CALICO 2003, University of Ottawa
Collaborative CALL
May 20-24, 2003
Hosted by
University of Ottawa-Université d’Ottawa
Jump to Day Two
Jump to Day Three
Conference Presentations: Day One
May 22, 2003
10:00 – 10:45
Students’ Behaviors in a Multimedia Application in Relation to Their Learning and Cognitive/Personality Styles
Fenfang Hwu
This study investigates the relationship between students’ usage of a multimedia-based application and their learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile, group learning, individual learning). It also investigates the relationship between their patterns of the use of the application and their cognitive/personality styles. To identify students’ performance styles or task orientations, the data of the students’ usage of the application are collected through computer-aided tracking for analysis. These usage patterns are then compared with the following data to draw implications for instructional decisions and program modifications: students’ performance in pretest and posttest, students’ self-report surveys about learning and cognitive/personality styles, and classroom observation of students’ behaviors.
CALL, What’s It Good For?
Jing Luo
This paper will present an overview of the research work that has been conducted in the field of CALL over the past 5 years. The goal is to identify strengths and weaknesses of CALL with respect to the training of the four language skills. The research projects to be examined are selected from a wide range of CALL journals. The presentation will also introduce latest research topics and trends.
An Online Language Course for University Students–Do They Collaborate?
Mathias Schulze
This paper discusses the methods and first results of two learning impact studies which were conducted for two successive online language courses (German 101, German 102) as part of the Geroline project in Fall 2002 and Winter 2003. The aim of the Geroline project is the creation of two online distance education courses for elementary German. The learning impact studies, however, were carried out with two groups of on-campus students so that intermittent direct contact with the learners was possible. Data were gathered through questionnaires and interviews, and student-student and student-instructor interaction on message boards in chat rooms was recorded.
Constructivism and Online Professional Development: A Study of the Beliefs and Practices of Four Foreign Language Teachers
Katya Koubek
This session will report on a multiple case research study that investigated four in-service teachers’ instructional practices, beliefs, and reflectivity in an online constructivist professional development course. Data were collected through extensive, multiple sources of information, including interviews, online observations, teacher narratives, course documents, and email communication between and among the course participants and instructors. The findings offer important insights and information for online professional development as well as all distance education courses.
The Design of a 3D Gaming System: Adopting Indigenous Taiwanese Legends to an English Listening Course
Kuan-Lin Liu
Hsiao-I Hou
We are witnessing two important trends in Taiwan. First, the demand for English learning is becoming greater and greater in Asian countries. Second, computer gaming has become a greatly concerned industry attracting many young people in the past few years. This project aims to combine these two trends by integrating Taiwanese aboriginal legends with computer gaming elements. By using 3D CALL systems delivering the legends, we wish to bring about English learning by imposing users with gaming mechanism. A questionnaire probing students’ reactions and their EFL learning will be constructed. In addition, oral interviews related to teachers’ perceptions of student motivation will be conducted.
Pedagogy In the Machine–Template-Driven Development
Bobby Lee
Youngsook Kim
Eunji Lee
Technology in the classroom is not about hardware; it is about taking advantage of innovations in technology to maximize the learning experience. Using technology is not about digitization to accommodate the hardware; it is about creating materials ideally suited for the ever expanding classroom. This session will examine customized versus template-driven development of online materials. It will showcase the Learning Object Generator a tool which allows content developers to create fully interactive, methodologically sound lessons without any knowledge of programming. Real-world examples and an objective comparison of the two development processes will be presented.
11:00 – 11:45
The Design and Implementation of a Web-based Placement Test: A French Prototype
Jack Burston
Monique Burston
Charlotte Kleis
This talk describes the design and implementation of a web-based test which assesses the grammatical knowledge, reading comprehension, and listening comprehension skills of students for placement into beginner and intermediate level language courses. While the test prototype was implemented for French, its design is equally applicable to other languages. The test exploits FrontPage to allow nonprogrammers to create a language placement instrument that (a) permits input formats other than simple multiple choice, (b) supports audio playback in both questions and responses, (c) introduces an element of communicative interaction, and (d) centrally stores data on student scores as well as question responses.
E-Learning Courseware Development Tools
Marmo Soemarmo
Major software companies such as Macromedia and Adobe recognize the growing demands from companies and educational institutions for tools that trainers and educators can learn with a reasonable learning curve and time. This presentation will evaluate the following tools: (a) Authorware Knowledge Objects, (b) Dreamweaver Course Builder, and (c) Flash Learning Interactions. The evaluation is based on the following criteria: (a) learning curve, (b) number of activities, and (c) consistency across browsers and platforms. As a comparison, a brief description of online tools will also be included: (a) Hot Potatoes, (b) Coursemaker, and (c) the presenter’s templates.
Dynamically Generated Help in CALL
Trude Heift
During this talk I will present an innovative CALL program that provides error-specific feedback coupled with individualized help options for grammar and vocabulary practice. In case of an error, the E-Tutor provides error-contingent feedback at different levels of specificity depending on the learner’s current skill level. In addition to its parsing functionality, the E-Tutor dynamically generates context-sensitive and individualized help features. As a result, each learner progresses through the CALL system in a highly individualized way. The E-Tutor has been tested with language learners, and data on the use of a variety of help features in CALL will be discussed during the presentation.
Interacting in a Virtual Language Learning Environment–What Do Users Really Do?
Qing Zhang
David Lord
In research about MOO environments for foreign language learning, much attention is paid to pedagogical concepts such as autonomous, tandem, collaborative, and constructive learning often taking place in highly structured learning situations. This paper reports investigations into users’ spontaneous behavior in this virtual reality in order to find out what users do when they are not supervised by teachers or restricted to set language learning assignments. Very basic concepts of human computer interaction are explored, to discover users’ perceptions of MOO, their habits in MOO environments, and the underlying reasons for their behavior.
What’s the Multi in a Multimedia Lab
Keith Boeckner
The presentation will explore the many avenues open to language teachers using a multimedia language laboratory, from more traditional exercises to web-resourced activities. Practical examples of work done in a multimedia lab will be presented. These involve language lab software functions, office applications, and the Internet. In addition to individual work assignments, collaborative activities will be highlighted. The presenter will share comments from students on their participation and teachers’ reactions (positive and negative) to using a computerized environment.
A Theoretical Argument for CMC-based Tandem Learning
Breffni O’Rourke
Theoretical grounding for tandem language learning has for the most part drawn on pedagogical constructs such as learner autonomy and the communicative approach. This paper makes an argument which is compatible, but of a different kind. It begins by deriving three pedagogical principles from a model of instructed second language acquisition in which metalinguistic reflection plays a central role and a Vygotskian perspective on learning dialogue. It then considers the relationship between written language and metalinguistic awareness and concludes that a real-time, text-based tandem exchange offers an ideal environment in which to implement such a pedagogy.
