CALICO 1998, San Diego
New Directions–New Perspectives
July 6 – July 10, 1998
Hosted by
Language Acquisition Resource Center (LARC)
San Diego State University
Conference Presentations: Day One
July 8, 1998
10:00 – 10:45
Computer Assisted Studies–Arabic Grammar
Kiril Boyadjieff, Rashad Wanis, and Charles Cole
The Arabic Grammar Computer Assisted Studies (CAS) program offers the student an opportunity to practice and polish grammatical features and vocabulary introduced in the corresponding textbook. It is organized around the structure of the Arabic Basic Course currently used at the Defense Language Institute. The program uses available computer technology to enhance the language acquisition process in our students’ quest to achieve maximum proficiency. In addition, users can utilize the program as an independent grammar reference. This second venue can also be used for the maintenance and enhancement of previously acquired language skills. The presentation will review methodological and programming issues related to the development of grammar-oriented supplemental CAS to meet the needs of foreign language education.
Extend Your Writing Classroom by Publishing on the Web
Chad Green
Second language learners need opportunities for meaningful application of skills taught in the classroom. During a recent project inspired by a Malta Casino documentary the presenter watched, a class of 14 lower intermediate learners was encouraged to design, organize, and publish their own online newspaper. Drawing parallels between the collaborative energy of a bustling casino and the dynamic newsroom environment, the presenter motivated students to act as section editors, mirroring the structured yet creative processes seen in the documentary. Each week, learners wrote articles and submitted them to pairs of editors, who followed tailored guidelines to select pieces and provide constructive feedback for revision. This immersive, hands-on experience enabled learners to apply their acquired writing skills in an engaging and memorable way.
Teaching First-Year Spanish On-Line
Danielle Cahill
This paper will serve as a framework and model for teaching a first-year Spanish course completely on-line through an electronic messaging client/server system and CD-ROM software.
Interinstitutional Task Based Collaborative Language Learning
David Ashworth and Yoko Koike
This paper presents and discusses the implementation of a scheme for interinstitutional, task based collaborative language learning and communication supported in two areas: (1) group interaction in cyberspace and (2) individual study tools. Interinstitutional project teams were created involving: (1) socialization among all the members of a three-school group as well as socialization among members of each team, (2) group work, partly by all members collectively but mainly in teams, and (3) project presentation and evaluation. In the presentation, we will explain how technology supported each of these areas as well as individual study. We will end with a proposal for CALICO members to join in a similar project across languages, the results of which would be presented at CALICO ’99.
Human-Machine Symbiosis: Bringing It Right into the Classroom for Translation Work
Jesus Soria-Nuñez
Word processing was introduced in teacher-led Spanish Translation seminars at the University of Northumbria at Newcastle to deal with a widening student ability spectrum. Used by the lecturer, it supports a methodology aiming at integrating disenfranchised students by boosting their confidence and encouraging risk taking. Word processing techniques that aid grammatical transparency, foster participation, and increase language exposure will be demonstrated. Net effects are: improved concentration, class performance, and feedback; less anxiety about one’s own errors; permanence of whole class records–invaluable as a research corpus and as student revision material. Word processors reveal themselves as powerful natural tools in language teaching. Some knowledge of Spanish will be helpful, but not essential.
Building a Curriculum Based Intranet in the Russian Language
Jack Franke
The geometric increase in computer power and the ubiquitous availability of network connectivity are revolutionizing computing. A foreign language curriculum based on old teaching techniques may seem dull and irrelevant to the modem student. Some instruction does not make active use of new technology. The difference between passive and active use of technology is similar to the difference between watching a conversation between two native speakers and participating in the conversation. Aside from making the learning experience more interesting, a well-designed curriculum can challenge the student and encourage creativity. A user controlled exercise can have a similar effect and provide the student with an excellent environment for proficiency advances. I will discuss a curriculum for the asynchronous homework project (AHP) for the first three modules of the Russian Basic Course and for additional materials in which students perform their homework in a virtual setting.
11:00 – 11:45
Developing a Hybrid Multimedia CD-ROM: Portes Ouvertes
Christopher Jones
Portes Ouvertes is a new method for first-year French published by Holt, Rinehart. It is a fully integrated multimedia method, including a textbook, authentic video (shot in Besançon, France), and a hybrid CD-ROM incorporating 20 templates, over 200 exercises, and 3,000 pieces of media. The CD-ROM was designed and programmed in Macromedia Director by the presenter. The presentation will include a demonstration of the CD-ROM content, followed by an overview of the courseware creation process, including: media creation, digitizing and storage issues, content and pedagogical assumptions, design and interface issues, CD-ROM limitations, cross platform implications, and cost considerations.
Adding Interactivity to the Web
Gary Smith
Although World Wide Web documents have always offered interactivity through hypertext links, users’ interaction with the information presented in web documents has generally consisted only of jumps from one static document to another. However, with tools like JavaScript and Dynamic HTML, web documents can be made interactive within themselves, changing individual components on the display in response to user input. This interactivity enables instructors to create, for example, exercises that correct themselves. This presentation will discuss some of the new possibilities for interactivity and demonstrate a template developed by the presenter for creating web based fill-in-the-blanks exercises.
Autonomy for Learners in Difficulty: Self-Teaching Computer Lessons in Advanced Reading Comprehension
Isabelle Kreindler
This presentation will describe our newly initiated CALL remedial lessons for students repeatedly failing our English as a foreign language reading comprehension courses. Mostly from disadvantaged backgrounds, these students are usually overwhelmed and left behind in their regular classes. Self-pacing and self-learning computer lessons which provide constant gentle guidance and encouragement appear to be the ideal solution. The aim of such lessons is not only to have students pass the regular course exams but also to help them become more effective, sophisticated readers. In this presentation, we will outline our principles in designing the remedial CALL lessons and show how they differ from regular courseware, with illustrations from sample lessons using the WinCALIS authoring system. Though our lessons are geared for university level students, they can be adapted for other levels of instruction.
Involving your Whole Department in CALL: A Decade Later
Lathrop Johnson
Ten years ago, at the 1988 CALICO Symposium in Salt Lake City, I presented a model of faculty development with the double-edged title: “By Hook and by Crook.” The problems faced then included teaching faculty how to turn on a computer in the first place or how to begin basic word processing, as well as conceptualizing technological applications for the enhancement of learning. How do things appear now, a decade later? This presentation will discuss important changes in hardware, software, and infrastructure over the last ten years which affect faculty development in positive and also negative ways. It will also look at problem areas which have not changed since 1988 and conclude by proposing guidelines for the next decade.
