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Editorial

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5 pages, 175 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Examining the Roles of Technology in Sustaining Language Teaching and Learning

by Fang Huang and Li Sun

Sustainability 2023, 15(24), 16664; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416664 - 8 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1437

Abstract

The use of technology is currently pervasive in language teaching and learning, and technology adoption is especially important to sustain teaching and learning, which could be affected by unexpected events [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technology-Enhanced Language Teaching and Learning: Innovations, Challenges, and Concerns)

Research

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21 pages, 315 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Digital Inequities: Promoting Digital Justice during the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Gregory Scott Child and Kim Song

Sustainability 2023, 15(17), 12862; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712862 - 25 Aug 2023

Viewed by 848

Abstract

This qualitative study examines the actions taken by 12 US content teachers during the pandemic to provide their emergent bilingual learners (EBLs) with a digitally just education. When the pandemic forced schools to close their doors and transition to a virtual setting, teachers [...] Read more.

This qualitative study examines the actions taken by 12 US content teachers during the pandemic to provide their emergent bilingual learners (EBLs) with a digitally just education. When the pandemic forced schools to close their doors and transition to a virtual setting, teachers were faced with the reality that EBLs lacked the digital resources, skills, and literacies to successfully participate in virtual schooling. Based on the theory of digital justice, which seeks to promote digital equity for minoritized populations, this investigation was carried out to better understand how content teachers supported their EBLs during the pandemic. Through a series of semi-structured focus group interviews, data were collected and analyzed through open and axial coding. The findings from this study revealed how teachers provided technology for their EBLs, which strategies they took to support EBLs’ digital literacy development, and how virtual instruction impacted educational expectations. The findings also highlighted the issue of who was responsible for providing digital justice which has large implications on providing socially just educational experiences. This work emphasizes the importance of not only closing the digital divide, but also proactively developing EBLs’ digital skills and literacies necessary for 21st-century careers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technology-Enhanced Language Teaching and Learning: Innovations, Challenges, and Concerns)

15 pages, 625 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Teaching Multimodal Literacies with Digital Technologies and Augmented Reality: A Cluster Analysis of Australian Teachers’ TPACK

by Lynde Tan, Russell Thomson, Joyce Hwee Ling Koh and Alice Chik

Sustainability 2023, 15(13), 10190; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310190 - 27 Jun 2023

Viewed by 2019

Abstract

Despite the proliferation of augmented reality (AR) apps, Australian primary teachers have yet to use them widely for the teaching of multimodal literacies. Conceptualising teachers’ knowledge of using digital technologies to teach multimodal literacies as a form of technological pedagogical content knowledge or [...] Read more.

Despite the proliferation of augmented reality (AR) apps, Australian primary teachers have yet to use them widely for the teaching of multimodal literacies. Conceptualising teachers’ knowledge of using digital technologies to teach multimodal literacies as a form of technological pedagogical content knowledge or TPACK(ML), this study examined teacher differences through a cluster analysis of survey responses collected from a sample of 142 Australian primary school teachers. Two distinct clusters of teachers were derived. The first cluster with lower TPACK(ML) comprised teachers with lower self-reported confidence in facilitating new cultures of learning that are participatory and technology-driven in nature. In their open-ended survey responses, these teachers shared their unfamiliarity with AR, as well as concerns about their personal technical competency and how AR could be integrated into the curriculum. The second cluster of teachers rated themselves higher in TPACK(ML) and in how they used technology to support language learning pedagogies. They were able to propose different pedagogical strategies to engage students’ multimodal literacies meaningfully with AR in their open-ended survey responses. The implications of the study’s findings were discussed, and recommendations were proposed for designing and sustaining differentiated forms of teacher professional development for teaching multimodal literacies with emergent digital technologies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technology-Enhanced Language Teaching and Learning: Innovations, Challenges, and Concerns)

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18 pages, 281 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring the Effects of a Theory-Based Mobile App on Chinese EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Learning Achievement and Memory

by Huashan Lu, Xingxing Ma and Fang Huang

Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 9129; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15119129 - 5 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1771

Abstract

This article intends to investigate the effects of using a mobile app on the vocabulary learning achievement and memory of Chinese tertiary EFL learners. 108 non-English majors took part in the study. Moreover, their perceptions of the app were investigated. By analyzing data [...] Read more.

