Computer Assisted Language Learning - Essay Example

Contents Contents Introduction 2 of target group 3 2. Principles of choosing CALL technologies 5 3. Analysis of target group objectives 7 4. Description and analysis of chosen programs 9 4.1. Task 1 (Powerpoint) UN Mission 9 4.2. Task 2. (www.militaryenglish.org - "exercises") 11 Conclusion 12 Introduction Levy (1997) defines computer-assisted language learning (CALL) as "the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning". The meaning of Computer Assisted Language Learning in teaching foreign languages is rapidly increasing - with the development of computer technologies, with the increase of hardware productive capacity, with the development of multimedia tools. However, the field and extent of application of CALL technologies are still disputed. On one hand, CALL has some evident advantages, such as power, versatility and motivation (Towndrow, 2001). Computers can store large amounts of information, they can process this information at great speed (which helps to diversify tasks with randomly chosen words and word combinations); computers can take a large part of a teacher's routine work like storing the results of their students' activity and carrying out the evaluation of students' works, therefore teachers have more space and time for creative activities. Computers can increase students' motivation and interest to language learning via modern multimedia means: creating a visual environment, providing context-based and situational language practice, supplying the learning process with video and audio information, giving students the possibility to navigate in the environment and complete the tasks in accordance with their personal speed of mastering the material through self access. This list of CALL advantages can be extended more and more, but the above-mentioned are the main directions where CALL technologies introduce a completely new approach to language teaching. On the other hand, there still are many unanswered questions about CALL technologies: it is still not known whether these technologies are efficient for all groups of students or if they are only benefiting some specific groups and activities; it is not known whether these technologies may be applied at all levels of studying the language or if they are best fitting particular learning steps and particular levels (Jamieson and Chapelle, 1988). These questions are still open and are a subject of investigation for those working in the area of language teaching. However, detailed analysis of learning factors (presented in Section 1) together with analysis of my target group's learning objectives will lead to the choice of CALL technology that will most effectively encourage students' activity and intensify the learning process. Description of target group The choice of CALL technologies and methods is defined by various factors, the main of them being: student's gender, age group, education, culture, personal abilities to language learning of particular student (or a group of students), and finally, the level of motivation. I have chosen the target group of adult learners (Ukrainian military officers currently studying English to enable them to take part in peacekeeping missions), age group: 25 - 35 years, the language level - Pre-Intermediate level. This target group belongs, in my opinion, to one of the groups that will benefit most from the application of CALL technologies. The reasons for such conclusion are the following: Since the officers will be soon taking part in peacekeeping missions, their motivation to master the required English language level is very high; Though adult learners usually acquire information not as efficiently as children and teenagers, the age of the students and their immediate environment (they are currently on military courses at the National Defence Academy)mean that they have participated in learning activities not so long ago (i.e. they didn't forget "how to learn"), and due to the comparatively young age of the group their learning skills are developed; Self-access skills (which are a crucial element for CALL technologies to become really efficient) of this target group are one of the highest, due to the high motivation of the officers, a certain degree of learner independence which has been created by their military education, and high level of discipline (and self-discipline as well), typical for military professionals; Ukrainian higher military education includes English courses; such courses are focused mainly on grammar constructions, developing writing and reading skills; therefore the students are likely to have a good command of English grammar and a sufficient experience of working with text information; this gives a good background to further language progress; Although Ukrainian school education does not always include working with computers, as part of their English language course they have all received basic PC user skills training in the SAC which ensures they are at least good PC users; moreover, the program of teaching military specialists also includes working with computers; these factors guarantee the necessary level of computer literacy for introducing CALL methods. 