This panel discussion explores the theory-informed utilization of smart technologies in language learning, focusing on contextualized, authentic, and communicative approaches. Integrating advanced smart technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, learning analytics, and robotics into language education offers new avenues for enhancing learner engagement and outcomes. Panelists will present and discuss studies involving various pedagogical strategies that align with contemporary language learning theories. Case studies and research findings will illustrate effective smart technology integration in language classrooms and beyond, addressing practical considerations, challenges, and strategies for leveraging these tools to support second language acquisition and other language learning contexts. The panel aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how to harness smart technologies to create engaging, effective, and theory-aligned language learning experiences, contributing to the academic discourse on the transformative potential of these tools in fostering meaningful language education.

This study used T-Robot board games to create an interactive and enjoyable English language learning environment for the purposes of reducing learners’ anxiety while also enhancing their speaking skills. The participants of this study were 28 fourth-grade students with limited English proficiency from a rural area of Taichung City, Taiwan, and multiple data sources using mixed methods were also adopted for data analysis, including pre-and post-tests, questionnaires, and interviews. Quantitative results showed significant improvements in both speaking ability and reduced anxiety, and positive qualitative feedback was also displayed from the interviews. The integration of robotic board games provided a promising alternative to traditional teaching methods, particularly for lower-proficiency students.

Nowadays, vocabulary learning for second-grade students can be enhanced with appropriate teaching techniques, which can also improve their learning motivation and enjoyment at the same time. The use of Augmented Reality- Assisted Language Learning (ARALL) has been proven to be an innovative way to enhance the learning achievements of lower graders. Therefore, this study aimed to find out whether applying ARALL can improve the ability of lower-grade students in English vocabulary learning while also enhancing their learning motivation and enjoyment. Twenty-three lower-grade students participated in this study, and a mixed research method was adopted for data analysis. The results showed that the students did improve their vocabulary, and they enjoyed this ARALL instruction. Furthermore, through AR thematic English teaching methods, the students could remember the vocabulary rapidly and enhance their own confidence and enjoyment in learning English.

Good research design and good learning design in Technology Enhanced Language Learning (TELL) are not always compatible. One of the most problematical parts of TELL research design is the length of the researched intervention. This conceptual paper explores the implications of the Novelty Effect, which can be a negative issue for researchers, but may also provide a positive motivational affordance for teachers and learning designers. The authors present a model, based on the academic literature, of the Novelty Effect over time in TELL and suggest ways in which teachers and learning designers can take advantage of the initial boost in motivation resulting from novel use of learning technology as an affordance, promoting positive outcomes for learning objectives.

This paper presents a solution for learning English vocabulary by the growing population of elderly, using an intelligent English teaching robot. Using the robot with various situational teaching functions and materials, the elderly can learn English in a lively environment, improve their learning interest, and enhance concentration on learning. This study compared teaching grammar translation or communicative language teaching (CLT) to verify the efficacy of the English teaching robot. The results showed that almost all elderly liked the robot teaching assistant. However, the communicative language teaching method was obviously superior to grammar translation in terms concentration on learning, learning interest, and learning effectiveness. Therefore, CLT with an intelligent English teaching robot is more applicable to the elderly.

While summary writing has been acknowledged by many scholars as an integral skill that builds the background knowledge of learners, and enhances writing outcomes, only a handful of theory-based online summary writing tools have been developed to date. In view of this, the Summary Writing-PAL (SW-PAL) was developed, rooted in several learning and education theories, in the attempt to assist ESL non-English majors in improving their summary writing skills. This study presents both the development and the evaluation of SW-PAL. The three primary features of SW-PAL are prior knowledge activation, summarising strategies instruction, and scaffolding. Prior knowledge activation applies a concept mapping tool as an advance organiser that activates the students’ prior knowledge while comprehending the text. The worked examples tool is meant to aid students in acquiring the essential summarising strategies. The self-generated feedback provided by the tool serves as a scaffolding tool to assist students through the summarising process. Pre- and post-tests, as well as an interview session held with students, ascertained the effectiveness of the tool and perceptions of its users. The study outcomes revealed that the developed SW-PAL had managed to improve their summary-writing ability at a significant level.

