Eurocall 2009 Conference

9-12 September, 2009 | Gandia (Valencia, Spain)

ACCEPTED WORKSHOPS

Seven pre-conference workshops have been accepted by the Conference Programme Committee.

1. RSS, feeds and aggregators: maximizing benefits for teachers and students alike
2. Fostering intercultural foreign language competences with Moodle CANCELLED
3. Utilising free, web-based screencasting software to provide multi-modal student feedback
4. Using Second Life
5. Using Second Life ® for language education: the Avalon project
6. Publishing your research in CALL journals
7. II Valencian Workshop On Computer Assisted Language Learning: “Opening New Doors For Communication and Learning through Web 2.0 and Mobile Devices”

Click on the following link to go to the online pre-conference workshop registration system. This system is hosted and managed by the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia's Lifelong Learning Centre (Centro de Formación Permanente).

» Workshop #1

Title of Workshop
RSS, feeds and aggregators: maximizing benefits for teachers and students alike

Workshop Leader
Esperanza Roman-Mendoza

Target audience
Foreign language instructors

Prior knowledge required
- Familiarity with Windows
- Familiarity with Web browsers
- Basic knowledge of Web 2.0 tools such as wikis or blogs (what they are and what they are used for)

Workshop objectives
This half-day workshop will consist of a hands-on session in which participants will learn how to take advantage of all Web sources that generate feeds. Participants will learn how to identify RSS channels, and subscribe to them via an aggregator such as Google Reader. Then, more “social” aggregators, such as Pageflakes or Netvibes, will be introduced and explained with authentic examples of how to use them as platforms for 1) students’ e-portfolios; 2) personalized learning environments, and 3) showcases for student projects.

Workshop schedule
10:30 Introductions
10:40 Basic concepts: content syndication and aggregators
11:00 Hands-on practice. Google Reader
11:45 Coffee Break
12:00 Hands-on practice. Social Personalized Start Pages
13:00 Questions, feedback, discussion.
13:30 Workshop ends

Qualifications
Esperanza Román-Mendoza is Associate Professor of Spanish at George Mason University. She has developed interactive Web-based learning materials for language and culture courses, and for language teachers training programs. She has taught courses on social web tools and Web 2.0 pedagogy, for which she has developed all printed and online materials, at the Universidad Camilo José Cela and the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia in Spain. She has co-authored several textbooks and published various articles on the use of instructional technologies in the foreign language curriculum and is the author of Corto y cambio, a blog about instructional technology and its impact on society, learning and research. Her book chapter “RSS and Social Personalized Start Pages: Optimizing E-language Learning through Content Syndication” will appear in a peer-reviewed edited volume on Second Generation CALL in March 2009. More info at http://eroman.wordpress.com

If necessary or desirable, this workshop can be offered in Spanish as well.

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» Workshop #2 CANCELLED

Title of workshop
Fostering intercultural foreign language competences with Moodle

Abstract
The Moodle platform is a free open source learning environment built with constructivist principles in mind. It contains Web 2.0 tools (e.g. blogs, wikis, chat) within a closed course environment, providing different opportunities for collaboration and communication or embedding authentic materials.

The focus of this full-day workshop is two-fold: in a first step, participants will get to know, methodologically and hands-on, the main Moodle structure and activity types from a constructivist teaching and learning perspective; in a second step, they will exploit the possibilities Moodle offers for creating their own basic course for fostering intercultural foreign language competences. Several resources for authentic (multimedia) language learning materials will be presented and participants will learn how to integrate and use them in their Moodle course.

The Moodle platform used and materials presented are hosted at www.sprachlernmedien.de . Courses and materials created during the workshop will remain available so that teachers will have the opportunity to actually test and use them with their students in a blended-learning setting in their language classrooms.

If available, bring along a course idea or your already existing ‘offline' syllabus on ‘intercultural communication', which would then be the basis for your Moodle course.

Workshop leaders
Kurt Kohn, Claudia Warth (www.ael.uni-tuebingen.de)

Target audience
Teachers or trainers of modern foreign languages (secondary or tertiary) & teacher trainers.

