1T S L 6 4 1 : C O M P U T E R A S S I S T E D L A N G U A G E L E A R N I N G

F A C U LT Y O F E D U C AT I O N , U I T M

DEVELOPMENT OF CALL: THE 3 PHASES

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HISTORY OF CALL – 3 PHASES

CALL has developed gradually over the past 40 years and can becategorized into three phases:

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BEHAVIORISTIC CALL

• 1960s

COMMUNICATIVE CALL

• 1970s-1980s

INTEGRATIVE CALL

• Late 80s onwards

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BEHAVIORISTIC CALL

BEHAVIORISTIC CALL

• Based on the behaviourist/structural theories oflearning (conceived in the 50’s and implemented in the1960’s).• Learning is broken into chunks and the learner is drilled to

mastery before moving on to the next level(Skinner)

• Skinner argues that learning can be accomplished if thecontent is divided into small, incremental steps, and iflearners get immediate feedback, reinforcement andreward

• Such programs were called Programmed Instructions aka“teaching machines

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BEHAVIORISTIC CALL

• The theoretical basis of Programmed Instruction wasprovided by Skinner:

• Operant conditioning

• The use of consequences to modify the occurrence and formof behavior

• Reinforcement is a consequence that causes a behavior tooccur with greater frequency.

• Punishment is a consequence that causes a behavior to occurwith less frequency.

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BEHAVIORISTIC CALL

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SIMPLE PRESENT

Immediate Feedback: Rewards or Punishment

MASTERY

PAST TENSE

Immediate Feedback : Rewards or Punishment

MASTERY

FUTURE TENSE ETC

BEHAVIORISTIC CALL

• Ultimate Language Tutor v3

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BEHAVIORISTIC CALL

• CALL programs entailed repetitive (mindless) drills - drilland practice (drill and kill)• The continued drilling would often kill any enthusiasm for

learning

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BEHAVIORISTIC CALL

There were objections to Skinner’s operant conditioning,thus Behavioristic CALL became less popular

• Chomsky ‘s Theory• Theory of Generative Grammar

• Universal Grammar

• an innate set of linguistic principles shared by all humans

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BEHAVIORISTIC CALL

• Another critique on behaviouristic CALL contends that allCALL courseware and activities should build on intrinsicmotivation and should foster interactivity – both learner-computer and learner-learner (Stevens, 1989)

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BEHAVIORISTIC CALL

But the rationale behind these programs has been not rejectedcompletely due to a number of advantages

1. Repetition is beneficial and even essential to learning (computeris an ideal tool).

2. Immediate non-judgmental feedback.

3. Students can work at their own pace and acquire these skillsoutside class to free up class time for communicative activities.

4. Efficient record keeping.

5. Motivation.

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BEHAVIORISTIC CALL

• Example of Behavioristic CALL:

• Plato : http://www.plato.com/aboutus/company_history.asp

• Randal’s Listening Lab

• Late 70’s and early 80s behavioristic CALL was undermined by:

• Behavioristic approaches has been rejected theoretically andpedagogically

• Introduction of microcomputers accorded more possibilities

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COMMUNICATIVE CALL

COMMUNICATIVE CALL

• Communicative CALL is based on the communicative approach (CLT)to teaching which became prominent in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

• An approach to the teaching of second and foreign languages thatemphasizes interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal oflearning a language

• Places great emphasis on helping students use the target languagein a variety of contexts and places great emphasis on learninglanguage functions

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COMMUNICATIVE CALL

• It focuses more on using forms (content) rather than onthe forms themselves.

• It teaches grammar implicitly rather than explicitly.

• It allows and encourages students to generate utterancesrather than just manipulate prefabricated language.

• It does not judge and evaluate everything nor rewardthem with congratulatory messages, lights, or bells.

• It is flexible to a variety of student responses.

• It will never try to do anything that a book can do just aswell. 19

COMMUNICATIVE CALL

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• Three roles of the computer in Communicative CALL:

The Computer as a TUTOR

• As a teacher

The Computer as a STIMULUS

• Stimulate thinking, critical thinking, etc.

The Computer as a TOOL

• Tool to use & understand language

COMMUNICATIVE CALL

• The computer as a TUTOR• Skill practice, but also in non-drill format

• Examples of programs:• paced reading,

• text reconstruction

• language games

• The computer is the “knower-of-the-right” answer

• As opposed to drill and practice, the right answer involvesa fair amount of student choice, control, and interaction

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COMMUNICATIVE CALL

The computer as a TUTOR – Examples• Grammar

• ESL Page

• Listening and Speaking

• Listening multimedia programs (Rosetta Stone, etc.)

