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 * Open Educational Resources in Languages **

** Call for Papers ** Articles are being solicited for a special edition of the journal of //Computer Assisted Language Learning// (Taylor & Francis Group) to be published in 2013. Homepage of the journal: []

** Guest Editors ** Dr Michael Thomas (University of Central Lancashire, UK) and Dr Michael Evans (University of Cambridge, UK).

Open educational resources (OERs) can be defined as “digital materials that can be used, re-used and repurposed for teaching, learning, [and] research and … made freely available online through open licenses such as Creative Commons” (HEA, 2012). In the context of Web 2.0, OERs strike a chord with a number of trends related to sharing, collaborating, and creating user-generated content, whether in the form of syllabi, course materials or other learning resources such as journals or digital media. Over the last few years an increasing number of funded projects have explored the way in which OERs can impact language learning and teaching (e.g., Humbox, LORO, OpenLIVES, TOETOE). This special issue of the CALL Journal aims to provide language educators with an overview of international developments in open educational resources by combining perspectives on a range of areas including staff development, student production, teaching quality and organizational challenges. Research-based articles that reflect on the opportunities as well as the barriers that often accompany the use of OERs language learning and teaching contexts are particularly encouraged. The timely special edition aims to contribute to important debates about copyright, open access, digital rights management and sharing educational resources by considering the required policy changes necessary to integrate OER practices in languages; understanding best practices and how researchers and practitioners can learn from current projects; and by bringing together perspectives on the current state of OER research in languages from researchers around the world.

For this special issue of the CALL Journal, we invite research-based articles that examine key issues around __open educational resources, technology and language learning__, both inside and outside formal classroom contexts.

Topics relevant to the special issue may include, but are not limited to, the use of OERs and:
 * the student as producer;
 * materials design;
 * quality assurance;
 * theories of open access;
 * changing the culture of educational institutions;
 * research approaches;
 * language teacher education and staff development;
 * less commonly taught languages (LCTLs);
 * autonomous and out-of-class environments;
 * online teaching and learning;
 * intercultural language learning.

Please send inquiries and abstracts to both Michael Thomas ( mthomas4@uclan.ac.uk ) and Michael Evans (mje1000@hermes.cam.ac.uk). Please list CALL Journal Special Issue in the subject line of your email.

** Publication Timeline **
 * July 15, 2012: submission deadline for abstracts  (approx. 350 words outlining the purposes and content of the paper)
 * July 25, 2012: invitation to authors to submit a manuscript
 * November 15, 2012: full papers due
 * January 10, 2013: revised papers due
 * October 2013: publication of the special issue

Following a review of abstracts, full papers at around 5,000-6,000 words in length will be required in line with the guidelines available at: []

** Editors ** Michael Thomas Ph.D. is Senior Lecturer in Language Learning Technologies at the University of Central Lancashire, UK. He has taught at universities in the UK, Germany and Japan. His research interests are in task-based learning and CALL and distance and online learning. He is editor of two book series, ‘Digital Education and Learning’ (with James Paul Gee and John Palfrey) and ‘Advances in Digital Language Learning and Teaching’ (with Mark Peterson and Mark Warschauer). Among his recent publications are //Handbook of Research on Web 2.0 and Second Language Learning// (2009), //Task-Based Language Learning & Teaching with Technology// (with Hayo Reinders) (2010), //Digital Education: Opportunities for Social Collaboration// (2011) and //Online Learning// (2011). He is General Editor of the //Journal of Second Language Teaching & Research//, an open access journal aimed at early career researchers, and has been awarded funding from the Higher Education Academy to explore OERs in languages. His homepage can be found here: []

Michael Evans Ph.D. is the Deputy Head of Faculty and Director of Postgraduate Course Development in the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge. He specialises in research in second language education with particular interests in teacher education and foreign language learning (French and Spanish) in the secondary sector. Related fields of interest include bilingual and cross-cultural pupil discourse analysis, language learner codeswitching, the use of ICT and digital technologies in language learning, the effect of study abroad on L2 proficiency, and the politics of second language education. He is the author or editor of many publications and research reports including Foreign Language Learning with Digital Technology (2009). His homepage can be found here: []