 3-D virtual environments ............................................................................................. 17
Data and elicitation methods in interaction-based research .................................................................................. 21
Towards a sustainability framework for large collaborative CALL projects........................................................ 29
Does mobile learning need to move? .................................................................................................................... 32
A comparative study of Italian learners’ mobile phone usage inside and outside the classroom ......................... 36
The online-community culture in massively multiplayer online role-playing games affects language learners’
use of vocabulary learning strategies .................................................................................................................... 39
Nuancing language to inform a communicative presence within asynchronous online learning communities .... 43
Language teachers’ use of social networking technologies in India ..................................................................... 47
An online lexical tutor for promoting formulaic language acquisition ................................................................. 50
Developing learner autonomy through cooperative learning on the online platform of “College English
Language Skills Training Systems” ...................................................................................................................... 54
School-to-school correspondence—Then and now .............................................................................................. 57
Intrinsic motivation in a blended learning environment ....................................................................................... 60
Seeking out fun failure: How positive failure feedback could enhance the instructional effectiveness of CALL
mini-games ........................................................................................................................................................... 64
Experiences of e-tandem language learning: collaborative learning principles .................................................... 69
Fostering multilingualism with computer-based multilingual storybooks: The European Comenius project
MuViT .................................................................................................................................................................. 73
Pre-service Chilean teachers’ perceptions of cooperative culture teaching in a face-to-face and 3D virtual
environment: An exploratory study ...................................................................................................................... 76
Improving learners’ reading skills through instant short messages: A sample study using WhatsApp ................. 80
Learning for the long haul: Developing perceptions of learning affordances in CALL teachers ......................... 85
 WorldCALL 2013: 10–13 July, Glasgow ii

Investigating the impact of text chat on the quality of oral production during face-to-face speaking tasks ......... 88
CALLing on Ethiopia ........................................................................................................................................... 92
How does extensive reading online influence L2 students’ motivation to read? ................................................. 97
Digital content curation for CALL ..................................................................................................................... 101
Developing educational courseware material to enhance reading comprehension skill ..................................... 104
Interactive Digital Kitchen as a language learning tool: Applying Activity Theory to understand the scenario 109
The development of self-regulated learning behaviour in out-of-class CALL activities in a university EFL
blended learning course ...................................................................................................................................... 112
A Moodle-based blended-learning approach for teaching English for Medical Purposes .................................. 117
Dynamics of sustainable pedagogical development: Insights from higher education language teaching ........... 121
Metacognitive and attitudinal issues in second language collaborative projects: Improving individual self-
awareness and collective dynamics .................................................................................................................... 124
Optimized dynamic displaying mode of chunks to improve reading efficiency ................................................. 128
Does ICT teacher training bring benefits to the language classroom? ................................................................ 132
The factors that facilitate or hinder the use of ICT for language learning .......................................................... 135
What to consider for effective Mobile-Assisted Language Learning: Design implications from an empirical
analysis ............................................................................................................................................................... 138
Improvement of EFL learners’ speaking proficiency with a web-based CALL system ..................................... 141
Integration of open internet resources into an ESP course of English for Complex Safety students .................. 145
How does technology contribute to L2 learners’ look-ups? ............................................................................... 149
A study of college EFL learners’ continued use of and the perceptual changes toward mobile-assisted language
learning ............................................................................................................................................................... 153
Learning Slovak in an eLearning environment ................................................................................................... 156
L2 learning and researching through social media ............................................................................................. 160
Enhancing learner autonomy and critical reading by an on-line course incorporating Professional English
reading ................................................................................................................................................................ 165
A pedagogical model to support collaborative online intercultural language learning environments ................ 171
Creating activities from adaptive learning objects.............................................................................................. 175
Rethinking sustainable CALL classroom integration ......................................................................................... 178
The role and scope of non-SLA theories in CALL: Broadening the horizons .................................................... 181
The effect of an electronic storybook on kindergarten children’s reading comprehension: do games help? ..... 184
Exploring the efficacy of CMC on second language writing: A meta-analysis .................................................. 189
Social networking, collaborative learning, and emerging technologies: Sustainability claimed and projected.. 194
Research on the application of Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) in English language teaching in China: Taking
Jukuu English Essay Assessor (JEEA) as an example ........................................................................................ 200
Improving the grammatical competence of Spanish university EFL students: Design and implementation of a
web-based learning system. ................................................................................................................................ 205
Factors that determine CALL integration into Modern Languages Courses in Brazil........................................ 208
Webtv and webradio to improve production in L2: An experimental study in Italian L2 .................................. 212
Tabletop computer: An agency for ESL collaborative reading .......................................................................... 217
Research on the development of fluency in a CALL integrated environment .................................................... 223
 WorldCALL 2013: 10–13 July, Glasgow iii

