THE E-LANGUAGE LEARNING PROJECT: CONCEPTUALIZING A WEB-BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING SYSTEM A White Paper Prepared for the first Technical Working Group meeting

Chinese Ministry of Education, intends to deliver quality foreign/second-language instruction through a combination of modern technologies to language learners in the United States and China. The initial target audiences include English as second language (ESL) learners in the United States and English as foreign language (EFL) learners in China as well as Chinese learners in the United States. Other languages may be added later. The project aims to provide language instruction in Chinese and English to middle and high school students and their teachers. Work on this project has been ongoing for about two years. President Bush announced this project as a major corporation initiative between China and the United States at the APEC leaders meeting in Shanghai in 2000. In September, 2001, the US Department of Education convened a meeting of language educators, technology experts, and researchers to discuss the feasibility and potentials of Web-based language education. Participants of this meeting endorsed the concept and suggested more systematic approaches to developing and disseminating new technological applications in language education. Subsequently the US Department of Education commissioned Dr. Yong Zhao of Michigan State Univeristy to conduct a literature review of technology applications in language education. Results of this study demonstrate the potential of technology for supporting language learning and the need for more systematic and comprehensive approaches toward the integration of modern technologies in language learning. In early 2002, the US Department of Education E-language team led by Dr. Alan Ginsburg met with education officers of the Chinese Embassy several times to discuss the project and plan for a working meeting with the Chinese Ministry of Education. In Apri