This paper describes the use of screencast feedback to enhance teaching presence and weekly self-reflection surveys to enhance social presence among students and build a community of learners. These approaches were found to diminish the feeling of isolation in online learning environments. Further findings indicated that this multimodal approach…

Foreign Language (FL) classrooms should be places where, at a minimum, communication is taking place in the foreign language being taught and intercultural understanding is also being developed. However, in countries where the majority of students are from a single cultural background, it is often difficult to keep students on-task if they do not…

The authors are developing and using a fill-in workbook system that allows faculty members to ascertain the attitude of all students to classes including students who are not active, and to improve lectures through well-timed and appropriate actions. In this paper, in order to help teachers improve lessons and teaching materials, and to help…

Edmodo has a significant role and place in the language teaching and learning contexts. However, there is no conclusive evidence on how Edmodo affects the language learning process. This study aims to present a review of the studies to make recommendations for teachers and researchers for further research. The study concludes that learners and…

Globalization has led to an increased need for Japanese students to improve their communicative abilities in order to compete on the world stage. As a result, the Japanese government has reformed the English education system in Japan to focus on more practical communication. Due to a lack of time and resources available to do this successfully,…

The aim of this study was to discover what potential benefits of Virtual Reality (VR) use students perceived in comparison to smartphone use in an English-speaking activity. Two surveys were conducted over three interventions in order to ascertain these student perceptions. Ten students enrolled in an elective English class at a Japanese…

Ensuring that students are "engaged" in learning is a key concern for instructors across many fields. With regards to vocabulary in language learning, teachers should provide students with tasks which promote high levels of motivation and resultant engagement. The recent trend of online systems which have dynamic, collaborative, and even…