As technology has advanced, so have opportunities for language socialization and practice. This reciprocal relationship has resulted in the emergence of a subfield of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL): Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE). IDLE has manifested in various forms, including the more notable extramural and extracurricular varieties. Given the recent attention given to IDLE by Applied Linguists and language educators, this scoping review provides a roadmap for future research and explores the potential of IDLE to support English language teaching and learning in informal digital contexts. A Web of Science core eight database search for relevant research published between 1980 and 2019 using 35 IDLE-related key terms resulted in 38 studies of which 30 aligned with the inclusion criteria. Results showed the studies were conducted mostly under a mixed-method and qualitative paradigm and were published between 2017 and 2019. Only two studies used longitudinal data collection methods. Topics investigated included the linguistic dimension of CALL, the affective and cultural dimension of CALL, and the agency and digital literacies dimension of CALL. The small, yet salient, body of emergent IDLE literature points towards three trends: a growing relevance of langua-technocultural competence, the importance of digital literacies to communicative competence, and the importance of non-professional translation and interpreting to digital language learning.

Artificial intelligence‐mediated informal digital learning of English (AI‐IDLE) might strengthen second language (L2) learners' motivational self‐concept (e.g., the ideal L2 self) and enhance their foreign language enjoyment (FLE) by enabling them to build confidence, engagement, and willingness to practice their English skills in a self‐directed, instant feedback, and non‐judgemental learning environment. In our explanatory mixed‐method study, we collected questionnaire data from 299 Chinese undergraduate English as a foreign language (EFL) learners and interviewed 12 of them. Structural equation modelling showed that students who participated in AI‐IDLE more often reported a clearer ideal L2 self and greater FLE, but those with a greater ideal L2 self did not report more FLE. In addition, gender did not moderate the impact of AI‐IDLE on FLE. Analysis of the interview data not only corroborated the quantitative results but also highlighted that while EFL learners can acquire a sense of FLE and vivid ideal L2 selves as they agentively negotiate the affordances of generative AI for informal language learning purposes, the sense of FLE and motivational force may shift across contexts to shape their continued investment in AI‐IDLE practices. By comparing and integrating the quantitative and qualitative insights, this study highlights the pedagogical potential of AI‐IDLE activities that can strengthen EFL learners' motivation, enjoyment, and commitment to English learning.

This review was conducted to explore the use of digital technologies with young children in early childhood language and literacy education. It centers on peer-reviewed empirical journal articles published during the past two decades. An initial sample of refereed journal articles ( N = 631) was compiled from systematically searching the Web of Science Core Collection databases. Following strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, 89 articles were included in the review. Five major dimensions of the selected studies were coded: demographic information, setting, digital technology used, research designs, and research findings. All of the articles selected for inclusion were systematically mapped to provide a valuable resource for researchers in this area. The main findings of the review were categorized and are reported in five subsections: print knowledge, alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, early vocabulary knowledge, and narrative skills. Each subsection is framed with practical implications gleaned from the empirical studies.

While the study of serious games has received due attention, few studies have investigated their potentials of simultaneously offering a route to both content and language acquisition. Understanding the interdisciplinary educational affordance of serious game play is significant, as it might provide game designers and teachers with insight into how to best design and implement serious games. In our study, the serious game Saving Lives was used to teach healthcare knowledge and English vocabulary to Iranian nursing students in an experimental group (N = 80), while control group students were taught healthcare knowledge and English vocabulary using traditional methods (N = 80). Using a mixed-methods approach (pre- and post-tests, an open- and closed-ended questionnaire), intentional content learning, incidental vocabulary acquisition, and learners’ perceptions of digital game play were investigated. Results showed statistically significant improvement in participants’ healthcare knowledge and incidental vocabulary acquisition in the experimental group compared to the control group. Vocabulary and content knowledge gains in the experimental group were the result of students’ positive attitudes toward game play, the multimodal contextual clues provided during game play, and repetitive exposure to target words in the game instructions. Using serious games to integrate content and language teaching for specific purposes, such as nursing, was found to be both a viable option for teachers and a preferable medium for fostering students’ learning and engagement. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2021.2021242 .