2:30 – 3:15
ADA Compliance and Web Design
Scott Despain
Tom Zelickman
Section 508 establishes requirements for electronic and information technology developed, maintained, procured, or used by the Federal government. Section 508 requires Federal electronic and information technology to be accessible to people with disabilities, including employees and members of the public. This presentation will provide background on legislation, litigation, and the struggles associated with achieving or staying ADA compliant. Assistive technologies will also be demonstrated, as well as strategies for dealing with issues specific to foreign language instruction.
Developing Oral and Written Proficiency Through Synchronous Computer-mediated Communication
Claudia Kost
Studies in CMC (Beauvois, 1998; Payne & Whitney, 2002) have suggested that oral proficiency can be enhanced by synchronous online discussions. This study investigated the effects of CMC on the development of oral and written proficiency of beginning learners of German. The presenter will report findings regarding participants’ proficiency levels after one semester of instruction as well as pre- and posttreatment data from oral interviews and in-class writings regarding specific linguistic features. In-depth analyses of the use of communication strategies in the oral interviews and of written interlanguage (displayed in the chapter exams) will be the focus of this presentation.
Collaboration Among CALL Developers, Teachers, and Students: Necessary or Desirable?
Joan Jamieson
Carol A. Chapelle
Sherry Preiss
We examine the collaboration among CALL developers, teachers, and students. To what degree do these groups share views about a CALL course? In attempting to answer this question, interviews and surveys will be conducted among developers and publishers, school administrators and teachers, and students about one CALL course, Longman English Online. Opinions will be elicited regarding six evaluative criteria described by Chapelle (2001): language learning potential, learner fit, meaning focus, authenticity, practicality, and impact. Results will allow us to compare the perspectives among developers, teachers, and students. In CALL, these groups of people always collaborate–but should they always agree?
On the Notion of “Teach-nology:” Redefining the Teacher-Student Relationship in CALL
Sébastien Dubreil
Culture is the core, the source of the Foreign Language (FL) curriculum, its spine. Scholars have shown that multimedia technologies have the potential to provide effective ways to teach culture in the FL classroom because it is contextualized, meaningful, and enjoyable and can foster student-centered approaches to teaching. In this respect, the advent of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) is an invitation to redefine the role of the teacher and learner in the FL classroom. This presentation offers suggestions on how teaching can embrace technology and become a “teach-nology” and thus how teachers can redefine their own teaching with these new tools.
Adapting a Web-based Multimedia Instructional Program to Enhance a Classroom-based TPR-Storytelling Curriculum
Lathrop P. Johnson
In what ways can an existing online elementary language course supplement a new college course using TPR-Storytelling? This paper describes the way in which the Goethe Institute’s “Lina und Leo” program was successfully adopted as the “main text” for a two semester course. Student usage of the online materials, technical adaptations for the classroom, and student attitudes and accomplishments will be discussed. Participants will receive a checklist of helpful and not-so-helpful components in web-based courses when used with classroom TPR-S courses. Suggestions will also be given for the reverse process: multimedia components which could be designed specifically for TPR-S courses.
Teaching Language and Culture Online in a Work Environment
Delphine Renié
Carmen Zafiu
The Canadian Foreign Service Institute started offering online courses to its employees and to employees of other government departments in January 2000. Providing online courses has allowed us to train employees working in Canadian embassies throughout the world, most of whom are locally engaged staff. For most of these employees, Canada’s official languages (French and English) are foreign languages that carry foreign values and references. The various online courses that we offer attempt to convey a better knowledge of these values and references. Moreover, students performing the learning tasks are exposed to linguistic variations, both social (at the discourse level) and regional. Our courses are based on authentic and work-related documents. First, we will show how these culturally marked documents have been selected and exploited so as to enhance the learning of language and culture. Secondly, we will emphasize the role of the teacher in reinforcing the cultural content of the material through corrective feedback and informal interaction with students.
3:30 – 4:15
Technoconstructivism in the Foreign Language Classroom
Edwina Spodark
In the past twenty years, constructivist pedagogy has been progressively applied in classrooms around the world and has begun to transform the learning environment. With its emphasis on meaningful learning that is “active, constructive, intentional, authentic and cooperative,” constructivism puts students at the center of the learning experience. The incorporation of computer technology into the classroom combined with a constructivist method promotes a new approach to the teaching of foreign languages: technoconstructivism. Technocon-structivism shifts the emphasis from teachers teaching with technology to students learning with technology and fosters a dynamic cultural and language learning experience.
Monitoring Bilingualism: Pedagogical Implications of the Bilingual Tandem Analyser
Klaus Schwienhorst
Tandem learning brings together learners with complementary L1/L2 combinations (e.g., an Irish learner of German and a German learner of English). A recurrent problem in tandem learning is that the more proficient L2 becomes the exclusive language of communication. The Bilingual Tandem Analyser is a tool for synchronous text-based environments (MOOs) that allows students and teachers to monitor their bilingualism. This paper will first give an overview of tandem learning and learner autonomy; second, explain the principles behind the Bilingual Tandem Analyser; and third, describe its pedagogical implementation and evaluate its effectiveness for the creation of more balanced tandem partnerships.
Learning to E-learn: The New Roles of the Language Learner
Maija Tammelin
In this paper, I will first argue that language learners in network-based learning environments need to be taught “learning to e-learn” skills in a systematic way. Just giving instructions on how to use the technical facilities or online platforms is not enough. Drawing from my own research embedded in the context of Finnish business students (i.e., nonnative speakers of English) studying in English business communication courses, I will discuss what these e-learning metaskills might be. In conclusion, based on my research-based framework of the e-learner’s changing roles, I will give recommendations for various types of e-learner training in language education.
Enhance EFL Learners’ Reading Competence with Computer Technologies
Howard Hao-Jan Chen
This paper introduces an innovative computer-assisted reading environment for EFL learners. This environment tries to incorporate various technologies and resources. It contains the following modules: (a) diagnostic vocabulary levels tests, (b) a collection of web sites offering suitable readings, (c) a web forum for sharing readings, (d) a vocabulary analyzer, (e) online dictionaries, (f) online concordancers, (g) an online POS tagger, (h) an online machine translation service, (i) a speech synthesizer, (j) an online automatic summary system, (k) an automatic quiz generator, and (l) an online discussion board. College students’ reactions toward these tools and resources were discussed in detail.
