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Despite their potential benefits, teacher-created animated cartoons have not found much room in second-language (L2) research, probably due to some technical challenges involved in creating them. This paper reports the findings of a mixed-methods embedded experimental study, designed to test the impact of tailor-made animated cartoons on the correct use of common punctuation rules in English. The participants were 112 Turkish-first language (L1) learners of English, assigned to either the treatment or control group through random cluster sampling. The instructional materials in the treatment group included teacher-created animated cartoons, exercises designed using SCORM-compliant software, and a forum for discussions in Moodle. The participants in the control group, on the other hand, used PowerPoint presentations (PPTs) instead of animated cartoons and completed the same follow-up activities. Quantitative results suggested that the treatment and control groups’ post-test and late post-test scores significantly differed in favour of the former. Moreover, qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and document analysis revealed that the participants, especially those in the treatment group, viewed this learning experience highly positively. The findings globally imply that tailor-made animated cartoons might facilitate the learning of punctuation and help raise students’ awareness of it.

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It is often argued that current generations use digital technologies in different ways than older ones do. In response to the need for research on how younger generations use new technologies, this paper surveys identifiable patterns of technology use in EFL (English as a foreign language) and ESL (English as a second language) learners in daily and academic contexts, with a focus on digital productivity. To collect data, 97 EFL learners and 30 ESL learners were given a survey developed by the researcher. The survey was validated using verbal probing as a cognitive validation strategy. The data were analysed using SPSS 18.0 through descriptive statistics, Welch–Satterthwaite test and correlation coefficients. The results revealed that access to technology is not a significant issue in both contexts. However, although ESL students are better at using technologies in daily life, they are no different from EFL students with respect to producing content for learning. The data also indicated that both EFL and ESL learners produced content using only well-established digital tools, and there is some individual variation within both cohort of students. The findings imply that it could be useful to introduce new technologies into educational context both at individual and instructional levels

Pre-class work assumes a central role in flipped learning, which has recently enjoyed immense popularity across various disciplines. This qualitative case study investigates the factors associated with learners’ doing/failing to do the pre-class tasks in flipped learning. It also compares teacher-created interactive videos and YouTube videos in terms of how they fit into flipped learning as instructional materials that can be used to motivate learners to do pre-class tasks. The learners in an English language teaching methodology course were asked to take turns each week to watch either teacher-created videos enriched (via PlayPosit) with quizzes and discussion questions or YouTube videos. The qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews with six participants recruited using criterion sampling. The participants’ reflective journals and the lecturer’s diary triangulated the data. The results indicated that the learners found the YouTube videos more enjoyable and teacher-created interactive videos more instructive, due to the embedded interactions they had rather than the teacher’s presence. However, the task completion levels in the pre-class work were low in both teacher-created and YouTube videos. Pedagogically considered, effective and enjoyable delivery rather than teacher presence in videos seems more critical for learners. Therefore, using high-quality ready-made videos and enriching them with interactive elements could be a viable option in flipped learning.

This study was conducted to reveal what Memrise, an online vocabulary study tool, can offer to upper-intermediate EFL learners compared to traditional vocabulary exercises in L2 vocabulary learning. Two groups of upper-intermediate learners (N=80) were randomly assigned to the experimental group and the control group and were given the Vocabulary Knowledge Scale, VKS for short, as the pre-test and post-test. The participants in both groups were exposed to the target vocabulary items in the same reading text. While those in the experimental group created list of target vocabulary items collaboratively in Memrise and then studied the sets individually, the learners in the control group did traditional vocabulary exercises. The results of the post-tests indicated that there was a significant difference between the control group and the experimental group in favor of the experimental group. The researchers discuss possible pedagogical implications of this significant finding for EFL vocabulary instruction.