• Pronunciation Tutor,

• VisiPitch

• Programs which generally allow students to record and playbacktheir own voice and compare it to a model

• Linguistics applications, for example, teaching the IPA, soundanalysis 22

COMMUNICATIVE CALL

• Reading or Text Reconstruction

• These programs allow students to manipulateletters, words, sentences, or paragraphs in order toput texts together (Spanish Now, Storyboard, etc.)

• Vocabulary

• Includes drill and practice programs, multimediatutorials, and games (La Casa, Treefrog, etc.)

• http://eslbears.homestead.com/Contact_Info.html

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COMMUNICATIVE CALL

• The computer as STIMULUS• The purpose of the computer is not so much to have students

discover the right answer, but rather to stimulate students’discussion, writing, or critical thinking

• A simulation is a representation or model of an event, anobject, or a phenomenon

• Where the World is Carmen Sandiego, A La Rencontre dePhilippe, etc.

• Generally a simplified model that contains the essentialelements of the thing simulated

• Example : Sim City, Sleuth

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COMMUNICATIVE CALL

• Problem solving software

• Similar to simulation software in that students are placed insituations where they can manipulate variables and then receivefeedback on the results of these manipulations

• Simulations, however, are attempts to model real-life situationsand objects, whereas problem-solving is a more generalcategory that includes all software designed for teachingproblem-solving skills (i.e. adventure games: Myst, etc.)

• http://www.theproblemsite.com/treasure_hunt/

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COMMUNICATIVE CALL• Shannon’s Game

• C: Alec Guiness is a famous film star.

• C: Clue: pronoun

• S: He

• C: Right. Alec Guiness is a famous film star. He

• C: Clue: auxiliary• S: can

• C: Wrong. Two guesses left.

• S: is

• C: Right. Alec Guiness is a famous film star. He is

• C: Clue: content word.

• S: young• C: Wrong. Two guesses left.

• S: American

• C: Wrong. One guess left.

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COMMUNICATIVE CALL• Escape from Utopia

• Student: Turn left.

• Computer: OK. [The students' symbol moves one space leftward, the police agent moves one space nearer.]

• S: Go east.

• C: Impossible. [There is a building in the way. The students' symbol doesn't move, but the police agent comes one space nearer.]

• S: Right.

• C: No verb. [The police agent moves one space nearer.]

• And so on, until the students reach the destination or are caught by the police.

• When the students arrive, they engage in dialogues appropriate to the situation; if they are at the restaurant, the following dialogue could ensue:

• C: You go into an expensive restaurant. You sit down at a table and a man comes up to you and says:

• C: Can I help you?

• S: I'd like something to drink, please.

• C: What would you like?

• S: Some beer.

• C: I'm sorry. We are not allowed to serve alcoholic drinks before six. Can I get you something else?

• S: Yes. Could I have a cup of coffee?

• C: Certainly. Black or white?

• S: White, please.

• C: You sit waiting. The waiter comes with your drink.

• C: Here is your coffee.

• S: Thank you very much. '

• C: You sit drinking your coffee. Press C when you have finished. 27

COMMUNICATIVE CALL• Station

• C: Hello. British Rail, Colchester.

• S: Could you be telling me the train to Harwich?

• C: Sorry—I don't understand.

• S: When is the next train to Harwich?

• C: It leaves at three o'clock.• S: What platform is it?

• C: It leaves from platform 4.

• S: When does he arrive?

• C: When does what?

• S: When does it arrive?

• C: It arrives at half past three.• S: How much is it?

• C: It costs two pounds.

• S: Thank you. Goodbye.• C: Goodbye. 28

COMMUNICATIVE CALL

• Spelling games

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COMMUNICATIVE CALL

The computer as STIMULUS – Advantages

• Simulations give students an opportunity to apply their learning toa “real-life” situation, these programs tend to address higher-ordereducational objectives.

• Students become an active part of the educational environment(decision makers) and can usually see the immediate results of thedecisions they make in the environment.

• Usually, a simulation will require the students to performapplication-, analysis-, and synthesis-level activities.

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COMMUNICATIVE CALL

The computer as a TOOL (a “workhorse”)

• The programs do not necessarily provide any language materialat all, but rather empower the learner to use or understandlanguage.

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COMMUNICATIVE CALL

• Word Processors, Spreadsheets, Graphic Programs

• WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Simple Text, BBedit, Excel, Corel Draw, etc.