Verb Production by Students of German in Chatroom and Face-to-Face Discussions
Olaf Böhlke
This presentation highlights results from two studies. Both studies focus on verb production by intermediate level students of German, comparing chatroom discourse with face-to-face discourse. In the first study, small groups of students described a picture in the present tense, while students in the second study had to narrate the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood in the narrative past tense (imperfect). The results suggest that students make fewer mistakes in the chatroom environment than they do in the face-to-face discussions.
4:30 – 5:15
Effects of L1 and L2 Glosses on Incidental Vocabulary Learning: Will Pictures Make a Difference?
Makoto Yoshii
This study compared the effects of L1 and L2 glosses on incidental vocabulary learning using an Internet-based reading text. The study also examined whether the addition of image to each gloss type would make a difference on the effects. Five types of glosses were used for the investigation: (a) L1 text only, (b) L2 text only, (c) picture only, (d) the combination of L1 text and picture, and (e) the combination of L2 text and picture. The experiment was conducted with 150 Japanese university students using different types of vocabulary tests including both immediate and delayed measures.
Automatic Feedback for CALL Using NLP
Joel Martin
Edina Torlakovic
We describe a natural language processing (NLP) method to determine whether a specific language example or a student response is acceptable. Specifically, our system automatically judges whether the position of an adverb in an English sentence is acceptable. However, the system is applicable to many other grammatical aspects. We argue that such NLP judgments must be accurate in order to be used for positive and negative feedback in CALL systems; and we demonstrate very high accuracy for our approach. The use of NLP allows for faster CALL development, less expert involvement, and a virtually unlimited number of language examples.
CALL in Action–Does It Really Produce Better Results?
Uwe Wilhelm
When the notion of CALL was first conceived IT proponents were clear about one thing: the use of IT must show to have superior results over conventional methods. In 1997 Acadia University introduced a program that would see every student equipped with a laptop, the campus completely wired, and professors urged to include IT into their teaching. Looking back on more than 10 years of language instruction with and without the use of IT, the impact in terms of learning outcomes that the introduction of CALL has had can be shown.
Testing Speech Perception the Multimodal and Multimedia Way
Carmit Romano-Hvid
This paper will discuss testing methods applied in a CALL study that investigated the acquisition of the phonology of English as a foreign language. A number of testing methods, which make use of audio, orthography, and phonemic symbols in various combinations to test speech perception, were developed. In some of the tests, the students were tested for discrimination and identification of phoneme sounds by ear and in others for recognition of symbols corresponding to phoneme sounds. This resulted in the two-modality effect. The results obtained indicated that the modalities in which the stimuli were presented had an effect on test scores.
Interactivity in Online Courses
Dana Paramskas
One important debate related to web-based online courses centers on the role of the instructor and the quality of the interaction between the instructor and the students. Interaction can take many forms: class bulletins, asynchronous conferences, email, and tests (including design of tests and feedback). It is often taken for granted that any good classroom teacher can be a good web-based teacher. There are, however, skills involved in interaction which must be developed before effective interactivity can occur consistently. This presentation centers on the skills an instructor needs for successful interaction with students in online courses.
Teacher Training in Technology-assisted Language Learning
Shannon Hilliker
Sabrina Johnson-Taylor
Chi-Hua Tseng
Jieun You
This presentation describes a training course in technology-assisted language learning (TALL) for in-service ESOL teachers. This institute explored the effective use of technologies in the language classroom including the one-computer, web-resourced software-integrated, and telecommunications classroom. This session examines the content and outcomes of the teacher training experience.
Back to Top
Conference Presentations: Day Two
May 23, 2003
8:00 – 8:45
Collaborative Development of Dedicated CALL Technologies
Jozef Colpaert
Wilfried Decoo
This presentation will start with an overview of a research project which focuses on available functionalities in current CALL applications. There are various aspects where the implementation of dedicated CALL technologies would entail a considerable increase in effectiveness: exercise types, data access, string manipulation, linguistic-didactic analysis and tracking, pronunciation training, background content structuring, and systematization. We will present in more detail a concrete case: the fill-in exercise. Finally, we will show how dedicated CALL technologies can be designed using natural language and objects. Possibilities for collaborative development will be discussed.
Chat as a Precursor to Formal L2 Writing
David Wright
This presentation will look at two brainstorming tasks for formal L2 writing, both using synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC). Quasi-experimental results reveal that treatment-group participants, who took part in open-ended tasks with unknown native speakers, could not take advantage of their SCMC tasks for formal writing until the end of the semester. Comparison-group participants, who took part in cooperative learning tasks with known nonnative speakers, made immediate use of their SCMC tasks for formal writing. Data collected come from a measure of students’ take-home essays that assigns different values to clauses according to strategic discourse management.
The Development of an Online Concordancer as a Writing Support Tool for Intermediate Learners of Japanese
Maki Hirotani
This paper presents an online concordancer developed by the researcher as a writing support tool for learners of Japanese. The target users are intermediate learners based on the fact that the majority of the learners outside Japan are struggling at novice-intermediate levels. The presenter will report how the learners with intermediate level proficiency actually used the concordancer in their writing. The researcher uses tracking tools, a video camera, and follow-up interviews to obtain data regarding the frequency of the use of the concordancer, the learners’ writing behaviors, and their reactions toward the product for further development of the writing support tool.
Investigating Issues of “Learnability” through CALL
Gabseon Sunny Lee
Jinhee Choo
Hyun Eun Choi
This paper reports on a study that examined the relative effectiveness of CALL instruction for teaching L2 learners to correct three types of L1-induced grammatical errors. The CALL program described in Cowan, Kim and Choi (2000) served as a platform for investigating Korean ESL students’ ability to locate and correct errors involving conditional and passive sentences and dropping articles in texts. These error types were identified from a large written corpus. A quasi-experimental pretest/post test design was used. Variable success was found for lexically, syntactically, and pragmatically determined errors. Implications for the design of CALL programs that foster “uptake” and long-term learning are discussed.
Students’ Attitudes and Motivation in Online Language Courses
Eiko Ushida
This presentation will report the results of research that examined students’ attitudes and motivation in the learning of French and Spanish within hybrid online courses offered at Carnegie Mellon University. Thirty-four students participated in this study from four online courses (elementary level/intermediate level, French/Spanish). Students’ attitudes and motivation were measured twice as pretest and posttest by using a modified version of Gardner’s Attitude and Motivation Testing Battery (1985). The presenter will show changes in the patterns of students’ attitudes and motivation toward the learning of French and Spanish in online courses and discuss possible influential factors.
