SUMMARY

Three phases of CALL

1.      Behavioristic CALL

The first phase of CALL, conceived in the 1950s and implemented in the 1960s and '70s, was based on the then-dominant behaviorist theories of learning. Programs of this phase entailed repetitive language drills and can be referred to as "drill and practice" (or, more pejoratively, as "drill and kill").

2.      Communicative CALL

The second phase of CALL was based on the communicative approach to teaching which became prominent in the 1970s and 80s. Proponents of this approach felt that the drill and practice programs of the previous decade did not allow enough authentic communication to be of much value.

3.      Integrative CALL

ü  Steps toward integrative CALL: multimedia

Integrative approaches to CALL are based on two important technological developments of the last decade - multimedia computers and the Internet. Multimedia technology - exemplified today by the CD-ROM - allows a variety of media (text, graphics, sound, animation, and video) to be accessed on a single machine. What makes multimedia even more powerful is that it also entails hypermedia. That means that the multimedia resources are all linked together and that learners can navigate their own path simply by pointing and clicking a mouse

ü  Steps toward integrative CALL: the Internet

Unit 1: Introduction to Computer Assisted Langugage Learning

What is CALL?

CALL is the acronym for computer-assisted language learning. Although, as we will see below, the field or significant parts of it sometimes go by other names, CALL seems to be the most widely accepted generic term. In this foundation course, CALL will be used in a broad sense to refer to any endeavor involving the computer in some significant way in language teaching and learning.

ACRONYMS AND ATTITUDES

CALL - Computer-assisted language learning, sometimes expanded as computer-aided language learning

CELL - Computer-enhanced language learning: suggests the computer's role is to make learning better

TELL - Technology-enhanced language learning: this accommodates more than just computers, often bringing in video and seeing the computer as just one part of a larger system. It is increasingly popular as a generic term: for instance, while TESOL has a CALL Interest Section, California TESOL has a TELL Interest Group.

TALL - Technology-assisted language learning: variant of CALL and TELL

CALI - Computer-assisted language instruction: with "instruction" in it, it's more teaching oriented

CBLT - Computer-based language training: views elements of language learning as "training" and tends to use an approach with definable, measurable objectives

IT and ICT - Information Technology/Information and Communication Technologies are common acronyms outside of language teaching, particularly in Europe; sometimes this is presented as IT or ICT for LT (Language Teaching)

NBLT - Network-Based Language Teaching: focuses on computer-mediated communication and the web

DLL - Digital Language Learning: encompasses computers and other digital devices

MALL - Mobile Assisted Language Learning: learning with mobile devices like mobile phones and mp3 players

Unit 2: Courseware Evaluation, Development, and Implementation

 Courseware, which refers to software that is used to support formal language learning. In practice, courseware has been used to refer to everything from complete software packages that can be used without a teacher to software that is just a part of a language learning course, sometimes a minor or optional supplementary part. We will use the term interchangeably with that of tutorial software to include any software designed for language learning purposes. The objective of this unit is to give you a peek at the three dimensions of tutorial CALL--developing courseware, evaluating courseware, and implementing courseware in your classes.

ORGANIZING PRINCIPLES

Development, evaluation, and implementation are part of a logical progression in any situation that has an end product. If a company produces a computer program for balancing your checkbook, for instance, they need to 1) design it with the needs of the end users in mind, 2) evaluate it in house and encourage outsiders to review it, and 3) have a mechanism to implement it, including figuring out how to make it available and training end users in its effective operation.

Development, evaluation, and implementation are thus simultaneously part of a logical progression of a courseware project and interacting manifestations of its reality.

The three modules (development, evaluation, implementation) share core components inspired by Richards & Rodgers (1982)

 Unit 3: Computer Mediated Communication

1.      Asynchronous text. The first use of CMC in language teaching almost certainly came through email exchanges from teachers to students and among students within classes. Email is an example of asynchronous communication, in that the interaction is not in real time: You create, and send an email, and the recipient typically gets it within seconds but may not read it or respond until much later. Under such circumstances, there are clear differences between email and conversation that go beyond the use of text as a medium.