Prior knowledge required

• the workshop will be conducted in English (but materials created can then be easily transferred into other languages & materials to embed on other languages, esp. French, is available during workshop)
• basic familiarity with Windows XP, especially locating folders and files and moving files from one folder to another
• how to use a word-processor, e.g. Microsoft Word
• basic familiarity with using the internet and a web browser, e.g. Internet Explorer or Mozilla
• basic familiarity with the concept of ‘intercultural communication'
• if available, bring along a ‘course idea' or your ‘offline' syllabus concerning ‘intercultural communication'

Workshop objectives
By the end of the workshop, participants should

• be familiar with the Moodle course structure and main activity types
• be able to set up a course structure and add activities
• be able to administer students and students' contributions in Moodle
• have increased their awareness of task design in Moodle with a focus on intercultural foreign language learning
• be more familiar with authentic language learning web resources and how to employ them in their course
• have created their own basic course to “take home” and test and use with their students

Workshop programme
10:30 Introduction
10:45 Getting to know Moodle for intercultural communication & foreign language learning – Moodle & materials demonstration
11:30 Coffee break
12:00 Sketching out the syllabus – methodological considerations for the course & choosing Moodle activity types
13:30 Break
15:00 Hands-on session I – starting with your course: setting up & managing your Moodle course, how to add activities and resources
16:00 Coffee break
16:30 Hands-on session II – fleshing out your course: adding your tasks & contents to the course
17:45 Feedback, questions, discussion 18:00 Workshop ends

Instructors' qualifications
Kurt Kohn, Chair of Applied English Linguistics, University of Tübingen , director of the Steinbeis Transfer Centre Sprachlernmedien (Language Learning Media). He has been involved in European projects on technology-enhanced language learning and teaching, with a special focus on open content authoring in relation to learner and teacher autonomy, authentication and blended language learning. He is co-developer (with Petra Hoffstaedter) of the template-based language learning and authoring software Telos Language Partner and has co-authored a large number of multimedia and web-based language learning packages.

Claudia Warth, research fellow and lecturer at the Chair of Applied English Linguistics, University of Tübingen, has been involved in several research and development projects on online collaboration with Moodle, where she worked as a Moodle trainer and course designer; based on earlier research studies, she currently coordinates, together with Kurt Kohn, the multilateral Comenius project icEurope which deals with enhancing intercultural foreign language skills via telecollaboration.

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» Workshop #3

Title of workshop
Utilising free, web-based screencasting software to provide multi-modal student feedback

Workshop leader
Billy Brick

Target audience
Teachers of modern foreign languages in secondary and higher education.

Prior knowledge required

• Knowledge of at least one of the following foreign languages: English, German
• Basic familiarity with Windows XP, especially locating folders and files and moving files from one folder to another
• How to use a Web browser, e.g. Firefox, Internet Explorer

Workshop objectives
This workshop will make tutors aware of the latest free-to-use web-based screencasting software and provide an opportunity for them to gain valuable hands-on experience of using the software to provide feedback on students' writing. There will also be an opportunity to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this approach.  Screencasting software records what is on the screen of a computer monitor as though a camera were pointed at the screen.  The software also allows the recording of an audio track, allowing tutors to provide oral feedback to accompany the images.   Recently screencasting has become more sophisticated with many products containing new features such as being able to click on hyperlinks within video files.  Tutors simply open the student's file on their computer and then begin recording themselves commenting on a student's text and even visiting websites which might be of help to particular students.  The finished video file can then be e-mailed to students, uploaded into a virtual learning environment, or stored on a server.  This approach is particularly useful with distance or blended leaning students but can also be adopted with traditional campus based undergraduate students. 

 Workshop programme
10:30 Introductions
10:45 Description and demonstration of web-based software
11.30 Coffee break
12:00 Hands-on session starts
13:00 Feedback, questions, discussion
13:30 Workshop ends

Qualifications
Billy Brick is the Languages Centre Manager at Coventry University, with a special interest in the teaching and learning of languages for specific purposes. He has also participated as a lecturer on the MSc in European Construction Engineering (as a visiting lecturer in Santander, Porto and Esjberg ) teaching students about the impact of the EU on the construction industry in Europe, and wrote his MPhil thesis on the post-unification East German Construction Industry. He is currently module leader for Language and Society since the 1960s and Multi-media in Teaching and Learning and held various workshops ad given papers on providing multi-modal feedback.  He has previous teaching experience in German-English Technical Translation, Language in Use, Business English and various aspects of the European Construction Industry.

http://www.coventry.ac.uk/cu/d/339/a/1364

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The following two workshops complement each other. They both focus on Second Life although the first, in general terms and the second, in relation to a pedagogical project. Workshop #4 will take place in the morning from 10.30 to 13.30 and Workshop #5 will take place in the afternoon from 15.00 to 17.30.

