O n f e r e n c e

System design: overview and challenges 
Studies have shown that for the acquisition of second language, the use of video alone is 
not enough (Neuman & Koskinen 1992) or is certainly less effective than in cases where 
some kind of input enhancement is supported (Neuman & Koskinen 1992, Sydorenko 
2
010, Grgurović & Hegelheimer 2007, Taylor 2005). 
In order to acquire the target language, learners need to notice and interact with 
linguistic input (Chapelle 1998, Winke et al. 2010). Moreover, exposure to authentic 

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2014 CALL Conference 
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spoken language can be quite challenging for language learners, especially for those at 
lower proficiency levels (Ackerley 2007).
The VIDEO.DE application is designed to meet these challenges by providing visual 
support in the form of a video player and transcriptions that are synchronized with the 
course of the video. Furthermore, the application consists of an interactive annotation 
environment for the independent coding of videos according to a task-specific annotation 
template. Annotations facilitate apperception and help language learners to comprehend 
the semantic and syntactic aspects of the linguistic input (cf. Chapelle’s ‘saliency’ and 
‘modification’ hypothesis, 1998). In the following, we will provide an overview of the 
functionalities of the VIDEO.DE tool, together with some considerations that were taken 
into account during its development.
Choosing and adding video content 
Every annotation assignment is based on a video that is freely chosen by the language 
instructor in line with the learning goals of the course. The instructor first uploads the 
video in VideoLab, which is a multimedia management system of the Association KU 
Leuven. VideoLab converts video data in a streaming format and offers the possibility to 
manage the videos. In order to avoid any copyright issues, agreements were made with 
several stable online resources, such as BRF (Belgischer Rundfunk), DW (Deutsche 
Welle) and Goetheinstitut, to use their video content within the scope of the present 
project.