This article intends to investigate the effects of using a mobile app on the vocabulary learning achievement and memory of Chinese tertiary EFL learners. 108 non-English majors took part in the study. Moreover, their perceptions of the app were investigated. By analyzing data from a quasi-experiment, the results show that the experimental group (EG) learned vocabulary at an increased rate of 129.65%, while the control group (CG) did so at an increased rate of 68.4%. In addition, a significant difference was found in vocabulary learning achievement between the two groups, indicating that the app effectively improved students’ vocabulary learning. As for remembering the new words, it was discovered that retention of words declined by 11.11% in EG and 27.89% in CG, suggesting that the app was effective in preventing the EG students from rapid memory loss of the words. Among the participants, 72% held a positive attitude toward the app, and 82% expressed that they liked the app in their diaries. Results of this study indicate the usefulness of mobile technology-enhanced L2 vocabulary learning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technology-Enhanced Language Teaching and Learning: Innovations, Challenges, and Concerns)

16 pages, 1946 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Factors Influencing Game-Based Learning in the Colombian Context: A Mixed Methods Study

by Paola Julie Aguilar-Cruz, Peiyu Wang, Zongping Xiang and Heng Luo

Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 7817; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15107817 - 10 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2182

Abstract

Game-based learning (GBL) places high demand on educational resources and has been widely practiced in classrooms in many developed countries; however, few studies on GBL and its influencing factors have been conducted in developing countries. To address this research gap, a mixed-methods study [...] Read more.

Game-based learning (GBL) places high demand on educational resources and has been widely practiced in classrooms in many developed countries; however, few studies on GBL and its influencing factors have been conducted in developing countries. To address this research gap, a mixed-methods study was conducted in a state high school in the Amazon region of Colombia with 64 tenth-graders who were learning English as a foreign language to identify the factors that affect learners’ learning outcomes when serious games are applied to vocabulary learning, with a specific focus on learning engagement. This study drew on both quantitative and qualitative data collected from surveys, interviews, and pre- and post-tests. The results showed that engagement and prior knowledge can positively predict GBL outcomes, while contextual factors and family condition had an adverse impact on GBL outcomes (Adjusted R² = 0.635, p < 0.01). The results also indicated that a male student with a higher level of prior knowledge would be more likely to achieve good grades in GBL. Based on the study results, several implications are proposed for incorporating serious games for vocabulary learning in less-developed regions. This study results provide important practical implications for high schools in developing countries to implementing GBL. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technology-Enhanced Language Teaching and Learning: Innovations, Challenges, and Concerns)

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19 pages, 4351 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Linguistic Repertoires Embodied and Digitalized: A Computer-Vision-Aided Analysis of the Language Portraits by Multilingual Youth

by Siqing Mu, Aoxuan (Douglas) Li, Lu Shen, Lili Han and Zhisheng (Edward) Wen

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2194; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032194 - 24 Jan 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2559

Abstract

The present study sets out to investigate how multilingual youth perceive and represent their linguistic repertoires. To achieve this goal, we introduced a computer-vision-aided analytical method to deal with the obtained visual data, which comprised digital images of language portraits created by a [...] Read more.

The present study sets out to investigate how multilingual youth perceive and represent their linguistic repertoires. To achieve this goal, we introduced a computer-vision-aided analytical method to deal with the obtained visual data, which comprised digital images of language portraits created by a group of young multilingual speakers. An OpenCV module is used to build and complete the graphic data processing, enabling quantitative evaluations of participants’ colored clusters and linguistic codes that express their language repertoires. In combination with oral narratives provided in their language portraits, the findings demonstrate that Macanese heritage speakers show a higher degree of “scope” than the Chinese mainland sojourners in Macao but a lower degree of “access”. Follow-up interviews further corroborated the self-perceptions of their linguistic resources across different registers. Overall, the computer-vision-aided analysis of language portraits enhances the current understanding of the “scope” and “access” of multilingual repertoires in lived experience. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technology-Enhanced Language Teaching and Learning: Innovations, Challenges, and Concerns)

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18 pages, 300 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Comparison of the Autonomous Use of Technology for Language Learning for EFL University Students of Different Proficiency Levels

by Li-Tang Yu

Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 606; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010606 - 29 Dec 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2189

Abstract

Different aspects of second-language learners’ autonomous use of technology for language learning have been investigated and its positive effects on language learning have been reported. However, there is a paucity of research on whether language learners’ different proficiency levels are associated with their [...] Read more.