» Workshop #4

Title of Workshop
Using Second Life

Workshop Leader
Graham Davies

Target audience
Complete novices or near-beginners, i.e. participants with no experience or very limited experience of using Second Life.

Prior knowledge required
Basic ICT skills: familiarity with Windows XP or Vista, file management, a word-processor (e.g. MS Word), a Web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer), controlling a mouse, using the directional keys.

Participants are strongly advised to read Section 14.2.1 of Module 1.5 at the ICT4LT website before attending the workshop. This will give them essential background and introductory information that we can build on and explore in more detail during the workshop: http://www.ict4lt.org/en/en_mod1-5.htm#SecondLife

Workshop objectives
This workshop aims to

• introduce participants to multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) and online 3D chat facilities;
• provide hands-on practice in using the virtual world of Second Life;
• examine and discuss the language-teaching potential of Second Life, e.g. EduNation's work and other educational initiatives.

Format
Combination of presentations on projection screen and hands-on practice on individual computers. The workshop will take place in a computer lab equipped with a projection screen and loudspeakers.

Contents
Hands-on practice in using Second Life:

• Accessing the Second Life website and downloading the software.
• Giving an overview of what Second Life is all about.
• Explaining the Second Life screen and what the important icons and menus mean.
• Creating an avatar.
• Changing an avatar's appearance.
• Setting Preferences.
• Moving around: walking, running, flying.
• Navigation, using the mini-map and large map. Teleporting.
• Mouselook.
• Taking snapshots.
• Text chat, voice chat, in-world IMs
• Adding a friend
• Viewing images and videos on projection screens (e.g. in EUROCALL HQ)
• Accessing a website in the pop-up window
• Using the inventory
• Buying objects – including freebies – and adding them to your inventory
• Marking landmarks, navigating to landmarks
• Notecards: accepting, saving and using notecards
• Searching
• Creating objects in a sandbox

Workshop schedule
10:30 Introductions
10:40 Basic concepts
11:00 Hands-on practice
11:45 Coffee Break
12:00 Hands-on practice
13:00 Questions, feedback, discussion
13:30 Workshop ends

Qualifications
Graham Davies is a retired (Emeritus) Professor of Computer Assisted Language Learning, but continues to maintain and update the ICT for Language Teachers website at http://www.ict4lt.org, which was initiated by his former university, Thames Valley University, London. He does occasional consultancy work in the area of ICT and language teaching and learning and he sits on a number of national and international committees. He is a partner in Camsoft, a business that develops and retails software for Computer Assisted Language Learning. Graham Davies has set up the EUROCALL Headquarters in Second Life and is currently exploring ways of integrating virtual worlds into language teaching and learning.

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» Workshop #5

Title of workshop
Using Second Life ® for language education: the Avalon project

Workshop leaders
Luisa Panichi and Graham Stanley

Workshop contributors and experts in Second Life
Gary Motteram, Judith Molka-Danielsen, Mats Deutschmann, and many more.

Target audience
Teachers of modern foreign languages in secondary and tertiary education.
Educational researchers interested in carrying out research in Second Life ®.
Educational institutions considering using Second Life ® within their specific teaching contexts.

Prior knowledge required
Knowledge of at least one of the following languages: English, Spanish, Italian.
Some experience of using computers for educational purposes.
No prior knowledge of Second Life ® is required.
If participants intend to attend as their avatar in Second Life ®, they will need to make this known to the workshop leaders in advance by contacting one of the workshop leaders.

Format
The workshop will take place in a computer lab equipped with a projection screen and loudspeakers. The screen will project to the audience what is going on in Second Life ®. Participants may participate either via individual computers in the room as avatars or simply as a live audience.

Workshop objectives
This half day workshop will provide participants with the opportunity to explore the educational island of Avalon (Access to Virtual and Action Learning live Online) in Second Life ® either as in-world avatars from their individual computer locations or as a live audience (or both). The aim of the workshop is to illustrate the affordances of Second Life ® for language education by providing participants with hands-on examples of activities that can be carried out in the environment. An additional objective is to provide an overview of the teaching scenarios and best practice guidelines that are being developed under the Avalon project for participants who are interested in using the platform in their own educational contexts. Questions and the ongoing discussion will take place among the workshop participants and the in-world contributors. Participants will be able to ask questions to the workshop expert avatars who will be attending the session via Second Life ®.

