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The 23rd EUROCALL conference was held in Cyprus from the 24th to the 27th of August 2016. The theme of the conference this year was "CALL Communities and Culture." It offered a unique opportunity to hear from real-world CALL practitioners on how they practice CALL in their communities, and how the CALL culture has developed in local and global contexts. Short papers from the conference are presented in this volume: (1) The impact of EFL teachers' mediation in wiki-mediated collaborative writing activities on student-student collaboration (Maha Alghasab); (2) Towards the development of a comprehensive pedagogical framework for pronunciation training based on adaptive automatic speech recognition systems (Saandia Ali); (3) Digital literacy and sustainability--a field study in EFL teacher development (Christopher Allen and Jan Berggren); (4) Self-evaluation using iPads in EFL teaching practice (Christopher Allen, Stella K. Hadjistassou, and David Richardson); (5) Amateur online interculturalism in foreign language education (Antonie Alm); (6) Teaching Turkish in low tech contexts: opportunities and challenges (Katerina Antoniou, Evelyn Mbah, and Antigoni Parmaxi); (7) Learning Icelandic language and culture in virtual Reykjavic: starting to talk (Branislav Bédi, Birna Arnbjörnsdóttir, Hannes Högni Vilhjálmsson, Hafdís Erla Helgadóttir, Stefán Ólafsson, and Elías Björgvinsson); (8) Investigating student choices in performing higher-level comprehension tasks using TED (Francesca Bianchi and Ivana Marenzi); (9) An evaluation of text-to-speech synthesizers in the foreign language classroom: learners' perceptions (Tiago Bione, Jennica Grimshaw, and Walcir Cardoso); (10) Quantifying CALL: significance, effect size and variation (Alex Boulton; (11) The contribution of CALL to advanced-level foreign/second language instruction (Jack Burston and Kelly Arispe); (12) Using instructional technology to integrate CEFR "can do" performance objectives into an advanced-level language course (Jack Burston, Androulla Athanasiou, and Maro Neophytou-Yiokari); (13) Exploiting behaviorist and communicative action-based methodologies in CALL applications for the teaching of pronunciation in French as a foreign language (Jack Burston, Olga Georgiadou, and Monique Monville-Burston); (14) Mobile assisted language learning of less commonly taught languages: learning in an incidental and situated way through an app (Cristiana Cervini, Olga Solovova, Annukka Jakkula, and Karolina Ruta); (15) Using object-based activities and an online inquiry platform to support learners' engagement with their heritage language and culture (Koula Charitonos, Marina Charalampidi, and Eileen Scanlon); (16) Urban explorations for language learning: a gamified approach to teaching Italian in a university context (Koula Charitonos, Luca Morini, Sylvester Arnab, Tiziana Cervi-Wilson, and Billy Brick); (17) Communicate to learn, learn to communicate: a study of engineering students' communication strategies in a mobile-based learning environment (Li Cheng and Zhihong Lu); (18) Using a dialogue system based on dialogue maps for computer assisted second language learning (Sung-Kwon Choi, Oh-Woog Kwon, Young-Kil Kim, and Yunkeun Lee); (19) Students' attitudes and motivation towards technology in a Turkish language classroom (Pelekani Chryso); (20) Vlogging: a new channel for language learning and intercultural exchanges (Christelle Combe and Tatiana Codreanu); (21) Japanese university students' self-assessment and digital literacy test results (Travis Cote and Brett Milliner); (22) Digital story (re)telling using graded readers and smartphones (Kazumichi Enokida); (23) HR4EU--a web portal for e-learning of Croatian (Matea Filko, Daša Farkaš, and Diana Hriberski); (24) Synchronous tandem language learning in a MOOC context: a study on task design and learner performance (Marta Fondo Garcia and Christine Appel); (25) What students think and what they actually do in a mobile assisted language learning context: new insights for self-directed language learning in higher education (Gustavo Garcia Botero and Frederik Questier); (26) An Audio-Lexicon Spanish-Nahuatl: using technology to promote and disseminate a native Mexican language (Rafael García-Mencía, Aurelio López-López, and Angélica Muñoz Meléndez; (27) The use of interactive whiteboards: enhancing the nature of teaching young language learners (Christina Nicole Giannikas); (28) A pre-mobility eTandem project for incoming international students at the University of Padua (Lisa Griggio and Edit Rózsavölgyi); (29) Can a "shouting" digital game help learners develop oral fluency in a second language? (Jennica Grimshaw, Walcir Cardoso, and David Waddington); (30) Feedback visualization in a grammar-based e-learning system for German: a preliminary user evaluation with the COMPASS system (Karin Harbusch and Annette Hausdörfer); (31) The multimodality of lexical explanation sequences during videoconferenced pedagogical interaction (Benjamin Holt); (32) Automatic dialogue scoring for a second language learning system (Jin-Xia Huang, Kyung-Soon Lee, Oh-Woog Kwon, and Young-Kil Kim); (33) Effects of task-based videoconferencing on speaking performance and overall proficiency (Atsushi Iino, Yukiko Yabuta, and Yoichi Nakamura); (34) Tellecollaborative games for youngsters: impact on motivation (Kristi Jauregi); (35) The Exercise: an Exercise generator tool for the SOURCe project (Kryni Kakoyianni-Doa, Eleni Tziafa, and Athanasios Naskos); (36) Students' perceptions of online apprenticeship projects at a university (Hisayo Kikuchi); (37) The effects of multimodality through storytelling using various movie clips (SoHee Kim); (38) Collaboration through blogging: the development of writing and speaking skills in ESP courses (Angela Kleanthous and Walcir Cardoso); (39) Cultivating a community of learners in a distance learning postgraduate course for language professionals (Angelos Konstantinidis and Cecilia Goria); (40) Task-oriented spoken dialog system for second-language