Maximizing the Potential of your Course Web Site
Barbara Nelson and Jackie Tanner
This presentation will demonstrate a model for an innovative pilot web site for introductory Spanish classes using new directions in technology to enhance student participation using a traditional textbook. Pedagogical successes, failures, and challenges will be evaluated from the perspective of the student, the teacher, and the director of the Mellon Project. Examples of on-line journals, class albums, interactive grammar exercises with feedback, and internet activities to stimulate creative communication will be shown.
2:30 – 3:15
Teaching Phonetics and Vocabulary with “Le Visuel”
Charles Dockery
“Le Visuel” is a dual-platform, multimedia dictionary of 3,500 illustrations and 25,000 words pronounced in English, French, and Spanish contained on a single CD-ROM. I will demonstrate how this software can be used as an electronic textbook in a course which focuses on phonetics, translation, and/or contrastive analysis. I am presently using “Le Visuel” in a third-year course entitled “French Phonetics and Translation.” Each student has his/her own CD-ROM. I have devised exercises for in-lab and out-of-class exercises. Although I am using this software to teach French, it is perfectly adaptable to providing instruction in Spanish or English as a Second Language.
Learners Create Collaborative Multimedia Presentations
Dvora Ben Meir
The presenter will demonstrate a multimedia project for English as a Foreign Language and English as a Second Language intermediate learners developed by Israel Educational Television. The goal of the project is to enable mixed ability groups to produce interactive multimedia presentations. The program provides content based tasks, sample types of presentations, a data library with text, picture, video and sound banks, a friendly graphic authoring system, and templates for the input of data. Learners view and choose sample presentations, do research, and prepare presentations in the Production Studio. The presenter will report on the research and future plans to use the program on the Internet.
Collaboration on Digital Interactive Software Templates
Jacqueline Kaminski
This demonstration addresses materials created collaboratively by faculty and the Modern Languages Computing Specialist for use in second language instruction at Wabash College, a small liberal arts college located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The software templates and details of the evolution patterns and pedagogical foundations/concerns will be discussed in the presentation. This collaboration was necessitated by the decision of Wabash faculty to create a custom digital language lab, rather than use a traditional console lab. Faculty, staff, and students worked collaboratively and successfully, using HyperCard and Authorware, to create, modify, and utilize custom multimedia templates which address oral/aural skills.
From CD-ROM to the World Wide Web: Coming Full Circle
Jack Burston
This paper describes the challenges faced and solutions adopted in producing a multimedia web-managed CD-ROM program, Les Variétés de Français-WWW. While conversion of the original CD-ROM application to full web functionality offered the promise of extended computer platform compatibility and centralized network delivery, it also had to confront the intrinsic limitations of web-based delivery systems. To exploit the networked distributional potential of the World Wide Web while at the same time maintaining sophisticated programming capability and a rich, immediately accessible, multimedia environment, the approach taken in the development of Les Variétés de Français-WWW is to wed the technologies through the creation of a web managed CD-ROM program.
3:30 – 4:15
Fundamental Internet Literacy Management (FILM)
Heidi Shetzer and Leslie Hammersmith
This presentation will discuss the idea of teaching basic, intermediate, and advanced Internet literacy skills to teachers and students. The presenters will first define and describe their framework, Fundamental Internet Literacy Management (FILM). Second, they will discuss how FILM applies to instructor professional development and training. Third, the presenters will discuss how teachers might integrate FILM into the design, implementation, and evaluation of computer assisted language learning courses.
Feedback in Pronunciation Programs
Zheng-Sheng Zhang
In most CALL programs, feedback has not been very helpful, due to the lack of linguistic and pedagogical sophistication. Based on simplistic matching, learner input is judged according to the total identity or non-identity of the answer. While simple to implement, this kind of feedback can be misleading, discouraging, and unhelpful, the degree of negative effect/affect being directly proportional to the complexity of test items. This paper demonstrates that while still using the simple matching algorithm, the use of linguistic analysis can be employed to enable detailed error analysis, which in turn can provide more helpful and intelligent feedback.
Multimedia Courseware Development: From Faculty Training to Integration of Homemade Software in Syllabi
John Pearce and Lubov Iskold
The presenters will describe a three-year project to train faculty in authoring multimedia software for use in foreign language teaching and learning. The project took place at Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA, 1995-97, with the support of a grant from the Mellon Foundation. All full time faculty in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures participated in design and development of interactive, multimedia courseware. As a result of this team effort, 22 new software titles now enrich the language learning resources in six languages: French, German, Italian, Latin, Russian and Spanish. Integration of the software into syllabi and qualitative and quantitative assessment of the project’s effectiveness began in fall 1997. The presenters will discuss in detail all stages of the project.
The Art and Science of Captioning Authentic Video
Helen Guillory and A. Allen Rowe
This presentation discusses options for titling authentic video in second language instruction, with an emphasis on the benefits of second language titling. Listening and reading strategies, as well as video context, define the task of video viewing that second language learners face. In authentic video, neither the rate of speech nor the vocabulary level of the material is adjusted, so that if comprehension of the linguistic message is the goal, the choice of the amount of text, (i.e., subtitles or verbatim rendering of the script), as well as language, is important. Captions should always be optional for optimum learner control. The presentation includes examples of video titling.
Network Computing: Is It a Viable Alternative for CALL?
Timothy Pope
Using live demonstrations from the Web, I will illustrate the way in which the University of Lethbridge has initiated a move away from IBM- or Mac-specific computing to network based computing using Java Stations and Java capable browsers. Network computing is a new paradigm that allows software interfaces and hardware platforms to be greatly simplified and standardized. While conversion to network computing demands much creative and original programming, the basic needs of foreign language instruction are few and can already be met by the new breed of Java-powered word processors, dictionaries, and multimedia exercise authoring systems.
4:30 – 5:15
Software for Testing Oral Language Skills
Jerry Larson and Kim Smith
The presenters will describe and demonstrate the use of software developed at Brigham Young University for testing oral language skills. The software includes modules for creating, administering, and evaluating oral tests. The oral testing software has been designed to operate on individual or networked computer stations and incorporates a variety of response elicitation prompts, including audio, graphics, animations, and full motion video. As part of the presentation, the presenters will demonstrate how each of the software modules functions and will discuss the software’s potential application in university foreign- and second-language programs.
“So We’re Surfing the Net. ¿Y qué?” Integrating Web Portfolios in a Second-Year Spanish Course
William Childers
Use of the World Wide Web in language teaching requires a structure which gives coherence to the sheer volume of material without sacrificing the richness which makes it so attractive in the first place. In the model being developed for second-year Spanish at Southwestern University, students create web sites on different countries. They gather information on their country and share it with the class through oral presentations on cultural topics and news items and an end-of-semester ‘open house.’ In effect, each student becomes the ‘ambassador’ to the class from another country, and each has some new knowledge to impart to the others.