2. Principles of choosing CALL technologies Let us analyze the process of learning. According to Curry (1987), learning consists of four layers: personality dimensions; information processing; social interaction; instructional and environmental preference. The layer of environmental preference, as it can be seen from the layer name, deals with the environment that is best fitting the student; the layer of social interaction implies the necessity of working in class, cooperating with classmates and the necessity of instruction (CALL technologies are of great use for learning process but they cannot totally replace interpersonal communication). As technology develops, the nature of language teaching and learning also experiences immediate changes in terms of approach, methodology and pedagogy. The focus is now more on constructivist approach whereby teachers need to play multi-roles: instructor - facilitator - manager - designer (Hasim, 2005). The layer of information processing deals with the processes by which "information is obtained, sorted, stored and utilized" (Curry, 1987), this layer also deals with the processes of working with this information in personal context; and personality dimensions layer deals with influence of the student's personality on the process of learning, personal preferences of the student and appropriate choice o learning program basing on these preferences. The choice of learning programs needs to be based on the analysis of these four layers and the chosen program has to refer to each level to become really efficient. The analysis of our target group according to this model will be done in Section 3; this section will also contain the background for choosing particular learning strategies and techniques. Specialists identify 6 groups of language learning techniques: memory, compensation, cognitive, meta-cognitive, affective and social (Nyikos and Oxford, 1987). Memory learning techniques are represented by exercises that use different memory mechanisms for language learning, varying from simple memorizing new words to drawing analogies between ideas and concepts without binding to a particular language context. Such strategies may be useful both for Concrete-Sequential and Concrete-Random learners (this and other terms related with thinking were introduced by Gregorc, 1985). Compensation strategies include tasks that enable logical thinking, guessing and situational analysis, these tasks are better suiting students with Abstract-Sequential thinking. Cognitive strategies are widely used in virtually all language teaching programs and syllabi; here we can find the variety of means suitable for any learner type; for example, tasks like practicing, gap filling, highlighting and the like are of great use to learners with Concrete-Sequential and even Abstract-sequential types of thinking; obtaining and managing new information, analyzing and summarizing it are good for Abstract-Random types of mind; reasoning, explaining, choosing proper variants and acting in introduced situations are best fitting the Concrete-Random type of thinking. Therefore, cognitive strategies present a wide range of mean for language learning. Meta-cognitive strategies imply self-reasoning, self-choice of study objectives and self-motivation. Affective strategies involve emotional perception of the situation, the tasks of these type include exercises like evaluating the situation, acting like a judge, dialogue working, playing over different roles and switching roles; this strategy may include using original (or adapted) literature and films. This strategy is best fitting the learners with Concrete-Random and Concrete-Sequential types of thinking. Social strategies are based on communication as their main element and are irreplaceable for working out spoken language skills; the tasks of this group can be different depending on mind types and perception types of the students, but should necessarily include elements of interpersonal communication and refer to a particular social context. Next section will describe the desired choice of materials or the chosen target groups basing on the principles of the above-mentioned theoretical findings. 3. Analysis of target group objectives The group of students consists of men mostly, aged from 25 up to 40, with higher military education, aiming at working the area of peacekeeping (with the UN, NATO etc). Therefore the choice of the program needs to refer to military and preferably peacekeeping sphere of activities; moreover, I believe that the tasks have to deal with real situations appearing in the sphere of peacekeeping; such choice of topic will help to activate attention and to increase students' motivation. Vygotsky (1986) emphasizes that learning should take place in meaningful contexts and Warschauer and Healey (1998) identify content-based learning as methods of developing both ICT and language skills within authentic contexts. Due to the fact we are dealing with people that received higher education in Ukraine, it is likely that the students will have a good command of English grammar and writing skills (due to the dominance of Grammar translation methodology). The students will use English mostly for communicational needs in their future work (i.e. their main objective is using the language as a too for communication), therefore the program needs to train listening and speaking skills first of all. Richards and Rogers (1986) state that "the teaching of listening comprehension, pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary are all related to development of aural fluency." Due to high motivation of the students, a good deal of work can be connected with independent learning in the self access centre where the utilization of CALL technologies can be advised. Since the majority of the students are men, the choice of learning strategies does not have to be extremely varied; researchers have found out that females prefer programs with a great number of learning strategies and fast change of the strategies