The Effect of Collaborative Online Learning: A Case Study between Two ESP Classes
Mei-Mei Chang
Shiou-Wen Yeh
Collaborative activities are pervasive in modern world. In collaborative learning, learners work together to achieve shared learning goals. Email is one of the applications for collaborative language learning. With email, students can instantly send and receive messages from across the world. This paper describes a collaborative learning project which aims to develop Taiwanese EFL learners’ comprehension, expression, interpretation, and negotiation of meaning through learning international news in English. The email messages, students’ pre- and postconnection surveys about email usage, and students’ post-connection attitude surveys were collected. Both quantitative and qualitative data regarding the online collaborative learning were collected and analyzed.
9:00 – 9:45
Learner Adaptable Databases in Language Learning
Jim Bauman
This presentation describes the components of a language learning application driven by an extensible and user customizable Access database which addresses individual learner preferences and needs. The database is demonstrated in both standalone and web delivery systems for a Dutch application, the standalone system using Microsoft Word as its front end and the web system using Cold Fusion-based forms. The system integrates curricular materials and user provided materials with a lexical and grammatical core to provide learners with focused, on-demand support. Learners can bookmark the system to return to and review points of difficulty.
Synchronous Versus “Semi-synchronous” CMC: Do student Collaboration and Responsibility Produce Better Language?
Robert Sanders
Results of a study that analyzes the quality and quantity of student language production when they use synchronous CMC in the presence of their instructor versus when they form their own chat groups, assign their own chat times, and are graded according to their chat transcripts. Allowing students to collaborate in making and directing their own interactions saves considerable resources and is more convenient for students when compared to instructor-supervised simultaneous use of computer laboratories. Is the quality of interaction comparable or even better? Is there a greater sense of learning community among the students?
Applying Second Language Acquisition Research to the Development of Web-based Activities
Bonnie L. Youngs
The world wide web can be an effective culturally enhanced teaching and learning tool and provide teachers with language and culture in context. Language acquisition research can help teachers choose appropriate web pages and develop multiple level reading and writing activities. Based on principles of second language acquisition, this presentation will explain why some web activities are insufficient and ineffective. In addition, participants will, using one web page as a point of departure, develop an activity that could be adapted for beginning through advanced learners and learn possible ways to move from development to implementation with students, and subsequent follow up. Handouts, bibliography.
A Computerized Medical Interpreters Qualification Exam for Spanish
Jerry W. Larson
Kim L. Smith
During this presentation, we will discuss the development of and demonstrate a computer-delivered Spanish oral exam designed to assess speaking skills of individuals wishing to work as medical interpreters. The exam can be used by schools and medical organizations to determine the language qualification of potential medical interpreters in Spanish.
Computer-assisted Learning of Chinese
Peter Leimbigler
The presentation demonstrates the main features of the KEY 4.1 software (both Mac and PC) for writing, learning, and teaching Chinese (Japanese and Korean word processor included), as well as the KEYTIP Chinese/English online reading tool, which is a “talking dictionary” allowing the student of Chinese to work independently on Chinese Internet texts directly in the browser. The new version includes several innovative features for teachers and learners: Pinyin with Hanzi, Text To Speech, automatic glossary building, Timed Reading Module, hidden annotations, and creating vocabulary statistics.
Language Learning Research Using the Web
Robert Zerwekh
George Henry
This paper discusses our investigation into using the Internet as a platform for research into language learning over the web. By using the web to present quizzes to students at different locations and storing the results on our server, we can increase the number of subjects in each study. This is especially important for the less commonly taught languages (Thai, Indonesian, and Tagalog for this study.) This paper will summarize first year results of these studies as well as discuss some of the administrative hurdles we encountered when we invited language learners from other universities to participate in the study.
10:00 – 10:45
A Web Site for All Seasons: LangNet Updated
Madeline Ehrman
Catherine Ingold
This presentation is an update on progress on LangNet, a federal interagency-sponsored language learning web site providing learning material in some 15 languages of national security interest. Included is a description of the substantial amount of material available for reading at ACTFL Advanced, Superior, and Distinguished levels, the design and prototypes for listening materials, the newly created Learning Object Authoring Tool to accelerate lesson development, the role of learning styles and strategies in LangNet, and insights into the process and lessons learned so far from work on this very large, complex project. The presentation is an interactive lecture with visual support.
Online Teacher Professional Development: Connecting Research and Practice
Aleidine J. Moeller
Hyesung Park
This session will demonstrate how online foreign language professional development courses can improve instructional practice and student learning. Pre- and post-online surveys determine background knowledge of participants regarding content and pedagogical knowledge. Building on this knowledge, the participants are introduced to second language acquisition theory through authentic learning tasks, threaded conversations, and online resources. Practicing teachers apply theories to language instruction by using the classroom as a laboratory to examine and research how these theories impact student learning. Examples of online tasks, surveys, discussions, and student samples will be demonstrated.
German Express: Speech Technology–It Works
Nikolaus (Klaus) Koster
Andreas Ryschka
The Foreign Service Institute has developed a series of mentored distance-learning programs which target beginning adult learners. Based on needs assessments of the target population, the courses focus on language use in everyday situations and guide learners from presentation of language through practice to oral production. Focusing on listening comprehension and speaking in context, the German program uses SRI’s EDUSpeak recognizer for extensive oral practice and instant, error-specific, and annotated feedback. Mentoring of the learners fosters creative language use. The presenters will demonstrate their “German Express” courseware and offer the audience the opportunity to explore the program.
A Mini-Course for CALL Teacher Training
Phil Hubbard
This talk reports on a CALL “mini course,” an optional 1-unit supplement to an ESL methodology class providing a broad overview of the field for prospective teachers and equipping them with a foundation to support future independent study. The presentation will begin with the rationale and course structure and then focus on the course web site, which includes substantial original instructional material, homework assignments, and links to sites relevant to selected topics. The presenter’s university presently supports the opening of class web sites to the outside, so the material is freely available to others for independent study or pre- or in-service training.
Tell Me More Pro, New Version 6.0, Language Learning Software
Christophe Pralong
TeLL Me More PRO responds to the educational demand for a more thorough, comprehensive approach to language learning, while applying the latest in multimedia resources. It is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Chinese, and Japanese. This award-winning software, based on the latest innovation of speech recognition, has been adopted in thousands of academic institutions worldwide. The new version launched in March 2003 includes a new feature developed by Auralog: the dynamic mode. This working mode adjusts the learning program according to the needs of each student, enabling them to make the most of their learning!