Multimedia Approach to Language Learning through the Internet
W. Mary Kim and Herbert Chang
The application of internet and HTML technology, in conjunction with other software such as Oshaberi-mate or Speech-mate, Reader, and ToolBook has revolutionized the learning of Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese at the Foreign Service for learners of all levels and aptitudes. Multimedia applications for reinforcing listening, reading, and grammar comprehension skills will be described and illustrated. The Korean Section is currently developing multimedia courseware using HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and Toolbook technologies. Lessons have been developed through the creation of multimedia HTML files for the World Wide Web. The Korean lessons are situation based and focus on functional language skills. The details of the course objectives, design, lesson contents (e.g., dialogues and exercises), and fonts will be discussed and illustrated for all three languages.
The Effectiveness of CALL in Grammar Teaching: An Evaluation Using Error Analysis
Christopher Hall
A quirk of modularisation divided first-year students of German at Leicester University into two groups. The students have identical entry requirements, they follow the same German language programme and sit the same end-of-year examination. The only difference is that approximately one half attend a regular CALL class and the other half does not. Over a period of three years, data were collected on these students, and the written German produced in the end-of-year examinations has been subjected to a detailed error analysis. That analysis concentrated on four points of German grammar which receive substantial treatment in the CALL exercises. The results show the extent to which the CALL exercises have helped in the learning of German grammar.
Conference Presentations: Day Two
July 9, 1998
8:00 – 8:45
Digitized (MPEG) Video with the Foreign Language TroubleShooters on a CD-ROM
Jay F. Bodine
This presentation focuses on the demonstration of a CD-ROM with digitized video and the German TroubleShooters. The program allows student interaction with the video and the video script according to the design of the individual courseware author. The program then leads students through the appropriate text based exercises of the course, which the author can readily create. The program compares student responses to the correct answers (according to word order and characters, with particular attention to accents, umlauts, etc.) and guides students to correct only those aspects of their response that are wrong. Authors can capture video clips with digitizing hardware/software packages and incorporate the clips into courseware with the TroubleShooters authoring system or with other graphics authoring systems.
Creating Intonation Lessons With SpeechLab Authoring Tool
Carolyn Fidelman
The SpeechLab Authoring Tool for the Macintosh enables teachers to create lessons in intonation for any language. Students hear a digital recording of native speech or see it via a connected videodisc player, see its graphic representation, and record their own voice for analysis and playback comparison.
Professional Development using Technology and Teacher Research
Ingrid Greenberg
Participants are introduced to the Online Action Research (OAR) Project, a national teacher research network and on-line database containing reports of teacher research projects. The presenter will discuss the benefits, successful practices, and challenges of using technology to implement teacher research projects.
The Role of Faculty Involvement in the Development of CALL Materials
Sheryl Coleman and Maurizio Oliva
This paper seeks to examine the role of faculty as they work with technical specialists to use emerging technologies for the instruction of foreign languages. Using the institutions of the Five Colleges of Ohio Consortium Foreign Language Technology Project (funded by a grant from the Mellon Foundation) as a case study, the following issues will be discussed: (1) how involved must faculty be with technology? (2) should the role of faculty be only one of “content-provider?” (3) how do we encourage more faculty to become involved? (4) how are faculty to be recognized/rewarded for their contributions? (5) how do instructors combine the virtual classroom with the face-to-face one?
Taking New Directions on the Multimedia Highway
Marjorie Hall Haley and Kelly Luton
As foreign language teachers we must be able to design learning opportunities for students who are continuously surrounded by today’s multimedia technologies. The use of hypermedia for instructional purposes easily supports integration of a variety of media (text, sounds, graphics, animation and video) in a single learning activity. Hypermedia provides several advantages for language learning and instruction. The variety of media makes it natural to combine all four modalities (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) to be accessed at one time (Warschauer, 1996). Hypermedia authoring programs allow considerable flexibility for the teacher to create and customize activities using one’s own materials to best fit daily lesson plans, while addressing the needs of multiple learning styles. Multimedia technology can play a major role in language learning and instruction, provided that essential training, guidance, and support are given to teachers.
Simulated Conversations in Learn To Speak? The Wave Of The Future
Linda Leppig, Carine Peelaers, and Chauncey J. Mellor
We will demonstrate and provide hands-on practice with “Learn To Speak 7.0,” featuring The Learning Company’s newest computer software for practicing and assessing conversational skills with speech recognition and branching conversations. The conversations allow learners to answer according to their level of linguistic competence, to influence the course of a conversation by their answers, and to explore the many possible different outcomes. A carefully calibrated system of hints and pre-programmed responses make the simulated conversations an engaging and effective practice tool regardless of a learner’s level.
9:00 – 9:45
On Demand Generation of Individualised Language Learning Materials across the Internet
Andrew Lian
In a recent paper, A-P. Lian and A. B. Lian described a computer based environment for supporting exploration-driven, autonomous and individualised foreign/second language learning. This study argues for reducing the status given to the classroom as a place for collective, synchronised, and privileged learning in favour of the development of an environment which makes a genuine place for the differences between people and their unpredictable demands by accommodating their real needs. The present paper describes an attempt to implement the above environment which will be required not only to provide access to personally relevant authentic text, information, and “help” systems but also to generate exercises and other forms of learning materials. The paper will conclude with the demonstration of a proof-of-concept version of the system illustrating: (a) the selection of material for study from a database of authentic audiovisual resources, (b) the generation of learning materials, and (c) the distribution of these materials across the Internet.
Accent Reduction Via Acoustic Analysis
Garry Molholt
This demonstration will provide explanations of video taped examples of nonnative English speakers improving their accents through the use of bio-feedback provided by a Kay Elemetrics Visi-Pitch II 3300TM. Since recent enhancements of the technology allow almost real time displays of pitch and intensity, vowel frequencies, and spectrograms, all with immediate playback capabilities and split screen displays, teachers are able to communicate clearly and easily with students regarding patterns which detract from comprehensibility. The demonstration will include suggestions for working with students and integrating accent reduction with other topics such as language structure.
Expanding Teaching and Learning Opportunities through Technology
Lisa Frumkes
Technology can allow students to choose when, where, and what they learn, instead of forcing them into the teaching schedules, locations, and paradigms which are the norm today. If students are allowed to take independent study courses with instruction which meets their particular needs. At the same time, faculty members can teach courses in their specialties, since they now have the opportunity to teach students at institutions other than their own. This paper will examine these ideas and propose some strategies for implementing them.
