Guest editors: Javad Zare, Kosar University of Bojnord, Iran, and Alex Boulton, Université de Lorraine, France
Language Learning & Technology has an active call for papers in a special issue on Generative AI and data-driven learning in second language learning: What the future holds, guest edited by Javad Zare and Alex Boulton.
Abstracts for this special issue Call for Papers should be no more than 500 words and should describe the study’s aim, methodology, findings related to L2 learning outcomes, and how these findings can be used in classroom contexts to enhance L2 teaching and learning with technology. To be considered for this special issue, which will appear in volume 31, issue 2 in June of 2027, please submit a title and a 500-word abstract through this online form by June 1, 2025.
In this chapter, I argue that it is necessary to pursue an analysis of DDL practices in the broader language learning context (Pérez-Paredes & Mark, 2022), particularly in informal contexts outside the university classroom.
We need to push the boundaries of DDL praxis and research outside the classroom if we are to gain a more comprehensive view of the contributions of DDL to language learning in the first half of the 21st century. It is essential to expand the ecological research model that has dominated DDL research so far, and which has thoroughly examined higher education (HE) contexts.
While instructed, formal language learning continues to be central to language learners’ experiences, new sites of learning and technologies emerge sometimes unexpectedly (e.g. the impact of ChatGPT at the end of 2022 was surprising, and it is probably too soon to evaluate its impact on language education).
I use the term “prototypical DDL” (Boulton, 2015) to refer to DDL that is designed by an expert in corpus linguistics and which takes place in the context of instructed second language acquisition (SLA) as part of a module or an official programme, typically in a higher education institution (HEI).
The term “broad DDL” (BDDL) refers to pedagogical natural language processing resources (P-NLPRs) for language learning (see Pérez- Paredes et al., 2018). BDDL makes use of a wide range of existing resources such as online dictionaries, text analysis and text processing tools, vocabulary-oriented websites and apps, translation services, and artificial intelligence (AI) tools for language learning across a variety of contexts, including self-directed uses.
It also involves the use of informal language learning against the backdrop of digital learning, characterized by a new ecology of reading and writing, multitasking and the emergence of a new literate social formation (Pérez-Paredes & Zhang, 2022) where communication processes are transitioning towards “dialogic interactions [less] subject to the power of institutions to set standards of knowledge, procedure, and truth based on their control of written texts” (Gee & Hayes, 2011, p. 125).
In BDDL, corpora are one of the many resources available to language learners. While some research has examined the use of Google as a web corpus and a concordancer (Sun, 2007; Sha, 2010; Pérez-Paredes et al., 2012; Boulton, 2015), this has mostly happened in instructed SLA contexts. The impact of other P-NLPRs in informal learning remains largely unexplored (see Crosthwaite & Boulton, 2023 for a discussion of some of these resources).
User-generated activity using personal devices such as phones or tablets treasure the potential to inform designed activity and, most significantly, what we know about learners’ interactions with content online (Kukulska-Hulme et al., 2007). P-NLPRs have the potential to foster autonomy, personalization, induction and authenticity and may offer an alternative to prototypical DDL corpora when engaging with BDLL (Pérez-Paredes et al., 2018, 2019).
There are three areas, at least, that will benefit from an examination of BDDL practices in informal learning: The exploration of new sites of language learning engagement; New opportunities to increase our understanding of the cognitive processes involved in statistical language learning; and the study and analysis of the role of new corpora in informal settings.
Thanks to Carolina Tavares de Carvalho, Daniela Terenzi & Alejandro Curado Fuentes for providing their insights
The Centre for English Language Proficiency (CELP) will host a five-day Doctoral Summer School on 3-7 July 2023. This will take place at the University of Malta’s Valletta Campus.
The Summer School offers PhD students in Applied Linguistics and TESOL the opportunity to further develop their research skills, fine-tune their projects, and learn about a range of contemporary key issues in the field. The Summer School will enable participants to engage in stimulating discussions, showcase their doctoral research, and network with other researchers operating within the global context of Applied Linguistics and TESOL. As part of the Summer School, students will have the opportunity to deliver a talk about their doctoral research as well as a poster presentation.
The workshops and seminars forming part of the Summer School will be facilitated by several international academics. These include Prof Lourdes Ortega (Georgetown University), Prof Sarah Mercer (University of Graz), Prof Pascual Pérez-Paredes (University of Murcia), and Prof Shelley Staples (University of Arizona), and Dr Geraldine Mark (Cardiff University). These academics will also be delivering talks on how they manage their research projects and deal with the challenges that arise in the process of doing empirical research.
An integral part of the Summer School consists of the one-on-one consultation sessions that students can sign up for with any of the above academics. These sessions will enable each student to discuss their doctoral research with someone who is highly experienced in doing research and supervising doctoral work.
Students are welcome from across the globe and it is anticipated that this will be a truly international exchange. In order for students to be eligible to attend the Summer School, they will need to be enrolled on a doctoral programme in Applied Linguistics and/or TESOL at a higher education institution. They will need to submit a 150-word statement of motivation explaining why they wish to take part in the Summer School and what they hope to gain from participating.
Some of the topics that the Summer School will focus on include:
• Identifying research issues in Applied Linguistics and TESOL; • Formulating and evaluating research questions; • Developing a theoretical framework; • Using mixed methods research; • Using innovative research methodologies; • Writing and publishing Applied Linguistics and TESOL research; • Presenting and networking at research conferences; • Building an academic profile as a researcher; • Bridging research and practice for multiple stakeholders; • Leveraging the impact of Applied Linguistics and TESOL research
An, X., Chai, C. S., Li, Y., Zhou, Y., Shen, X., Zheng, C., & Chen, M. (2022). Modeling English teachers’ behavioral intention to use artificial intelligence in middle schools.Education and Information Technologies, 1-22. (URL)
Kumar, B. A., & Goundar, M. S. (2022). Developing mobile language learning applications: a systematic literature review. Education and Information Technologies, 1-21. (URL)
Charles, M. (2022). Student Autonomy and Data-driven Learning in English for Academic Purposes. (URL)
Taghizadeh, M., & Basirat, M. (2022). Investigating pre-service EFL teachers’ attitudes and challenges of online teaching. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 1-38. (URL)
Veiga Norlander, C. (2022). L2 Vocabulary Acquisition: An Investigation into the Effectiveness of PlayPhrase. me as a Tool for Learning English Vocabulary for Swedish Level 9 Students. (URL)