This study aims to analyze which particular learning behaviors with eBook supported learning are associated with high-achievers in language learning. This specifically focuses on English output (refers to English writing in this study) performance. Furthermore, to compare learning with and without an eBook, this study observes the correlation between self-regulated English learning (SREL), English self-efficacy (ESE), and learning achievements. This is done as a means to suggest which particular form of learning autonomy awareness should be explicitly addressed to boost language learning outcomes. This semester-long study was conducted with EFL students from the College of Management in a “General English for Specific Purposes” (GESP) course in a four-year comprehensive university in Taiwan. Pre-class reading materials were uploaded to an eBook platform and features of the platform were introduced beforehand to facilitate self-learning prior to class. Through analyzing the students’ 1) learning logs on the eBook platform, 2) scores on SREL and ESE questionnaires, and 3) learning achievement, the results revealed that online reading behaviors of adding markers and memos had a significant, positive correlation with students’ learning achievements. Meanwhile, the experimental group students outperformed those in the control group in open-ended, short essay style questions in terms of written statement quantity. With regards to SREL, scores in both the control and experimental groups increased throughout the study.

Language and culture are inseparable since individuals express themselves out of their cultural background, thus highlighting the importance of the cultural cultivation. Research has shown the positive effects of embedding foreign cultures in the writing process. However, intercultural competence is still not adequately reflected in current English as a foreign language (EFL) education. In addition, students feel demotivated to write in conventional writing courses, thus signifying an urgent call for innovation. As writing instructions that incorporate intercultural competence are insufficiently implemented, the current study, therefore, aimed to examine how EFL learners’ intercultural sensitivity could be enhanced via the use of a cross-border writing instruction. A total of 44 sophomore English-majors in two required English Composition classes were respectively paired up with their American peers from a public liberal arts college. Data included students’ responses to “Intercultural Sensitivity Scale” and focus-group interviews. The findings revealed positive affordances from the crossborder writing instruction, that pre-class activities (reading relevant materials, answering comprehension questions online, reviewing instructional videos) and online interaction with foreign peers enhanced the students’ intercultural sensitivity. The participants held positive perceptions about the intercultural experience with foreign partners and such learning experience enhanced observation of the similarities as well as differences of diverse cultures.

EFL students suffer from low awareness of the target culture and low actual intercultural communicative competence due to an insufficient input and decontextualized learning environment; the current study, therefore, aimed to use Internet social networking, specifically Facebook, as a learning community framework to enhance EFL students’ cultural awareness via cross-cultural interaction with American e-pals. The participants were 15 English majored students in Taiwan and 20 undergraduate students in the U.S. The participants were asked to engage in cross-cultural communication on chosen topics (self-introduction, school life, and Taiwanese night markets or American county fairs) with the American students. A mixed method of qualitative and quantitative research was employed to analyze the data. While qualitative data included focus group interviews and reflective papers, quantitative data consisted of evaluation of the students’ cultural awareness. The major findings were: (1) Students demonstrated a moderate level of cultural awareness, (2) Using Facebook helped students to overcome the differences in time zones, to gain in cultural awareness, to clarify stereotypes, and to recognize their improvements, (3) Students found benefits in the comfortable learning environment, including classroom atmosphere, cultural awareness, authentic readers, writing skills, motivation, and autonomous learning. In conclusion, the results revealed the merits of creating an online learning community for EFL students. In addition, the framework of the instructional design provides researchers and instructors with directions to enhance the cultural awareness of students in an English writing class.