Using Speech Recognition in CALL
Farzad Ehsani, Jim Meador, Kathleen Egan, and Steve Stokowski
While the use of speech recognition in computer aided language education has steadily increased, few systematic studies of recognition as well as the pedagogical design of these systems have been undertaken. This presentation describes our latest development of Subarashii, a system that uses speech recognition to offer computer based exercises in Japanese. Building the original system identified strengths and limitations of ASR technology and showed us some novel methods in the development of additional material. Based on our experience and testing of the system, we discuss the improvements as well as the results that we obtained in the field.
Learning How To Learn With Technology
Helen Ulitsky and Carla Meskill
Research in the use of technologies strongly indicates that students who possess and exercise effective learning strategies benefit most from independent on-line language learning. This multimedia based study involved a longitudinal self-reporting/self-access approach. Participants in this language learning experience, namely learners of Spanish at various levels of proficiency, kept detailed accounts of the language learning strategies they used. The optimal strategies learners employed and the patterns of their strategies use will be presented. Implications for integrating strategies training in language learning will be discussed.
10:00 – 10:45
A Computer Based Reading Program for Studying Vocabulary Growth in Advanced L2 Learners of Spanish
Adam Karp
The purpose of this presentation is twofold. The first is to provide a rationale for studying the effects that lexical input modifications (e.g., textual glosses, multiple-choice glosses, multimedia cues, and computer-mediated tasks), which involve varying degrees of cognitive processing and interaction, have on the growth of L2 vocabulary knowledge through reading. The second is to demonstrate a computer based reading program for advanced Spanish students designed to moderate learners’ access to these four types of input modifications. Preliminary results of its implementation will be discussed, as well as implications for curricular design.
Presentation of a Sixteenth-Century Text: Cabeza de Vaca
James Champion
There is no available facsimile edition of Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca’s Relación. This chronicle of his travels in America, especially the southwestern United States, was published in Spain in the mid-sixteenth century, an important period in the history of the Spanish language. The presenter will discuss and demonstrate a hyperactive facsimile edition of this text. This project involves digitization of the page photographs, preparation of a hyperactive transcription, and design of a presentation program in Libra.
Language Learning on the Internet with WebCALIS
Satsuki Scoville
The Computer Assisted Language Instruction System for the Web (WebCALIS) is a Java applet that brings intelligent language learning to all computer platforms and to all locations. Scripts may be in virtually any language of the world and may contain multimedia sources. Using WebCALIS, students can easily access language scripts, produce actual language input, and receive solid response analysis and feedback based on that input. The presenter will demonstrate sample scripts, discuss options for script origination and script distribution, and describe the Java WebCALIS development process.
Cultural Dimensions of Computer Assisted Language Learning
John Brine and Marcia Johnson
This paper will discuss, for a general audience, the characteristics of computer-mediated communications in view of the cultural context of Japanese learners of English as a Foreign Language.
Learner Interaction in Technology-Enhanced Language Learning Environments: A Case Study
Lara Lomicka and Travis Bradley
This study explores student perceptions of and experiences with technology in the computer assisted language learning environment. We followed four undergraduate students, two in French and two in Spanish, at a large research oriented university over a period of four months. The questions guiding this study are: (1) How do students perceive their experiences with technology? (2) What types of activities do students engage in while in the technology enhanced environment? (3) How do students interact with each other and with computers in foreign language environments? Patterns emerging from data collected via observations and interviews will be discussed.
Web Based Dynamic Reference System for English as a Foreign Language Learners
Masatoshi Sugiura
The purpose of this presentation is to illustrate a web based dynamic reference system for learners of English as a Foreign Language. This reference system consists of a dictionary component and a corpus component. Both the dictionary and the corpus are based on the research done at Nagoya University using the Internet. The system is provided on a web server, and the dictionary and the corpus are dynamically linked together. EFL learners can look up words and sample sentences interactively. This system not only assists EFL learners to write their composition but also to enhance their productive skills through the inductive acquisition of word usage.
1:30 – 2:15
Taking Annotated Reading One Step Further: Developing Literary Analysis Skills through Interactive Multimedia
Virginia Lewis, Glenda Carl, and Edward Dixon
The benefit of annotated multimedia for reading comprehension is largely known, and annotated readings for cultural pieces and short stories are becoming fairly common in first- and second-level language classes. Authoring packages such as Libra have made creation of multimedia tools possible for the faculty member with much less demand on time and technical expertise than in the recent past. One area which has received somewhat less attention is how these tools can be modified and expanded to develop students’ skills in analysis of literary texts. The presenters will demonstrate the use of customized Libra templates for developing multimedia-annotated texts, both as aids to reading comprehension and to literary analysis, and will the discuss a Libra based class project undertaken by an upper-level French literature class at Southwestern University and for German Studies at Georgetown University.
Nihongo Partner: Interactive Multimedia Program You Can Customize For Your Oral Communication Class
Masashi Kato
Role-playing based on model dialogues is a very effective activity for teaching communicative skills, if properly performed. Nihongo Partner (NP), a computer based interactive multimedia program developed at University of Washington, enables students to master model dialogues effortlessly and to perform them properly in real situations. NP contains a library of QuickTime short video segments which focus on a specific task or situation and an interface which helps learners practice the dialogues presented in those video segments. Instructors can easily integrate their original video segments into NP’s standard library using NP Author if segments already included in the library are not suitable for their purposes.
Are We on the Right Path to Reach our Long-Term Goals?
Nina Garrett
Most CALL projects focus on materials development and/or faculty development, meaning teaching faculty the capabilities for materials development for specific skills, specific courses, specific languages. We can claim that this approach is the necessary basis for curriculum development leading to significant improvements in language education–surely our long-range goal–but I will argue that it is far from a sufficient basis. CALL is no longer a lone-ranger enterprise; we need to consider new directions and new paradigms for curriculum development in CALL from the beginning of any initiative in materials or faculty development.
New Directions in Grammar Presentation and Testing: Internet Practice and Intranet Exams
Sanford Schane and Ezra VanEverbroeck
The Language Laboratory at the University of California, San Diego, has created a secure web site that enables students to use the Internet to take computerized grammar exercises and midterm exams and to look up course grades. The same site offers instructors a computerized grade book for the various sections they teach. The presenters will demonstrate, using a “live” Internet connection, the various components of this web site. They will discuss both the academic considerations and technical issues involved in the creation of such a site: curriculum design, student privacy, site security, intranet monitoring, staffing and maintenance, and problems of programming.
Designing a CD-ROM Interface: Nuevos Destinos for Accelerated or Intermediate Spanish
Robert Blake
Nuevos Destinos, a new CD-ROM for accelerated or intermediate Spanish instruction, will be demonstrated with an eye to explaining the criteria for its interface design. Students enter the program as a law clerk in Raquel Rodriguez’ office and must complete a series of real world legal tasks in order to help solve the Castillo family’s legal troubles. The underlying pedagogy of the task based activities will be discussed. Nuevos Destinos is a cross-platform CD-ROM program that highlights listening comprehension, reading comprehension, and writing.