together with various combinations of their strategies (Stern, 1983); men, on the other hand, prefer gradual change of strategies and are prone to choosing the programs that are based on several learning strategies with sequential change. It is also recommended to use linear structure of programs because males tend to show better results when using such structures than when dealing with non-linear programs with complex structure. Since the materials for studying are not meant for long term study, and the probable duration of English course for peacekeepers is not going to be very long (compared to ordinary English courses), it will be useful to support the material with the necessary multimedia, i.e. audio and video information that will ease the process of learning and help contextualize much of what is being learnt. I would recommend both using CALL technologies for independent learning students' work (in a self access environment) and working in classroom with teacher's guidance; in my opinion, both these forms of learning are necessary and activate different learning mechanisms. Therefore I have chosen two pieces of material that are interrelated and refer to the peacekeeping topic; they are for use both the same set of target learners. One material is aimed at independent self access work and the other one requires the teacher's presence and assistance. Both materials will be described in detail in next section. By choosing materials for independent learning and team work I have created the "zone of proximal development", which is defined by Vygotsky (1962) as "the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers". 4. Description and analysis of chosen programs The choice of a program needs to consist of the following stages: theoretical basis of the software choice, the intended application of the software, the description of the intended tasks and the perceptions of the benefits of the software by all parties concerned (Towndrow, 2001). Levy comments on the choice of CALL programs: "practitioners should not be blindly led by the latest technological innovation, but should have a carefully conceived set of principles to act as a guide" (Levy, 1997). 4.1. Task 1 (Powerpoint) UN Mission The students are divided into two groups, one of which will be completing a listening task and the other will be making a filling-gap exercise. Within a chosen group, the students have to divide into groups of 3 for each computer. The groups have to be situated in different parts of the classroom. The idea of the task is the following: both groups run PowerPoint presentations and have to fulfill simple tasks related to the peacekeeping topic. The situations for the task are taken from real life; they represent parts of peacekeeping operations with real semi-authentic texts adapted to the target group language level. The students need to gather information from various sources and make notes, and then they have to complete an appropriate task (different for the two groups). The structure of the program is linear, students fulfill the tasks, following the guidelines of the program; therefore, the students do not need special skills for working with he program. This fact makes the task universal considering the level of computer literacy of the students. The teacher is acting as a mediator in this process, most attention is paid to group work and obtaining information skills. The exercises develop communicative and listening skills of the students. After completing the tasks both groups share their results and analyze the obtained information. The activities throughout require the students to speak to each other in order to complete the information and as Vygotsky (1986) points out 'The primary function of speech is communication, social intercourse' The approach taken in designing the task is very much a communicative one and as Andrews (2005) questions 'If no 'real' communication opportunities are provided in the classroom, this author questions whether conditions are optimal for cognitive development. Putting students in situations that include an information gap is important because it is by trying to clarify matters with and for others that we reach understanding ourselves.' The task also implies writing a report on the results of the investigation; this can be done either in class or at home, depending on the teacher and on the results of both groups. The writing task can be done either in group work (students are divided into small groups) or individually. Writing can also be computer assisted (using a word processor) or the teacher may decide to remain in the limits of ordinary paper writing. These decisions are to be done by the teacher depending on the students' abilities and the results of their previous activity. It is important to note that here is no computer-based control of the results in this task, therefore it needs to be done in class, and the teacher's role here cannot be totally replaced by computer. Whilst it could be described as a drawback that there is no computer control, the peculiarity of the task also helps to activate interaction within groups and encourage teamwork, which is both important for language learning and for military operations as well. For better educational effect, it may be useful to switch groups to complete tasks (the group that has completed the listening task, will be doing the exercise with gap-filling, and vise versa). Such a decision will help to clear the misunderstanding, if it appeared during first execution of the task; it will also help to activate different learning mechanisms (e.g. visual and audio