The development of mobile technology is rapidly changing the environment and the way of learning in school. In addition to facilitating communication, mobile devices (e.g., smart phones and tablets) have made ubiquitous E-learning more accessible and mobile learning more popular. Multimedia messaging service (MMS), such as WhatsApp and LINE, can deliver richer information, including images, audio and video files, to enhance the interest of English learners. However, whether MMS can help students learn English is of interest. The purpose of this study is to investigate the value of MMS, LINE in particular, in helping EFL students learn English, based on the concept of Dual Code Theory (Paivio, 1986). The participants are 40 college students enrolled in Freshman English Reading course. Data collection consists of preand post-test, MMS messages, questionnaire, student writing, and interviews. It is noted that this study is currently ongoing. Based on the comparison of students’ pre- and post test, the preliminary findings indicate that the LINE-based learning activities helped students familiarize with English vocabulary and improve English reading comprehension. In addition, students who were more engaged in the LINE-based activities tended to have better improvement than those who were less active. While most students made improvement and had positive perceptions of the designed activities, some did not seem to benefit from the instructional design. More detailed description will be addressed upon the completion of the study.

This study explored the potential for using in-house built teaching assistant robots in elementary school classrooms for the instruction of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Both hardware and software design for such an innovative English program via interactions with the robot was included in this study. This Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), based on the results, led to better pedagogical effects on learning, This paper provides not only new directions for EFL instructors but also instructional design guidelines that other researchers can follow to create an innovative and enjoyable English classroom that employs an interactive robot as an assistant for enhancing English acquisition while simultaneously reducing the pressure and teaching load of the English instructors.

With the emerging development of Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL), a growing body of research has begun to explore the effectiveness of gamification of language learning. This paper introduces an evolving study which aims to explore the effectiveness of a mobile learning companion game, named “MyEVA (My English Vocabulary Assistant) Mobile”, which was originally developed by combining the metacognitive and cognitive strategies and mobile gaming technologies. In the current status of this study, the proposed system has finished development and continues to elaborate the usability according to the language experts and student suggestion. In the future, a mixed research will be conducted to investigate whether flow and enjoyment lead to improvement in L2 vocabulary learning.

In this paper, we report on a database of feature film clips for foreign language learning and describe constructive alignment of teaching with the learning of English as a foreign language (EFL). The constructive alignment is threefold: (1) Film clips provide intrinsic motivation and learning contents for reflective-active knowledge construction of language and culture; (2) Output tasks through collaborative learning t o involve EFL learners’ active engagement; and (3) Task directions to serve as the structure of observable learning outcomes for performance-based assessment and a formative goal of enhancing students’ learning of language and culture. A total of 60 Englis h majors in the required writing course of Freshman Composition in a university in Taiwan carried out four assignments, each of which involved the writing of a synopsis of the clip content, a description of observed cultural differences, and a list of new vocabulary and expressions. The preliminary results from students’ writing samples and post-test of vocabulary knowledge suggest that students can benefit from the constructive alignment of the feature film clips. In conclusion, the proposed approach of performance-based learning and assessment constitutes a role change for instructors and learners. The constructive alignment of the study demonstrates a n EFL case that potentially transforms teaching and learning via the integrated learning environment of feature film clips.

Social standards nurture individual self-efficacy beliefs. Such models influence learners’ performance in so that they can learn to recognize in others, alternate means to think, act, and do. One of these models is the meaningful other, whose role is explained in the present paper. Together with the implications that are unveiled through its discovery and recognition instances in online environments and the analysis of learners’ actions along this process, this paper attempts at examining how useful might such recognition process be in the self-regulatory actions of learners. It is expected that instructors and researchers raise awareness on the recognition of meaningful others in online settings, in order to establish sound pedagogical proposals that might assist learners and teachers towards the appraisal of more efficient self-regulatory actions and successful academic performances.

An e-learning tool (called myERT, “my English Reciprocal Teacher” ) was developed to provide a blended learning environment where reciprocal teaching of an English textbook, targeted at EFL technology-majored students, was employed as the main purpose. A pilot study was conducted to test myERT and the result showed positive feedback. The basic functions and the observed benefits in the pilot study run are reported in this paper.