Preparing EFL learners for studying abroad: Possibilities for developing their oral communication skills through
classroom instruction utilizing CALL materials ................................................................................................. 227
Sustainability in CALL learning environments: A Systematic Functional Grammar approach ......................... 230
Evaluating assessment procedures in a super-sized English as a foreign language online class ........................ 234
Transformative learning: The developmental processes of L2 teachers as effective users of online resources for
language teaching and learning .......................................................................................................................... 241
The impact of speech training software on teaching EFL .................................................................................. 245
The effect of blended learning on watching on-line Coursera lectures using mobile technologies .................... 248
The effect of using online TOEIC related materials via mobile technologies .................................................... 251
Empirical validation of a design hypothesis: The EuroCatering project ............................................................ 254
Social groups in CALL contexts, complex adaptive systems (CAS) .................................................................. 257
Impact of iPod Touch-supported Repeated Reading on the English oral reading fluency of L2 students with
specific learning difficulties ............................................................................................................................... 262
Using phenomenography to compare the variation of language teachers and learners’ attitudes towards
Computer Assisted Language Learning .............................................................................................................. 267
Charting recent development in Computer Assisted Language Learning........................................................... 272
Using mobile technologies to promote authentic oral language learning and new forms of language assessment
............................................................................................................................................................................ 276
A pervasive language learning environment: The European Digital Kitchen .................................................... 280
Multimodal interfaces: Blending gaze, gesture, movement and speech to overcome the limitations of keyboard,
mouse & touchscreen.......................................................................................................................................... 283
Teacher narratives: Digital storytelling, methodology and cultural appropriacy ................................................ 286
Using text analysers as an aid to examining the effects of task complexity on academic L2 writing ................ 290
Setting up and sustaining online language learning Moodle courses for 500 computer science students: Can it be
done? .................................................................................................................................................................. 293
Assessing proficiency development online ......................................................................................................... 298
Pedagogical evaluation of web-based autonomous language learning ............................................................... 302
Intercontinental Russian-English workshop ....................................................................................................... 305
Students’ perspectives on the benefits of using mobile apps for learning languages ......................................... 310
How has language students’ use of technologies changed: 2006–2011? ............................................................ 314
Developing intercultural competence through web-based exploration and interaction ...................................... 317
Sustaining out-of-class mobile learning through a mobile phone-based “push” mechanism ............................. 320
Flipped classrooms and CALL sustainability: A rationale for the development of flipped classrooms for
sustainable CALL ............................................................................................................................................... 323
The OER movement in Korea: A national digital textbook development and an institutional learning archive
system implementation ....................................................................................................................................... 327
The effects of CALL software on teaching English pronunciation and TOEIC ................................................. 332
An international project developed on an SNS mixxt system making use of Web 2.0 technology to increase the
students’ core competence as future teachers ..................................................................................................... 334
A validity assessment of the comprehensive CALL system developed on the Three-Step Auditory
Comprehension Approach .................................................................................................................................. 337
Developing an e-portfolio to enhance sustainable vocabulary learning in English ........................................... 341
Using CASLR to estimate individual word difficulty ........................................................................................ 345
 WorldCALL 2013: 10–13 July, Glasgow iv

Tiered dissemination in a three-year plan to make digital learning ubiquitous in the educational system ......... 348
Cross-cultural videoconferencing and online discussion experienced by college students in Taiwan: A case of
collaboration with American students ................................................................................................................ 351
CALL in developing countries ........................................................................................................................... 354
Factors for sustainable CALL ............................................................................................................................. 357
A comparison of international students’ use of a social wall and a discussion forum in an online course ......... 360
LEarning and TEaching Corpora (LETEC): Data-sharing and repository for research on multimodal interactions
............................................................................................................................................................................ 364
Handcrafting video clips to foster audio-visual literacy in the EFL classroom .................................................. 369
What eye-tracking data can tell us about how learners use automated computer-based feedback to produce
revised drafts of essays ....................................................................................................................................... 373
The relationship between auditory vocabulary size, recognition rate and EFL listening comprehension skills . 376
Effects of online gaming experience on English achievement in an MMORPG learning environment ............. 379
LinguaLeo platform for language learning ......................................................................................................... 382
A corpus-based study of the use of vocabulary in academic writing .................................................................. 385
 WorldCALL 2013: 10–13 July, Glasgow 5