learning (Oh-Woog Kwon, Young-Kil Kim, and Yunkeun Lee); (41) Promoting multilingual communicative competence through multimodal academic learning situations (Anna Kyppö and Teija Natri); (42) Teacher professional learning: developing with the aid of technology (Marianna Kyprianou and Eleni Nikiforou); (43) Quizlet: what the students think--a qualitative data analysis (Bruce Lander); (44) "Just facebook me": a study on the integration of Facebook into a German language curriculum (Vera Leier and Una Cunningham); (45) A survey on Chinese students' online English language learning experience through synchronous web conferencing classrooms (Chenxi Li); (46) Identifying and activating receptive vocabulary by an online vocabulary survey and an online writing task (Ivy Chuhui Lin and Goh Kawai); (47) Exploring learners' perceptions of the use of digital letter games for language learning: the case of Magic Word (Mathieu Loiseau, Cristiana Cervini, Andrea Ceccherelli, Monica Masperi, Paola Salomoni, Marco Roccetti, Antonella Valva, and Francesca Bianco); (48) Game of Words: prototype of a digital game focusing on oral production (and comprehension) through asynchronous interaction (Mathieu Loiseau, Racha Hallal, Pauline Ballot, and Ada Gazidedja); (49) PETALL in action: latest developments and future directions of the EU-funded Pan-European Task Activities for Language Learning (António Lopes); (50) Exploring EFL learners' lexical application in AWE-based writing (Zhihong Lu and Zhenxiao Li); (51) Mobile-assisted language learning and language learner autonomy (Paul A. Lyddon); (52) YELL/TELL: online community platform for teacher professional development (Ivana Marenzi, Maria Bortoluzzi, and Rishita Kalyani); (53) Leveraging automatic speech recognition errors to detect challenging speech segments in TED talks (Maryam Sadat Mirzaei, Kourosh Meshgi, and Tatsuya Kawahara); (54) Investigating the affective learning in a 3D virtual learning environment: the case study of the Chatterdale mystery (Judith Molka-Danielsen, Stella Hadjistassou, and Gerhilde Messl-Egghart); (55) Are commercial "personal robots" ready for language learning? Focus on second language speech (Souheila Moussalli and Walcir Cardoso); (56) The Digichaint interactive game as a virtual learning environment for Irish (Neasa Ni Chiaráin and Ailbhe Ní Chasaide); (57) Mingling students' cognitive abilities and learning strategies to transform CALL (Efi Nisiforou and Antigoni Parmaxi); (58) Taking English outside of the classroom through social networking: reflections on a two-year project (Louise Ohashi); (59) Does the usage of an online EFL workbook conform to Benford's law? (Mikolaj Olszewski, Kacper Lodzikowski, Jan Zwolinski, Rasil Warnakulasooriya, and Adam Black); (60) Implications on pedagogy as a result of adopted CALL practices (James W. Pagel and Stephen G. Lambacher); (61) Exploring the benefits and disadvantages of introducing synchronous to asynchronous online technologies to facilitate flexibility in learning (Salomi Papadima-Sophocleous and Fernando Loizides); (62) A CALL for evolving teacher education through 3D microteaching (Giouli Pappa and Salomi Papadima-Sophocleous); (63) Physicality and language learning (Jaeuk Park, Paul Seedhouse, Rob Comber, and Jieun Kiaer); (64) Designing strategies for an efficient language MOOC (Maria Perifanou); (65) Worldwide state of language MOOCs (Maria Perifanou); (66) A Spanish-Finnish telecollaboration: extending intercultural competence via videoconferencing (Pasi Puranen and Ruby Vurdien); (67) Developing oral interaction skills with a digital information gap activity game (Avery Rueb, Walcir Cardoso, and Jennica Grimshaw); (68) Using WebQuests as idea banks for fostering autonomy in online language courses (Shirin Sadaghian and S. Susan Marandi); (69) Integrating mobile technologies into very young second language learners' curriculum (Gulnara Sadykova, Gulnara Gimaletdinova, Liliia Khalitova, and Albina Kayumova); (70) Investigating commercially available technology for language learners in higher education within the high functioning disability spectrum (Georgia Savvidou and Fernando Loizides); (71) Learning languages in 3D worlds with Machinima (Christel Schneider); (72) What are more effective in English classrooms: textbooks or podcasts? (Jaime Selwood, Joe Lauer, and Kazumichi Enokida); (73) Mind the gap: task design and technology in novice language teachers' practice (Tom F. H. Smits, Margret Oberhofer, and Jozef Colpaert); (74) Language immersion in the self-study mode e-course (Olga Sobolev); (75) Aligning out-of-class material with curriculum: tagging grammar in a mobile music application (Ross Sundberg and Walcir Cardoso); (76) Meeting the technology standards for language teachers (Cornelia Tschichold); (77) Mobile-assisted language learning community and culture in French-speaking Belgium: the teachers' perspective (Julie Van de Vyver); (78) Classification of Swedish learner essays by CEFR levels (Elena Volodina, Ildikó Pilán, and David Alfter); (79) Mobile assisted language learning and mnemonic mapping--the loci method revisited (Ikumi Waragai, Marco Raindl, Tatsuya Ohta, and Kosuke Miyasaka); (80) CALL and less commonly taught languages--still a way to go (Monica Ward); (81) Demystifying pronunciation with animation (Monica Ward); (82) The effects of utilizing corpus resources to correct collocation errors in L2 writing--Students' performance, corpus use and perceptions (Yi-ju Wu); (83) A social constructionist approach to teaching and learning vocabulary for Italian for academic purposes (Eftychia Xerou, Salomi Papadima-Sophocleous, and Antigoni Parmaxi); (84) Flip-J: development of the system for flipped jigsaw supported language learning (Masanori Yamada, Yoshiko Goda, Kojiro Hata, Hideya Matsukawa, and Seisuke Yasunami); and (85) "Check your Smile", prototype of a collaborative LSP website for technical vocabulary (Nadia Yassine-Diab, Charlotte Alazard-Guiu, Mathieu Loiseau, Laurent Sorin, and Charlotte Orliac). An author index is included. (Individual papers contain references.)