Different aspects of second-language learners’ autonomous use of technology for language learning have been investigated and its positive effects on language learning have been reported. However, there is a paucity of research on whether language learners’ different proficiency levels are associated with their perceptions of their own autonomous use of technology-enhanced language learning (TELL). Therefore, this study examines the autonomous use of TELL outside the English classes of English learners of different proficiency levels. Ninety-nine EFL college students (47 of lower proficiency and 52 of higher proficiency) in northern Taiwan took a survey on the autonomous use of TELL. The results demonstrated that students’ proficiency levels did not relate to the involvement of autonomous use of technology for language learning. Nearly one-third of all students did not take on autonomous English learning via technology outside class. The students in both groups tended towards more receptive-skill English learning activities than productive-skill activities in their autonomous use of technology, whereas the students of higher proficiency attended more productive-skill activities than those of lower proficiency. In order for students to benefit from the autonomous use of technology for language learning, proper support and guidance from instructors are crucial. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technology-Enhanced Language Teaching and Learning: Innovations, Challenges, and Concerns)

21 pages, 478 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Online English Learning Engagement among Digital Natives: The Mediating Role of Self-Regulation

by Xiaoqi Wang, Lianghong Hui, Xin Jiang and Yuhan Chen

Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 15661; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315661 - 24 Nov 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2261

Abstract

Because of the recent pandemic, students have needed to become skilled, adaptable, self-regulating, and flexible toward online learning. However, few researchers considered digital nativity (DN) when studying self-regulation and learning engagement. This study explored how Chinese digital natives regulated themselves in English learning. [...] Read more.

Because of the recent pandemic, students have needed to become skilled, adaptable, self-regulating, and flexible toward online learning. However, few researchers considered digital nativity (DN) when studying self-regulation and learning engagement. This study explored how Chinese digital natives regulated themselves in English learning. A total of 408 college English students volunteered, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS–SEM) was used to process the questionnaire’s tested four hypotheses. The results showed that: (1) DN is related to online self-regulated English learning (OSEL); (2) OSEL is related to online student engagement (OSE); (3) DN is not related to OSE; and (4) OSEL is the mediator between DN and OSE. As such, the current findings should encourage e-learning designers and educators to equip students with both computer literacy and self-regulated competence for sustainable English learning development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technology-Enhanced Language Teaching and Learning: Innovations, Challenges, and Concerns)

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Review

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14 pages, 1145 KiB

Open AccessReview

Pedagogical Design in Technology-Enhanced Language Education Research: A Scoping Review

by Ting Liu, Zhipeng Zhang and Xuesong (Andy) Gao

Sustainability 2023, 15(7), 6069; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15076069 - 31 Mar 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3724

Abstract

This scoping literature review aims to explore how language teachers incorporate technology into their teaching and learning experiences. It does this by reviewing studies related to language teachers’ technology use and applications of technology in technology-enhanced language education that were published between 2012 [...] Read more.

This scoping literature review aims to explore how language teachers incorporate technology into their teaching and learning experiences. It does this by reviewing studies related to language teachers’ technology use and applications of technology in technology-enhanced language education that were published between 2012 and 2022. By using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines to analyze 51 empirical studies, this review categorizes and identifies 4 clusters of topics that these studies focused on: teachers’ perceptions, technological application practice and experience, technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), and teachers’ designing/developing scale for the promotion of language learning in pedagogical design in technology-enhanced language education research. The review concludes that researchers have mainly investigated language teachers’ perceptions and experience of technology-enhanced language education, not their pedagogical design processes. The results suggest that more studies are needed to explore the role of language teachers as pedagogical designers in technology-enhanced language education in order to integrate technology into language education and facilitate sustainable language teaching and learning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technology-Enhanced Language Teaching and Learning: Innovations, Challenges, and Concerns)

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