Global perspectives on Computer-Assisted Language Learning

Glasgow, 10-13 July 2013

Personalizing language learning/teaching in PerLe: An open-

source dynamic approach
Francesco Altimari Anna Franca Plastina Michael Cronin Maria Caria
University of University of University of University of
Calabria Calabria Calabria Calabria
Italy Italy Italy Italy

Abstract

This research advocates the importance of a paradigm shift away from the unsustainable one-size-fits-all approach and
toward personalized language learning/teaching through an open-source dynamic approach adopted in a customized Personal
Learning Environment (PerLe). The approach integrates values of the open-source paradigm, principles of participatory
learning and activities of self-regulated learning in line with the aims of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable
Development (2006-2015). Investigation was conducted on the benefits of an e-course of English for Specific Purposes
(ESP) for postgraduates specializing in Clinical Pathology. Preliminary results show benefits in terms of learner control,
language proficiency, participatory, and self-regulated learning. There is a strong need to move CALL practices beyond
current do-it-our-way methods to promote sustainable personalized language learning.

Keywords: ESP; ESD; ECLASS; Open-Source Dynamic Approach; Personal Learning Environments

© 2013 WorldCALL All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
A predominant objective of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is to improve quality in teaching and
learning by engaging learners in formal, non-formal and informal education, employing pedagogical techniques
that promote participatory learning (UNESCO, 2007). Emerging technologies are a key enabling factor that can
accelerate ESD and tackle the transition to a sustainable future (Lovink 2007). The availability of open-source
content and more customizable Learning Management Systems offers new potential for the implementation of
dynamic approaches to language learning, which accelerate the paradigm shift from the unsustainable one-size-
fits-all approach toward personalized learning.

Our main research objective was to seek the benefits that learners obtain from the experience of engaging in an
e-course which uses a dynamic open-source approach to personalize language learning. Seventeen post-
graduates, attending the School of Clinical Pathology at the University of Calabria, are currently enrolled in an
 WorldCALL 2013: 10–13 July, Glasgow 6

e-course developed in the Personal Learning Environment (PerLe) developed at the university. The e-course has
five ESP modules, each taken in blended modality with its ESP curricular course during a five-year programme.
This preliminary investigation is part of ongoing research and refers to learners’ experience over the past two
years. It addresses the issues of how learners: (a) controlled their learning processes; (b) self-assessed their
language proficiency levels in pre- and post-learning stages; (c) perceived personalized learning.

2. Method
Our dynamic approach integrated values of the open-source paradigm, principles of participatory learning and
activities of self-regulated learning. Digital resources were blended with self-authored content to support learner
engagement both in formal learning to fulfil e-course objectives and informal learning. Participatory learning
allowed learners to create, communicate, collaborate and study through a bricolage of open-source tools and the
repository of Learning Objects in PerLe. Flexible learning steps were introduced to enhance self-regulated
learning. This was possible because PerLe responds to the principles of adaptability and extensibility.
Differently from “locked-down, do-it-our-way” platforms that inhibit learner control (Siemens, 2004), PerLe
catered to the do-it-yourself approach. Thus, adaptability was practically implemented following the ECLASS
model (Gerson, 2000): Entry (learning objectives), Clarify (theoretical explanation), Look (exemplification),
Act (tasks), Self-Assessment (fulfilment of learning objectives), Summary (check-list of task completion). This
enabled learners to choose how to control their learning processes and self-regulate learning. As discussed
elsewhere, institutional constraints limit student engagement in practices of participatory and self-regulated
learning (Altimari et al., 2012; Plastina & Cronin, 2012). Adaptability was also implemented in the range of task
activities, tailored to different learning preferences and styles (Felder-Silverman, 1988). Learners were allowed
to make their own choices while pursuing the same learning goals. Extensibility was implemented through
access to extensive open-source tools and the repository of learning content, sourced especially when learners
worked on producing their e-portfolios.

