This paper presents a comparative analysis of corrective feedback provided by participants in an eTandem interaction between university students in Japan and Australia who were learning each other's language. Corrective feedback provided to tandem partners during interaction via text-based Synchronous Computer Mediated Communication (SCMC) is…

This paper describes an adaptive learning system based on mobile phone email to support the study of Japanese Kanji. In this study, the main emphasis is on using the adaptive learning to resolve one common problem of the mobile-based email or SMS language learning systems. To achieve this goal, the authors main efforts focus on three aspects:…

Email has revolutionised the way in which professionals work and companies operate, and yet has received surprisingly little scholarly attention in English for Specific Purposes and has an unexpectedly muted presence in many Business English textbooks. The dearth of research into email use in globalised business settings may be one of the factors…

The present study investigated Japanese students' EFL vocabulary development through e-mail interactions with a native English speaker (NS), with primary focus on students' imitation of new words. According to sociocultural theory, learners can internalize new linguistic knowledge by imitating an expert's expressions to create his/her own…

In traditional classes, having many questions from learners is important because these questions indicate difficult points for learners and for teachers. This paper proposes a FAQ-based e-Learning environment to support Japanese language learning that focuses on learner questions. This knowledge sharing system enables learners to interact and…

English foreign language learners generally tend to consider email exchanges with native speakers (NSs) as an effective tool for improving their foreign language proficiency. This study investigated Jordanian university students' perceptions of using email exchanges with native English keypals (NEKs) for improving their writing competency. A…

This paper presents the description of an email Tandem exchange project conducted between 94 intermediate-level students (47 pairs) from Columbia University/Barnard College in New York and Universidad Autonóma de Madrid in Spain during the Fall Semester 2010. There were several goals to this project: to help improve students' writing skills; to…

Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) can augment second language teaching and learning by taking it into the real world. Authentic communicative situations in conjunction with the cultural artefacts and metalinguistic clues offered by the context can promote active learning; however, as respondents of the study presented in this chapter…

This study examines how novice foreign language (FL) writers develop their genre awareness, linguistic knowledge, and writing competence in a genre-based writing course that incorporates email-writing tasks. To define genre, the study draws on systemic functional linguistics (SFL) that sees language as a resource for making meaning in a particular…

This research explores what constitutes an educational tool for students in the Sultanate of Oman, using a quantitative questionnaire with face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Students and teachers at Nizwa College of Technology and Salalah College of Technology participated in the study. Educational tools are widely used as part of…

This paper reports on Stage 1 of a learning and teaching project focused on students studying in the Chinese and English language delivery of transnational Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs of an Australian university. The programs are delivered using limited and intensive face-to-face teaching augmented by self-directed and…

In 2001, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) released the "Rainbow Plan" as the educational reform plan for the twenty-first century. As part of the plan, MEXT will make English education activities compulsory at Japanese public elementary schools beginning in 2011. The purpose of the Rainbow Plan…

This dissertation explores the effects of a cross-cultural, cross-lingual virtual exchange on students' foreign language skills and intercultural competence. Specifically, the dissertation investigates the effects of students' participation in a twelve-week telecollaborative exchange on their use of syntactic complexity in foreign language writing…

Language teachers have long been aware of the devastating effect of learners' grammatically correct, yet situationally inappropriate spoken or written communication. This volume addresses how to raise learner awareness of pragmatic gaffs through research-based, field-tested activities such as composing e-mail requests, giving advice, making…

In this paper, we describe and evaluate two state-of-the-art systems for identifying and correcting writing errors involving English articles and prepositions. Criterion[superscript SM], developed by Educational Testing Service, and "ESL Assistant", developed by Microsoft Research, both use machine learning techniques to build models of article…