Vietnamese-English Interactive Book for Language Teaching

1. Globalization and Localization in CALL 2007 Ho Chi Minh city, 6-7 November, 2007 The applications of Hyper-Multimedia for the Vietnamese Language Teaching: VIETNAMESE-ENGLISH INTERACTIVE BOOK Presenter: Professor PHAN VAN GIUONG Hoa Sen University Contact E-mail: giuongphan@yahoo.com.au

2. The applications of Hyper-Multimedia for the Vietnamese Language Teaching:VIETNAMESE-ENGLISH INTERACTIVE BOOKPresenter: Professor PHAN VAN GIUONG • Multimedia clearly offers many exciting opportunities for language teaching and learning. The possibility of combining text, images, sound and video in a variety of activities was a major step forward in Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). • CALL is a term that came into favour in early 1980s, replacing CALI ( Computer Assisted Language Instruction). Throughout the 1980s CALL widened its scope, embracing the communicative approach and a range of new technology, especially multimedia and communications technology. • CALL now includes highly interactive and communicative support for listening, speaking, reading and writing, including extensive use of multimedia CD-ROMs and the internet. • Obviously, as a language teacher I have applied these Information and Communication Technology to develop some packages of the teaching and learning of Vietnamese for foreigners. • My presentation is on the projects of multimedia applications based on the communicative language teaching approach for the teaching and learning of Vietnamese as a foreign language.

3. 1. Background The teaching and learning of Vietnamese as a foreign language has flourished in the last decades. They had been introduced over hundred years since French education curriculum was implemented in Vietnam under French domination. The pioneer of this field is the scholar, educator Truong Vinh Ky. • Since 1986, Vietnam opened the door to the world and reformed its economic system from central oriented system to the market economy system, there were many foreign companies and firms moving their investments to Vietnam. The demand of teaching and learning Vietnamese language and culture was great. Any country who has diplomat and trade relationships with Vietnam has a Vietnamese studies program. Particularly, Vietnam is now a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and has been emerging into globalized communities.

4. The study of Vietnamese contributes to the overall education of students, most particularly in the area of communication, but also in the areas of cross-cultural understanding, cognitive development, literacy and general knowledge. • It provides access to the Vietnamese culture and promotes understanding of different attitudes and values within the world wide community. • The study of Vietnamese develops the student’s ability to understand and use Vietnamese which is spoken by over 82 millions people in Vietnam and it is also the home language of about 3 millions people living in other countries such as France, the United States, Canada, Australia. . . • The ability to communicate in Vietnamese, in conjunction with other skills, may broaden students’ vocational options in areas such as trade, education, literature, diplomat, interpreting and translating. . . • Looking back the history of teaching Vietnamese as a foreign language, there have been a lot of dilemma on teachers, teaching/learning materials and methods, but the most of teachers who were invited to teach Vietnamese at foreign universities have done their best to train some students to use Vietnamese fluently. There are still something to be done to up-to-date the teaching methods and learning materials. One of those is to apply Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for the teaching and learning of Vietnamese language.

5. 2. Language Teaching methods and multimedia 2.1. Language Teaching methods: “ It is by now well documented that language teaching field has moved through various pedagogical approaches since the beginning of this century” ( Richards and Rogers, 1986). • The major changes in theoretical perspectives have been from the traditional grammar-translation approach, which emphasized the explicit and inductive written study of grammar, to the behaviour-oriented audio-lingual approach which focused on habit formation, to the current communicative approach which is essentially concerned with real use of the language in the learning process and the development of communicative competence as a major learning outcome. • “ The communicative approach has been reinforced by studies in second language acquisition which have suggested that optimal language acquisition occurs when the learner is engaged in authentic interactive communication” (Nunan, 1991).

6. 2. Language Teaching methods and multimedia 2.2. Multimedia:The term Multimedia was originally used to describe packages of learning materials that consisted of a book, a couple of audiocassettes and a videocassettes. Nowadays Multimedia refers to computer-based materials designed to be used on a computer that can display and print text and high quality graphics, play pre-recorded audio and video materials, and create new audio and video recordings. • Because of its capability of integrating the four basic skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, multimedia is of considerable value and interest to the language teaching and learning. • Multimedia applications motivate highly both for students and for teachers. They make the learning process more actively and enjoyable. • Nowadays, it can be assumed that the majority of Multimedia applications embrace the functions that Waschauer describes to hypermedia: • “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 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 particular aspects and skipping other aspects altogether.

7. Finally, a major advantage of hypermedia is that it facilitates a principle focus on the content without sacrificing a secondary focus on language form and learning strategies. For example, while the main lesson is in the foreground, students can have access to a variety of background links which will allow them rapid access to grammatical explanations or exercises, vocabulary glosses, pronunciation information or questions or prompts which encourage them to adopt an appropriate learning strategy” (Warschauer, 1996). • Warschauer claims that we are now well into the integrative phase. Certainly, the range of different types of CALL software currently available is impressed. • One can take issue with Warschauer, however, the term behaviouristic certainly describes early CALL (late 70s, early 80s) but the Communicative approach, spurred on by the Council of Europe’s work on the Common European Framework (CEF) and its emphasis on functions, notions and communicative competence in the 1970s, predates the advent of the microcomputer in schools and universities.