2.      Synchronous Text. With synchronous text, or chat, the messages are exchanged in text form, but in real time. Some of the early research on CMC was built around a type of chat program, InterChange, that was part of the Daedalus Integrated Writing Environment system (www.daedalus.com). Students could carry out synchronous discussion in a computer classroom using this tool. While this may seem odd at first (if they are in the same room, why not have them discussing orally face to face?), a number of studies have shown that some students communicate more when they don't have to speak or be face to face with interlocutors, that communication overall is more evenly distributed among participants (e.g., Warschauer et al., 2000), and that they may even use a much wider range of discourse functions than they do in face-to-face settings with the same material (Kern, 1995).

AUDIO/VIDEO CMC

Asynchronous audio. Like text, audio or video interaction can be either asynchronous or synchronous. One example of asynchronous voice interaction would be the voicemail services offered by a number of sites for free.

CMC IN DISTANCE EDUCATION AND VIRTUAL WORLDS

Distance education is increasing in education generally and language learning is no exception. While tutorial CALL material can be presented online for independent study without teachers, there are also classes that are offered to groups of students online with a live teacher's guidance.

 Unit 4: CALL on the Web

The Web has been featured in many of the CALL articles and conference presentations since the mid-1990s, in particular practice-oriented ones. This is because it is constantly evolving, and, unlike disk-based tutorial software, often free and highly accessible to both students and teachers.

DISADVANTAGES OF THE WEB

ü  Text-based material on the Web is sometimes not as easy to read as material in paper format because of font color and background choices.

ü  Sound and video sometimes take a noticeable time to transfer, even on fast connections. Newer forms of streaming have improved this dramatically, but the Web is still not as responsive as a CD-ROM, DVD or the hard drive on a TiVo or other digital video recorder.

ü  Sound and video are typically compressed to speed up transfer: depending on the degree of compression and other factors they can be of noticeably lower quality than the original. This can affect their suitability for supporting language learning. Also some of the free material on sites like www.youtube.com were of poor audio or video quality even in their original state (for example, if taken with a mobile phone)

ü  Because of the way that HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) works, on most pages every click is a request that has to go back to the original server. The equivalent of turning a page may result in a noticeable delay if the server is busy.

ü  Because of this delay, interactivity is limited compared to what is possible with disks or CD-ROMs. However, increasingly Web applications (like Macromedia Flash) have interactivity without delays.

ü   Down servers or broken links may lead to frustration.

ü   The sheer amount of material can make it hard to find what you want, though developing skill with a search engine like Google (www.google.com) is certainly a great help. If you haven't already done so, have a look at Google's basic search help, www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?answer=134479, and more search help, www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?answer=136861.

ü   The Web is dynamic and often as unpredictable as the humans behind it. You may find an old site that has not been updated for years, or you may find a great source of material only to have it be gone the next time you look for it. You may still be able to locate old pages using the "cached" feature of Google (www.google.com) or the Internet archive's Wayback Machine at www.archive.org.

ü  Sites and applications that used to be free and only supported by text ads that could be easily ignored are increasingly charging fees requiring subscriptions (so that you don't get their ads), or requiring users to watch commercials before the desired material loads.

ü  As is widely known, the accuracy of Web sources is often questionable (the present one excepted of course). See, for example, http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-11-29-wikipedia-edit_x.htm.

ADVANTAGES OF THE WEB

ü  There is anytime, anywhere access (for some people at least).

ü  There are enormous amounts of free material.

ü  Material can be found that is current.

ü  Language reference and other learning support materials can be found.

ü  Student and teacher publication opportunities exist.

ü  A cultural window is opened through the authentic material readily available.

ü  Meaning technologies, such as transcripts, dictionaries, and translators, exist to aid comprehension of material.

ü  Increasing amounts of audio and video allow building of comprehension skills beyond reading.

ü   Previous disk-based activities (like tutorial exercises) and Internet-based activities (like email) can often be handled through the Web.

 Unit 5: CALL and Language Skills

 Skills-oriented language teaching remains a common approach for classes as well as for self-learning, and computer-assisted language learning is no exception. In this unit, we look at how both tool and tutor software can be used to support specific skills. In particular, we will look at some websites that focus on these skill areas.

 A good set of links for all skills can be found at the Ohio Program of Intensive English site: www.ohiou.edu/esl/english/. Also, there are online language proficiency tests available, such as those by World English: http://www.world-english.org/english_test.htm.