Les Chansons de la francophonie on the Web
Alysse Weinberg
Les Chansons de la francophonie is a series of web pages with interactive listening activities based on French songs. These activities include true-false, multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, written-answer, and reading comprehension questions based on external web links related to the theme of the song. The pages were integrated in WebCT to facilitate data collection and assessment. The actual amount of time students were spending using the activities was difficult to track. Les Chansons de la Francophonie will be presented as well as sample pages, a description of the tracking system in WebCT and its limitations.
1:30 – 2:15
Co-construction of Language in Commercial English as a Second Language Chatroom and Its Impact on Language Development and Strategic Competence
Senta Goertler
Sonja E. Klocke
The purpose of this multiple case study is to investigate the co-construction of language in a commercial English as a second language (ESL) chatroom and its impact on language development. The researchers will analyze the discourse in regard to the negotiating of meaning and strategies for communication, especially turn taking, based on physical and virtual observation of the participants. This research plans to add to the current research on the effectiveness of chatting in a classroom (e.g., Darhower, 2002) and also research on the importance of interaction on language development (e.g., Gass & Varonis, 1985).
Voice Lab: Reinforcing Oral Language Teaching and Assessment
Janet Flewelling
Don Snider
Voice Lab is a teaching and assessment tool that allows teachers to present computerized oral activities to students, to assess those activities online, and to provide oral feedback. Teachers can extend oral practice beyond the classroom by providing students with activities that can be accessed at any networked computer. By comparing their answers to models created by the teacher, students can improve their oral language skills independently. The presenters will demonstrate the software, speak to a project in which the software was piloted, and actively engage participants in oral test creation.
Language Online: Research Conclusions and Lessons Learned
Christopher M. Jones
N. Ann Chenoweth
Kimmaree Murday
Eiko Ushida
This presentation will describe the production and assessment of Language Online (LOL), the Mellon-funded project at Carnegie Mellon University to offer the first two years of French and Spanish in hybrid online courses. The first course in this project was offered in Spring 2000, and, by the end of Spring 2002, all eight courses had been developed and offered at least one time. We will present an overview of the assessment results and discuss what we have learned about the design, implementation, and assessment process in a project of this scope.
Technology for Teaching and Research: Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers
Lara Lomicka
Gillian Lord
This session discusses a cross-institutional collaborative graduate seminar on technology in language education. Students on both campuses interacted via electronic discussion boards, chatrooms, and a joint web site. Virtual guests engaged students in exploration of topics related to technology. Presenters offer ideas as to how to implement such a course, analyze and discuss students’ work, and present administrative and technological challenges. The session concludes with time for discussion and idea exchange.
CALL Research Design and Tools: A Panel Discussion
Carol A. Chapelle
Dorothy Chun
Phil Hubbard
María Victoria González Pagani
The CALICO SLAT SIG sponsors this panel discussion which focuses on design and tools in CALL research. The session will center on the value of computer technology tools for Second Language Acquisition as source of knowledge for the field. It will address challenges CALL researchers and practitioners have faced in the past and will offer some insight on how these tools can be used more effectively when designing research methodology. The session concludes with time for discussion and idea exchange.
Collaborative Worldwide Language Learning: Tandem Language Learning via Free Internet Audio Software
Gary Cziko
Sujung Park
Tandem language learning (TLL) involves bringing together two individuals with different native languages who are learning each other’s native language, with each partner taking turns as both student and tutor. Originally requiring face-to-face interaction, the Internet now makes it possible for language learning partners anywhere in the world to transcend time and place limitations. This presentation will (a) provide an overview of seven free Internet audio programs appropriate for electronic TLL, (b) demonstrate how these programs can be used for TLL, and (c) show how language learners can find collaborative TLL partners on the Internet.
2:30 – 3:15
DeCEN: A CALL System to Help Students Practice and Develop Reasoning in Determining the Countability of English Nouns
Rika Yoshii
Alastair Milne
Kazumi Slott
DeCEN is a CALL system for helping ESL/EFL students master the English countability system. Determining the countability of English nouns is difficult for many Asian students, whose native languages have different views about what is countable. Our model of the countability system does not rely on English terms that tend to confuse the students. DeCEN helps students develop their own reasoning habits for determining a noun’s countability by analyzing its meaning in context. DeCEN provides help based on students’ answers and chooses the next exercise based on their performance. DeCEN, written in Java, is available via the Internet.
An Investigation into CALG
Gearóid O’Néill
In this paper an investigation is presented into computer assisted bilingual dictionary generation from two monolingual dictionaries using rules based on spelling, morphology, and etymology together with distributed semantic representation. The two languages are Irish and Scottish Gaelic, which derive from the same base, namely Old Irish. It is hoped that the dictionary will facilitate speakers of one language learning the other directly and that the difficulty or ease by which relationships between the two languages are expressed will give insights into approaches for teaching.
DISSEMIN8 and DISSEMIN 8 Square, The Implementation
Philippe Delcloque
The DISSEMINATE vision has moved to implementation with the first 8 modules functioning as a suite; in parallel and with partners, the LMS architecture is being specified to achieve bottom-up integration and suitability for varied delivery environments from 1 to 20 to 1 to 20,000 including a new digital (and virtual) language lab. DISSEMINATE will allow work wide partners to produce exercise modules which can plug in the architecture and lead to approved certification ‡ la Macromedia. The project also plans to deliver plug ins for some of the predominant LMSs used in institutions.
Digitizing VHS Tapes Step by Step
Michal Krynicki
With the growing demand for including multimedia into their teaching, many instructors wonder how to incorporate their VHS video materials into their classroom activities/presentations. This demonstration will explain the steps necessary to digitize VHS tapes using an average PC, a VCR, and basic inexpensive software. It is geared towards a novice audience and will be very practical in nature. The demonstration examines minimum hardware requirements, necessary connections, and general setup. It focuses on capturing and basic processing (e.g., compressing video and audio, splitting, cropping, and deinterlacing).
Avoiding Collaboration: Spanish Oral Interview Practice Program
Bernice Nuhfer-Halten
The purpose of this project is to provide students of SPAN 1001, SPAN 1002, and SPAN 2001 with a program that they can access INDIVIDUALLY in the Language Laboratory at any time during the course of the semester to help them prepare for their individual oral interview at the end of each term, without having to collaborate with others.
US Government Sponsored Language Projects
Stephen LaRocca
John Morgan
Sherri Bellinger
Recent world events have heightened interest in speech technologies for learning and other applications. Within the US government, speech-enabled courseware for foreign language learning is a priority; simultaneously, there is an increased demand for rapidly deployable speech translation devices that can instantly provide a rudimentary capability to communicate. Researchers at the US Military Academy are collecting speech data and producing recognizer software in support of government language learning programs. The same group is supervising and promoting the development of speech translation devices, such as Speaking MINDS. Common ground existing between learning systems and speech translation devices is discussed.
