Innovation in Language Learning

While one of the ultimate goals of SLA and language education research is to understand how learners acquire a target language, a substantial amount of work has focused on learning products assessed by learning gains rather than learning processes [2, 3, 4]. This calls for a shifting focus of SLA research from what is learned to how a new language is acquired. Learners’ logs, tracked in interactive CALL systems, offer a way to analyze learners’ actions and engagements during learning, thereby a window into understanding of learners’ learning processes that might be otherwise unavailable in traditional classroom and laboratory settings [1, 4]. However, despite its potential, the use of log data to examine the relationships between learning conditions, processes, and outcomes remains scarce in SLA and langauge education research [2, 3, 4]. To address this gap, this poposed study aims to (i) explore varied learning processes through behavioral patterns and (ii) analyze the relationships between these patterns, learning outcomes, and conditions. This research utilizes detailed logs from a CALL system as a process-based measurement and independent pre-/post-test results as a product-based measurement in a study examining the effects of automatic input enhancement (IE) on L2 learners’ development. The methodology employs both exploratory factor analysis and cluster analysis to categorize learners based on their process patterns and uncover the relationship between process variables, outcomes, and IE types. Building on prior research, it is hypothesized that specific learning processes impact learning outcomes, and there exists a connection between the conditions, processes, and outcomes of learning. This connection moderates the influence of IE on variables within the learning process, ultimately resulting in varying learning outcomes. This interdisciplinary research at the intersection of SLA and CALL represents an innovative approach by investigating and elucidating the link between learning products (the what) and learning processes (the how), contributing to comprehensive understanding of learners’ learning processes.

 

Keywords: SLA, CALL, Learning processes, Computer logs, Input enhancement

 

References:

 

[1] Gašević, D., Dawson, S., & Siemens, G. (2015). Let’s not forget: Learning analytics are about learning. TechTrends, 59(1), 64–71.

 

[2] Godfroid, A. (2019). Investigating instructed second language acquisition using L2 learners’ eye-tracking data. In R. P. Leow (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of second language research in classroom learning (pp. 44–57). Routledge.

 

[3] Hui, B., Rudzewitz, B., & Meurers, D. (2023). Learning processes in interactive CALL systems: Linking automatic feedback, system logs, and learning outcomes. Language Learning & Technology.

 

[4] Ziegler, N., Meurers, D., Rebuschat, P., Ruiz, S., Moreno Vega, J. L., Chinkina, M., Li, W., & Grey, S. (2017). Interdisciplinary research at the intersection of CALL, NLP, and SLA: Methodological implications from an input enhancement project. Language Learning, 67, 209–231.