8. 3. VIETNAMESE-ENGLISH INTERATIVE BOOK The Vietnamese-English Interactive book projects see a learner-centred approach, activities-based approach and a focus on the learning process as essential features of language learning. These concepts and approaches motivate the projects which apply the multimedia technology to create “ The Vietnamese-English Interactive book”. Since the early 1990s, there were three Vietnamese programs that have been developed by Victoria University: -Vietnamese with Barcodes Interactive Book: This book is a technology which combines normal printed book with computers through the use of barcodes. When a student swipes a barcode the computer responds by pronouncing words, phrases and conversations. Students also use a microphone to record their oral performance. This project was funded by Federal Department of Education and Training, Australia. -Vietnamese with multimedia touch-screen: Instead of using a light pen, students use their finger to touch the screen and activate a function such as practicing pronunciations, recording and role playing conversations. While the students are listening to the sound they can also see the written words appear on the screen monitor. -Vietnamese with CD-I: the other package is to help students using the CD-I system ( Compact Disc Interactive) to learn Vietnamese. They can see pictures, visualizing the conversation, and practice Vietnamese sentence by sentence or by whole conversations. These products are still available but they are out of date.

9. The new project “Vietnamese-English Interactive Book” applies the latest hyper-multimedia technology for teaching and learning Vietnamese for foreigners who want to learn Vietnamese as well as native Vietnamese want to learn English. This project is supported by Hoa Sen university. • The Interactive Book allows learners to have an interactive conversation with the computer. The focus is on improving communication, grammar skills, listening comprehension, while enhancing vocabulary and written expression. • The Interactive Book programs present a stimulus to which the learner respond. The stimulus is presented in any combination of text, still images, sound and motion video. The learner responds by typing at the keyboard, printing and clicking with the mouse, or speaking into a microphone. The computer offers feedback, indicating whether the learner’s response is right or wrong.

10. 3.1. Contents of the Interactive Book The Interactive Book provides a course work for beginners at secondary schools, tertiary level and business people as well. The aims of the course This is a Basic Vietnamese course for foreigners who begin to study Vietnamese. This course is one year study as a major or sub-major in any degree in which the study of a language is part of the course structure. The aims of the course are to develop learners communicative competence, to equip them with strategies of language learning and to raise their socio-cultural awareness. The learners will be able to communicate in Vietnamese in a variety of situations. They will be able to understand and express themselves in Vietnamese in everyday life. The emphasis will be on communication and on what is immediately useful and usable. Therefore, the communicative language teaching approach has been applied to meet the learners' needs and is centered on those needs rather than on structures. Grammar is not emphasized in the traditional way but it is introduced when it applies to a function and practiced in a real context. The communicative functions such as greetings or getting to know people are taught from the beginning of the course.

11. Organization of the course The course consists of the text book, DVD disc and workbook. The whole text book is installed in the computer. The text book consists of 26 modules. The first two modules introduce the learners to the Vietnamese sound and writing systems. Each module is planned for 4 contact hours. After six modules, there is a revision module and a self-assessment test. At the end of the text book, there is a glossary of vocabulary as the correct answers for vocabulary list in each module. Each module is organized as follows: A. Dialogues have a clearly defined context. Learners listen to the dialogues to understand everyday conversations. While listening to the dialogues, they may follow the text as a visual support. Then they practice sentence by sentence, question by question and respond to the question as in real situation. They can record their response and get comparison with the original conversations. The pronunciation and listening comprehension exercises are reinforced through the use of sound and authentic pictures and video. B. Vocabulary sections contain any new lexical items used in the dialogues. The method to learn vocabulary is activity base that the learners have to match the column A with column B then they check their answer with the feedback of results.

12. c.Grammar focus is derived from the dialogues and is treated in isolation. The explanations and examples are designed to help learners to extend their use of Vietnamese. The program offers ways of making grammar more interesting and entertaining. There are a variety of exercises such as multiple-choice, gap-filling, re-ordering of sentences, sequencing of activities. After they completed their exercises, they can have the feedback of corrections. Practice provides the opportunity to rehearse speaking and writing Vietnamese and improve reading skill in a variety of ways in real or simulated authentic contexts. D.Practice provides the opportunity to rehearse speaking and writing Vietnamese and improve reading skill in a variety of ways in real or simulated authentic contexts.

13. 1. Oral practice: First, the learners repeat after the computer. In this way, the learners Familiarize themselves with pronunciation and sentence patterns. Second, the learners respond to the questions from the computer. They can record their response. Third, they refer to information on the charts or photos in responding to the questions. Fourth, they listen to the new passage on the computer and answer questions. This practice serve as an overall revision of what they have leant. 2. Reading practice: Learners read aloud and record the text which has been combined sentences which have used in dialogues or oral practice. Then they can compare their reading with the original text. They, then refer to the content of the text to answer questions orally or in writing. 3. Writing practice: Learners write the answers to the questions which have been practiced in orally. They can write sentences with the cues provided or with the photos or charts. They can make re-ordering of sentences or write sequencing activities.

14. Communication is at the heart of language teaching and learning. The Interactive Book provides opportunities to students to interact in real life situations. The package also provides learners with various levels of interactivity. One of the most important aspects of interactivity is that of feedback. Learners can also role play with native speakers, to record their own input, and compare it with native speakers. • The Information and communication technology (ICT) including hyper-multimedia is moving to the future that we are not sure what will be happening but we believe that any change will have an impact on the teaching and learning of languages.