3:30 – 4:15
Collaborative Call the Wimba Way
Peter A. Lafford
Wimba is an Internet-based voice technology providing an asynchronous communication environment well suited to supporting language learning. The flagship voice-enabled bulletin boards (“Voice Boards”) are now joined by “Voice Email,” “Presentation Publisher” for streaming lectures, and “Language Tools” for voice-enabled web page activities to comprise a package Wimba calls its “Online Language Lab.” The key to the technology is the Wimba web server and the platform-independent small Wimba applet which downloads to record and playback the high quality compressed audio which resides on the server. This presentation will explore the potential of Wimba for language learning.
Ten Years Later: Interactivity on the Internet
Franziska Lys
Drehort: Neubrandenburg Interaktiv was developed in 1991 as a listening comprehension tool. It contained interactive comprehension exercises with video feedback to promote active viewing skills and allowed students to work through a self-guided learning environment. The software was designed with Libra, a Macintosh-based authoring software. In this session, the presenter will demonstrate Drehort Neubrandenburg Online a completely redesigned version of the original software. The presentation will demonstrate the new online learning environment focusing on a set of new interactive exercises delivered over the Internet. The software used to develop theses exercises was Flash.
Visualize the Invisible: Flash and Grammar
Lilly Chen
Hajime Kumahata
Grammatical concepts are abstract and difficult especially for the learner whose source language typologically differs greatly from the target language. In a language like Chinese, the relationship between many grammatical particles and their lexical counterparts can be understood in terms of cognitive process of metaphor. The latter’s dynamicity is represented by using web technologies, especially Flash animation. Besides showing how teaching of grammatical aspects are facilitated by appealing to the visual, thus helping the students comprehend the unfamiliar and abstract in terms of the more familiar spatial domains, this project also evaluates the approach’s effectiveness.
Tools for Continuous Assessment
Alex Chapin
Middlebury College has created two web-based modules that allow for continuous assessment of second language acquisition. The QuestionsDB module supports many of the standard question types in drill or test modes and allows for easy cross-student comparisons not only of overall test scores but also individual answers. The StudyDB module is a database-driven vocabulary acquisition tool that can generate drills and quizzes based on students’ knowledge base that the program acquires through tracking their performance. This tracking information can be used by students to focus their study and by faculty to assess progress of students individually or collectively.
Producing Video Clips to Learn Newspaper English–A Cooperative Learning Experience in an EFL Classroom
Huifen Lin
This paper applies an extensively employed technology–video–in ESL/EFL classrooms to introduce the strategy of cooperative learning and its effect on fostering learner autonomy in acquiring newspaper reading and writing skills. To illustrate how video clips can be valuable tools in motivating EFL/ESL learners to tackle difficulties commonly arising in the English newspaper learning process, the presenter begins by reviewing principles of cooperative learning strategies and their integration into language instruction in ESL/EFL settings. The presenter then examines how these principles can be used to guide video project work EFL learners engage in to acquire newspaper English reading and writing abilities. A real classroom experience will be provided to demonstrate the process of integrating video project work into newspaper instruction. Suggestions about summative and formative evaluation criteria of students’ work will conclude the paper.
Language Courseware at the Crossroads: Auf geht’s! as a Way Forward
Lee Forester
Anne Green
The role of courseware in language instruction is changing rapidly. Formerly cast in a supporting role, courseware is moving to center stage. This session will describe Auf geht’s!, a multimedia elementary German course currently in development with support from FIPSE. The course places tremendous emphasis on culture and fully integrates multiple media (print, web, CD-ROM) with the classroom experience. The vision of the project will be presented, including the major points of innovation in media, culture, vocabulary teaching, support for national standards, and the role of grammar. Elements of the course will be shown to illustrate the principles involved.
4:30 – 5:15
When All Tastes are Catered for: Matching Screen Designs and Learner Profiles
Isabelle De Ridder
This paper reports on an experiment conducted in an attempt to elucidate whether different learner profiles benefit from different screen designs in CALL applications. The screen-design issue chosen was the signaling device of electronic glosses. Two signaling devices were evaluated: hyperlinks that were either visible or invisible. The hypothesis was that visible hyperlinks would be helpful for some learners while disturbing for others, as far as vocabulary learning and text comprehension are concerned. Students whose learning style is one of external regulation and step-by-step processing might benefit more from a highlighted condition than students whose learning style is one of self-regulation and deep-processing.
Online Language Placement Tests: Assessing All Four Skills
Claire Bartlett
Brigitte Crull
Eric Granquist
Rice University administers online placement tests in French, German, Japanese, Spanish, and Portuguese. These tests are written by our faculty members who are OPI testers and then submitted to ACTFL for review. Students usually take the tests from home, and, for the first time this summer, they had to complete a speaking component. We will first demonstrate how to author a test and show the French test as a sample. We will then discuss test results–particularly those of speaking. Finally, we will describe the technical requirements and distribute to interested participants a CD-ROM of ExTemplate 2.0, our web authoring program.
What Makes Students Click: Working Memory and Look-up Behavior
Dorothy Chun
J. Scott Payne
Research on SLA with multimedia has suggested that individual differences play an important role in L2 vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension. We report here on a study of second-year German students who read two German short stories on a CD-ROM and who had access to a variety of multimedia features, including annotations of difficult vocabulary words. Their working memory (WM) capacity was assessed with nonword repetition and reading span measures. Findings suggest a relationship between WM capacity and look-up behavior with low WM capacity individuals looking up significantly more words. Implications for classroom instruction and multimedia software design will be discussed.
Learning from Screen: E-reader or HTML?
Miriam Schcolnik
Sara Kol
E-learning offers increased opportunities for reading and learning from computer screens. The development of e-learning materials may benefit from the investigation of modes of text presentation. How should academic texts be presented to enhance usability and facilitate learning? The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of screen reading mode on learning. Participants in the study are students in advanced level courses of English for Academic Purposes at Tel Aviv University.
Taming the Internet: Curriculum Development Through the Use of Multimedia and Authentic Culture
Katherine Sharnoff
Celia Fryer
The use of technology and the Internet provides unlimited resources for learners to encounter authentic culture. However, the unreliability of web sites and links as well as limited language skills can reduce the effectiveness of Internet activities. We will show how we used technology and multimedia as a catalyst and method for curriculum development. Our pilot project integrates the standards for foreign language learning, technology, culture, and assessment. In addition, we will discuss how our multimedia culture “modules” enable learners to practice the four skills areas while providing a consistent “student-centered” approach to interaction with authentic cultural materials.
