TSL641: CALL

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ADVANTAGES &

DISADVANTAGES OF

CALL

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WHY SHOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT

TECHNOLOGY AND LANGUAGE TEACHING

Motivating for both teachers

and students – learning

more enjoyable

Wide range of multimedia

resources – images, audio,

video, games, mobile apps

etc.

Intensive one-to-one learning

in the computer lab

Rich resources and wide

range of authentic materials

– Web, CD-ROM, DVD,

Podcast, Videos

Worldwide communication –

email, chat, social

networking sites, Whatsapp,

WeChat, BBMetc

Collaborative learning tools –

SNS, Blogs, Google Drive

New range of self-access and

distance learning

opportunities (widely

available - out of class time,

remote areas, special needs)

Experiential learning

The "learn-by-doing" approach allows youth to experience something with

minimal guidance from an adult.

Instead of being told "the answers," they are presented with a question,

problem, situation, or activity which they must make sense of for

themselves.

Learning by doing is called "experiential learning" because it is based on

learning from experiences.

Example: Search the web to find information on a natural phenomenon

the Electric Blue Sea

The Web allows tackling large amount of human experience

Also through computer simulation or games - SIMS

Learn by doing things themselves

Through creating and receiving knowledge

Thinking skills are developed and have choice of what to explore

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CALL – PROS / ADVANTAGES

The objective of SimCity , as the name of the game suggests, is to build and design a city, without specific goals to achieve (except in the scenarios, see below). The player can mark land as being zoned as commercial, industrial , or residential , add buildings, change the taxrate, build a power grid, build transportation systems and many other actions, in order to enhance the city.

Also, the player may face disasters including: f looding, tornadoes, f i res(of ten from air disasters or even shipwrecks), ear thquakes and attacks by monsters. In addition, monsters and tornados can tr igger train crashes by running into passing trains. Later disasters in the game's sequels included l ightning strikes, volcanoes, meteors and attack by extra-terrestrial craf t.

Activit ies – oral and written on your city bui lding project

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Motivation

Computer popular with students

Fun and games, fashionable

Increased in motivation

Variety of activities – making them more independent

Novelty of working with the computer – a new experience compared to the oldtraditional chalk and talk, pen and paper

Diversity and sophistication.

Online environment

Students can take risks and experiment in a way that might bepsychologically threatening in a classroom or real-life communicationsituation – through chat

The anonymity and ease of communication seem to encourage aspontaneous and casual “speak -writing” that results in more creative andnatural language than in some other environments.

Reduce learning stresses and anxieties

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CALL – PROS / ADVANTAGES

Might Enhance Student Achievement

Networked-based instructions

Strengthen linguistic skills by positively affecting learning attitude whenstudents are motivated by using the computer/internet

Build self-instruction strategies (learning how to learn)

Through interactive activities

Computer work may be effective for remedial or tutorial works(branching programs).

Andrews (1973) found that students who scored low on the pretest showed

greatest gain. Students in large classes find that CALL is a way of getting individual

attention.

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CALL – PROS / ADVANTAGES

Computers can capture, analyze and present data on SLstudent’s performances during the learning process

Scores and progress are recorded automatically, so students know where they stand.

E.g. use of blog for writing skills

E-Portfolio

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CALL – PROS / ADVANTAGES

• The computer allows learning to take place independent oftime and space.

• Students can learn at their own pace (review, skip, etc.).

• Students can learn at their own schedule due to computer flexibilityof time.

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CALL – PROS / ADVANTAGES

Authentic Materials for Study

Various resources for authentic reading materials – school and at home

Accessible 24/7 and low cost

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CALL – PROS / ADVANTAGES

Social effect (the dialogue that occurs in front of the screen rather than on it).

Collaboration

Networking promotes language learning by putting learners in touch with other learners and a multitude of other resources (Internet)).

Examples: Via e-mail, chat, blog, website creation

There’s tendency to band together to try to “beat the machine” (fun and competition in games or simulations).

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CALL – PROS / ADVANTAGES

Greater Interaction

Non-linear instruction through random access to Web pages

Via E-mail, newsgroups, weblog, YM etc, EFL students can

communicate with people they have never met

Interact with classmates – in the computer lab

Internet activities give positive and negative feedback – correcting

their exercises – immediate feedback

Students can receive individualized feedback – via e-mail, weblog –

more time for teachers to write feedback and it’s recorded

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CALL – PROS / ADVANTAGES

Individualization

For shy or inhibited students

Individualized attention can be given

They get to do things themselves

They get to work at their own pace

High achievers can realize their full potential

Will not prevent their peers from working at their own pace

Equal opportunities to participate in discussions via chat, blog, all students

can equal chance to participate

Unlike face-to-face, discussions may be dominated by out-spoken students

Randall’s

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CALL – PROS / ADVANTAGES

Independence from a Single Source of Information

Escape from canned knowledge

E.g. referring only to 1 or 2 textbooks

Opportunity to discover thousands of information sources

There are probably billions of web pages nowadays

As a result

Education fulfils the need for interdisciplinary learning in a multicultural world