The aim of the International Society for Technology, Education, and Science (iHSES) conference is to offer opportunities to share ideas, discuss theoretical and practical issues, and connect with the leaders in the fields of "humanities," "education" and "social sciences." It is organized for: (1) faculty members in all disciplines of humanities, education and social sciences; (2) graduate students; (3) K-12 administrators; (4) teachers; (5) principals; and (6) all interested in education and social sciences. [Individual papers are indexed in ERIC.]

This paper explores the utilisation of "Twitter" as a dynamic language learning platform in order to create an authentic domain of use for learners of Irish as an Additional Language (IAL) in a primary school setting in Ireland wherein 20 fourth class children and their parents participated. The Irish language context is firstly introduced, which contextualises a rationale for utilising Twitter for language learning. Teacher, child, and parent engagement with "Twitter" is then outlined with reference to the action research methodology employed. The repository of class tweets, periodic participant advisory group discussions and questionnaires, coupled with teacher-researcher reflection informed a qualitative data analysis. Results indicate notable student engagement with and enjoyment of tweeting in class "as Gaeilge" [in Irish] whereby the class Twitter account emerged as a practicable language learning platform. Its affordances enabled the student composition and publishing of short texts (tweets) and the provision of authentic Irish tweets for class reading. Parent and child engagement out of class, while relatively low, also demonstrated a promising additional domain of use, subject to the negotiation of orientation-related and implementation-related challenges for learners in a blended setting. In conclusion, recommendations to support the use of Twitter in endangered language school contexts are suggested. [For the complete volume, "Intelligent CALL, Granular Systems and Learner Data: Short Papers from EUROCALL 2022 (30th, Reykjavik, Iceland, August 17-19, 2022)," see ED624779.]

Although smartphones have become normalised in people's everyday behaviours, they remain under-exploited from a language learning perspective. This paper describes a study in an Irish university which explored the nature and extent of language learners' existing use of smartphones for informal learning purposes through a survey, a case study, and a group interview. The results showed that firstly, smartphones played only a limited and tangential role in their language learning, and secondly, that learners had narrow perceptions of what 'actual, proper study' entails, demonstrated by their overwhelming preference for more traditional language learning resources and practices. The paper finishes by making suggestions regarding how smartphones can be integrated into the language classroom, at both third and second level, to help broaden learner perceptions of what language study is, and consequently, allow smartphones to play a more significant role in their learning practices. [For the complete volume, "CALL and Professionalisation: Short Papers from EUROCALL 2021 (29th, Online, August 26-27, 2021)," see ED616972.]

For learners to be individuals equipped with the 21st-century skills when they start business life after graduation, they must be able to gain these skills during their education. However, due to their nature, it's not possible for students to acquire these skills under a specific course. For these skills to be achieved, they must be integrated across all curricula. In this study, an evaluation was conducted to see whether various countries incorporate the 21st-century skills in their curricula, how these skills are applied, and how these skills should be handled in their curricula. Within the scope of this research, the curricula applied in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, England, Ireland, and Turkey were examined. When the 12 skills defined by the P21 platform are considered, it can be seen that all skills are interconnected and that one cannot fully exist without the other. It can be said that starting to gain these skills, which are required by the 21st-century professions and which employers expect from graduates, from an early age it is important for individuals to be properly and fully prepared for the future. In accordance with the 21st-century expectations, evaluations, educational materials, teaching methods, professional growth opportunities, and learning environments should all be synchronized to create a supportive framework that generates the 21st-century results for contemporary students. [This paper was published in: "EJER Congress 2023 International Eurasian Educational Research Congress Conference Proceedings," Ani Publishing, 2023, pp. 97-126.]

Within the parameters of the new Erasmus programme, this Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) combines virtual exchange with physical mobility. There were three institutions involved in this project: Letterkenny Institute of Technology, Ireland, Hochschule Bremerhaven, Germany, and Malaga Healthcare College, Spain. The virtual exchange ran for five weeks from November to December 2021 and the physical mobility took place in Bremerhaven in the first week of April 2022. Twenty-seven participating students from diverse academic backgrounds engaged in shared tasks during the virtual exchange on a Blackboard platform, hosted by Letterkenny Institute of Technology and were awarded two ECTS credits, which was embedded into their local curricula. Content was delivered using both synchronous and asynchronous tools. The topic was global citizenship and students collaborated in multicultural teams to create presentations on their chosen topics. In addition to this team work, they also shared their individual insights into the course content by posting to a discussion forum in Weeks 1, 3, and 4. [For the complete volume, "Intelligent CALL, Granular Systems and Learner Data: Short Papers from EUROCALL 2022 (30th, Reykjavik, Iceland, August 17-19, 2022)," see ED624779.]