This study investigates the effectiveness of concept mapping (CM) at the pre-writing stage by using it in collaborative writing, and by comparing paper-based and computer-mediated modalities. The research questions address (1) students’ perceptions of concept maps in both paper-based and computer-mediated modalities, and (2) the extent to which CM facilitate s students’ writing in a collaborative writing setting ACCORDING TO WHAT STANDARDS? . The participants were eighteen non-English majors enrolled in a writing class in a university in central Taiwan, and were divided into six collaborative writing groups. The individual interview method was used to elucidate students’ perceptions of paper-based and computer-mediated based CM in collaborative writing. Student writing samples from before and after the experimental treatment were collected compared to ascertain impact. Students satisfaction with and perceptions of the two modalities of CM writing were mixed. The paper-based modality was deemed more convenient from drawing maps, and seemed to be more conducive to generating more ideas. The computer-mediated modality was more convenient in that it could be used at any time and any place, and through the Internet, students could invite more people to help with generate ideas. It was implied that the primary benefit of the computer-mediated modality was its accessibility to the internet. The implications of this study are (1) CM is an effective tool for collaborative writing, and (2) writing teachers can adapt either the paper-based or the computer-based modality of CM to best meet their students’ convenience.

This qualitative study examined two issues with regard to English as Foreign Language (EFL) writing by analyzing the contents of student online writing as well as the feedback and suggestions provided by both the experts and their peers. Twenty seven university students majoring in English participated in a one-semester-long study carried out across two private four-year institutions in central Taiwan. The students wrote essays based on news articles read and discussed in class, then submitted their essays for review by a group of semi-anonymous peers and experts. Students then were encouraged to adopt suggestions of their reviewers in creating a second draft of their essay. The experts consisted of the two instructors at the two institutions, as well as qualified colleagues and graduate students. The peers in this study were not classmates but rather students at the other participating institution. The two issues this study focused on were the numbers of adopted suggestions from peers and experts, as well as the accuracy of those suggestions, in an attempt to draw useful conclusions about how students value their various sources of feedback. Results show that students prefer expert to peer suggestions, but the data regarding suggestion accuracy is inconclusive.

In recent years, many studies have examined the effectiveness of MALL (Mobile-Assisted Language Learning); however, little research has been conducted to discuss the usage of VLSs (Vocabulary L earning Strategies) for mobile language learning. In this study, the researchers proposed a mixed- modality vocabulary learning and offline-supported mobile system for EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students to improve their English vocabulary learning. An empirical experiment was conducted, accordingly, to evaluate the effects of the proposed system for vocabulary learning. The experimental results indicated the proposed system enhanced student vocabulary acquisition in general, and also benefited the participating students with four different learning styles, which are visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile, respectively.

The researchers of this study self-designed an online writing system, entitled “Collaborative Online Peer Editing and Reviewing (COPER)” in order to investigate EFL student satisfaction and self-efficacy regarding their writing class employing anonymous cross-institutional peer review. The use of COPER allowed the researchers to create a more active environment in which the students received constructive feedback from sources from their cross-school peers. In a cross-campus mode via COPER, a semester long writing project was carried out by 66 English-majored students at the two schools in which two rounds of anonymous peer review tasks (one movie reflection and one news reflection) were accomplished including reviewing and commenting on the reflective writing of cross-school peers. The researchers employed a mixed research methodology, including a questionnaire and open-ended questions to investigate the students’ perceptions regarding their satisfaction , self-efficacy, and critical thinking skills resulting from this on-line task.

Even though peer reviews and expert reviews are a commonly explored subject in the field of second/foreign language writing, few studies have investigated the function of follow-up discussion between feedback givers and receivers on the received feedback in the review process. In this study, both experts and English majors of EFL students in Taiwan served as reviewers to provide feedback and comments on the EFL students’ writing. In view of this, this study aimed to examine to what degree discussion forum could improve the students’ writing in terms of organization, logical development of ideas and style and quality of expression via an online platform designed by the researchers.