CALL
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☻Definitions of CALL:
Computer Assisted Language Learning may be defined
as the search for and study of applications of the computer in language
teaching and learning.
Beatty (2003) defines CALL as ‘any process in which a learner uses a computer, and as a result,
improves his or her language’.
“The search
for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning."
Somewhat
narrowly, as an approach to language teaching and learning in which the
computer is used as an aid to the presentation, reinforcement and assessment of
material to be learned, usually including a substantial interactive element.
☻Interactivity
The term interactivity in the context of CALL has traditionally
been associated with human-computer interaction - the stimulus / response /
feedback paradigm - involving the use of a range of stimuli (text, images,
audio or video), learner responses using a range of input devices (keyboard,
mouse, touch screen or speech) and various types of feedback (text, images,
audio or video).
☻Types of CALL Programs:
1. CALL-specific software:
CD-ROMs, web-based interactive language learning exercises/quizzes.
2. Generic software:
word-processors (Word), presentation software (PowerPoint) and
spreadsheet (Excel).
3. Computer-mediated
communication (CMC) programs: synchronous -
online chat; asynchronous - email, discussion forum, message board
☻Types of CALL Activities
:
- multiple-choice & true/false quizzes
- gap-filling
exercise/cloze
- crossword
puzzles
- games
- concordancing
- web
quests/searching
- web
publishing
- online
communication (synchronous and asynchronous)
- computer as tutor for language drills or
skill practice
- computer as a tool for writing, presenting,
and researching
- computer as a medium of global communication
☻Kinds of CALL :
-
Traditional CALL
Traditional CALL programs presented
a stimulus to which the learner had to provide a response. In
early CALL programs the stimulus was in the form of text presented on screen,
and the only way in which the learner could respond was by entering an answer
at the keyboard.
-
Explorative CALL
More recent approaches to CALL have
favoured a learner-centred, explorative approach rather than a
teacher-centred, drill-based approach to CALL.
-
Multimedia CALL
Early personal computers were
incapable of presenting authentic recordings of the human voice and easily
recognizable images, but this limitation was overcome by combining a personal
computer and a 12-inch videodisc player, which made it possible to combine
sound, photographic-quality still images and video recordings in imaginative
presentations - in essence the earliest manifestation of multimedia CALL.
- Web-based CALL
The
Web offers enormous potential in language learning and teaching, but it has
some way to go before it catches up with the interactivity and speed of access
offered by CD-ROMs or DVDs, especially when accessing sound and video files.
- CALL authoring programs
They
were originally developed to enable programmers to simplify the entry of data
provided by language teachers. Modern CALL authoring programs are designed to
be used by language teachers who have no knowledge of computer programming.
☻ Three phases of CALL
1. Behavioristic CALL
Programs of this phase entailed
repetitive language drills and can be referred to as "drill and practice"
(or, more pejoratively, as "drill and kill"). Programs of this phase
entailed repetitive language drills and can be referred to as "drill and
practice" (or, more pejoratively, as "drill and kill").
The rationale behind drill and practice was not
totally spurious, which explains in part the fact that CALL drills are still
used today. Briefly put, that rationale is as follows:
·
Repeated exposure to the same material is beneficial
or even essential to learning
·
A computer is ideal for carrying out repeated drills,
since the machine does not get bored with presenting the same material and
since it can provide immediate non-judgmental feedback
·
A computer can present such material on an
individualized basis, allowing students to proceed at their own pace and
freeing up class time for other activities
2. Communicative CALL
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.
According to
Underwood, communicative CALL:
·
Focuses more on using forms rather than on the forms
themselves;
·
Teaches grammar implicitly rather than explicitly;
·
Allows and encourages students to generate original
utterances rather than just manipulate prefabricated language;
·
Does not judge and evaluate everything the students
nor reward them with congratulatory messages, lights, or bells;
·
Avoids telling students they are wrong and is flexible
to a variety of student responses;
·
Uses the target language exclusively and creates an
environment in which using the target language feels natural, both on and off
the screen, and
·
Will never try to do anything that a book can do just
as well.
3. a. 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.
Hypermedia provides a number of
advantages for language learning. First of all, a more authentic learning
environment is created, since listening is combined with seeing, just like in
the real world. Secondly, skills are easily integrated, since the variety of
media make it natural to combine reading, writing, speaking and listening in a
single activity. Third, students have great control over their learning, since
they can not only go at their own pace but even on their own individual path,
going forward and backwards to different parts of the program, honing in on
particular aspects and skipping other aspects altogether. Finally, a major
advantage of hypermedia is that it facilitates a principle focus on the
content, without sacrificing a secondary focus on language form or learning
strategies.
b. Steps toward integrative CALL: the Internet
Computer Mediated Communication
(CMC), which has existed in primitive form since the 1960s but has only became
wide-spread in the last five years, is probably the single computer application
to date with the greatest impact on language teaching.
For the first time, language
learners can communicate directly, inexpensively, and conveniently with other
learners or speakers of the target language 24 hours a day, from school, work,
or home. This communication can be asynchronous (not simultaneous) through
tools such as electronic mail (email), which allows each participant to compose
messages at their time and pace, or in can be synchronous (synchronous,
"real time"), using programs such as MOOs, which allow people
all around the world to have a simultaneous conversation by typing at their
keyboards. It also allows not only one-to-one communication, but also
one-to-many, allowing a teacher or student to share a message with a small
group, the whole class, a partner class, or an international discussion list of
hundreds or thousands of people.
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