Investigating the Effects of a Technology Integration Professional Development Training and Support Model for University-level Second and Foreign Language Teachers
Paula Gunder
Language teacher educators heeding calls to increase the quantity and quality of instructional technology courses (Wildner, 1999) understand technology’s influence on how we use language. This pre-service attention has had a “limited impact on how teachers think about and implement technology-supported teaching” (Egbert et al., 2002, p. 1) and highlights the need to focus on in-service teachers. This presentation reports on a comparative multicase study of six university-level language teachers’ experiences within a technology integration training and support model, offering a grounded view of what teacher-learning situations could/should consist, how teachers respond, and how and why it effects curricular change.
Conference Presentations: Day Three
May 24, 2003
8:00 – 8:45
Multilayered Collaborative CALL
Katrina Keogh
This presentation describes a multilayered collaborative CALL project involving curriculum development, classroom teaching in a disadvantaged area, and development and presentation of related CALL software. The target students, in coming from this background, had many special needs. The courseware was designed to address their specific needs and abilities. It demonstrates the benefits collaboration with various sources can have on the developmental and implementation stages of a CALL application. These sources–target students, their teacher, and the school–provided many forms of continuous feedback, all of which were integrated into the ongoing and revised developments in the courseware.
Using a 3D Graphical Virtual Environment (MOO) for Internet-based Japanese Language Learning
Greg Jones
Todd Squires
This presentation will describe on-going research concerning the use of 3D graphical environments for online language learning. The combination of contextually accurate graphical environments, collaborative tools (e.g., audio, text, email, and whiteboard), speech recognition/natural language processing, and intelligent tutoring technology creates a potentially powerful online language tool. Current information concerning a pilot project between the US and Japan using the 3D software for online language learning will be covered. Discussion will also include development of a middle-ware application to interface between the online learning environment, a commercial speech recognition/natural language processing system, and intelligent tutoring approaches in order to create authored language scenarios.
Interactive Video with WebDVD–An Update
Harold H. Hendricks
CALICO 2002 saw the demonstration an internet browser-based application that duplicated, with a DVD, the interactive capabilities of computer-controlled videodiscs. A year later we can now demonstrate a more mature version of the program featuring both student and instructor capabilities that go beyond those we had with videodisc. Using the commercially available DVD, Orfeo Negro ‘Black Orpheus,’ we will demonstrate the features of an interactive web site for English- or Spanish-speaking students learning Brazilian Portuguese or Portuguese speaking students learning English. We will also demonstrate the instructor tools provided at the same web site to control the DVD in class through playlists, utterance search, and instructor created activities.
Distance Language Learning: Designing and Developing for a Worldwide Audience
Alysoun Mahoney
Miyuki Fogel
Krysia Smith
Since 1999, the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) has been designing and developing language-learning courseware for foreign affairs professionals around the world. Courses for teaching basic communication skills have been created for French, German, Greek, and Korean and are being developed for Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. Advanced reading skills courses have been produced for Arabic, Chinese, French, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. A listening comprehension course is being developed for French. This presentation by content experts provides an overview of the instructional design and development process for distance language learning courseware that is being implemented with very encouraging results.
Collaborative CALL: How Can It Help in Mentoring New Teachers?
Kathryn Murphy-Judy
There is a growing crisis in our educational system as veteran teachers retire and new teachers are not being produced in our colleges of education. In this presentation, we look at collaborations that are taking place between Richmond area universities and local school systems that are facilitated by new technologies. Models of collaborative CALL for enhancing teacher education programs in foreign languages, too, are presented.
Solving the DVD Puzzle: One Institution’s Solution
Carine Ullom
This presentation describes how the Language Resource Center at St. Lawrence University implemented a low-cost solution (approximately $70 per station) to the vexing issue of DVD region codes as it applies to software-driven DVD-ROMs. The solution was implemented both on faculty office systems and in electronic classrooms in the Department of Modern Languages initially. Soon, however, the IT department adopted the solution in classrooms campus wide as DVDs from regions other than one began to appear from within Fine Arts, Global Studies, Government, and other departments. Special attention is given to the pedagogical advantages of using software driven DVD-ROMs to play DVDs.
9:00 – 9:45
Reading Comprehension in an L2 Multimedia Environment: Cognitive Load and Learner’s Prior Knowledge Interaction
Eduardo Lage Otero
This presentation will discuss a study conducted with college-level L2 learners asked to read a multimedia-annotated Spanish short story (Una carta a Dios) during the course of instruction. The researcher looked at the effects of extraneous cognitive load and individual differences in spatial ability and prior knowledge in comprehension of the story. The hypothesis was that learners with low prior knowledge would benefit more from the multimedia annotations than those more proficient in the target language. Additionally, those with low spatial ability would find the multimedia annotations more useful and perform better in vocabulary and comprehension tests.
Digitized Slowed Audio and the Internet
Jay Kunz
During the past five years, PureVoice digitized slowed audio has been available in the Mississippi State University Language Media Center for first-year foreign language students in a variety of languages. Based on a comprehensive survey of the students, the format has been changed to QuickTime and now the files are available through the Internet. This presentation will demonstrate the older PureVoice as well as the newer QuickTime files. In addition, it will present results of surveys and other data about student use of PureVoice and QuickTime slowed audio.
Concept Mapping and Collaborative Language Learning
Sandra Hoenle
Concept mapping, the creation of visual representations of concepts, is a process for understanding linguistic, cultural, and grammatical concepts. It has three main advantages: it is based on research into brain’s visual capacity, it supports collaborative learning, and it helps learners become active players in the creation of knowledge. Using Inspiration concept mapping software as an example, I discuss and demonstrate how it can be used to: create visual representations of cultural and linguistic concepts in the target language, comparing those concepts to similar ones in their first language, illustrating and manipulating grammatical concepts, and establishing a learning community.
Making the Most of Your Learning Management System
Robert Godwin-Jones
Learning management systems (LMS) such as Blackboard and WebCT were not developed with language learning in mind. While they supply a number of features and tools which can be effectively integrated into language courses, they do not provide all the functionality that might be useful to language learners and teachers. This presentation will discuss the options for supplementing LMS functionality for language learning, using Blackboard 5.5 as the example. I will also demonstrate courseware plug ins we have developed at Virginia Commonwealth University, including Wimba voice integration and online WYSIWG editing.
