The study investigates a relationship between what is looked up about new words when different kinds of information are available and how well these words are remembered. The dictionary information has been incorporated into a CALL programme which was comprised of a text, highlighted low-frequency words, and access to different lexical information about these words (explanation in English, translation into L1, sound, root, and "extra" information).
The subjects were English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university learners in Hong Kong and Israel. The target words examined for incidental learning were 12 low frequency words. Pre-tests showed that they were unfamiliar to most subjects. The subjects were asked to read the text on the screen and understand it so that they could take a comprehension test after reading it. Unknown words could be looked up in the CALL dictionary built into the programme. During the task, log files registered every selection of dictionary information. After task completion, subjects were unexpectedly tested on meaning recall of the target words.
Recall data were analysed (ANOVAs, repeated measures, and correlations) to establish possible connections between retention and lookup behaviour (type of information selected, and number of lookups for each word). Results suggest that different people have different lookup preferences and that the use of multiple dictionary information seems to reinforce retention. The teaching implication is, therefore, to provide a variety of lookup options catering to different lookup preferences in paper or CALL dictionaries when assigning tasks that involve reading comprehension and understanding of unfamiliar words.
[Copyright of Language Learning & Technology is the property of Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf.
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This article reports on a project which involved enabling teachers in Hong Kong primary schools to use an online integrated learning environment (ILE) to design lesson plans to cater for students with different learning abilities. Teachers explored ways of using technology to enhance student learning. A case-study approach was used to collect data on individual teacher developments and document evolving classroom teaching strategies. The findings revealed that when using the ILE teachers were able to: 1. effectively design and create lessons which catered for different ability groups within the class; 2. employ varied teaching strategies to cater for different learning needs of students in the class; 3. shift from more traditional pedagogical approaches to embracing learner-centred principles which achieve a higher degree of classroom interaction; and 4. collaborate with others, discuss their feelings more honestly, evaluate and reflect on their own practice.
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Self-access centres are sometimes portrayed as being at the forefront of pedagogical innovation. They are also said to be technology-rich language learning environments. In practice, however, the application of technology in a self-access environment has proven to be a challenge. This article focuses on 10 self-access centres that were found to be the most intensive users of technology out of a total of 45 centres investigated worldwide. The article describes the range of technologies used by these centres and the types of administrative procedures and student learning supported. It also compares these centres with the other 35 in the study to identify how they differ in the way they make use of technology.
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Computer-based learning materials differ from classroom practice in that they seldom explicitly offer opportunities for collaboration. Despite this, students do collaborate, helping one another through the content and affordances of computer materials. But, in doing so, students meet with challenges. Paradoxically, these challenges can either inspire or discourage learning and second-language acquisition. This paper, based on research with twenty Hong Kong university students in a controlled experiment, evaluates challenges to collaboration at the computer as evidenced by discourse. The students were videotaped and their discourse transcribed and evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively, according to a set of discourse markers created to describe collaborative, non-collaborative and ambiguous strategies. The paper begins by exploring the differences between collaboration and similar terms such as teamwork and cooperative learning then goes on to define collaboration in the context of computer-assisted learning. It ends by presenting practical suggestions for software designers, teachers and students to enhance collaboration at the computer.
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