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This exploratory review brings together research that investigates computer-assisted language learning (CALL), and research in the field of learning design, paying particular attention to the theoretical frameworks and approaches of "design for learning." The attempts of connecting the two fields stem from two critical foci and commitments of "design for learning": (1) on the contemporary "learning context" which has become increasingly learner-centred and technology-rich and (2) on the "learning process" which is, now widely recognised and accepted, constantly evolving, configurative, dynamic and complex. "Design for learning" asserts that technology-enhanced learning (TEL) could only be partly designed; the other part--the learning process--is emerging and created through the actions of participants in the learning networks. Therefore, the ecology and architecture of a learning network become the focus of investigation. This author argues that "design for learning," which is firmly grounded in the contemporary theories of learning, merits being seriously looked at by CALL. A preliminarily synthesis of the two fields is presented, which signals potential synergies. The synergies will broaden the understanding of CALL and strengthen its design.

This study investigates how university students taking fully online language-learning configure their learning environments to enhance opportunities for learning and meet broader academic and social-emotional needs. The study adopts a view of learning as both physically and socially situated, acknowledging that the physical (material, digital and hybrid) resources available in each student's learning environment, as well as the opportunities they have to interact with other people, can play very significant roles in shaping learning activities and outcomes. The paper focuses on how students reconfigure the learning environments designed/provided for them by their teachers and the university. Through interviews with 26 students, a mixture of deliberate, creative and spontaneous actions they took were revealed. Students not only reconfigured the physical environments in which their learning activities were situated, but also the tasks they were set and ways of working with other people. There has been a growing interest in student contributions in task, task engagement and processes in CALL research. This paper extends this research into the physical and social domains, with a focus on students' contributions to 'place-making'. It argues that design for CALL is best seen as a process in which learning situations are co-configured by teacher-designers and students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports on a teacher’s ongoing design activities in a fully online language course when the class was in progress. The aims were, firstly, to provide first-hand experience and insight into a teacher’s design work in a real-life, technology-enhanced learning (TEL) classroom; and secondly, to facilitate reflective analysis of the emerging design events. A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was adopted for data collection, and the analysis of data was further aided by the framework offorward-oriented design for learning(Goodyear & Dimitriadis, 2013), which considers educational design as a continuing and forward-looking practice including processes of orchestration, configuration, reflection and re-design. Fifteen design events were collected, which provided a snapshot of how and what design activities emerged from a complex, constantly evolving TEL classroom. The interpretation and analysis reveal insights related to various design processes. The findings highlight the forward-looking, ongoing, process-oriented and cyclical nature of TEL design. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study builds on this author’s 2011 article in which the author reflects on the pedagogical challenges and resultant changes made while teaching two fully online foreign language papers over a four-year period (Y. H. S. Sun (2011). Online language teaching: The pedagogical challenges.Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International Journal,3, 428–447). Drawing on current literature, the present study surveyed learners (n = 46) in an attempt to investigate the difficulties that confronted them and the ways they had adapted to fully online learning. The quantitative and qualitative data obtained from a questionnaire were integrated and analyzed with an inductive method. Results identified six major difficulties: (1) following the schedule and studying regularly, (2) getting hold of classmates and finding suitable time to work together, (3) pairing/teaming up and working collaboratively, (4) ensuring constant engagement with the class, (5) keeping self-motivated and being a self-directed learner, and (6) socializing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]