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CALL – PROS / ADVANTAGES

English Culture

Anthropology

Global Understanding

A foreign language is studied in a cultural context

E.g. ESL is studied in the context of English language speaking

culture ( US, UK, Australia, New Zealand etc)

Internet allows access to the learning of the culture

Internet facilitates access to this culture

Internet makes students feel citizens of the world

Since English is an International language

Students get to publish on the Internet for the rest of the world to see /

read

The computer environment, especially when combined with

hypermedia is a rich one which allows the user to enter new worlds

and travels new territory (SL – language and culture).

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CALL – PROS / ADVANTAGES

From the point of view of the teacher, the computer presents

a versatility in handling dif ferent kinds of material.

One-way presentation of information (text, graphics, audio, video).

Two-way (question-answer routines, simulated dialogues, hypothesis

testing).

The computer can present material (supplied by the teacher) in

sequence or at random.

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CALL – PROS / ADVANTAGES

Computers can model the cognitive and physical processes

required for linguistics perception and production (i.e. visual

modeling of speech characteristics, thought processing

programs (simultaneous writing programs), and reading

comprehension programs).

Computers assist in the construction and elaboration of the

SL grammar.

Example:

http://international.ouc.bc.ca/pronunciation/

http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/

http://www.essaypunch.com/

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CALL – PROS / ADVANTAGES

Quality of the software

Quality of software/websites can be questionable

Especially when produced by companies that do not employ or

consult experts (teachers, instructional designers etc.)

Failure of computer users to make full use of the software.

It is not the software, it is what you do with it.

The software might simplify the representation of the content

and the structure of the task performed to such a degree as

to be highly misleading (i.e. grammar checker programs).

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CALL – CON / DISADVANTAGES

Development of CALL programs requires

knowledge in pedagogy, target language

and computing.

Possible solutions:

Computer and language experts work together.

Learn a programming and/or authoring

language (i.e. HyperCard, Toolbook).

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CALL – CON / DISADVANTAGES

Cost

Standford, successful Russian program had to be

scrapped after it was found that the course was costing

3x as much as a traditional course.

(Nelson et. al., 1976)

Unfair educational conditions

When it becomes a basic requirement for students to purchase

Unaffordable for low-budget schools and low-income children

Digital Divide

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CALL – CON / DISADVANTAGES

Teachers and learners should have basic technology

knowledge

Before incorporating CALL

However, most teachers do not have sufficient knowledge in

technology to guide students exploring the computer and CALL

programs

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CALL – CON / DISADVANTAGES

Skepticism.

Language teachers might regard technology with a mixture of

anxiety and mystification, accompanied by the conviction

that somehow machines do not belong in the humanities.

Vague suspicion that the computer is intended to replace

teachers (however, instead the computer should free up time

for us to do what only language teachers can do).

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CALL – CON / DISADVANTAGES

Computers are rigid and inhuman.

This might depend on who programs them

Learning via computer alone may lack non-verbal cues

No facial expressions, gestures

Jokes, anecdotes that will help remember a learning point

Computers cannot handle unexpected situations.

Limitations in AI :

Cannot deal with learners’ learning problems

Cannot response to students’ questions immediately

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CALL – CON / DISADVANTAGES

Exercises and activities are still limited.

It is an essential characteristic of language that it isprimarily a spoken medium which is, to some extent,problematic for the computer.

Its ability to deal with speech is far less developedthan its ability to deal with written signals, spokendialogue, open-ended dialogue, translation (anythingwhich requires understanding on part of thecomputer still presents problems).

The computer can encourage a form of “antisocial” behavior that amounts to working in isolation from others.

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CALL – CON / DISADVANTAGES

Whether we want to get into it or not, CALL will not

go away.

Computerized language lab will be built, software

will be produced anyway, and not necessarily in a

way that will be useful to us or our students.

But, this is an opportunity, a chance to improve

language teaching, raise the proficiency level of our

students (and not incidentally, attract more

students).

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NOTE

We are beginning to see enough data in CALL that suggest

positive effects on spelling, reading and writing. There is also a

substantial body of data that indicates that student perceptions of

CALL are on the whole positive, provided technologies are stable

and well supported. On the negative side there are still concerns

about technical difficulties interfering with the learning process;

older students not feeling comfortable with computers; younger

students not possessing the necessary metaskills for coping

effectively in these challenging environments; training needs in

computer literacy for both students and teachers; problems with

group dynamics; and time constraints. (Felix 2008: 156)

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ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CALL

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THE END