Corpus Linguistics (CL) is a data driven methodology where frequency data is an important source for teachers and learners (Friginal, 2018). CL is mainly used at the level of institutions, publishers, editors, materials writers, researchers, and other specialists. (Bolton, 2010). This is a process and language that is very specialized and dense and is not intended for the language learner / average teacher. It takes a lot of investment in order to come to understand CL, like any technical subject. CL does have a lot of upsides such as making materials more authentic and developing learner autonomy. This presentation will cover some practical examples of what can be done in terms of pedagogical application such as tasks done by students or simply techniques to improve your own teaching. Having different tools and a variety of them can help teachers who have no experience get a good start using CL in the classroom.

A comparative study was carried out from April 2021 to January 2022 to determine the effectiveness of interaction using only VR or interaction on the ZOOM platform with young adults from overseas. Both groups took the pre-and-post-OPIc speaking tests and questionnaires. The first VR group (n=60) took part in the 45-minute VR lesson in groups of five or more twice a week during two semesters. Feedback indicated that students’ anxiety levels decreased through the VR lessons, and they gained more confidence in speaking English. There was no significant difference in improvements between pre and post-OPIc speaking tests. However, enthusiastic students made progress in OPIc from level 6 to 8. The second ZOOM interaction group (n=17) took part in the English lessons for two semesters with flipped lessons, including nine invited CCC (Campus Crusade for Christ) members who interacted with the students. Now and then, the members joined the virtual lessons to assist the students in making presentations and discussions, even assessing students’ presentations using the PeerEval software. As a result, the students’ mean scores of the OPIc speaking test improved from 6.7(SD:1.36) to 7.4 (SD:1.97). Finally, detailed feedback from the pre-and-post questionnaires of both groups will be reported.

In an ongoing Kaken-funded research project, an online software was developed that supports learners as they progress through the steps of a group oral discussion task. During the activity, students transcribed their own voices. Later, they were presented with metrics regarding their contributions to the conversation including number of words spoken, number of turns taken, average words spoken per turn, number of words spoken during longest turn, number of pre-selected target words spoken, number of questions asked, and an accuracy percentage based on an automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology. Learners were prompted to use these data for self-assessment and goal setting, while teachers and researchers could access the data for pedagogical and research agendas. Data from a previous study (Author, 2019) using the same task sequence showed growth over time for total words spoken and average turn length. In this presentation, the principal investigator discusses some of the preliminary results gleaned from new research, particularly regarding the accuracy of students’ transcriptions. Attendees interested in using this online software for their own classes or participating in future research projects are offered free access and support.

IXL.com is a worldwide online website for learning academic subjects such as English, math, science, etc. Licenses can be purchased for individual students or school groups and there are different international editions to fit the educational curriculum of each country. According to the website, it is currently used by 1 out of 9 students in the United States to supplement school learning or for the purpose of homeschooling. In this workshop, the presenter will first explain how IXL was incorporated into his mandatory English grammar classes for both 1st-year and 2nd-year students at his university, including a thorough demonstration of the website. The presenter has noticed that compared with his ordinary (i.e., non-computer based) English classes, a lot more new vocabulary and grammar patterns have been able to be introduced through the practicing of the different types of skills found on the website. In addition, allowing students to take more control over their learning, including the skill level and pace at which they proceed, has led to a notable increase in student engagement both in class and out. Although IXL can be used for any skill level of English student, its beginner-level phonics skills can be especially of use in helping Japanese students with their pronunciation. This is true for not only university students, but younger children as well. A discussion among participants regarding good online resources that they have utilized in past classes will be conducted if time allows.

The pandemic has accelerated the shift towards online education, and it looks likely that teaching and learning will continue to take place, at least partially, in virtual spaces in a post-pandemic world. As educators, the technical skills of teaching online are not all we need to develop. In the longer term, it is vital that we build our understanding of the social and philosophical implications of lives increasingly lived online. There are negotiations between convenience and security, and shifting rules to navigate for each platform and with each online social group. The lines between work, study, and play often become blurred. As teachers, what can we reasonably ask our students to do? How do we create online spaces in which learners can express themselves without damaging their carefully curated online personas? In this paper, the presenter explores these ideas. In this study, the presenter investigated how a class of English language learners at a Japanese university negotiated online interactions when collaborating with a partner school in the US. The presenter will discuss the ethical implications for anyone working with students online, and outline good practice recommendations for setting up online spaces which language learners can engage in comfortably.

In recent years, the move toward blended and hybrid forms of language learning has lead many teachers to re-evaluate their digital toolsets. Language teachers in particular need not only a reliable set of tools but also a solid pedagogical framework within which these tools can be put to use. As the old saying goes – it's not just the technology, but what you do with it that counts.

Renowned linguist Paul Nation argues that a well-balanced language course should consist of four strands: meaning-focused input, meaning-focused output, language-focused learning, and fluency development (Nation, 2007).

In this presentation, the developer of ZenGengo, a web-based language teaching and learning platform, will demonstrate how the platform can be used to quickly and easily create activities that correspond with each of Nation's four strands.

The presenter will show how by using ZenGengo, language teachers can not only create more effective and engaging activities for their learners, but also manage their own workloads more efficiently, and ensure that students can always access their course materials whether face-to-face, fully online, or somewhere in between.

The pandemic has forced researchers to explore new avenues for conducting L2 research. Traditional face-to-face instruction to encourage students’ self-study is challenging, particularly for EOP (English for Occupational Purposes) contexts. To explore this problem, this presentation will discuss a study that will explore the application and efficacy of E-Learning as a tool to develop TOEIC proficiency. There are 40 participants in the study, all employed by the Kyoto Police as English translators with TOEIC scores between 450 and 600. The study aims to assess the effectiveness of an E-learning platform to develop TOEIC listening and speaking test scores without any face-to-face interaction. Participants have been placed into two groups, one group will receive traditional self-study guidance and use TOEIC focused textbook “TOEIC L&Rテスト至高の模試600問”and the other group will use a TOEIC L&R focused course created by EnglishCentral that is accessed via a smartphone or tablet. Each group will do a total of 100 hours of self-study over a 3-month period beginning the summer of 2022. This presentation will present the study design, proposed analyses, hypothesized outcomes, and other data-gathering related issues. Feedback and suggestions to improve the study are welcome.

Research in computer-assisted language learning has drawn attention to the potential of digital games for language learning and teaching. Even games designed purely for entertainment purposes may contribute significantly to second-language acquisition (Peterson, 2013; Reinhardt, 2019). In this presentation, I will discuss findings from a mixed-methods research project investigating the attitudes of Japanese university students towards digital game-based language learning (DGBLL). A game component was introduced into six separate English communication classes in which learners played a cooperative digital puzzle game in small groups for 15 to 30 minutes per class over a period of 10 weeks. Pre- and post-intervention surveys were administered to gather demographic data and to understand learners’ attitudes towards this pedagogical approach. After the final play session, three learners from each class also participated in a semi-structured focus-group interview. Analysis of the survey data (N = 112) reveals that in general, learners held positive attitudes towards DGBLL and that these positive attitudes were stronger after the game-based learning intervention. However, analysis of the interview data suggests considerable ambivalence towards the approach. While recognising the potential of digital games to facilitate SLA, many learners also seem to view them as a distraction from “serious” and “proper” language learning.