From the editors.(Editorial)

We are pleased to present Volume 13, Number 2 of Language Learning & Technology, a regular issue of our journal. We hope that your 2008-2009 school year is coming to a successful conclusion, and that you are looking forward to a relaxing summer. We have assembled four articles, one column, and two reviews covering a wide range of CALL topics and languages (Japanese, Spanish, and English).

"Acquisition of L2 Japanese geminates: Training with waveform displays" by Miki Motohashi-Saigo and Debra Hardison presents the results of a training study involving perception and production of L2 Japanese by beginning-level English speakers. Results showed a significant improvement in geminate identification, especially following auditory-visual as compared to auditory-only training. The results support the effectiveness of auditory-visual input in L2 perception training with transfer of learning to novel stimuli, as well as improved production.

"Multimedia glosses and their effect on L2 text comprehension and vocabulary learning" by Inigo Yanguas uses the theoretical framework of attention to investigate the effects of textual, pictorial, and textual + pictorial glosses on text comprehension and vocabulary learning. Results showed that all multimedia gloss groups noticed and recognized significantly more target Spanish words than the control (no gloss) group but there were no significant differences among the groups in the production of the target words. In addition, the study demonstrated that the combination gloss group significantly outperformed all other groups in text comprehension. The author concludes that combination textual + pictorial glosses are more beneficial than textual or pictorial glosses alone for comprehension but not for production of target words.

"Learner use of holistic language units in multimodal, task-based synchronous computer-mediated communication" by Karina Collentine investigates discourse-pragmatic and sociocultural behaviors in task-based SCMC by documenting holistic language use exhibited by intermediate and advanced learners of Spanish in two Flash, task-based SCMC activities. She found that while simple assertions were most prevalent in dyads at the lower proficiency level, and when chat time was limited, interpersonal, sociocultural behaviors were more likely to occur in dyads at higher proficiency levels and when there was more time to chat. The study adds to the understanding of the types of holistic language units that characterize learner output in a TB-SCMC environment.

"Voice blog: An exploratory study of language learning" by Yu-Chih Sun shows that students go through a series of blogging stages and use a wide variety of strategies to cope with blogging-related difficulties. The study demonstrates that students perceived blogging not only as a means of learning a language, but also as a means of self-presentation, information exchange, and social networking. The findings suggest that blogs constitute a dynamic forum that fosters extensive practice, enhances learning motivation, and promotes the development of learning strategies.

Our popular Emerging Technologies column by Bob Godwin-Jones describes a wide array of resources that allow instructors and learners to create flexible personal learning environments that are better suited to the student-centered approach of modern language classrooms and the collaborative environment of Web 2.0 than centralized instructor-designated, top-down approaches represented by major learning management systems in use today.

Two book reviews assembled by Sigrun Besenbach-Lucas, our Reviews Editor, complete this issue. Both books are seen by the reviewers as making a timely contribution to the growing literature on CALL and deserving of a place on individual and library bookshelves. In the first review, Jesus Garcia Laborda evaluates Tips for Teaching with CALL: Practical Approaches to Computer-Assisted Language Learning [with CD] by Carole Chapelle and Joan Jamieson. The review notes that Tips for Teaching with CALL provides a rich source of ideas for implementing a variety of CALL-based activities that will be useful to novice and veteran language teachers seeking to implement CALL activities in their classrooms.

In the second review, Ching-Ni Hsieh provides a detailed description and evaluation of Brave New Digital Classroom: Technology and Foreign Language Learning by Robert Blake. The reviewer notes that Blake bases his advocacy of technology-enhanced FL curricula on second language acquisition research and that the book addresses pivotal issues regarding the effective implementation of technology in language teaching and learning.

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We wish you a restful summer and look forward to receiving contributions from all over the world and especially those dealing with L2s other than English.

Sincerely,

Irene Thompson and Dorothy Chun

Editors

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