Research for Practice: A Look at Issues in Technology for Second Language Learning

Over the past fourteen years, the pages of "Language Learning & Technology" have been filled with examples of research that take up the challenge of investigating second language learning through technology. It has been a period of expansion and growth in many ways. The expansion of technologies as well as their acceptance and use in language learning has provided a fertile field for investigating questions about language learning through technology. Over the same period, approaches to the study of second language acquisition have expanded, offering more constructs and methods that can be used in research on technology for second language learning. A look through "Language Learning & Technology" provides one valuable perspective on the richness of the research issues at the intersection of technology and language learning. Another perspective that the author would like to offer comes from the themes and issues that journal members have targeted at their conference on Technology and Second Language Learning (TSLL) each year at Iowa State University. A retrospective look at the conference themes is useful for pointing out issues to be investigated from a practice-oriented perspective on technology for second language learning.