information) (Jones and Fortescue, 1987). Besides all this, such shift may also help students to find out which way of learning suits them better; this information may be necessary when improving CALL technologies. Since these technologies offer a high level of learning individualization, the students will be able to choose methods of CALL based on personal learning features. The chosen program satisfies the majority of the demands to the choice of CALL technology to my target group for listening in Section 3. However, it includes only group work and doesn't activate self-motivation; it also doesn't give the possibility to choose the best working pace. In order to enable these two options and to encourage greater learner autonomy, which belong to the key advantages of using computers in language teaching, I suggest to continue the learning with Task 2 in the students' own time. 4.2. Task 2. (www.militaryenglish.org - "exercises") The program here is web based, it is designed for self access learning, it is assumed that a teacher's help and presence is not available; the program instead uses feedback and offers a communicative approach. To start learning, the students need to have basic skills of Internet usage; on the other hand, the website offers comparatively simple navigation and a user-friendly interface. The exercises were made using Hot Potatoes software which is freely available for download and user friendly. The topic is again related to peacekeeping, but the main objectives of this task are to improve the student's vocabulary, and to train reading comprehension skills. The idea of the task is the following: there is a text for comprehensive reading on the website, accompanied by various cognitive tasks such as drag and drop, gap filling, crossword solving, matching exercise etc. The students spend their time in a self access centre; one of the most important advantages of this task is that students may choose when they have to complete the task and the pace for fulfilling the exercises. The task allows each student to focus attention on the type of exercises that give him the possibility to assimilate the information in the best way. A disadvantage is the teacher's absence; but for certain types of students this fact can be viewed as an advantage. One of the inevitable drawbacks of the exercises is the absence of proper control, which is partially solved by the program; but this is a peculiarity or any learning programs implementing independent student activity. Since our target group has a very high motivation level, strong self-discipline and good adjustment qualities, the program is one of best that will enable our students to broaden their vocabulary and practice written text comprehension. This task serves as a good continuation of Task 1, and should be seen as an extra activity for the students to master the English language skills required for successful fulfillment of their future mission. With this in mind the exercises work best if they are attempted after the students have finished Unit 11 in their coursebook "Campaign". This unit deals with the topic of peacekeeping. Conclusion Warschauer and Healey (1998) predicted the development of CALL technologies: "It seems to us that there are two main directions worth exploring: an increased emphasis on electronic literacy, and the increased incorporation of Intelligent CALL into the classroom". CALL technologies are likely to become the future of all language teaching technologies since they offer a great number of new possibilities, change the role of the teacher in learning process, increasing students' motivation, allowing greater interaction between students and at the same time offering a lot of space for encouraging and developing learner autonomy. These technologies also break the students' dependence on one or several sources of information, help to increase self-discipline and finally, web-technologies allow to establish contacts with real native speakers of the studied language (Hubbard, 1992). On the other hand, the teacher has to choose from a varied range of CALL strategies the one that will mostly benefit the students, which requires a detailed analysis of the target group. A correctly chosen and successfully realized CALL program needs to satisfy several demands, the main of them being: Learner-centered design of the program or syllabi; Socio-cultural features of the target group need to be taken into account; The program, though being directed at a specific target group, needs to be dependable on key factors (Oller, 1979) and less dependable on factors of lower importance (e.g. the program may depend on gender and culture of the target group but has to provide facilities for students with different mind types, different learning styles, different objectives and self-motivation level); It is recommended to provide instructions how to use the program and how to improve personal learning characteristics for each student; it may also be useful to inform the students about particular learning techniques that are used by the program and tell them how they can activate this or that learning mechanism; The creators of the program need to realize that language learning is a continual process, depending on personal characteristics of each student and task-based environment needs to be created on this basis. In my case a detailed analysis of the target group in accordance with the demands stated in section 2 and 3 allowed to choose an optimal combination of short (from 60 to 80 min.) tasks that will help the students to improve their language level and will help in their future work; the