2:30 – 3:15
Teaching Culture with Technology: Boundaries and Limitations
Franziska Lys
The presenter will show an array of exercise exercises (from CD-ROM applications to Web based technologies) for teaching culture and language and discuss their learning objectives. She will consider which types of activities lend themselves best to computer applications. The presenter will use two language documentaries: AZUBI (Three apprentices in Berlin) and Drehort: Bern, Gesichter einer Stadt ‘On Location in Berne, Faces of a City’–a new documentary about the lives of six Swiss citizens as examples.
Pro-Nunciation English Language Communication Toolkit
George Erdos
This presentation will focus on the Pro-Nunciation English Communication Toolkit which contains a full phonetic word finder, searchable databases organized by sound and written words, concise definitions plus idiomatic usage in a 20,000-word dictionary which can be additionally extended by the user, audio help in over 20 major languages, British and American pronunciation patterns, a see-hear-say system, 3-D phonetic animations, and pronunciation practice for specific speech problems. The presenter will describe how the system enables any student to learn to pronounce and enunciate English. Starting from the basic phonemes, students can literally build their own words. They can also record their own voice and compare their pronunciation with the standard form.
Hypertext and L2 Reading Comprehension
Suzanne Hoffman
Results of a study conducted at a mid-size, southern university to investigate the effect of hypertext on the reading comprehension of intermediate-level college students in a German class revealed the following: (1) reading comprehension of beginning L2 German readers was greater for those using hypertext, (2) word recognition is the most common source of L2 readers’ reading comprehension errors in German, (3) more proficient L2 readers invoke a top-down approach, and (4) hypertext may enhance motivation for beginning L2 German readers because it makes text more accessible and helps avoid confusion and misinterpretation on the part of the reader.
DVD for Language Learning
Michael Bush
DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) has the potential to reach levels of implementation in language learning never reached by interactive videodisc and CD-based interactive video systems. This presentation will focus on the results of a research project that has been investigating the potential of this new technology for language learning and teaching. In addition to presenting the strengths of DVD, this presentation will clarify some of the differences that must be taken into account for materials development. The speaker will show examples of how DVD can be used for language learning and discuss issues of implementation, pedagogical as well as practical.
Criteria in the Assessment and Advancement of Learning Technologies
Kathleen Egan and Irene Thompson
This presentation will focus on the results of a US Government funded project at the University of Hawaii proposing criteria drawn from an interdisciplinary perspective in the assessment and development of foreign language learning technologies.
3:30 – 4:15
Working Toward Interactive Chinese Language Teaching: A Sample of Multimedia Chinese Courses
De Bao Xu and Hong Gang Jin
With the rapid development of technology in multimedia in recent year, a great deal of research has shown that multimedia, if well designed, can model and imitate interactive, complex behavior in the human system (Gardner 1985; McCarthy 1981) and therefore can be a dynamic and flexible tool to promote language learning in a interactive context. Such findings have presented new challenges to language teachers in rethinking their teaching methodology and in restructuring their language curriculum. In our paper, we will first discuss the importance of incorporating multimedia into Chinese language curricula and the definition of multimedia approach to language teaching in general. Subsequently, we will demonstrate a series of multimedia lessons designed for beginning, intermediate, and advanced students.
Animation in CALL: Learning to Think in the Fourth Dimension
Paul Sundberg
Instructional designers in CALL are often enculturated by years of schooling to conceive of material presentation in static, text-centric ways. Even when using multimedia applications, we still think in inanimate media metaphors: the textbook, the encyclopedia, the slide show. Yet, as language professionals, we know that much of language reflects changing reality: actions and changes of state. This presentation contrasts examples of static and dynamic CALL presentation, briefly surveys human perceptual reality–static and dynamic–embodied in parts of speech and language propositions, and offers a psycholinguistic and cognitive theoretical basis for what role animation might play in CALL design.
Constructivism and the Design of a Web Based Hypermedia Spanish Phonetics/Phonology Course for Distance Learning
Fenfang Hwu
This paper describes the design of a Web based Spanish phonetics/phonology distance learning course which takes into account the constructivist view on learning theory and its implications for instruction and instructional design. It also takes into account the nature of the content, student’s background such as language proficiency and career plans, and technological feasibility and compatibility. The goal is to take full advantage of the rich information presentation formats and communication methods on the World Wide Web in order to offer distance learners rich contexts to experience and construct the principles and rules of the subject matter.
The Cognitive Benefits of Grammar Slide Shows for Foreign Language Learners
Karina Collentine, and Joseph Collentine
The foreign language curriculum is increasingly informed by our understanding of the cognition of language processing, such as the crucial role that auditory and visual stimuli as well as metacognitive strategies play in the acquisition process (see Cowan, 1988; Oxford, 1990). The presenters propose that grammar explanations known as slide shows (computer based explanations in the form of Director pieces, HTML documents supported by JavaScript, and Java applets through which students navigate screen by screen) engage learners in a wider variety of cognitive processes and metacognitive strategies than do text based explanations. We also present the results of a study comparing the types of metacognitive strategies that learners utilize in both slide show and text based grammar explanations.
CALL Syllabus Design for the Context and the Medium
Marcia Johnson and John Brine
This paper will discuss a practical skills continuum developed as part of university-level English as a Foreign Language computer mediated writing courses in Japan. The paper focuses on the knowledge and skills that students require as language learners and as computer users. The presentation will be of interest to a general audience of language teachers and curriculum developers.
4:30 – 5:15
WWKanji for Japanese Language Learning
Saeko Komori, Miki Ueda, and Masatoshi Sugiura
The revised version of WWKanji for Japanese language learning will be demonstrated. WWKanji is a Java based program which can be used on any platform by any user on the Internet. The program can provide data on 1000 kanji including “on” and “kun” readings, “jukugo” (compound words) with sound, stroke number, and stroke order information. One of the characteristics of the program is to show the stroke order of each kanji through a digitized movie next to which learners can practice writing. The presenters will explain the newly added handwriting recognition and evaluation features of WWKanji and discuss feedback from learners who have used the program.
The Effects of a Traditional and a Computerized German Workbook on Student Study Strategies, Attitudes, Achievement, and Retention Scores
Jay Kunz
Although much hard work and pedagogical prowess go into the development of traditional and computerized foreign language materials, very little is known about how foreign language students actually make use of these materials and why. This presentation describes a study of how 100 beginning-level German students used a traditional workbook and a computerized version of the workbook developed by the author, “Deutsch zusammen Computerized Lernheft.” Results provide new insights into the use and benefits of both traditional and computerized materials for foreign language instruction. Such information can be valuable to materials developers, publishers, teachers, students, and researchers.
