Australian Review of Applied Linguistics. Supplement Series - Volume 17, Issue 1, 2003

As class contact times are reduced as a result of fiscal restraints in the modern tertiary sector, language instructors are placed in the position of having to find new ways to provide experience and continuity in language learning. Extending ‘learning communities’ — sites of learner knowledge exchange, exposure to diverse learning styles and strategies, and mutual support — beyond the classroom is one solution to maintaining successful linguistic competencies amongst learners. This, however, can conflict with the diverse extra-curricular commitments faced by tertiary students. The flexibility of web-based learning platforms provides one means of overcoming these obstacles. This study investigates learner perceptions of the use of the Web-CT® platform’s CMC tools as a means of extending the community of learning in tertiary Chinese language and non-language courses. Learner responses to Likert and open-ended questionnaires show that flexibility and reduction of negative affect are seen as significant benefits to ‘virtual’ interaction and communication, although responses are notably stronger in the non-language compared with the language cohort. While both learner cohorts acknowledge positive learning outcomes, CMC is not seen to consistently further interpersonal rapport beyond that established in the classroom. Maintaining a balance between web-based and classroom learning emerges as a concern, especially amongst language learners.

In 1999, Bridges To China, a 40-unit, intermediate level, Web-based course in Modern Standard Chinese was produced. The design drew on the work of Vygotsky, Bruner and Halliday for an integrated linguistic, learning and instructional framework. The course is now being extended to a standalone CD-ROM version, with consequent loss of peer interaction and live teacher guidance. Access to other people in joint involvement episodes (Schaffer, 1996) was fundamental to the goals of the original course. Consequently, attempts have been made to “maintain the dialogue” in the CD-ROM course. The paper will report the trialling of one such attempt: an innovative mode of self-assessment in tasks of length where the learner’s efforts are novel, using annotated sample texts generated by other students. The trials show that using annotated samples facilitated by the computer allows learners to assess their own work, learn a great deal from the language used by others, identify and even correct formal errors of their own, and enjoy contact with virtual classmates. The result means that a major limitation on CD-ROM CALL design can be considerably lessened.

This study examined the implementation of computer assisted group project activities in a beginners’ Japanese foreign language course. Questions to be investigated were whether or not the implementation of the activities facilitated the beginners’ learning and what other factors affected their learning through the project. Data on (a) the learners’ motivation toward Japanese learning and language learning using the computer, (b) their perceptions of their achievement, and (c) their reflections on the project-based activities, were collected by questionnaire surveys and through the subjects’ journals and reports. The analysis of the participants’ feedback demonstrated that the computer assisted group project activities were overall received positively and provided some, if not all, learners with an alternative approach for learning Japanese as a foreign language. Generally the more smoothly the group work went, the more the learners appear to have achieved through the activities. Three factors appeared to be crucial for the success of the activities: (1) self-directed learning; (2) group dynamics; and, (3) computer-related skills. These outcomes are rather encouraging for the use of projectbased activities as part of the course syllabus.

In recent years researchers have investigated the use of Internet applications for language and cultural learning. While this new technology seems to have provided an educational breakthrough, relatively little linguistic research has been conducted particularly in relation to second language acquisition. Therefore the efficacy of the Internet applications not just for cultural studies or the expansion of knowledge, but also for second/foreign language acquisition remains uncertain. This study explores communicative interactions between native speakers (NSs) and non-native speakers (NNSs) of Japanese. Internet Relay Chat (IRC) was chosen as the setting for this study, because of the resemblance of chat line interactions to verbal exchanges. The linguistic focus in this study was specifically on one form of corrective feedback, namely implicit negative feedback (NF), which provides information to language learners about what is unacceptable in target language (e.g. Long, 1996). It has been claimed that NF plays an important facilitative role in language development. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate whether NSs provide NF to their NNS interlocutors in interactions during chat line conversations, and whether the NNS’s used this feedback in their subsequent production. The participants were NNSs and NSs of Japanese, formed into 12 gender-matched dyads. Each pair had free on-line “conversation” in three separate sessions. The results show that the proportion of NSs’ NF to the number of NNSs’ non-target-like turns was . lower than that found in the previous studies based on face to face verbal interactions. Even so NF was provided, and it was used – however it remains unclear as to whether or not on-line interactions elicit sufficient NF for acquisition to occur.

This empirical study of Resource Based Learning in a group project in intermediate Japanese classes investigated students’ learning process during their interactions with Web resources. The learners researched an aspect of Japanese society of their choice, using different types of available learning resources (e.g., human, media, literature, e-mail, and the Web) and gave oral presentations based on their research. The researchers observed the students throughout the semester while they were working on the various learning resources and took notes on their activities and interactions. After the presentation, one of the researchers conducted a follow-up interview with seven students from different groups. Based on the empirical data, the findings are described and interpreted. Results show learners’ positive perceptions of the gains of the project, and that learners most valued the resource from which they best obtained the information needed for their research content and topic. Although this project created a larger learning environment, learners were required to develop strategies to understand and use the authentic Web resources beyond their language proficiency; and to use information searching skills and critical thinking skills in order to be successful in resource-based learning using the Web.

This article reports the results of a study conducted to examine the use of three different reading text formats: paper-based format (PF), computerbased non-hypertext format (NHF), and computer-based hypertext format (HF). It investigates foreign language learners’ reactions to the three text formats, focusing particularly on the usefulness of hyperlinks in computermediated text to provide readers with optional assistance during independent reading. Data collected from an interview with a group of Korean as a foreign language (KFL) students are presented and discussed. The results of this study show that the students considered the use of hyperlinks to be helpful and useful for their learning and suggest that it is important to look at the way in which reading materials and supporting information are presented when designing or selecting computer-assisted language learning (CALL) programs.

This paper explores current arguments on the virtual nature of experiences in learning via the Internet and the World Wide Web in the context of the design and recent implementation of an off-campus distributed language course in Indonesian developed by the author. The establishment of the course has been in response to the demand for more flexible modes of delivery that are capable of assisting learners to accommodate language study with the demands of employment and family commitments. It would appear, however, that for some language learners the remoteness of learning in a virtual classroom is in conflict with their ultimate goal of interpersonal communication within a new cultural context. While on-line or CD-ROM tasks are reflective of those encountered in on-campus language learning, for some learners the unfamiliarity of negotiating through an electronic medium gives little sense of a shared experience. The paper argues that these activities can only be exploited to strong effect when integrated within an approach that constantly seeks to link the learner to a community of learners with whom they share common goals, and to the wider native speaker community whose culture they wish to interact with.

This paper outlines the findings of a two-year evaluation of learner use of software tools in a multimedia software package for teaching Indonesian listening comprehension and culture. This software package was introduced into the Introductory language program to help address the need of total beginners for exposure to native speakers using daily language in ordinary ways, on common, everyday topics. The package is designed to introduce, develop, and reinforce appropriate learning strategies at the same time. Data on learner perceptions of the ease of use, and appropriateness of the software interface were investigated, in order to improve our understandings of the perceptions and reactions of novices compared to experienced users of multimedia software packages. This investigation includes an analysis of the differences in strategy use between high, medium and low proficiency learners, and their use of the software Help tools such as grammar reference notes, language laboratory simulation, replay facility, and mid-task answer checking.