This paper presents results of a comparative international study on some aspects of school counseling in the following 12 countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Ireland, Malta, North Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, UK, and USA. The authors explain the multifunctional character of school counseling, give an idea of establishing a research field that could be called 'comparative school counseling studies', show the original terms in individual countries, and compare six aspects of school counseling: 1) legislative framework; 2) position requirements; 3) role of school counselors; 4) functions of school counselors; 5) interaction; and 6) ratio. The paper concludes with a long list of qualities school counselors are expected to possess. This is a document study chiefly based on examining, systematizing and comparing national documents (laws, reports, instructions, advices, position requirements, ministerial orders, recommendations, strategies, and statistics) on school counseling.

Intelligent Computer-Assisted Language Learning (ICALL) involves using tools and techniques from computational linguistics and Natural Language Processing (NLP) in the language learning process. It is an inherently complex endeavour and is multi-, inter-, and trans-disciplinary in nature. Often these tools and techniques are designed for tasks and purposes other than language learning, and this makes their adaptation and use in the CALL domain difficult. It can be even more challenging for Less-Resourced Languages (LRLs) for CALL researchers to adapt or incorporate NLP into CALL artefacts. This paper reports on how two existing NLP resources for Irish, a morphological analyser and a parser, were used to develop an app for Irish. The app, Irish Word Bricks (IWB), was adapted from an existing CALL app -- Word Bricks (Mozgovoy & Efimov, 2013). Without this 'joining the blocks together' approach, the development of the IWB app would certainly have taken longer, may not have been as efficient or effective, and may not even have been accomplished at all. [For the complete volume of short papers, see ED600837.]

This pilot study focuses on a tool called L2L that allows second language (L2) learners to visualise and analyse their Zoom interactions with native speakers. L2L uses the Zoom transcript to automatically generate conversation metrics and its playback feature with timestamps allows students to replay any chosen portion of the conversation for post-session reflection and self-review. This exploratory study investigates a seven-week teletandem project, where undergraduate students from an Irish university learning French (B2) interacted with their peers from a French university learning English (B2+) via Zoom. The data collected from a survey (N=43) and semi-structured interviews (N=35) show that the quantitative conversation metrics and qualitative review of the synchronous content helped raise students' confidence levels while engaging with native speakers. Furthermore, it allowed them to set tangible goals to improve their participation, and be more aware of what, why, and how they are learning. [For the complete volume, "CALL and Professionalisation: Short Papers from EUROCALL 2021 (29th, Online, August 26-27, 2021)," see ED616972.]

This descriptive study presents the first research cycle with four synchronous telecollaborative language learning sessions on Zoom between Irish and Chinese teenagers. Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) post-questionnaire results show that the mean of interaction enjoyment scale is the highest compared to the other four categories, which implies that telecollaboration provides an enjoyable and authentic environment for Irish adolescent learners to experience communication with native speakers. However, low averages of ISS categories indicate some factors are at play such as short telecollaboration duration and potential technological issues. The gap between the previous needs analysis and current findings demonstrates that participants probably underestimated the challenge of engaging with Chinese native speakers, which would suggest that more scaffoldings and preparations are required for beginning-level learners before and during telecollaborations. [For the complete volume, "CALL and Professionalisation: Short Papers from EUROCALL 2021 (29th, Online, August 26-27, 2021)," see ED616972.]

Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) use is increasing and it is good to be able to provide language learners with new resources to enhance their language learning experience. One such resource is WordBricks, a non-commercial, educational app that facilitates the learning and reinforcement of grammar rules. It uses bricks and connectors of different colours and shapes for different parts of speech, and the learner can (only) form grammatically correct sentences. Learners can choose to form sentences from examples or create their own original sentences. Originally, WordBricks was designed for personalised, individual, out-of-classroom learning for English language learners. This paper provides an overview of research on the original WordBricks app for English. A version of WordBricks has been developed for Irish and adapted for use in the primary school setting. There are very few interactive resources available for Irish and the Irish WordBricks app is a new addition to the Irish Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) cannon. This paper reports on how the Irish WordBricks app was used by teachers and students in a primary school and the feedback received on the app. [For the complete volume, see ED578177.]

ePortfolios are emerging as an alternative to the paper based CV in the employment recruitment process. This paper reports on the findings of research project that was designed to explore the perceptions of adult jobseekers on the use of an ePortfolio as a jobseeking tool. The research project utilised a qualitative exploratory case study to investigate the jobseekers perceptions over the course of a six week online ePortfolio development programme. The perceptions of jobseekers were investigated in the context of three questions; what was the learner's perception of the ePortfolio as a potential job seeking tool, what was the learner's perception of the ePortfolio development programme and what was the learner's perception of the ePortfolio system. Data was collected through structured online questionnaire, virtual focus groups and observations from the researcher during the programme. The research findings were discussed in the context of a number of themes that emerged from previous research including the importance of a programmatic approach to ePortfolio development, the challenges with institutional ePortfolio systems and the barriers to the use of an ePortfolio as a jobseeking tool. The research project built on a number of existing research themes while also positioning new concepts such as the role of eMentoring and gamification design principles in ePortfolio development. [For the complete proceedings, see ED579335.]

The orthographical depth of a language impacts on a learner's ability to learn a language (Katz & Frost, 1992). If it is easier for learners to read the language as it is written, it will make the learning process easier. One way to address the problem of orthographically deep or opaque languages where the pronunciation is not very easy to determine is to demystify its pronunciation by using animation. This involves showing learners graphically how a combination of certain letters or diacritics produces a particular sound. This is particularly useful when the combination is different to what might be expected given the learner's knowledge of how those letters or symbols sound individually. This is also important when two orthography systems may appear similar on a superficial level but are actually different. This paper provides an overview of the animation component of the CALLIPSO system--a CALL resource for Irish orthography and pronunciation. Irish uses the same letters as the English alphabet but there are differences in the letter-sound correspondences. In the animation component, words are passed to the animation tool which demonstrates how each combination of letters gives rise to the overall pronunciation of the word. The tool is language independent and can be used for languages other than Irish. [For the complete volume of short papers, see ED572005.]