3. Discussion
The available recording system was used to collect quantitative data on learners’ ECLASS behaviour, showing
their choices in controlling their learning processes. Results (in Figure 1) regard all the ECLASS steps, except
for Entry, which does not cover the factor of learner control.

Results show that learners controlled their learning processes through the following behaviours: (a) major
engagement in task activities (Act 37%); (b) moderate engagement in referencing practical examples (Look
24%); (c) moderate engagement in personal learning progress (Self-Assessment 21%); (d) scarce engagement
with theoretical explanations (Clarify 14%); (e) very scarce engagement with theoretical checklists (Summary
4%). Results thus reveal that the do-it-yourself approach generated spontaneous learning-by-doing behaviour
(Act, Look and Self-Assessment: 82%), and that learners chose to engage less with theoretical issues (Clarify
and Summary: 18%).
 WorldCALL 2013: 10–13 July, Glasgow 7

Figure 1: Learners’ ECLASS behaviour indicating choice of control.

Quantitative data on self-assessed language levels in the pre- and post-learning phases were collected from
learners’ e-portfolios. Data refer to an online questionnaire based on the Common European Framework (CEF)
completed by learners. Comparative data were elaborated for each learner (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Learners’ CEF language levels: Pre- and post-learning self-assessment.

Results demonstrate that learners self-assessed their language levels more positively after engaging in
personalized learning. While these results are consistent with those of their ECLASS behaviour, they implicitly
indicate that learners’ preference for certain tasks and activities empowered self-regulated learning with a
positive impact even on weaker language skills.

Qualitative data on learner perception were gathered from the informal forum where learners freely posted
comments and ideas about different aspects of the e-course and the learning environment. Comments mostly
focussed on the importance of language use to: (a) create multimedia products (e.g. animated doctor-patient
dialogues) and new resources (e.g. an ESP Wordbank); (b) communicate through different social networks (e.g.
blogs, twitter) sharing professional ideas or for enjoyment; (c) collaborate, for instance, in creating a small
content repository of external resources; (d) study (e.g. formulating and responding to FAQs).
 WorldCALL 2013: 10–13 July, Glasgow 8

4. Conclusions
The investigation revealed that students chose to control their learning processes, orienting their behaviour
mainly toward learning-by-doing. Active engagement was further reflected in learners’ improved language
skills. The overall positive attitude shown rested mainly in the control learners were conceded through the
dynamic open-source approach adopted in PerLe. Our research is currently investigating how learner control can
be further empowered in succeeding modules to enhance learner preferences. Personalized learning is key to
achieving positive learning outcomes and to meeting different learner needs and preferences. This approach to
CALL should be further developed to promote sustainable personalized learning.

5. References
Altimari F., Plastina A. F., Cronin M. D. , Servidio R. C. , Caria M. , Pedrazzoli A. (2012). Authoring
tutored, adaptive e-courses in a personal learning environment: A dynamic syllabus and dynamic assembly
approach. Proceedings of WCECS 2012, Vol. 1 (pp. 236-242). San Francisco, USA.

Felder, R.M., Silverman, L.K. (1988). Learning and teaching styles model. Journal of Engineering Education,
78(7), 674-681.

Gerson, S. M. (2000). E-CLASS: Creating a guide to online course development for Distance Learning. Faculty
Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 3(4).

Lovink, S. (2007). Accelerated learning pathways for sustainable development within international context. The
Hague: The Institute for Environmental Security.

Plastina, A.F., Cronin, M.D. (2012). Inclusion in the service of higher education: A dynamic approach to
authoring e-language courses. Paper presented at the International Symposium on Eurolinguistics and the
Challenge of Language Barriers in the Public Service, University of Calabria, Italy, 8-9 November 2012.

Siemens, G. (2004). Learning Management Systems: The wrong place to start learning. eLearnspace. Retrieved
October 6, 2012, from: http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/lms.htm.

UNESCO (2007). The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD 2005-2014). The First
Two Years. Paris: Section for DESD Coordination (ED/UNP/DESD) Division for the Co-ordination of UN
Priorities in Education. Retrieved October 6, 2012, from:
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001540/154093e.pdf.

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