Workshop programme
15.00 Introduction to workshop by workshop leaders
15.15 Presentation of contributing workshop experts who will be in Second Life ® and represented by their avatars
15.30 Tour of the educational Island of Avalon and hands-on experience of its affordances as an educational space
16.15 Fresh air break
16.30 Question time and general discussion which will include all participants, those in Second Life ® and those in the live audience
17.15 Concluding remarks and the provision of information for those participants who want to know more about the project and ongoing development and research
17.30 End of workshop

Workshop leaders and Second Life ® expert contributors
Luisa Panichi is a foreign language lecturer at the University of Pisa, Italy and is leader of Work Package 2 of the European funded project Avalon. Work Package 2 is responsible for the development of teaching and learning scenarios in Second Life ® , the creation of best practice guidelines for educators, and the development of a start-up multimedia kit for students approaching Second Life for the first time. Luisa has been teaching and carrying out research into language teaching practice in Second Life ® since August 2007.

Graham Stanley spends half of his working life as a senior teacher of English at the British Council Young Learner Centre in Barcelona , Spain and the other half as Project Manager of the British Council's Learn English Second Life project. This involves managing a 3D self-access centre for 13-17 year-olds for the British Council and working with the other partners of the AVALON project, which aims to develop best practice through language learning scenarios for adults in Second Life ® .

II Valencian Workshop On Computer Assisted Language Learning: “Opening New Doors For Communication and Learning through Web 2.0 and Mobile Devices”

This is a EUROCALL National Event sponsored by Macmillan ELT.

Contents
Computer Assisted Language Learning has undergone a series of innovations leading to improved ways of learner-centred communication and interaction. Computers and other digital technologies are no longer isolated tools, but have become dynamic environments where active and communicative language learning may be readily implemented. At present, the advent of Web 2.0 has provided language learners and teachers with a wealth of possibilities to exchange information and learning experiences to such an extent that human imagination seems to be the only limitation. Virtual worlds and interactive online resources and tools are here to stay and, as long as they are used with sound pedagogical criteria, they can bring about radical changes in the language learning/teaching process involving more active and motivating methodologies. The Web, at its present stage of development, implies a new era of global connectivity, i.e. a revolution of the traditional concepts of time and space that can certainly enhance language learning, a basically communicative endeavour. On the other hand, the technological development of digital mobile devices of all sorts (smart phones, digital boards, PDAs, i-phones, i-pods, portable consoles, etc.) could be regarded as yet another step towards a learner-centred approach to language learning, since such devices once again cope with time and space constraints on language learners from a different perspective. Learners can more easily adapt learning materials and resources to their specific needs and individual styles, thus making the learning process a more flexible one.

Objectives and methodology
It is highly recommendable for language teachers and learners alike to acquire a deep understanding of these new educational tools in order to take full pedagogical advantage of their language potential. The aim of this workshop is to familiarize language learning professionals with the many tools and resources brought about by the Web 2.0 and mobile electronic devices. The purpose of the workshop is twofold. On the one hand, these technologies will be discussed from a theoretical point of view, including explanations about the pedagogical rationale behind them and the language learning approach they may support. On the other hand, they will also be demonstrated in hands-on presentations where the workshop participants will have the chance to explore these technologies. The workshop will also promote open debates between technology experts and participants, where the latter will be able to pose questions and raise issues of their interest. Therefore the workshop is mainly addressed at an audience of language learning teachers (at all levels), educational materials developers and CALL researchers, and it meets the need for learning technology training among the language learning community.