This is an historical and comparative paper that examines the importance of women's educational organizations across time and space and the deliberative attempts of individual members to advocate for the expansion of their professional knowledge, expertise and reach. Specifically, the historical spotlight is turned on the International Federation of University Women (IFUW) and the National University Women's Graduate Association (NUWGA, Ireland) as illustrative examples of the power and potential of women's organizations to the development of women's professional knowledge, academic expertise and strategic ambition. As we highlight, associations such as the IFUW and NUGA, as communities of like-minded women, prompted women to shape and define new ways of thinking about the interpersonal, organizational and international aspects of their work.

School-based practicum is a critical component of teacher education programmes. Recent studies show that high-performing programmes evidence well-developed school university partnerships. In Ireland, recent policy changes mean pre-service teachers complete practicum placements of up to ten weeks in duration. Programme providers must design these placements in partnership with schools. This paper discusses a two-year action research study examining the key relationships involved between schools and one Higher Education Institution. Using the notion of 'Learning Communities' posited by Stoll et al as a theoretical framework and Dey's model of cyclical analysis, this paper finds that positive relationships enhance the practicum experience and the development of partnerships and highlights improvements which can be made to future iterations of the practicum.

Ireland's new strategy for foreign language education, "Languages Connect," identifies the establishment of Mandarin Chinese as a curricular language as a key goal for the coming years. Within the curriculum specification for Mandarin at Junior Cycle (ages 12-15), "using digital technology is identified as a core component: the student uses technology and digital media to learn, communicate, work and think collaboratively and creatively" (NCCA, 2016, p. 6). While the introduction of Chinese courses in Ireland faces a number of challenges (e.g. a shortage of communication opportunities and appropriate learning resources), it also provides a unique opportunity to generate innovative solutions to these challenges through technology, specifically Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC). This paper outlines the overarching goal and Design-Based Research (DBR) methodology for this research project as well as the results of the initial learner needs analysis conducted at a post-primary school in Ireland. Participants in the needs analysis workshop consisted of 19 students aged 12-15 who are learning Chinese, and their teacher. The results of the needs analysis with students and their Chinese language teacher identified opportunities for meaningful communication, particularly with Chinese native speakers, and more learning about Chinese culture as the key needs to address within the broader research project, needs that could be addressed using CMC tools. [For the complete proceedings, see ED600837.]

The teaching of spoken Chinese in the context of post-primary education in Ireland faces several complexities. Learners of Mandarin Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL), including both Irish and heritage learners, have demonstrated difficulty in learning spoken Chinese. This exploratory research is part of a larger project which aims to develop appropriate ad hoc intelligent Computer-Assisted Language Learning (iCALL) solutions by providing visualised instruction and a gamified feedback system for Mandarin tone acquisition, and using a spoken dialogue system to create a simulated virtual environment for practising spoken Chinese. This paper presents a qualitative needs analysis, in the form of semi-structured interviews, which has been conducted with 12 CFL teachers with various linguistic and sociocultural backgrounds. It aims to investigate learners' difficulty in learning spoken Chinese and teachers' willingness to implement technology in CFL curricula. [For the complete proceedings, see ED600837.]

If teachers of Less-Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs), such as Irish, are to make use of Open Educational Resources (OERs) and many other CALL tools, then there must be an appropriate adaptation of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) in that LCTL. The need to be "Bologna-compliant" has seen language courses and syllabuses in Ireland being set out according to Common Reference Levels of the CEFR. Many CALL tools and resources which have been developed in a European context are underpinned by the Common Reference Levels of the CEFR. This symbiosis means that, in many cases, making use of one cannot be done properly without due regard to the other. In Ireland, however, the applications of the CEFR and integration of CALL have been engaged in separately for the most part. As the demand for CALL grows in Ireland, the lack of an Irish language adaptation of the CEFR becomes more problematic. This paper presents a case study on the Irish language partner on the SpeakApps project (http://www.speakapps.eu/). It will begin with a brief literature review on implementing CALL principles in LCTLs, and application of the CEFR to LCTLs. It then examines the experiences of the Irish partner in designing online oral production and interaction tasks according to the CEFR to be used on language courses that have not previously used CEFR learning goals or reference levels. In this paper we conclude that adaptations of the CEFR's Common Reference Levels with clear illustrative descriptors are needed before teachers of LCTLs can optimise OERs and other CALL tools. [For full proceedings, see ED565087.]

This paper details how collaborative self-study can contribute to instruction and learning in coaching and teacher education. The practice of self-study has gained much advocacy in Teacher Education Practice (TEP) and has been strongly promoted by Physical Education Teacher Educators (PETE). In this research, two teacher educators (from Science Education and Physical Education) participated in a collaborative self-study outside of their TEP. Both participants coached a university Gaelic football team. The collaborative self-study focused on improving their coaching practices and also developing empathy through learning experiences. The findings provide evidence of the dual value of collaborative self-study: as coach learners, they improved their understanding of their coaching practices; as TEPs, they developed empathy for their student teachers.

