Internet Grammar Tool Developed at Chemnitz University - Essay Example

Introduction CALL tools have only just recently began being used in schools and homes in large scale capacities. This can be attributed to the increased accessibility of computers globally. They were mostly used by people with specific interests in language learning. However, they are now widespread and have many applications. Some of the applications are in helping students and teachers in the learning and teaching of second languages. A good example is the Chemnitz Internet Grammar. The essay focusses on an internet grammar tool that was developed at Chemnitz University. The tool is used for the purpose of presenting real language data and rules with the inclusion of an inductive and deductive component. The inductive component is called the discovery section while the deductive section is called the explanations section. The computer based learning tool, allows one to formulate not only grammar in second languages but develop one’s own grammar from external grammar availed by a translation corpus. Literature review Chemnitz Internet Grammar is a learning environment in hypertext that aids German -speaking learners explore topics in the English grammar that prove difficult for them. From the Chemnitz Translation Corpus, a learner is able to find explanations, exercises and examples on various English grammar topics. This ensures that the learner works in a way that best suits his/her requirements. A basic level of English understanding is required, since the grammar is wholly in English with the exception of a few examples in both German and English. The target group consists of native German speakers who have difficulty in communicating in English due to the differences that occur between the two languages. The research enhances learning by re-implementing the learner’s behavior directly in the grammar program. It is therefore a database that enables deductive learning through using original examples and rules contained in the program itself. The grammar in the program is based on a system called pedagogic grammar which was proposed by Corder in the early 1970’s.It can be used for university level language teaching and in service teacher training through the related links, reference work available. It provides an immediate feedback and corrects grammar from the exercises availed to the user. Importance of Chemnitz Internet Grammar in learning and teaching a) CING has the capacity to accommodate different users by using different learning strategies depending on the age, language, skill, exposure, computer literacy by tracking their behavior. Through the use of questionnaires provided, the system, is able to aid the teacher on a learner’s language progression, computer literacy and general behavior. The data collected is then subjected to statistics analysis and compared to recorded used data. This has the effect of showing if a learner is in the deductive stage of grammar or inductive. b) CING, through its deductive program, is able to analyze areas of each language such as the use of verbs, nouns and clauses. In the tense section, the tool emphasizes on the progressive factor of grammar. For instance, in German, the dramatization of the verb in present perfect tense is completely different from English. The distribution and modulation is also completely different with the German language more inclined towards adverbs than modal auxiliary construction. c) In noun phrases, German tends to discuss prepositions as complements and adverbs further highlighting the significant changes in the two languages. d) There are 3 areas that contrast between English and German which are resolved; areas in terms of verbs, nouns and clauses .For example, in the English language, the sequence of tenses in conditional clauses is very strict in comparison to the German language where the use of clauses is represented by the use of relative constructions. Linguistic functions and software features a. It offers an inductive and deductive presentation of content for researchers through tools like the Learning-strategy Test, Placement Test and Corpus Search Engine which offer more than the majority of the instructional programs available in the market. b. It offers an inductive and deductive presentation of content for researchers through tools like the Learning-strategy Test, Placement Test and Corpus Search Engine which offer more than the majority of the instructional programs available in the market. c. It is Corpus based and directly EFL-related. It combines corpus linguistic approaches with an EFL rule based grammar that can be used by an advanced learner to. This is done by making it clear to the learner that most languages are in fact relative rather than absolute and range between prototypical and creative constructions. d. The deductive grammar aspect of the tool is used to concentrate on grammar areas that make the English language unique. e. The Call tool concentrates on specific aspects of grammar like the analysis of the learner’s behavior. CING tracks the mechanisms of the learner with regards to a social biography questionnaire and computes the results. CING uses verb phrase to compare deductive discovery of the rules of grammar .Samples from Corpus are compared with the learner’s work done in the exercises provided. f. The tool uses features such as the Learning-strategy Test, Placement Test and Corpus Search Engine. Limitations i. Internet Grammar enhances cross referencing which can be disadvantageous if the learner uses ambiguous headlines .This results in contrasting results of simple and continuous tenses leading to confusion in the uses of grammar. ii. Grammar tends to get lost in cyber space especially if the refined texts lie outside the 500 page mark. iii. Learners at times find navigating in the hypertext feature of the tool hard with complaints of difficulty in quoting page numbers. iv. Tracking back to previously seen content also proves difficult. Suggestions a) Putting a user history for learners to help them in tracking back to content they have previously seen and establishing a tree diagram in order to show the structure of specified sections. b) Instituting a less complex system for referencing on each page for learners that want to quote pages of their choice. c) Using eye trackers in off-line experiments to record how students gather information and read texts from web pages. This will aid in correcting problems associated with terminology, negative interpretation of words and phrases. d) Developing special procedures for recording all URLs that are recorded, the user ID, user input and the reading time. e) Formulation of a software that interprets data in its raw form to a more presentable form that the interpreter is able to understand. User data is run through a programme individually and transferred to an SPSS file that quantitatively analyses the data for comparison. Ways it can used in L2 learning and teaching. a) CING can be expanded in the future to provide for a more diversified and comprehensive research tool. Learners will therefore be given access to different language groups, more versions to their preference and variety of choices. Learners will therefore have a wider access to reading material to improve on their grammar and enable the system to measure the learner’s understanding of idioms and cultural conventions. To achieve this, there is need to introduce learning texts from distant geographical areas where English is also a second language. b) New learning aids are also to be provided to enable users acquire both grammar and cultural concepts that are part of the language Potential ways it may have in promoting L2 teaching and learning a) Through the introduction of more interactive tutorials that are more aligned with CING.The tutorial will use learner input from earlier sessions and with a view of selecting proper grammar. The machine will therefore display messages highlighting areas of weaknesses such as use of correct tenses. b) Through developing a fully adaptive tutorial including learner specific information from the questionnaires and placement tests can be used to identify specific learning strategies for learners. This will lead to a fully autonomous learning system with personal tutors for learners of new languages. c) By establishing user-specific tutorial systems. Since many users have initially found the system difficult to use in the beginning, the option of a directed navigation for newcomers would be helpful this will offer new research perspectives and influence personal learning styles. Perspectives with which CING may be concerned CING uses its translation database to give examples and exercises in both German and English. However, German students often, before translation, look at the German equivalence of the words they wish to learn. Analysis of this suggests that there is contrast in the two languages. The removal of the German equivalents would probably be more effective in order that the learners can learn English in its purest form. Conclusion Josef argues that the increased use of computers globally, suggests that CALL’s will serve different uses for language learners and tutors alike. In the future, tutors will be able to offer language practice drills with the aim of providing stimulus for discussion and interaction. This can already be witnessed with the current developments of tools like the Chemnitz Internet Grammar (Josef, 2012). Additional capabilities are bound to be limitless thanks to the connectivity and increased accessibility of the internet. For those with a view of using computers with an aim of promoting accurate pedagogy, they are likely to improve learning and employment opportunities for students and tutors respectively. Works Cited http://ucrel.lancs.ac.uk/publications/CL2003/CL2001%20conference/papers/schmied.pdf Read More