Ø  LISTENING

Listening is potentially one of the most promising areas for CALL development. This is because multimedia computing has everything standard audio and video have with the addition of a variety of meaning technologies such as text support, hyperlinked glossaries, and even translations. Listening activities typically involve presentations followed by comprehension questions--some also include full or partial dictations

Examples of course website for two of my recent listening classes are at www.stanford.edu/~efs/693a/ and www.stanford.edu/~efs/efs693b/The notes have both links and examples of listening assignments.

Ø  SPEAKING

In terms of direct practice of speaking, recent developments on the web have allowed for voice chat sites which make it possible for learners and teachers to interact through the Internet in distance education courses. Asynchronous speaking practice is possible through www.wimba.com, using Internet voice mail, or simply attaching sound files to email.

Ø  READING

In the early days of CALL, reading software was designed to improve skills in order to transfer them to paper materials. More recently, reading in digital form is becoming more and more common.

Here are some other ways CALL can be used to support reading

Just using the web: teachers give students tasks that require finding, comprehending and sometimes consolidating information on the web.

Educational sites with ESL or adult literacy support: See the Learning Resources Adult Education Reading Site, http://literacyworks.org/learningresources/

Text reconstruction activities, such as Storyboard, cloze exercises (http://eslus.com/LESSONS/READING/READ.HTM), and jigsaw readings

Timed or paced readings to develop speed, for example, www.readingsoft.com/

Multimedia reading, such as voice enhanced texts and dynamically illustrated material, found especially on CD-ROMs

Student-produced material, such as the set of children's stories written by high school Spanish students at www.northstar.k12.ak.us/schools/nph/historias/.

Online graded readers such as those at www.eslreading.org/.

Ø  WRITING

Some other ways computers enhance writing instruction include the following.

Use of email and discussion boards (see Unit 3) for fluency development.

Online writing resources such as http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/index.html  and tutorials, like www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/index.xml  

Blank screen (where the monitor is turned off and students type in their ideas without being distracted) and other production techniques, such as using graphic organizers or concept mapping: http://library.usu.edu/instruct/tutorials/cm/CMinstruction1.htm.   

Collaborative writing tasks. These are made easier today with tools such as an online word processor now available for free from Google: http://docs.google.com/  

Writing support practice (e.g., CALL activities with fill-ins for structured writing)

Publication opportunities (both paper and web) as motivators. See Tom Robb's classic description of an early web publishing project at www.cc.kyoto-su.ac.jp/~trobb/projects.htm  

Ø  GRAMMAR

Grammar practice was perhaps the earliest use of CALL. Today grammar work is largely focused on the following:

Workbook-style exercises (on disk and online): online examples can be seen at www.grammar-quizzes.com/.

Grammar test prep materials (especially TOEFL www.toefl.com and TOEIC http://www.toeic.com)   

CD-ROMs accompanying grammar textbooks, like Focus on Grammar at www.pearsonlongman.com/ae/multimedia/programs/fog.htm and Azar's grammar series www.azargrammar.com/materials/index.html.  

Online courses and references (e.g., Anthony Hughes' Online English Grammar, http://www.edunet.com/english/grammar/index. cfm or  www.scribd.com/doc/2586846/Anthony-Hughes-the-online-english-grammar)  

Hypertext-linked grammar notes accompanying readings

Grammar portals such as www.esltower.com/  

Ø  PRONUNCIATION

Pronunciation work is generally of three types.

Listen, repeat/record, and compare. This option shows up in many multimedia programs and is analogous to the tape-based language lab technique in the audio-lingual method. However, the instantaneous response of digitized speech (no rewinding needed) makes

the computer a more effective instrument for this. See http://international.ouc.bc.ca/pronunciation/dialog01.htm  

ü  Visualization: wave form, pitch contour, spectrogram. The first and last are of questionable value. Wave forms are easy for a computer to produce, but they only clearly show the bands of intensity across time. This is most helpful in teaching rhythm. Spectrograms are most useful if they have high detail, which they generally don't on CALL software, and they require training in phonetics to interpret them. However, visualization of pitch contour has been found to be quite helpful for some students in recognizing and producing both the patterns and ranges of intonation.

ü  ASR (automatic speech recognition) scoring. Here, the computer uses speech recognition software to grade accuracy. This can be useful, but there are a lot of technical problems--microphone quality, sound card quality, and background noise are all variables that can negatively affect the score, leading even native speakers to score as non-natives. For an example of a standardized test that uses ASR, see Ordinate's PhonePass: www.ordinate.com. ASR and other are also used in Rosetta Stone, http://www.rosettastone.com .