This study is based on Second Language Acquisition through blended learning and explores the application of new educational technologies in the development of distance education. In particular, the paper focuses on ways to enhance oral, aural, and intercultural skills through learners' engagement, develop authentic social interaction and intercultural awareness in virtual environments and at the same time actively engage the students' powers of perception, communication and reasoning. A speech visualization technology is introduced, specifically tailored to pronunciation training. It provides relevant and comprehensible visual feedback of all three components of speech: prosody-intonation, stress and rhythm. In this paper we stress that the achievement of successful communication should be the main objective of a second language learner, whilst overcoming the foreign accent can be deemed as a secondary goal. A strong or incorrect placement of word stress may impair understanding--from the listener's point of view--of the word(s) being pronounced. On the other hand, acquiring correct timing of phonological units helps to overcome the impression of foreign accent, which may ensue from an incorrect distribution of stressed vs. unstressed stretches of linguistic units such as syllables or metric feet. For these reasons our study looks at how to improve a student's performance both in perception and production of spoken Italian prosodic features, which include the correct position of stress at word level, the alternation of stress and unstressed syllables, the correct position of sentence accent, the generation of the adequate rhythm from the interleaving of stress, accent, phonological rules, and the generation of adequate intonation patterns for each utterance related to communicative functions. [For full proceedings, see ED565044.]

Videoconferences are a perfect scenario for autonomous Foreign Language (FL) and intercultural speaking practices. However, it is also a threatening context as learners communicate in an FL, often with a stranger and about personal information and experiences. That may lead to increase Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) among participants, affecting students' learning experiences and even provoking drop-outs (Bailey, Onwuegbuzie, & Daley, 2003). This study aims to explore the relationship between FLA and Self-Disclosure (SD) as personality traits. The first indicators of the potential relationship between FLA and SD in online speaking practice were found by Fondo and Erdocia (2018) in which anxious learners showed a tendency to self-disclose as a means to manage their discomfort using the FL. Data was gathered in the first stage of a nine-week-synchronous oral Online Intercultural Exchange (OIE) project between undergraduate business students from the United States, Ireland, Mexico, and Spain. [For the complete volume of short papers, see ED590612.]

This study aims to identify a few perception-action relations or affordances enacted in an asymmetrical (tutor-tutee) videoconferencing environment for L2 learning. Following Engeström's (2014) Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and an ecological Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) perspective, the study focusses on the interactions between language use, technology use, and the enactment of designed language learning tasks. Master's students of French as a foreign language from a French university interacted online via videoconferencing with undergraduate students of business learning French at an Irish university over a six-week period. The online interactions between tutors and tutees generated a multimodal corpus (ISMAEL). The fifth session plan prepared by the tutors and their online conversations were investigated for four tutor-tutee systems. The findings reveal that the designed and emerging technological and linguistic affordances influence the online interactions at the micro level and the educational affordances at the macro level. [For the complete volume of short papers, see ED590612.]

The work reported in this paper is part of a large European study commissioned by the Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) which explores interactions between the labour market and vocational education and training as well as up-dates the content Initial Vocational Education and Training (IVET) provision in 15 European countries in the study. This paper presents the interactions between VET and the labour market in the Republic of Ireland. The paper examines the nature of VET system, the feedback mechanisms and the characterisation of the feedback loops in Ireland's VET system. The paper concludes with a highlight of the significant features of the interactions between VET and the labour market. [For complete volume, see ED567118.]

Located in the Republic of Ireland, and drawing on "figured worlds theory" (Holland et al. 1998), the focus of this paper relates to the shaping of positional identities among a cohort of novice elementary teachers, during their initial year of workplace practice, post-graduation. The concept of "figured worlds" helps make visible how positional identities are shaped in workplace settings. A three-cycle, individual interview design, facilitated continuing contact with each research participant. Utilisation of predetermined "figured worlds"-informed constructs ensures a deductive approach is employed in analysing data. Conclusions encapsulating novices' developing positional identities are presented as per three domains of experience. Conclusions arising from this study assume significance when set in a wider context of conceptually-informed themes relating to novice teaching.

STEM family e-learning involves increasing the engagement in STEM home learning activities. STEM home learning activities range from exploring subjects such as science technology, engineering, and maths through a fun play based K-6 STEM curriculum. The family are trained to act as teachers, mentors, and coaches to the K-6 members. Families from educational disadvantaged areas are typically early school leavers and having the STEM capacity to support their children is a challenge. This research proposes a STEM Family e-Learning framework to increase family engagement in supporting the K-6 members engaged in STEM learning activities. The proposed framework combines training for volunteers and STEM learning activities provided to families. Training for volunteers focuses on how to work with families in disadvantaged communities. STEM learning activities involve providing the family with STEM programmes such as Virtual Robotic Coding Clubs, Card Challenges, e-Learning Programme, STEM Play and Learn, STEM Workshops, Showcases and Events. Parent and child evaluation data indicate that the activities stimulated interest in STEM for both children and their parents and increased confidence in STEM subjects. This research can potentially enhance the mainstreaming and extension of STEM e-learning to disadvantaged communities. [For the full proceedings, see ED639633.]

This study aims to identify and analyze the ways in which semiotic resources are orchestrated by teacher-trainees during videoconferenced French foreign language teaching. Our corpus is made up of six weeks of interaction between seven teacher trainees enrolled in a master's program at Université Lumière Lyon 2 in France and 12 undergraduate business students at Dublin City University in Ireland. 15.5 hours of video data were transcribed using ELAN, and 195 lexical explanation sequences were identified. These sequences were categorized according to whether the lexical problem came from an inability to understand or an inability to speak, and were then split into phases according to a three-step canonical model (Lauzon, 2008). During each phase we look at which semiotic resources were used, combined and co-contextualized by the teacher trainees. Our methodology, which will be used to complete our PhD project, is outlined here as well as preliminary results. [For the complete volume of short papers, see ED572005.]

