This paper examines the affective dimension of tandem language learning via e-mail. It begins by highlighting some of the obstacles to this mode of learning, including organisational and pedagogical issues as well as the particular issues confronting learners. Drawing on a small body of empirical data, it explores the interactions between these issues and what learners perceive to be intrinsically motivating about tandem learning. It concludes by suggesting that affective learning experience has a potentially powerful role to play in fostering the development of learner autonomy through the reciprocity on which successful tandem learning is founded.

This study compares the attitude toward instruction of two groups of participants: control subjects who used a multimedia instructional module for French created by the researcher, and experimental subjects who created their own module. Quantitative data did not yield statistically significant differences in their attitudes. In the light of additional qualitative data, possible reasons for this result are discussed: high level of satisfaction with the novelty of instruction for both groups; computer problems, lack of adequate orientation, lack of real outlet for the module and difficulty of the texts for the experimental group. Included are conclusions and recommendations for further research.

The article describes an experiment which investigated the role played by an encyclopaedic CD-ROM in knowledge and language learning gains. It considers both quantitative and qualitative evidence (e.g. pre- and post-testing, and on-line audio-recorded data) to demonstrate that learning did take place and to suggest how it might have occurred.

This paper presents an innovative application of concordancing to the study of comprehension based on the hypothesis that the presence of noise in raw concordance data brings to light the existence of strings liable to cause unsuspected comprehension problems to language learners. The paper explains how the hypothesis was arrived at before proceeding to describe and discuss an experiment specially designed so as to test its validity. In the course of this experiment eight post A-level students and two native speakers/teachers of French were observed processing the raw output of a concordance of the string bien que. Details of the concordance data are given, broken down in broad categories (concessive conjunction bien que, resultative conjunction si bien que, adverb + completive, etc.). The findings are reported in three stages corresponding to those of the experiment: a pilot study involving two of the students, a repeat of the experiment with the two native speakers, and a second learner study with a larger, more representative sample of six students. Between them the results are found to provide empirical evidence in support of the hypothesis. The main outcome is that contrary to the native speakers, none of the post A-level students was able to interpret all the citations correctly. Other significant results are that difficulties were spread unevenly across citations and were more common among those with lower grades. The implications for language pedagogy are then examined. The paper concludes that concordances can be helpful in predicting potential pitfalls and ends with some suggestions for future research.

This paper considers the problem of coherence and direction in CALL research. Rather than suggesting a top-down approach to setting goals for research, it argues for a much closer examination and a much stronger emphasis on existing CALL research work as a platform for directing and informing future CALL work. Based on a corpus of 47 CALL research articles published in books and journals in 1999, it sets out a framework for the description and analysis of CALL research as it is represented in the literature. Two major directions and three important, though less frequent, directions are described in detail, using examples from the corpus, and the implications for research in the future are considered. Particular emphasis will be placed on identifying the goals of CALL researchers and on clarifying the unique attributes of research in this field.

The globalisation of business and the internationalisation of companies witnessed over the past decade has increased the need for business people operating across cultures to become both culturally and linguistically aware. The evolution of multimedia computing means that learning material can be created which amalgamates video, subtitles, tasks, text and a variety of support tools. This environment lends itself to the provision of learning opportunities and materials which aim to develop cultural understanding. This paper describes an on-going development project entitled SELECT which is creating multimedia courseware to develop cross-cultural awareness of the British business context. The paper outlines the background to the creation of the courseware and the needs it aims to meet. The theoretical underpinning of the development is outlined, covering the nature of cross-cultural competence, its development and the fit between the capabilities of multimedia and such competence. The approach taken and methods used to research and construct a valid, empirically-based cross-cultural syllabus relevant for those doing business with Britain is described and exemplified. The process of creating the courseware, including the authentic video assets and configuration of the learning design is discussed. The paper concludes with projections of future developments in technology assisted development of cross-cultural competence.

EUROCALL 2000 took place in Dundee, Scotland between 31 August and 2 September, with the subtitle Innovative language learning in the third millennium. This year's conference was dedicated to the memory of János Kohn, a pioneer of CALL in Hungary. János's untimely death occurred in March 1999. His memory lives on with the EUROCALL-sponsored Annual János Kohn Scholarship which enables a worthy Hungarian scholar to attend the organisation's annual conference.