teacher also benefits from the usage of CALL technologies because his role changes from directing the learning process to the role of mediator; this gives more space for creative activity of the teacher and gives he students more freedom in their actions. In general, well-considered application of computer assisted language learning strategies together with good equipment (modern hardware and software, multimedia facilities) creates a new stage in language teaching. Bibliography Andrews P (2005) "Integrating ICT with TBL" in CALL Review, IATEFL, Feb. 2005, 30 -32 Hasim, Z. (2005) "Basic Steps for Developing English Language Web-Based Tutorials" in CALL-EJ Online, Vol. 7, No. 1. (http://www.tell.is.ritsumei.ac.jp/callejonline/) Hubbard, P. "A methodological framework for CALL courseware development" in Pennington, M.C. and Stevens, V. (1992) Computers in Applied Linguistics, Clevedon: Multilingual Masters. Jamieson, J. and Chapelle, S. (1988) "Using CALL effectively: What do we need to know about students" in System, Vol. 16, #2, 151-162. Jones, C. and Fortescue, S. (1987) Using Computers in the Classroom: London, Longman. Levy M. (1997) Computer Assisted Language Learning. Oxford: OUP. Oller, J.W. (1979) Language Tests in Schools: a pragmatic approach. London: Longman. Pennington, M.C. and Stevens, V. (1992) Computers in Applied Linguistics, Clevedon: Multilingual Masters. Richards, J. and Rogers, T. (1986) Approaches and methods in Language Teaching, Cambridge: CUP Schwartz, M. (1995) "Computers and the language laboratory: learning from experience", in Foreign Language Annals, vol. 28, #4, 527-535 Stern, H.H. (1983) Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching. Oxford: OUP. Thompson, J. and Chesters, G. (1992) "CALL for All" in Computers and Education, Vol. 19, #1/2, 163-172. Towndrow Ph. (2001) The Role and Utility of CALL in English Language Teaching. Oxford: OUP. Vygotsky, L. (1962) Thought and Language. Cambridge: MA MIT Press. Warschauer, M., & Healey, D. (1998). Computers and language learning: An overview. Language Teaching, 31, 57-71. (Accessed Online) http://www.gse.uci.edu/markw/overview.html Windeatt, S. "Observing CALL in action" in Leech, G. and Candlin, C.N. (1986) Computers in English Language Teaching and Research. London: Longman. Appendix 1 Analysis of program design of "Military English (peacekeeping exercises)" based on Hubbards framework Hubbard's Framework Comments on features of Militaryenglish.org Approach Linguistic assumptions Language is a vehicle for communication. Discourse and meaning are the focus rather than grammar. Learning assumptions Language acquisition is the basic process involved in developing language proficiency (Krashen 1988). Language proficiency is an example of skills development involving both cognitive and behavioral aspects (Johnson and Littlewood 1984) Learner autonomy is to be encouraged as an essential part of the learning process Language teaching approach The program is published on the web and is intended for individual self access study. Therefore there is no teacher available to monitor or give feedback. The program however follows a broadly communicative approach Design Learner variables The learners are adult and all are Russian or Ukrainian speakers. Given the ages (30 - 40 years old) they are most likely to have studied English in state schools and military academies using grammar translation approach. Syllabus Students are following a topic based ESP syllabus with opportunities to develop functional English. The syllabus is based on the military English course book series "Campaign" published by Macmillan. The exercises work best if studied after the students have completed Unit 9 (Peacekeeping) although it could be studied at any point in the course with some pre-teaching of lexical items that may be unfamiliar Language difficulty The language is closely connected with military and more specifically with peacekeeping operations. Some of the military English terms may be unfamiliar for general English students of the same level but would not present any difficulty to my target learners Program difficulty The program should take about 60 -80 mins. Content The exercises were produced using Hot Potatoes software and uses the following exercise types: Drag and drop Gap fill Crossword Matching exercise Reading (using a quiz format) The reading text is of direct interest to the students and should be motivating to read and complete the exercise Learning style Students are working in their own time and at their own pace, in a self access centre. Vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension are achieved by working in a focused way on the computer Program focus The specific linguistic focus is on vocabulary acquisition and on reading comprehension. If the material is studied (as recommended) after Unit 9 in their course books the students will have already seen some of the lexical items and the program should be an effective way of recycling these items. Classroom management Students book a session in the self access centre and work on the web based material at their own pace Learner focus Skimming for gist and scanning for detail are needed in the reading exercise Procedure Activity type Gap fill, drag and drop, matching, completing a crossword. (Vocabulary) Reading a text for gist and detail Presentational scheme Input judging The program includes various tasks as well as various types of input. Feedback The main feedback for the student is presented by the means of the program Control options There are virtually no control facilities; the students need to work