From the editors.

It is our pleasure to introduce Volume 10, Number 3 of Language Learning & Technology, a regular issue of our journal. We hope all of you had a restful and productive summer and are ready to meet the challenges of a new academic year. Please note a change in our publication schedule: starting with volume 11, LLT will be published on the last day of January, May, and September.

This issue offers our readers four articles.

"E-Learning and the development of intercultural competence" by Meei-Ling Liaw describes the beneficial effects of an on-line learning environment designed to foster EFL students' intercultural competence through reading articles on topics related to their own culture and exchanging views on their own social and cultural practices with those held by speakers of the target language.

"ESL students' computer-mediated communication practices: Context configuration" by Dong-Shin Shin examines how a group of ESL students jointly constructed the context of their CMC activities through interactional patterns and norms, and how configured affordances within the CMC environment mediated their learning experiences. The study suggests a need to examine the configured context co-constructed by language learners to fully capture the complexity of CMC practices.

In "L1 and L2 glosses: Their effects on incidental vocabulary learning," Makoto Yoshii describes different patterns of vocabulary retention over time by L1 and L2 learners. The study shows that both L1 and L2 glosses are effective for incidental vocabulary learning, but long-term retention may differ between the two types, and the effect of additional visual cues on vocabulary learning may depend on the type of recall task.

In "Noticing and text-based chat," Chun Lai and Yong Zhao examine the effect of text-based on-line chat as compared to face-to-face conversations on error-noticing behavior and interactive feedback from their interlocutors. The study shows that text-based online chat resulted in noticing mistakes more than face-to-face conversations, especially with regard to the learners' noticing of their own errors. The study suggests that text-based chat may have some pedagogical potential.

The "Emerging Technologies" column features an article by guest contributors Luke Fryer and Rollo Carpenter who discuss chattbots as potentially valuable language learning tools. The authors provide an extensive resource list for those interested in trying a few of the chatbots online themselves.

The "On the Net" column by Jean LeLoup and Robert Ponterio presents the results of a survey conducted by the moderators of FL Teach in 2005-2006. The purpose of the survey was to find out what types of web sites are most useful to FL teachers.

This issue also includes four reviews, assembled and edited by Sigrun Biesenbach-Lucas. (1) Ruth Mendel reviews "World Link Intro: Developing English Fluency" by Stempleski, Douglas, Morgan, and Curtis, a course consisting of a video course (DVD/VHS and Workbook) and a Textbook Course (Student Book, two audio CDs, a Workbook, and an accompanying web site. (2) Walcir Cardoso reviews "The Heinle Picture Dictionary--Interactive CD-ROM" which presents vocabulary, organized by thematic criteria, in oral and written contexts, and offers learners an opportunity to engage in a variety of decision-making activities. (3) Larry Statan reviews "Side by Side Interactive" by Steve Molinsky and Bill Bliss, a CD-ROM-based program for beginning and intermediate EFL learners. (4) Cameron Richards reviews The Internet and Young Learners by Gordon Lewis, a book intended to link language teaching with young learners' interest in the Internet.

Please take a few minutes to fill out our LLT Reader Access Questionnaire which will help us better understand how our readers gain access to our journal.

Have an exciting and productive academic year!

Sincerely,

Irene Thompson and Dorothy Chun,

Editors

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