Programme

09.00 – 09.30	Workshop Introduction and Welcome Address Rafael Seiz Ortiz and Ana Mª Gimeno Sanz (Workshop coordinators)
09.30 – 10.15	Blogging and language learning and teaching – Tita Beaven (Open University, UK)
10.15 – 11.00	YouTube: facilitating audiovisual possibilities to practise languages – Joan Tomás Pujolà (Univer sidad de Barcelona, Spain)
11.00 – 11.30	Coffee Break
11.30 – 12.15	Language learning supported by mobile devices – Agnes Kukulska-Hulme (Open University, UK)
12.15 – 13.00	Podcasting for language learning and teaching: the audio-visual dimension of Web 2.0 – Fernando Rosell Aguilar (Open University , UK)
13.00 – 13.45	Instant messaging and language learning – Beatriz de los Arcos (Open University, UK)
13.45 – 14.30	Fostering flexible CALL through educational technologies – Representatives from companies specialising in educational technologies (Gevalmedia, Macmillan ELT)
14.30 – 15.30	Lunch Break
15.30 – 16.15	Virtual Worlds - 2nd Life – Graham Davies (Camsoft, UK)
16.15 – 17.00	Open discussion
17.00 – 17.15	Coffee Break
17.15 – 18.15	Show and Tell parallel sessions
18.00 – 19.00	Conclusions

Biodata and abstracts

» Blogging and language teaching and learning – Tita Beaven, Open University (UK )

Tita Beaven is a lecturer in Spanish and Associate Head of the Department of Languages at the Open University. She has extensive experience in the development of online and distance language learning materials. Her main research interests are in the area of intercultural communication, but she is also interested in the use of web 2.0 technologies in teaching and learning. She is currently directing the LORO (Languages Open Resources Online) project at the OU, which aims to set up a repository for the sharing of language learning objects.

The explosion of the blogosphere in the past five years provides language teachers and learners with multiple possibilities to enhance their learning and teaching experiences. As far back as 2004 Stephen Downes was already highlighting the educational possibilities of blogging as a tool for dissemination of information, for communication and for reflection. In this workshop I will discuss the affordances of blogging in the context of language teaching and learning, and provide some examples of useful tools for blogging (such as Blogger) and for searching the blogosphere (Technorati). I will also show some practical examples of how teachers and students are using blogs in a variety of settings, including some of the language courses at the Open University. Finally, I will also discuss some new trends in mobile blogging, looking at two specific tools which illustrate how it can be used in the context of informal learning, community building, and the sharing of student generated content: twitter, the social networking and microblogging service, and a project on mobile audio and photo blogging developed at the Open University.

» Instant messaging and language learning – Beatriz de los Arcos, Open University (UK)

Beatriz de los Arcos is an Associate Lecturer in Spanish at the Open University ( UK ) where she tutors both online and face to face courses. She holds a MSc in Information Technology in Education from Trinity College , Dublin . Her main interest in teaching and research is Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), especially the role of affect in the context of distance education. Her PhD explores the cognitive appraisal of emotion by language learners using an audio-graphic conferencing tool for oral interaction.

Instant Messaging is a text-based computer-mediated communication (CMC) that allows two or more people in different physical spaces to chat in real time (Segerstad, 2001). In recent years, IM has become incredibly popular - programs such as Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger or Skype have over 300 million active users worldwide. In some cases, IM technologies have gone beyond just text-based communication to incorporate additional features such as audio and video conversations, file sharing, and whiteboard. While not developed specifically to support language learning, IM is being used to that purpose, given its potential to enhance communicative skills, community building and collaborative learning (Godwin-Jones, 2005). In this workshop we will have a look at various IM applications and discuss how they can be used to encourage language learning outside of more traditional contexts.

» Language learning supported by mobile devices – Agnes Kukulska-Hulme, Open University (UK)

Agnes Kukulska-Hulme is Professor of Learning Technology and Communication in The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology and Co-director of the Technology Enhanced Learning Group. She has been researching mobile learning since 2001 and has led several projects investigating learning technology and educational innovation at The Open University and across the United Kingdom . She has published articles on learner-driven innovation, mobile device usability, staff development for mobile learning, and the evolution and future of mobile assisted language learning. Her recent work includes co-editing the book Mobile Learning: A Handbook for Educators and Trainers, a special issue of ReCALL on Mobile-Assisted Language Learning, an issue of ALT-J on Mobile and Contextual Learning, and a forthcoming book on Researching Mobile Learning.