Ø  VOCABULARY

Vocabulary activities have been around since the early days of CALL in the form of electronic flashcards (linking L2 word to L1 translation or L2 word to L2 definition). Other common CALL implementations for vocabulary include the following.

ü  Hypertext dictionaries/glossaries. Babylon (www.babylon.com) is a commercial memory-resident dictionary system that runs in the background on your computer; www.voycabulary.com  is a web application that automatically links items in a web page to a variety of dictionaries.

ü  Talking dictionaries: Longman, Oxford, and Newbury House have learner's dictionaries with CD-ROMs that include pronunciation and sometimes other multimedia support. An online version is at www.ldoceonline.com. 

ü  Concordance programs: these programs look for words in collections of texts, or corpora, and return examples of the word in the immediate context it occurs in: an online one is available at www.edict.com.hk/concordance/.  

ü  Picture dictionaries: http://www.pdictionary.com/  has a picture dictionary for English, Spanish, French, German, and Italian. Of course the largest "picture dictionary" in the world is at http://images.google.com. Try alizarin, fennec and axolotl if you don't know what they mean (or even if you do)

ü  Word lists and vocabulary tests for English: General service list, http://jbauman.com/gsl.html; Academic word list, www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/staff/averil-coxhead/awl/; Level tests, www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/r21270/levels/.  

Ø  CULTURE

Obviously, this is a huge area for foreign language teaching, where authentic cultural material is readily accessible through the web. There are many ways to use the authentic material found on websites to support cultural learning. YouTube, http://www.youtube.com is a particularly useful application for this purpose with intermediate and advanced students, see http://eduwithtechn.wordpress.com/2007/08/18/teach-culture-through-youtube your-students-do-it/. Links specifically for teaching culture can be found at http://iteslj.org/links/ESL/Culture/. To review a proposed pedagogical framework for culture and technologies, see Levy (2007) at http://llt.msu.edu/vol11num2/pdf/levy.pdf.

Unit 6: CALL Research

 So far, we have been going through this course with the implicit assumption that CALL works, that teaching language using computers in some way makes learning "better." But what exactly is "better?" Here are some possible interpretations:

ü  Learners pick up language knowledge or skills faster or with less effort (learning efficiency).

ü  Learners pick up what is targeted, retain language knowledge or skills longer, and/or learn more of what they need (effectiveness).

ü  Learners can get materials or experience interactions that would otherwise be difficult or impossible (access).

ü  Learners can learn with more or less equal effectiveness across a wider range of times/places (convenience).

ü  Learners enjoy the language learning process more or are willing to engage in it more (motivation).

ü  Learners require less space, less teacher time, or less expensive materials (institutional efficiency).

Research has continued in all areas of CALL but recently has focused on several identifiable areas, such as:

·         Computer mediated communication; especially, interaction in synchronous chat settings and email in tandem settings.

·         Visual, text and sound annotation to promote comprehension and vocabulary acquisition.

·         Effectiveness of online collaborative and constructivist activities, including development of communities

DOING RESEARCH

Ø  Observation. When your students are using software or doing a computer-based task in a lab or other venue where you can--watch them. You can look over their shoulder, check their interactions, and make brief notes of what you notice. Interact with the students as they interact with the software. This can give you feedback on the effectiveness of a given piece of software, CALL exercise, or CALL task, and it can also help you determine student training needs.

Ø  Tracking. Some software has built-in tracking features. If you are using a discussion board, all student posts can be reviewed. Some chat programs also allow the sessions to be logged for later review.

Ø  Student surveys. Ask specific questions about usage--note that it's best to do this as soon as possible after a CALL session sense memories fade rapidly.

Ø   Pre- and post-testing to evaluate outcomes of the use of technology.

Ø  Student journals. Getting students to keep a reflective journal of their experiences with software or other CALL activities is useful both for them and to the teacher.

Ø  Observation. When your students are using software or doing a computer-based task in a lab or other venue where you can--watch them. You can look over their shoulder, check their interactions, and make brief notes of what you notice. Interact with the students as they interact with the software. This can give you feedback on the effectiveness of a given piece of software, CALL exercise, or CALL task, and it can also help you determine student training needs.

