2019 - Self-paced language learning using online language learning platforms.

Arvanitis, P. (2019). Self-paced language learning using online language learning platforms. In  Mark Dressman  & Randall William Sadler (Eds.), Handbook of Informal Language Learning. pp. 171-138, Oxford, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Online ISBN:9781119472384 |DOI:10.1002/9781119472384.

Nowadays, in a digitally globalized world, an increasing number of learners are learning foreign languages outside a formal and structural classroom-based education. The early familiarization, especially of young learners with Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has formed a new way they perceive and process information as well as the way they learn. Online, self-paced, language-learning web environments and mobile apps offer various possibilities for foreign language learners to explore different types of texts and materials and use the authentic target language.

However, this process will be unsuccessful without the right motivation. Teachers, language didactic material developers, researchers, and learners agree that motivation is an essential factor in learning a second or foreign language. The primary goal of this chapter is to review some of the mainstream online language-learning environments, both web-based and mobile apps, and then discuss their features from a learner's perspective. The study also focuses on the reinforcement of motivation and engagement that these platforms can cause in foreign language teaching and learning due to their ludic character.

Keywords: foreign language learners, Information and Communication Technologies, Language-learning web environments, mobile apps, online language-learning environments, self-paced language learning, structural classroom-based education

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