This session is for educators who wish to explore the pedagogical and social aspects of using mobile technologies in teaching and learning. We will begin with an overview of the broad field of ‘mobile learning', highlighting aspects that make learning with mobile phones and other portable devices significantly different from other forms of learning. We will then review examples of how mobile devices have been used in language learning to date, and what prospects there are for the future. Although mobile learning is becoming increasingly popular across the globe, it is often local cultural, social and economic factors that influence what is possible, desirable and acceptable. The second half of the session will be an opportunity to design some learning activities for young people by thinking together about target learners, educational goals, and the support structures that need to be in place. Methods of evaluating or assessing what learners have experienced and learnt will also be considered.

» Podcasting for language learning and teaching: the audio-visual dimension of Web 2.0 – Fernando Rosell-Aguilar, Open University (UK)

Fernando Rosell-Aguilar is a lecturer in Spanish at the Open University (UK), where he develops distance learning materials including books, DVD-ROMS, and online resources for virtual learning environments. His research focuses on online language learning, mainly CMC learning environments (such as audio-graphic conferencing); Online Information Literacy; Online, Open and Distance Learning design; and podcasting for language learning. He has published a number of book chapters and articles in international journals such as CALL, ReCALL, JaltCALL, CALICO and Reading Matrix and presented papers at many international conferences in the UK , Ireland , Spain , USA , and Japan.

The popularity of portable media players such as the iPod and the availability of media files through podcasting have vastly increased in the last few years. The impact and penetration of podcasting has been wide-ranging, far-reaching and arguably much faster than that of the World Wide Web. In this workshop we will present the potential benefits and challenges of podcasting for language learning and propose a taxonomy of podcast resources. We will identify different types of podcast and evaluate best practice in the development of podcasting materials. Participants will learn to find, subscribe to, and evaluate podcast resources and how to plan, write, produce and publish a podcast.

» YouTube: facilitating audiovisual possibilities to practise languages – Joan-Tomàs Pujolà, Universidad de Barcelona (Spain)

Joan-Tomàs Pujolà holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Edinburgh and is currently vice dean at the Faculty of Education in the University of Barcelona . He trains teachers in the area of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and his current research aims at the use of web 2.0 technologies for teaching and learning purposes. He is also interested in the learning processes in relation to learner autonomy and in the metacognitive development of language learners and teachers.

Video sharing sites, such as Google Video and YouTube can help foreign language teachers and learners access authentic audiovisual material in an array of texts, topics and language varieties that was unimaginable just a few years ago. Teachers have raw audiovisual material for teaching exploitation and learners can use this to practise their oral comprehension skills and strategies. The wide range of topics covered has turned video sharing a common practice of the new Internet culture. Users video-record any situation or any possible event which is open to users' comments and interaction. Thus, the easy access to digital cameras and the possibility to upload and share video clips on these websites enable teachers and learners to carry out audiovisual projects that also help to improve learners' speaking skills. All in all, video sharing sites facilitate different dimensions of the teaching and learning of languages.

 » Virtual Worlds - Second Life – Graham Davies, Camsoft (UK)

Graham Davies is Emeritus Professor of CALL, Thames Valley University . In 1990 he became Director of the Language Centre at TVU. He has lectured and run ICT training courses for language teachers in 22 different countries and has sat on numerous national and international advisory boards. He has been involved in CALL since 1976. In 1982 he wrote one of the first introductory books on computers in language learning. He was the founder president of EUROCALL from 1993-2000 and has been actively involved with WorldCALL. Graham retired from full-time employment in 1993, but he continued to work as a Visiting Professor for Thames Valley University until 2001. Now he occasionally does external examining of MPhil and PhD students. He keeps himself busy by editing the ICT for Language Teachers website and investigating the possibilities of language learning and teaching in Second Life.

One of the most exciting new Web 2.0 developments is Second Life, a (free) 3D virtual world on the Web, in which hundreds of simultaneous users interact in the guise of their personal chosen character or avatar. Language teachers have already begun to discover the learning opportunities offered by Second Life, for example:

1. Exploring simulations in Second Life that reflect the physical appearance and culture of real countries.
2. Second Life quests, which are similar in many respects to Web quests.
3. Tasks that simulate real-life tasks can also be set up in Second Life.

A number of EC-funded projects investigating the possibilities of teaching and learning languages in Second life have recently been initiated, for example the AVALON and NIFLAR projects. There is an increasing number of educational institutions and commercial companies offering language courses in Second Life, and the British Council has its own Second Life for Teens area for learners of English as a Foreign language. Once considered just an online game, Second Life is now a phenomenon that educationists have to take seriously.