Using Web Links to Mark Student Papers in Distance Learning
Glenn Broadhead
In distance learning, paper marking is difficult. In this alternative to commercial systems, a student writes a paper in Microsoft Word, converts it to HTML with a keystroke, and e-mails it to the instructor as an attachment. To mark problems in development, cohesion, style, and usage, the instructor drags over a passage with one hand and, with the other, activates keyboard macros that insert links to on-line instructional files. Receiving the marked file by e-mail (which may contain additional comments), the student views the file with a web browser. Clicking on a color-coded passage opens relevant instructional material in a separate file.
New Developments in Multimedia for Learners of Spanish
Ana Maria Gimeno-Sanz
The author will report on issues which relate to the acquisition of Spanish as a foreign language through multimedia courseware. She will base her discussion on the development, use, and evaluation of the recently published “CAMILLE: español en marcha,” a flexible, student-centred multimedia course developed at the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia within the European Union funded Computer Assisted Multimedia Language Learning Environment project (CAMILLE). The author will discuss how learning technology is forcing teaching strategies to change and how technology is moving faster than methodology with concomitant consequences on language acquisition. The author will also discuss issues relating to the combination of CD-ROM based learning materials and World Wide Web based activities which provide complementary learning activities for distance learners in search of ways of adapting innovative learning strategies to the new media.
Teaching Writing with Computers: A Study of Three English as a Second Language Teachers
Yousef Almozaini
This paper reports the results of multiple case studies that explore how CALL teachers use computers to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) writing. Through qualitative methods, three CALL teachers were observed, interviewed, and videotaped to examine their use of computers. This study examined computer assisted writing instruction in ESL contexts from teachers’ perspectives. It sought to explore teachers’ use of computers in relation to pedagogy, technology, classroom management, and how these factors interrelate to each other and influence teachers’ practices. It also considered the role of CALL and second language writing (SLW) theories, teachers’ beliefs, and contextual factors.
Flexible Model For Computer Based Language Placement
Karen Schairer
With our Authorware based Placement Exam Template, instructors develop exams in any language font supported by SimpleText. The completed prototype is in Spanish with samples available in French, German, Navajo, Russian, and Japanese. An outgrowth of the need for efficient placement of large numbers of students with prior Spanish but no university credits, the computer version is superior to our in-house, hard copy version in terms of ease of modification, comprehension testing, and data collection. In addition, it offers random selection among four variants for each item and allows students to see their answers in context before accepting or rejecting them.
Conference Presentations: Day Three
July 10, 1998
8:00 – 8:45
The Performance of a National Language Processing Based ICALI Program in Tutoring Japanese Connectives
Masato Kikuchi
This paper discusses Natural Language Processing based design features and their instructional performances in an ICALI program to teach a range of grammar that is very difficult to capture with rules such as the proper use of Japanese conditional connectives. One would expect that a computer program is vastly inferior to a human instructor because a computer mechanism is too deficient to ‘understand’ such complex linguistic phenomena. A computer program with Natural Language Processing capabilities specialized to handle Japanese connectives was created and tested. In controlled experiments, the program demonstrated instructional behaviors sensitive to the semantic and grammatical errors involving Japanese connectives.
A French Vocabulary Tutor For The Web
Gilles Labrie
This presentation describes a project to develop a small French vocabulary tutor for the World Wide Web. The tutor includes words, pictures, and sounds to help students learn new words and their pronunciation. It is modeled after visual dictionaries that have words linked to the pictures, but it additionally associates sounds with written words and pictures. The presentation will highlight the design and salient features of the tutor, which uses HTML, JavaScript and Java.
Technology and the Second Language Classroom
Gary Young
The Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers (CASLT) recently applied for funding through the Federal Department of Canadian Heritage for a long term project dealing with ways to better integrate technology into the learning and teaching of second languages. The presenter will outline a brief history of the project, followed by details and, where appropriate, demonstration of the four principal components: (1) a Train the Trainer model, (2) the selection of a national Design Team, (3) the development of a package of specific teacher support materials, and (4) an initial training session.
Authoring a Hypertext Information System on German ‘Landeskunde’
Rainer Kussler
The paper reports on the experience of designing and producing a hypertext application, called “Landeskunde PC,” which has just been published. The programme is intended to provide students of German as a foreign language with a versatile and user-friendly tool to obtain socio-cultural information on present day Germany. The project was commissioned by INTERNATIONES, a German parastatal, specialising in the production of educational materials which are provided free of charge to learners and teachers of German outside Germany. The basic considerations for establishing and organising the content of the programme are outlined and its main functions and design principles are explained and demonstrated.
9:00 – 9:45
Technology Enhanced Learning and Communication: Building a Second Language Learning Community
Karen Smith, Alice Korosy, and Lisa Nalbone
This presentation will examine the tools required for providing students with opportunities to gain a knowledge base in a second language and culture, to apply their skills in learning and communication activities, and to build a relationship with peers as well as with members of the target language community. We will examine and discuss a process for guiding Spanish skill development that links face-to-face as well as on-line learning environments to form a language learning community. The presentation will address techniques for (1) assessing performance and proficiency, (2) guiding face-to-face as well as on-line learning, and (3) organizing and managing information and communication.
Interactive Multimedia for Commercial Spanish
L. Kirk Hagen
The software we will demonstrate, “Spanish for Business Professionals,” (“SBP”) is an integrated multimedia intelligent tutoring system for students of Spanish, with special emphasis on the needs of students with business-related interests. SBP is in development under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s International Research and Studies program. Its components include (1) a three-semester multimedia Spanish curriculum, (2) an interactive bilingual dictionary, (3) a grammar reference, and (4) interactive exercises. The most innovative component of the project is the interactive writing tutorial, which is built on a unification based natural language parser. This parser supports machine based evaluation of open-ended writing samples in Spanish.
Developing Bilingual Software in High School
Marcel Matte and Edwin Janz
This session will focus on aspects of integrating second language instruction with the development of software by secondary students. Students at River East Collegiate have developed a bilingual interactive CD-ROM on safety using Director which is being distributed throughout Canada and has attracted international attention. Discussion will include topics such as feasibility of developing products in high school classes, the integration of disciplines, the benefits of real world experiences, the benefits of government/business partnerships, the funding possibilities for language programs, and the potential benefit for language students.
Enhancing Screen Reading Strategies
Sara Kol and Miriam Schcolnik
To enhance screen reading, essential facilitating strategies must be identified. In a pilot study, we found that students who were not experienced computer users could neither scan nor skim texts effectively on screen. For the current study, we taught students to use the on-line dictionary, on-line highlighter, Find feature and hypertext links of the word processor. Following practice, we expected students to scan better from screen and also skim and close-read equally as well as they do on paper. In our presentation we will describe the research and report on the results.
