COMPUTER-ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING (CALL)

History of CALL 3 three main stages since 1960s Behaviouristic CALL Communicative CALL Integrative CALL

Behaviouristic CALL (1950s – 1970s) Computer: mechanical tutor – never tired, judgmental, allowed individual pace Informed by behaviourist learning model Repetitive language drills drill-and-practice Grammatical explanations Translation tests at various intervals

Communicative CALL (1970s - 1980s) (1) Personal computers - greater possibilities for individual work Cognitive theories: learning through discovery, expression, and development Focus more on using forms than on the forms themselves Implicit rather explicit grammar instruction Generation of original utterances rather than prefabricated language

Communicative CALL (2) Predominant or exclusive use of target language       Predominant or exclusive use of target language Text reconstruction programmes (students rearrange words and texts to discover patterns of language and meaning) Simulations (stimulated discussion and discovery) Focus not what students did with machine, but with each other

Integrative CALL (late 1980s till now) (1)     Criticism of Communicative CALL: computer used in ad hoc, disconnected fashion – need to  integrate various skills (e.g., listening, speaking, reading, and writing) integrate technology more fully into the language learning process

Integrative CALL (2) Social or socio-cognitive view Greater emphasis on language use in authentic social contexts Task-based, project-based, and content-based approaches in authentic environments Students learn to use technological tools as ongoing process of language learning & use vs. visiting computer lab once a week for isolated exercises (whether exercises are behaviouristic or communicative) ·        ·        ·       

Technology Behaviouristic CALL: Mainframe Communicative CALL: PC         Behaviouristic CALL: Mainframe Communicative CALL: PC  Integrative CALL: multimedia networked computer - with a range of informational, communicative, and publishing tools

Why changes in CALL paradigms?              Pedagogical theories Economic and social changes: shift to global information-based economies and need to deal with large amounts of information memorization is less important than effective search strategies response and adaptation to changes rather single approach to task communication across languages and cultures

Teacher roles Assumption: students actively interpret and organize information, fitting it into prior knowledge or revising prior knowledge => Teachers are rarely the sole source of language information facilitators of learning (task: find, select, offer information on the basis of what their students must learn in order to meet diverse needs)

Benefits of using computers in language instruction multimodal practice with feedback individualization in a large class pair and small group work on projects, either collaboratively or competitively the fun factor (games) variety in the resources available and learning styles used exploratory learning with large amounts of language data real-life skill-building in computer use

Selection of CALL materials Needs analysis Users Goals Setting (Self-Directed Learning/Teacher-guided) Teacher knowledge (language learning and technology) / Technical facilities and assistance Budget

Designing Web-based Lessons Decide how to organise content By topic area Personal information Maps and directions Employment By language item Noun phrases Adjectives Passive Voice

Designing Web-based Lessons Match content with language objectives Often, topic areas complement language objectives – a relationship between topics and elements of language, e.g. a unit on daily routine necessitates the use of the present tense  Should be derived from students’ assessed needs Low-level learners Using the verb-to-be Using subject pronouns   High-level learners Preparing answers for possible interview questions Narrating experiences  

Designing Web-based Lessons Define language objectives Students will be able to ask and answer questions concerning geographical information  Students will be able to use the comparative and superlative to compare the different countries represented in the classroom  

Designing Web-based Lessons Incorporating Computer Skills Elementary word processing  Fundamentals of email  Basic Internet  browsing and searching  Sequence the introduction of computer skills Introduce skills according to difficulty and necessity - easier skills before more difficult skills Certain skills prerequisites to other skills  Often, computer objectives in Web-based CALL lessons are to reinforce and refine existing skills  

Designing Web-based Lessons Content Area + Language and computer objectives = Web-based CALL lesson  

Content Area Example Getting to know each other (personal information) Geography  

Language Objectives Example Lower Intermediate ESL students working in small groups will be able to write a paragraph using the comparative and superlative to compare and contrast the different countries represented in the classroom with less than 2 errors. Lower Intermediate ESL students working in pairs will ask and answer predetermined geographical information questions with 100% accuracy.  

Computer Objective Example Lower Intermediate ESL students will be able to navigate a Web site to discover predetermined information about the different countries represented in the classroom with 100% accuracy.

Social and Cultural Objective (Often difficult to measure) Example Social and Cultural Objective (Often difficult to measure) Lower Intermediate ESL students will get know to their classmates better and increase their knowledge of the cultures represented in the classroom.  

Sample site Visit this site for a sample lesson: http://www.ryter.com/call/class.html How can this site be improved?  

Sample site Add interactive activities: e.g., those found at: http://a4esl.org/