Although Text-To-Speech (TTS) synthesis has been little used in Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), it is ripe for deployment, particularly for minority and endangered languages, where learners have little access to native speaker models and where few genuinely interactive and engaging teaching/learning materials are available. These considerations lie behind the development of "Digichaint," an interactive language learning game which uses "ABAIR" Irish TTS voices. It provides a language-rich learning environment for Irish language pedagogy and is also used as a testbed to evaluate the intelligibility, quality and attractiveness of the "ABAIR" synthetic voices. [For the complete volume of short papers, see ED572005.]

Drawing on Gibson's (1977) theory of affordances, Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) affordances are a combination of technological, social, educational, and linguistic affordances (Blin, 2016). This paper reports on a preliminary study that sought to identify the emergence of affordances during an online video conferencing session between teacher trainees specialising in French as a Foreign Language and learners of French from an Irish university. We use Cultural Historical and Activity Theory (CHAT) (Engeström, 1987) as our epistemological framework to explore CALL affordances as they emerged in two tutor-learner triads. Deviations from the lesson plan are identified and some of the factors that promote or hinder the emergence of affordances for second language development in similar environments are highlighted. [For the complete volume, see ED571330.]

This paper reports on two distinct models of telecollaboration--the Soliya Connect Program, a synchronous Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) project, and the Intercultural Franco-Irish Exchange, an asynchronous CMC project--which seek to provide students with a learning space to promote a more politically engaged and reflective pedagogy (Kramsch, 2014). Using Herring's (2007) faceted classification for computer-mediated discourse, it specifies the models' inherent features and draws attention to a number of differentiating characteristics of the two projects. The analysis of qualitative data collected through students' diaries and feedback questionnaires shows that both modes of online dialogue encouraged students to engage with peers and content and enabled them to achieve intended learning outcomes. [For the complete volume, see ED571330.]

In this paper, we investigate whether trainee teachers' practices, with respect to multimodal feedback, differ from current research, and to what extent it may affect students' language development. More specifically, the goal of the present study is threefold: (1) it observes how trainee teachers responded, whether synchronously, asynchronously, or a combination of both, to their students' incorrect language while or after interacting orally with them in French via a videoconference platform, (2) it considers the trainee teachers' beliefs regarding the efficacy of their feedback in light of semi-structured interviews, and (3) it explores the students' responses to corrective feedback received in synchronous and asynchronous settings through recorded videoconferencing sessions and interviews. The data set used for this preliminary study is drawn from a multimodal learning and teaching corpus, the InteractionS and Multimodality in lAnguagE Learning (ISMAEL) Project, a large collection of multimodal interactions and productions occurring between French trainee teachers in France and learners of French at university level in Ireland. Results show that asynchronous written feedback might strengthen the reception of oral synchronous feedback, thus leading to internalisation. [For full proceedings, see ED564162.]

This paper explores the intersection of learning methodologies to promote the development of 21st century skills with the use of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) tools to enhance language learning among adolescent learners. Today, technology offers a greater range of affordances in the teaching and learning of second languages while research shows that student classrooms still continue to concentrate on linguistic competences rather than communicative competences (Gilmore, 2011). The Bridge21 model, which is technology-mediated, team-led and project-based, brings a particular approach to 21st-century learning and is distinguished by the mixture and focus of scaffolding and consistency in the application (Lawlor, Conneely, & Tangney, 2010). An exploratory case study was designed to extend the Bridge21 model to include spatially-separated teams, based in Ireland and Germany, learning together and enhancing the use of oral and aural skills for second language acquisition. Thirty-six students worked on project-based tasks during a six day workshop focused on the usage of authentic materials and CMC tools. The findings suggest that using the Bridge21 learning model succeeded in allowing students to collaborate at a distance and to participate in second language acquisition. [For full proceedings, see ED564162.]

The paper provides a comparative analysis of establishing quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC) in the Republic of Ireland and the Republic of Serbia. The analysis is done through desk research of documents dealing with the standards of quality. The following dimensions were compared: 1) The way of preparing and adopting documents; 2) The function of standards; 3) Structure and content of the documents; 4) Evaluation of quality. The comparison of understanding and the purpose of ECEC standards in the two countries has shown the difference between the discourse of building quality and discourse of quality assurance by standardization as the external measure of quality. Whilst in Ireland, the evaluation of the quality is seen as the process of re-consideration and building quality, in Serbia, this is a one off "act" of measuring and control. [For the complete Volume 13, Number 1 proceedings, see ED568595.]

Information and communications technology (ICT) has become an acknowledged and integral part of everyday life for many people. As research shows, the use of ICT in appropriate contexts in education can add value to teaching and learning by enhancing the effectiveness of learning itself and being a significant motivational factor in the students' acquisition process by supporting student's engagement with collaborative learning, and by promoting deep active lifelong learning (Barak, 2006; Lau & Sim, 2008). Despite all these significant benefits, it seems that ICT is not widely and successfully integrated into the educational system and consequently, its learning potential is not fully exploited. The purpose of this paper is to reflect and understand the current uses and expectations of ICT for learning in general and language learning in particular presenting some of the findings of a major case study. The results of this study are pertinent to future developments in school practice and national policies. [For full proceedings, see ED565087.]

This paper details the analysis of the participation of individual students in a teaching experiment in which the researcher aimed to facilitate a mathematical discourse community. This involved positioning students as mathematical authorities capable of generating and evaluating mathematical thinking. The extent to which students acted as mathematical authorities was investigated by tracking their participation across a number of lessons. Students' use of discourse community practices such as explaining and justifying thinking, evaluating the thinking of others and asking questions was documented and Wenger's (1998) trajectories of identity were used to describe their participation. The profiles of four students of different achievement levels with contrasting participation practices will be presented and discussed. [For the complete proceedings, see ED597799.]