Ø  Tracking. Some software has built-in tracking features. If you are using a discussion board, all student posts can be reviewed. Some chat programs also allow the sessions to be logged for later review.

Ø  Student surveys. Ask specific questions about usage--note that it's best to do this as soon as possible after a CALL session sense memories fade rapidly.

Ø  Pre- and post-testing to evaluate outcomes of the use of technology.

Ø  Student journals. Getting students to keep a reflective journal of their experiences with software or other CALL activities is useful both for them and to the teacher.

Ø  Observation. When your students are using software or doing a computer-based task in a lab or other venue where you can--watch them. You can look over their shoulder, check their interactions, and make brief notes of what you notice. Interact with the students as they interact with the software. This can give you feedback on the effectiveness of a given piece of software, CALL exercise, or CALL task, and it can also help you determine student training needs.

Ø  Tracking. Some software has built-in tracking features. If you are using a discussion board, all student posts can be reviewed. Some chat programs also allow the sessions to be logged for later review.

Ø  Student surveys. Ask specific questions about usage--note that it's best to do this as soon as possible after a CALL session sense memories fade rapidly.

Ø  Pre- and post-testing to evaluate outcomes of the use of technology.

Ø  Student journals. Getting students to keep a reflective journal of their experiences with software or other CALL activities is useful both for them and to the teacher.

 Unit 7: CALL Learner Training

 Before continuing, let's consider three alternatives to CALL learner training:

ü  One solution is to try to build software in such a way that it adapts to the learner on a number of different levels: language proficiency, computer proficiency, learning style, topical interest, motivational type and intensity, and so on. This was an early promise of CALL software; however, arguably we have not even come close to realizing such a program, and the degree of software-directed adaptation remains low or non-existent in currently available materials.

ü  A second alternative is to take the philosophical position that learners have a right to self-discovery and that left alone they will naturally move to the strategies that work for them and that are consonant with their learning style.

ü  A third alternative is to acknowledge that learners would profit from training but that it's just too much trouble to train them since it obviously takes a lot of time away from other aspects of language learning and there's no guarantee it will be successful.

TECHNICAL TRAINING

Training can be divided at least into two areas: technical and pedagogical (you may recall that this was the same division as for teachers in Unit 1). Technical training naturally includes general computer literacy (which can be a major issue or not depending on your setting and students), but of greater interest here is learning technical skills and knowledge of particular value to language learning.

Here is one example: most audio/video players, for instance (Real, QuickTime, Windows Media), often have a default setting that is small:

These are just two of many instances of technical knowledge that can potentially be of help to language learners.

PEDAGOGICAL TRAINING

Five principles for learner training, summarized below:

1.      Experience CALL yourself. Try a piece of CALL software (like Rosetta Stone) for a language you don't know, or visit a chatroom for a language you are not fluent in. This was the recommended assignment for Unit 1. The assumption here is that by knowing what it's like from the learner's side, you'll be able to give better advice.

2.       Give learners teacher training. Let them know some of what you know if they are to become more independent. Help them develop a "language learning approach" that is consistent with what you consider a valid language teaching approach. In particular, try to give them practice with linking the procedures and strategies they use with software, online tasks, and CMC activities to specific language learning objectives.

3      Use a cyclical approach. Teach a bit at a time. Don't just have a training session at the beginning and think your job is done. If anything, let learners "play" awhile with the application so that they have some familiarity with it before formal training begins. Learning (both technical and pedagogical) should be incremental but also include plenty of recycling and reviewing key concepts and strategies. 
4.      Use collaborative debriefings. Get learners to discuss their experiences, successes and failures with the CALL tasks and software in pairs or small groups. Don't just make the instruction one-way from you. Having learners talk about lab experiences at the end of a session helps consolidate it, and discussing their individual experiences (at home or a drop-in lab) at the following class provides a way of avoiding the sense of isolation that comes from working on the computer alone. 
5.       Teach general exploitation strategies. Show learners ways to use software to make it easier if it's too hard and harder if it's too easy, as well as how to mine the material for uses different from those intended by the developer. For example, many CALL tutorial exercises involve multiple choice. By teaching learners to resize windows so that the list of possible answers is hidden, the question becomes both a more challenging and a more natural open-ended one