independently Help options It is always possible to contact other students but the tasks are intended for self-working, to developing personal skills such as data analysis and information processing rather than communicative abilities. Appendix 2 Analysis of program design of "UN Mission" based on Hubbards framework Hubbard's Framework Comments on features of UN Mission Approach Linguistic assumptions Language is a vehicle for communication. Discourse and meaning are the focus rather than grammar. The primary function of speech is for social intercourse (Vygotsky 1962) Learning assumptions Language acquisition is the basic process involved in developing language proficiency (Krashen 1988). Language proficiency is an example of skills development involving both cognitive and behavioural aspects (Johnson and Littlewood 1984) Learner autonomy is to be encouraged as an essential part of the learning process Language teaching approach To develop communicative competence (Hymes 1972). Students are able to follow through the tasks using the onscreen instructions with teacher as mediator of follow up activity Design Learner variables The learners are adult and all are Russian or Ukrainian speakers. Given the ages (30 - 40 years old) they are most likely to have studied English in state schools and military academies using grammar translation approach. The aims of this approach focused on developing language skills for reading literature in English therefore students have good knowledge of grammar but need more opportunities for listening and speaking, this is especially important as the students have all been selected to take part in real multinational peacekeeping missions in the near future Syllabus Students are following a topic based ESP syllabus with opportunities to develop functional English. The syllabus is based on the military English course book series "Campaign" published by Macmillan Language difficulty The language is closely connected with military and more specifically with peacekeeping operations. Some of the military English terms may be unfamiliar for general English students of the same level but would not present any difficulty to my target learners Program difficulty The program should take about 60 mins. the writing could be done for homework or in class as the teacher decides Content The program is a military simulation based on similar ideas from business simulations. The situation is directly taken from real life although the names and places have been changes to fictitious ones. The vocabulary in the program should not be problematic although the teacher is on hand to explain if necessary Learning style Students need to work in groups note taking and sharing information with other learners in order to complete the task. This encourages communicative activity Program focus The program has no specific linguistic focus but aims to further develop the skills of listening, speaking and writing within a realistic task based classroom environment Classroom management The students are put into two groups working in the Self Access Centre. The 2 groups are named "Alpha Company" and "Bravo Company" Students are in groups of 3 to each computer and Alpha and Bravo are on different sides of the room. The teacher explains the task briefly before beginning. Students then run the PowerPoint program with one group (Alpha) completing a gap-fill task and the other group of students (Bravo) completing a listening exercise. After completing their task students meet with another group and compare notes. The final stage is to produce a written report for the teacher. This could be continued at the computer using Word and completed as a small group task or could be done individually Learner focus The skills needed are for spoken interaction and for reading (Alpha) and listening (Bravo). All students practice writing a short summary report Procedure Activity type Military simulation based on an information gathering exercise from different sources Presentational scheme Through spoken and written text. The texts are short and adapted to be suitable for this level. Also the tasks are based on real world texts which by nature would not be very long. For both groups note taking is an important part of the task, this would be done on paper. I had considered inserting a word processor (WordPad) into the program but took it out as I felt it was too cumbersome and confusing given the other items already inserted, it is also a consideration that paper based writing in the field would be more authentic Input judging Input is not reacted to by the computer in this program, a drawback with PowerPoint - Input needs to be judged by peer review (hence the importance of working in groups of 3) and by the monitoring by the teacher in class. Feedback Teacher: as previously mentioned this feedback is key and the teacher is on hand, because of this the program is not suitable for self access work but classroom only Students: encouraging learner autonomy is one of the aims of this type of learning and self and peer correction a key element. The final task of writing will demonstrate whether the material has been clearly understood Control options The structure of the program is linear and students must follow the structure in order to complete the task. Navigation is simple: by clicking the buttons on the screen. Students can decide for themselves the amount of time taken or how many times to repeat the listening for example but the teacher should be checking to make sure this is not excessive to the task. Help options Help is available from other students and the teacher Read More