Students on the BA International Business and Languages who spend a full academic year on a study visit abroad experience many new challenges such as a different culture, a new university, different academic practices, a foreign language, etc. The assessment methods for the year include the results of the modules taken in the partner universities, a language examination and the submission of a country notebook. This research is a pilot study that explores how the maintenance of an online journal via a blog/e-portfolio structure can support students in their new learning experiences, alert the home coordinator to any potential difficulty before it escalates, provide them with regular online feedback on their progress and enhance their final reflective paper submission. The cohort of students is small and limited to those who are currently in France, spread across five different locations. The research is framed within an interpretivist paradigm using case-study as a research design. Data is gathered through documentary evidence, field observations, questionnaires and interviews. The project's results are of interest to Erasmus coordinators and educational institutions whose programmes include a study visit or even a placement component. The research brings insights on how reflective thinking can augment students' learning by practicing regular online reflective writing. Rubrics are used as a powerful tool for online feedback and for the continuous formation of students' learning. The advantages and challenges of using an enhanced blog structure for the maintenance of an online journal are also reviewed. [For full proceedings, see ED565044.]

More than 10 years have passed since the first introduction of the term "digital natives" in Prensky's (2001a, 2001b) two seminal articles. Prensky argues that students today, having grown up in the Digital Age, learn differently from their predecessors, or "digital immigrants". As such, the pedagogical tools and methods used to educate the Natives are outdated. Consequently, many educational professionals became convinced that the ways in which today's students think and learn have been qualitatively changed by their use of information and communication technology (ICT). Indeed, the analogy introduced by Prensky is very appealing, however, no significant empirical evidence exists to support this conjecture and neither facts nor evidence tested in everyday practice have been provided. This paper aims to critically examine the underlying "digital native" theory by reviewing some recent studies questioning the existence of digital natives and presenting some of the current findings from a major case study. The study involves Irish secondary school students and their approach and use of new technologies for language learning. By monitoring and interviewing the students and their teachers, it is intended to provide evidence and information to reflect on some key topics such as the use of ICT for language learning during and outside the class, the analysis of students' skills (as putative digital natives) within language learning, and the attitude of teachers and tutors toward technologies. Overall, it is intended to examine if the current evidence resulting from this study validates Prensky's digital native theory. [For full proceedings, see ED565044.]

This paper is concerned with a small pilot study to ascertain the use of, and changes in the use of e-learning to promote the learning of foreign and additional languages in a variety of countries in Europe. It was undertaken by individual researchers in an attempt to examine how the drive towards the teaching of new languages, encouraged by the European Commission is progressing. In addition the researchers were anxious to ascertain if in the last two years there had been any noticeable changes in the amount and type of e-learning/technology used in language teaching. Questionnaires were issued to school leaders to discover the type of school being researched, for example numbers and ages of students and numbers of staff. The teaching of languages other than the main language of the country was explored either as additional language teaching of the home language (EAL) or instruction in foreign languages (MFL). In addition specialist teachers were asked about their use of e-learning to aid the teaching of languages and if this use had changed in recent years. At present, results from five countries Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Turkey, and England have been received with those from Greece and Ireland as yet to be processed. The results show a great variety in the amount of EAL language and new foreign language teaching occurring and a great variance in the use and application of e-learning despite the drive towards e-learning which is so prominently on the political agenda. [For complete volume, see ED567118.]

Using an innovative recruitment tool, the social network site Facebook, survey data were gathered from samples of the Australian general public and from around the world. Views on the gendering of mathematics, science, and ICT were gathered. In this paper we report the findings from six of the 15 questions on the survey, and only from respondents in predominantly English-speaking countries. The findings reveal that the majority was not gender-stereotyped about mathematics and related careers. However, if a gendered view was held, it was overwhelming to endorse the male stereotype. Male respondents' views were more strongly gendered than were females'. [For the complete proceedings, see ED585874.]

The high dependence on technology for economic activities in developed countries stresses the importance of lifelong learning in order to equip adult workers with the skills required to perform work related tasks, and also increase labor force participation. We use data from the 2012/2014 Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) to examine relationships among problem solving skills in technology-rich environments (PSTRE), participation in adult education and training (AET), and income in Australia, Finland, Japan (high PSTRE scoring countries), Chile, Greece (low PSTRE scoring countries), Ireland, Estonia, and the United States (similarly scoring countries). Although PIAAC measured literacy, numeracy, and PSTRE skills, our research focus is on PSTRE because of its emphasis on problem-solving skills and critical thinking. These skills are undoubtedly important in any global economy currently experiencing rapid technological transformation. In four of five age groups, Japan had the highest PSTRE scores. With the exception of Greece, PIAAC respondents in the oldest age group had lower PSTRE scores than younger age groups. Men had higher PSTRE scores than women in all countries except Australia and Greece. Overall, those with higher PSTRE scores were more likely to participate in AET but there were variations by age, income, and education categories. Greater PSTRE scores were associated with higher hourly wages in the U.S. Australia and Estonia whereas no significant association was observed in other countries. With limited availability of data, females benefited financially from higher PSTRE scores more than males in the U.S., Finland, Ireland and Japan.

The focus of this study centres on how emotions are implicated in the processes of early professional practice, among nine beginning elementary teachers in Ireland, during the course of their initial year of workplace practice, post-graduation. Adopting a multiperspectival approach, which locates emotions in the liminal space between the "teacher self" and the sociohistorical structures of schooling, this multiple-case study accounts for the influence of a range of workplace-based relational dynamics on the emotionality characteristic of beginning teaching. Individual, semi-structured interviews and the maintenance of digital diaries (e-mail logs), were the methods of data collection employed. Cross-case analysis identified common patterns that recurred across the nine cases. Empirically-based conclusions are presented and the scholarly significance of the study is outlined.