Content + Technology = Learning X 2
Catherine Barrette
This paper describes the computer literacy of a group of 40 university Spanish students prior to their undertaking any computer related activities in their Spanish classes. Students then completed activities designed to train and engage them in the use of computers in order to broaden their exposure to the Spanish language and Hispanic cultures. The resulting changes in the students’ technical skills on the computer were analyzed. Analysis of the data suggests that students are able to acquire technical skills while focusing on other content materials, but that we, as instructors, must carefully review our assumptions about computer literacy.
10:00 – 10:45
On-Line Testing and Placement: A New Way of Assessing Students’ Language Skills
Janine Spencer and Franziska Lys
The presenters will discuss the on-line French, German, and Spanish placement tests developed at Northwestern University, the procedure developed to administer the test, test security, and the dissemination of the test results. They will show that the web is an effective medium for testing language proficiency because it allows for the incorporation of text, sound, and video. The presenters will share results of a survey of students’ attitudes and show that students are very enthusiastic about this type of testing since it reduces their anxiety level when taking the test and allows for early contact and advising.
Comparison of Face-to-Face Oral Proficiency Interview Ratings with Interview Ratings Obtained Through Distance Modalities
Donald Fischer
From July to September 1997, the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) conducted oral proficiency testing using students of Russian and Arabic to compare face-to-face interview results with results obtained through desktop teleconferencing, telephone, and tape-mediated interviews. Initial results with advanced Russian speakers showed a very high correlation in ratings achieved through face-to-face and telephonic interviews, demonstrating–at least initially–that the telephone is a valid instrument to use for oral proficiency testing. The presentation will describe the complete results of the study including desktop teleconferencing and tape mediated interview results.
Developing an Open System for Data Gathering in Language Technology Evaluation
Maurizio Oliva and Sheryl Coleman
This paper describes the issues involved in the development of an on-line open system geared to evaluate the impact of web instructional material on language acquisition and learning. The system is based on a dynamically generated instrument delivered though a web form. The system seeks to generate data from the largest possible sample, elaborate them, and make them available on the Web. The data are generated locally and elaborated by a central server. The data pertain to self-assessed student proficiency and to the use of web technology in the classroom. The instrument seeks to correlate proficiency and technology.
11:00 – 11:45
Developing Reading and Writing Appraisal Prototypes for Internet Delivery
Ingrid Greenberg
The CASAS Distance Assessment Project developed a reading/writing appraisal prototype for Internet delivery. Assessment and technology issues to be discussed, which are applicable to all levels of instruction, will include benefits and limitations of Internet delivery, test administration settings, hardware and software requirements, scoring and reporting.
Japanese Reading Exercises in Java
Noriko Nagata
The development of the Java computer language promises to overcome the problem of software portability by allowing anyone with World Wide Web access to run a single program. This paper describes the development and implementation of a new Japanese courseware program, BANZAI READINGS, written in Java and HTML. The program is equipped with a simple authoring system which will allow instructors unfamiliar with Java to produce their own reading exercises. This kind of courseware can provide an effective and readily available replacement for conventional, written workbook reading assignments, with applications to distance learning.
New Directions on the Web: JavaScript and the Foreign Language Class
Sonja Moore
Two years ago, the presenter demonstrated examples of how the World Wide Web had been successfully integrated into an elementary-level French class. Since then, the Web has evolved and the Web component of the class has been expanded to include interactive, JavaScripted, self-correcting ‘quizzes’ which exploit the multimedia capabilities of the Web and which therefore appeal to various learners. The presenter will discuss needs assessment, student performance, and how these ‘quizzes’ were designed. Additionally, the results of a study on the effects of such Web activities on the learning of culture, compared to more traditional sections of elementary French, will be shared.
DVD: New Format, New Opportunities for Language Learning and Teaching
Alice Slaton and Claire Saint-Léon
This presentation will introduce the Digital Video Disc (DVD), its main features, and the hardware and software needed for language acquisition in English, Spanish, and French. DVD as a standard, its advantages, and its limitations will be discussed. Programmability and compatibility issues will be addressed. Language examples using the movie The Pelican Brief DVD will be shown in English, Spanish and French. Finally, the presenters hope that the language learning and teaching community will share their excitement and their vision as to the tremendous potential of this new format for language acquisition.
Individual Versus Classroom Use of Interactive Multimedia for L2 Learning
Lara Mangiafico
What is the best environment for Interactive Multimedia (IMM) use in the L2 classroom? In this session, the presenter will share the results of two studies in which the listening comprehension of students of French was compared before and after using an IMM program. Some students used the program individually, while other students used the program in a group. Conclusions about which behaviors lead to more effective learning will be presented. In light of these conclusions, the presenter will make and solicit suggestions for development of future IMM programs.
1:30 – 2:15
Intermediate On-Line Spanish Through the Internet
Gustave Stresen-Reuter and Laura Díaz
The Internet offers all teachers a unique opportunity to reach a wider, more diverse audience. However, it also offers distinct benefits to language teachers that until now have been impossible, or prohibitively expensive, to realize. In this demonstration, we will show teachers how they can categorize web sites and, based on these categorizations, work them into on-line activities that can be carried out completely on-line. The presentation includes introduction to the types of web sites and general review of on-line instruction, demonstrations of three on-line activities, handouts of typical web site categories and their addresses, and post demonstration discussion.
Towards a Generic In-Depth Structure for CALL Contents
Jozef Colpaert
DIDASCALIA is currently elaborating a generic model for content structuring aimed at increasing reusability of contents. This in-depth structure as a didactic-linguistic model should show how contents can be subdivided, linked, and tagged with functional properties in the most efficient way on all linguistic levels. As a generic model it should be as independent as possible of any application, user, use, language, linguistic model, didactic approach, software, and hardware. In this presentation we want to discuss the possibilities of this model to maximize didactic exploitation of contents on the level of interactivity, strategies, environments, skills, output format, and product type.
Using a Database and Multimedia Applications for Accent Correction
Bill McCartan and Howard Pomann
Word stress affects vowel production and syllable length, which serves to facilitate comprehension by giving salience to words carrying the heaviest meaning load, and underlies intonation, which shapes the mood and tone of the message. This presentation consists of a demonstration of multimedia diagnostic and learning activities based on word stress patterns. A 3,500 word FileMaker Pro database is used to generate word lists representative of stress patterns, and ToolBook is used to develop diagnostic and learning activities.