• Spelling and Grammar Checkers

• Hugo, Bilingual Writing Centre, etc.

• Desktop Publishing Program

• PageMaker, etc.

• Reference

• Dictionaries and encyclopedias i.e. Le Petit Robert, Encarta.

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COMMUNICATIVE CALL

• Electronic Grade Books

• Concordancers

• They search through large files of texts -corpora- in order to find all the uses of aparticular word or collocation i.e. Oxford’s MicroConcord with a total 1,000,000words

• Example

• Collaborative Writing

• A number of tools assist students to work on their writing collaboratively oncomputers linked in a local area network (LAN) i.e. Aspects, Daedalus,MacCollaborator

• Authoring

• Allows teachers to tailor software programs either by inserting new text or bymodifying the activities. Authoring runs on a spectrum from set programs whichallow slight modification to programs where the designer has more control withrespect to GUI, exercise types, etc.

• Dasher, HyperCard, SuperCard, Toolbook, Micromedia Director33

COMMUNICATIVE CALL

The Computer as a TOOL - ADVANTAGES

• Teaches students to manage information

• Tool software is cost-effective

• Wide application of a word processing program

• Students learn how to use tool software

• Emphasises active student involvement (user manipulateinformation and are controlling the computers as opposed to justbeing put through their paces)

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COMMUNICATIVE CALL

Criticism of Communicative CALL

1. The computer was being used in an ad hoc and disconnectedfashion.

2. Scholars were no longer satisfied with teaching compartmentalisedskills or structures (even if taught in communicative manner)

3. Educators were seeking ways to teach in a more integrative manner.

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INTEGRATIVE CALL

STEPS TOWARD INTEGRATIVE CALL

Integrative approaches to CALL are based on two importanttechnological developments of the last decade.

• Multimedia

• Electronic communication

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INTEGRATIVE CALL

• Multimedia

• CD-ROM which allows a variety of media (text, graphics, sound, animation, and video) to be accessed on a single machine.

• Multimedia entails hypermedia.

• Multimedia resources are linked together and learners can navigate their own paths simply by pointing and clicking a mouse.

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INTEGRATIVE CALL

Multimedia and Hypermedia in Language Learning –Advantages

• More authentic learning environments – listening is combinedwith seeing.

• Students have great control over learning – not only at theirown pace, but also on their own individual path.

• Skills are integrated.

• Reading + Writing + Speaking + Listening

• It facilitates a principle focus on the content, withoutsacrificing a secondary focus on language form or learningstrategies.

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INTEGRATIVE CALLMultimedia and Hypermedia in Language Learning -DISADVANTAGES

• Quality of available programs

• The field is predominantly left to commercial developers who often fail to base their programs on sound pedagogical principles.

• Computer programs are not yet intelligent enough to be truly interactive

• They cannot understand a user’s spoken input nor evaluate the appropriateness of an utterance (even the mere correctness presents problems at a more advanced level).

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INTEGRATIVE CALL

• It seldom involves a more important type of integration

• Integrating meaningful and authentic communicationinto all aspects of the language learning curriculum.

• While Intelligent CALL (Underwood, 1989) may be thenext and ultimate usage of computers for languagelearning, that phase is clearly a long way down theroad.

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INTEGRATIVE CALLComputer-Mediated Communication (CMC)

• Asynchronous (Not Simultaneous)

• E-mail

• Synchronous (Simultaneous)

• Writing environment Aspects

• MUD’s (multi-user domains)

• MOO’s (the above + object-oriented)

• schMOOze University

• http://schmooze.hunter.cuny.edu/

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INTEGRATIVE CALL

Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC)

• CMC allows users to share not only brief but also lengthydocuments, graphics, sounds, and video.

• It facilitates collaborative writing.

• Using the Web, students can search endlessly throughfiles around the world to locate and access authenticmaterials exactly tailored to their own personal interests.For example: newspapers, magazine articles, radiobroadcasts, short videos, movie reviews, book excerpts,even karaoke!

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INTEGRATIVE CALL• Students can use the Web to publish their texts or multimedia

materials to share with partner classes or with the general public.

• While the WWW to date is still predominantly a text-basedmedium, this will undoubtedly change in the near future; not onlydue to the transmission of audio-visual material (video clips,sound files), but also due to the growing use of the WWW to carryout real-time audio and audio-visual chatting.

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WEB 2.0• Tools

• Blogs

• Social Networking Sites

• Wikis

• Podcast

• Tagging

• Authentic learning

• Sharing

• Collaboration

• Cooperative learning

• Constructivism

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