English and French Department

In this paper we describe the CLEC corpus, an ongoing project set up at the University of Cádiz with the purpose of building up a large corpus of English as a 2L classified according to CEFR proficiency levels and formed to train statistical models for automatic proficiency assessment. The goal of this corpus is twofold: on the one hand it will be used as a data resource for the development of automatic text classification systems and, on the other, it has been used as a means of teaching innovation techniques.

Our study presents an ongoing project on corpus linguistics held at the University of Cádiz (UCA) which tries to identify discourse proficiency of B1, B2 and C1 CEFR levels in the CLEC (CEFR-Labeled English Corpus) with a corpus-based quantitative and qualitative approach. The CLEC is a corpus of CEFR-labeled texts developed using CEFR-labeled teaching materials. The softwares AntConc, TagAnt and USAS have been used to analyze data. Comentario [S1]: Elsevier to update with volume and page numbers.

The steady rise and increasing availability of new technologies, especially in the area of MALL, has created new challenges in the Area of Foreign Language Learning. This means that, since students have more and more access to a wide range of devices and learning materials, teachers are challenged to explore the potential and the benefits of these technologies to enhance students’ learning processes.In recent years there have been several attempts to integrate devices such as mobile phones as valid learning tools to support formal as well as informal learning (Thornton & Houser 2005; Levy & Kennedy 2005; Godwin-Jones 2011; Holden & Sykes 2011; Stockwell 2013). Nonetheless, most of these attempts have been focused on providing learners with meaningful language input rather than on enhancing students’ active use of the target language. The present study therefore aims to explore some of the possibilities in using mobile phones for providing learners with meaningful language input as well as for pushing them towards increased language output. For this purpose we have designed a gamificated Android App which can be played either on a smartphone or tablet. The app itself provides learners, through several mini-games, with opportunities to first acquire new vocabulary input and then to practice the newly acquired vocabulary in a collaborative murder game, called Catch me, if you can. In order to successfully complete the different game tasks that are randomly assigned by the server, students need to collaborate with other game-players and develop real-world communication skills. Additionally, students’ communication is coordinated and stored by a game server that allows us to analyze students’ behaviour and interaction during the different game sessions.

Whilst in recent years there has been an increasing trend to design mobile APPs for foreign language learning, most of the available APPs support mainly one way teacher-to-learner interaction and use mobile devices to deliver content rather than encouraging learners to interact amongst each other. To address this lack and to provide learners with more versatile opportunities to communicate amongst each other, by sharing, assessing and co-constructing their knowledge, we designed an APP based on a highly interactive, ubiquitous and constructive learning approach. This means that learning contents are not just being delivered to our learners but, instead of this, they are being integrated into versatile tasks that although individually performed, affect the community of learners. The current paper presents our first experience using the Guess it! Language Trainer APP. Firstly, we detail how the APP was used to support students’ language learning outside the classroom, secondly, how it helped learners to get actively involved in their own learning process by adding themselves content to the knowledge base, and thirdly, we show how the data on students’ usage of the APP and participation in the learning process is used to automate the assessment of different competences by the language instructor. A pre-posttest comparison showed very good results on students’ language acquisition. This is complemented with the analysis of the system logs that highlight firstly, that students dedicated to playing the APP much longer time than we estimate they usually employ for independent learning and secondly, that they significantly improved their learning outcomes whilst using the APP. Additionally, other objective indicators on proficiency of other skills such as the ability to explain terms in a foreign language or the competence to assess definitions of mates were obtained automatically.

This paper presents our recent experiences with the design of game-like applications in 3-D virtual environments as well as its impact on student motivation and learning. Therefore our paper starts with a brief analysis of the motivational aspects of videogames and virtual worlds (VWs). We then go on to explore the possible benefits of both in the area of foreign language learning. For our research study we have designed a VW-platform, called VirtUAM. This permits us to store and record data related to users' behaviour within the VW. Furthermore the platform has been employed to build several islands (virtual spaces), which implement different game levels. The virtual spaces themselves are used to give students a basic training in different language skills related to the German language. In order to obtain data regarding the game's impact on student learning and motivation, we designed several tests, which were completed both before and after the student participants played the game. Additionally we gave them a general questionnaire, which was only filled out after the game and which aimed at getting personal feedback from the learners. Quantitative and qualitative results shown in this work are part of a larger project which intends to study the impact of game-like applications within virtual environments and with regard to teaching and learning processes in general.