WebGreek Guided Reading: Old Tools for New Technologies
Christopher Blackwell
WebGreek allows instructors to deliver, quickly and easily, guided readings in Greek over the World Wide Web. WebGreek lessons train students to read Greek in its natural word order. The text of a WebGreek lesson is filtered through the Perseus Project, giving students access to lexical and morphological information as they read. The WebGreek Constructor allows instructors with a few clicks of the mouse to turn any Greek text into fully formatted, cross referenced, and linked HTML pages. The complex tags necessary to filter text through the Perseus Project’s servers are created automatically.
College Students’ Response to Kanakun and Kantaro
Fumiko Inoue
Japanese learners have to acquire three different sets of orthographic characters: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Learning these three different character sets at the same time often burdens many learners of Japanese. “Kanakun” and “Kantaro” are computer software programs designed to facilitate character acquisition and vocabulary enhancement by learners. Through the use of the software in class for an academic year, the present study provides the evaluation and reactions of college students learning Japanese in this format. It was found that the software received enthusiastic response and worked to motivate students to learn the characters and vocabulary. Suggestions for further development of the software will be provided.
Repurposing Video Materials for CALL
Devin Asay
Existing video materials, from instructional films to cinematic films and television broadcasts, are a gold mine for instructors and CALL developers looking for language materials to help in building grammar, comprehension, and vocabulary building lessons. This presentation will describe the process from “film to disc” and show examples from the presenter’s current projects.
2:30 – 3:15
Weaving Web Interactivity into an Intermediate Language Course
Glenda Carl
Students of all levels of competency desire grammatical reinforcement in their second-year language courses. Moreover, students come to their second year of college language study with widely varying backgrounds. They appreciate systematic review of grammatical material, yet time at this level of class is better devoted to discussion of the cultural insights provided by the text as well as its intrinsic literary value. Fortunately, students at this level are familiar enough with grammar to be able to review successfully on their own. This presentation will concentrate on the example of a third-semester Latin class, but the methodology used is suitable for modern languages as well.
Using Le Lexique in a Conversation Course
Carol Rifelj
Le Lexique is a web site of approximately one hundred pages that presents concrete French vocabulary, illustrated with images and links to related francophone web sites. It proposes web based activities that support vocabulary acquisition, lead students to explore sites created for native French speakers, and prepare in-class activities to help students use the vocabulary in ways that are natural and meaningful. We are using Le Lexique extensively in a fourth/fifth semester course. I will demonstrate the site, the web based activities, and the in-class communicative activities based on them.
“DokuDoku,” a Reading Program for Japanese
Miki Ueda and Saeko Komori
A Japanese World Wide Web reading program will be explained by its creators. “Dokudoku” is designed to be a reading program which can be accessed through the World Wide Web. Its creators envision a program which will allow teachers and students to input texts, receive a difficulty rating based on the Mombusho proficiency vocabulary list, an attached dictionary containing the English definitions of the text vocabulary, and templates to create multiple choice and true/false comprehension questions. There will also be preselected texts complete with comprehension exercises.
Translation Software in Beginning Classes: Friend or Foe?
Finley Taylor
This project explores translation software as a creative tool suitable for beginning and lower division language courses. The professor provided some texts, and students selected others from the Internet. We used Globalink’s WebTranslator and PowerTranslator. Unedited translations are frequently confusing and even misleading. But if they can help students understand advanced cultural materials, they should stimulate student interest and promote language study. Or if we can use the translations to sensitize students to the learning process–perhaps to recognize and correct mistakes on their own, we will hopefully lead them to a deeper understanding of the linguistic processes in the target language.
Practical Chinese Reader: A Non-Commercial CALL Courseware for Elementary and Advanced Chinese Reading
Minjuan Wang
For teachers in second/foreign language instruction, finding useful software for classroom instruction can be a very difficult task. Many commercial applications are not appropriate for classroom use; others might be useful but are too expensive to buy for all of the booths in the CALL lab. Teachers often find that they need original software applications customized for their particular purpose. Practical Chinese Reader is such a customized CALL courseware. By using an authoring program template, GALT (Glossing Authentic Language Texts), the presenter converted the lessons in the textbook generally used in the first-year Chinese curricula in the USA into multimedia GALT books.
3:30 – 4:15
Cutting-Edge Network Technology and Its Value-Add for Language Learning
Katherine Maillet
LEVERAGE (Learn from Video Extensive Real ATM Gigabit Experiment) is a project partially financed by the European Commission. The objectives of the project are to design, implement, and test a complete multimedia language learning tool, linking three European institutions of higher education by means of a high speed telecommuications network. The purpose of this session will be first to demonstrate how network technology provides support for a variety of methodologies which target an array of language learning objectives ranging from acquisition and assimilation to acculturation. Secondly, it will provide the results from the second phase of the LEVERAGE project which brought together students in France and England to work on joint multilingual tasks by means of an ATM network. Finally the session will describe what the implications of this project may be for the future of foreign language teaching and learning.
Treacherous Allies: Foreign Language Grammar Checkers
Gabriel Jacobs and Catherine Rodgers
This paper discusses the use of foreign language computerized grammar checkers as teaching resources. As is well known, such grammar checkers can give very unreliable, even farcical results, but that does not necessarily mean that they cannot be effectively used by foreign language teachers. This paper presents the results of a controlled experiment in which groups of students were given the task of correcting French texts containing syntactical and spelling errors by using either an on screen grammar checker or grammar books/dictionaries. The study draws some conclusions about the advantages and pitfalls of using grammar checkers for teaching and learning.
Teaching in a Multimedia Classroom: Low Tech Options
Carol Copenhagen and Frances Sweeney
This is a discussion for language teachers about how to teach communicatively in a computer classroom. We will look at how this environment enables teachers to take on a new role and facilitate language acquisition by empowering students. We will provide samples of lesson plans and exercises. All levels of experience are welcome.
Running a Multimedia Computerized Testing Lab
Echo Taylor
Previously, language tests were given on paper with the teacher reading the dialogue portion of the test and giving the oral portion in individual interviews. Such a format can cause inconsistency in test delivery. It is also difficult to involve media in a test in a regular classroom setting but not, however, in a multimedia computerized testing lab. Factors involved in running such a facility include test development, security, scoring, copyright laws, supervision and scheduling. This presentation will discuss advantages and disadvantages of running a multimedia computerized testing lab and how to use the lab to its full potential.
Foreign Language Training with Virtual Conversations Technology
William Harless and Marcia Zier
Interactive Drama Inc. (IDI) develops Virtual Conversations’ programs, voice-activated multimedia applications that allow users to engage full-motion video characters in realistic, face-to-face dialogue in the context of dramatic situations. IDI has researched the effectiveness of this method in foreign language training with its series of Arabic programs involving dialogues with native speakers. The results of a recent rigorous field study showed significant learning gain in speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and increased confidence using the language, after one week of student exposure to the series. The method, results, and implications of this study will be presented.