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Computers and language learning: An overview

Computers and language learning: An overview. Mark Warschauer, University of Hawaii, USA Deborah Healey, University of Oregon, USA http://ww.gse.uci.edu/markw/overview.html. Four main parts of this article. A brief history of computer-assisted language learning (CALL).

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Computers and language learning: An overview

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  1. Computers and language learning: An overview Mark Warschauer, University of Hawaii, USADeborah Healey, University of Oregon, USAhttp://ww.gse.uci.edu/markw/overview.html

  2. Four main parts of this article • A brief history of computer-assisted language learning (CALL). • A survey of current practices and research • A prospectus toward the 21st century • A list of resources for further information

  3. The History of CALL • Computers have been used for language teaching since the 1960s. • The 30 years history can be roughly divided into 3 main parts: • Behaviorist CALL • Communicative CALL • Integrated CALL

  4. Behavioristic CALL • 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. • 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.

  5. Some critics of the Behavioristic Call • The drill and practice programs of the previous decade did not allow enough authentic communication to be of much value.

  6. Communicative CALL • Emerge in the late 1970s and early 1980s. • Underwood, 1984 • 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.

  7. 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 • Will never try to do anything that a book can do just well. • Communicative CALL corresponded to cognitive theories which stressed that learning was a process of discovery, expression and development.

  8. Programs for communicative CALL • There was a variety of programs to provide skill practice, but in a non-drill format. • Text reconstruction • allowed students working alone or in groups to rearrange words and texts to discover patterns of language and meanings. • Simulation • Stimulated discussion and discovery among students working in pairs or groups.

  9. The role of computer in Communicative CALL • Computer as a tutor • The process of finding the right answer involves student choice, control, and interaction. • Computer as a stimulus • Computer as a stimulus for student discussion, writing, or critical thinking. • Computer as a tool • The programs do not necessarily provide any language material at all, but rather empower the learner to use or understand language (word processors, spelling and grammar checkers, concordancers).

  10. Some critics for Communicative CALL • The computer is used in a disconnected fashion.

  11. The integrative Call • Many teachers were moving away from a cognitive view of communicative teaching to a more social or socio-cognitive view, which placed greater emphasis on language use in authentic social context. • Integrate various skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. • Integrate technology more fully into the language learning process. • Teachers as facilitators.

  12. Current Practices and Research • The benefits of adding a computer component to language instruction: • Multimodal practice with feedback • Individualization in a large class (pronounciation) • Pair and small group work on projects, either collaboratively or competitively • The fun factor • Variety in the resources available and learning styles used • Exploratory learning with large amount of language data • Real-life skill-building in computer use

  13. Research on Software-Based Learning Activities • The Internet • A tool for information and communication. • 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. • Asynchronous(not simultaneous) vs. synchronous( real-time).

  14. The new networked society • Electronic literacy • Finding, evaluating, and critically interpreting net-based information. • Effective online writing • Students need to be able to combine a variety of media—texts, images, sounds, video—without diluting the attention to language.

  15. Intelligent CALL • Speech recognition • Electronic conversation with the computerA.L.I.C.E. and AIML Chat Robot • http://www.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=f5d922d97e345aa1

  16. Conclusion

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