Electronic Portfolios for Language Students
Jan Marston
This presentation will explore the electronic portfolio as a teaching and learning tool in Drake University’s new Language Acquisition Program. Each language student portfolio contains a series of time capsules–video, audio, and textual self-portraits of their language abilities at given moments in their learning process. Building the portfolio requires that students reflect on their own learning, evaluate their accomplishments, and create demonstrations of competence for evaluators, future employers, and graduate schools. Implementing portfolios involves understanding the learning process but also technological questions such as portability, access, and scalability.
Electronic Writing Portfolio: Integrating the Writing Component in Web-enhanced Language Courses
Pablo Viedma
First-year web-enhanced Spanish classes at the University of Minnesota are lacking some functionality: students are unable to get electronic feedback on their compositions, as well as not being able to archive their entire semester worth of writing materials. The use of a new tool, TextWeaver, could assist students to achieve this goal. It required some modifications to adapt it to the University of Minnesota needs. In this presentation, we will show the functionality of this tool, and the modifications we implemented.
10:00 – 10:45
Technology-based Reading, Reading Strategies, and Reading Comprehension in ESL among Freshmen
Linda de Serres
A study was undertaken to evaluate L2 reading strategies in a multimedia environment. Among 150 French-speaking undergraduate university students, 12 freshmen were identified, six expert and six novice readers in L1, who read a text in English involving an unfamiliar topic in a multimedia environment. Reading strategies were collected through introspective verbal reports. The content of the transcriptions will be discussed regarding navigational schemata, metacognitive and cognitive reading strategies, as well as subjects’ attitudes towards the use of the computer as a reading-learning tool. Achievement measures in L1 and L2 such as linguistic and reading proficiencies will also be considered.
Conducting L2 CMC Research: A Panel Discussion of Methodologies, Models, and Techniques
J. Scott Payne
Barbara Lafford
Steve Thorne
The use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools has become increasingly popular among second and foreign language practitioners and constitutes a productive area of SLA research. The CALICO CMC SIG sponsors a panel discussion highlighting current CMC research methodologies, data collection and analysis techniques, as well as providing a framework for understanding the research presented in the CMC research poster session to follow. Audience participants can expect to leave this double session ready to conduct their own L2 CMC research and apply research insights to the creation of pedagogical CMC activities.
Improving Negotiation of Meaning through Technology-Enriched Information Gap Activities
Theresa A. Antes
Negotiation of meaning among novice-level learners is both more crucial to communication and more difficult because students have little language with which to negotiate. This session presents efforts to facilitate negotiation of meaning among novice-level learners through technology-enriched information gap activities. Multimedia formats can provide students with various types of language support, thus allowing them to work through the task differently, and often more successfully. Comparisons of language produced by students working in traditional and multimedia formats will be provided to determine the effect of this additional support on language produced and overall negotiation of meaning.
Distance Language Learning: Delivering to a Worldwide Audience
Josh Saunders
Marsha Kaplan
Eleni Marinos
Since 1999, the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) has been taking language learning to the desktops of foreign affairs professionals around the world. Courses that teach basic communication skills are offered in French, German, Greek, and Korean. Advanced reading skills courses are being given for Arabic, Chinese, French, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. This presentation by content experts provides an overview of the collaborative learning and teaching strategy with a focus on the role of the mentor in an asynchronous learning environment.
Web-Based Class Projects for Introductory Language Courses
Clara Roman-Odio
Using the web as a point of departure for class projects in introductory language courses can immensely enhance learning possibilities. Students become active participants in a personal creation which involve finding and selecting information, designing, and performance. The goal of this work will be to present the design and implementation of four web-based class projects aimed at providing active practice (oral and written) of the vocabulary, grammar, and real-life situations introduced in an introductory Spanish course. The projects offered students an opportunity to investigate specific aspects of Hispanic cultures by focusing on individual countries, prominent figures, the arts, cuisine, politics, and history. The design is based on an integrative approach to language learning including web-based research, free exploration of the target culture, use of illustrations, oral presentations, and pair exchanges. Project samples will be shown, along with a discussion of the grading criteria and outcomes. Overall, this work demonstrates that the web can serve as a powerful vehicle to noticeably improve the quality of written and oral discourse and the level of cultural engagement.
Integrating Auralog’s Tell me More into a Basic German Program: Textbook Versus Technology–Some Challenges
Johannes Vazulik
Kenneth Burkman
Beginning this academic year, the US Military Academy (USMA) at West Point has integrated the Auralog Tell me More (TMM) e-learning system into the basic language program for four of seven languages. Each language has adopted a different approach for integrating TMM into their courses. For the German program, the challenge was to tailor activities that followed the existing program of instruction and capitalized on the strengths of TMM’s speech recognition and pronunciation features, while, at the same time, complementing and supplementing the current textbook’s content. Presenters will discuss their work in creating customized learning paths and developing ancillary instructional materials for true beginners. They will also address problems encountered, lessons learned, and future tasks.
11:00 – 11:45
Power, Politics and Pecking order: A Case Study of Technological Innovation as a Site of Collaboration and Resistance
James N. Davis
This paper summarizes a qualitative study of (a) the creation of highly successful web-based beginning FL-teaching software and (b) the political implications of the development team’s success within their host administrative unit, a department of foreign languages at a large US research university. As the team forged strategic alliances across the campus and received substantial funding through the university’s technology initiatives, certain traditional intradepartmental power relationships (especially language vs. literature teaching) were destabilized. My aim in conducting this research was to understand better what happens when a technological project becomes central to a department’s functioning, and, thereby, to faculty discourse.
Vocabulary Acquisition in an Online Environment
Jennifer Oden
Conflicting opinions regarding vocabulary acquisition abound. Watanabe (1997), found that both multiple-choice definitions and marginal glosses are effective, while appositive definitions given within a text are least valuable, with marginal glosses showing the best evidence of vocabulary retention. However, some have criticized these findings because the subjects exposed to the multiple-choice treatment did not receive feedback, inhibiting item acquisition. Hulstijn (1992) says extra work may aid in learners’ retention, due to the “mental effort” hypothesis. Using CALL materials to provide immediate feedback, this study investigates if extra mental effort on the part of the learners affects vocabulary acquisition.
Language Learning Attitudes of Learners Towards the Use of Technology
Martine Peters
Daniele Guénette
As technological innovations have invaded the classroom, learners have reacted in different ways. In an effort to understand more clearly the impact of technology on the second language learner, this paper will present results obtained from university learners of a second language. The purposes of this research are (a) to discover the extent to which language learners are incorporating computers into their language learning and (b) to find out what attitudes learners have towards the use of computers in language learning. Results indicate that students who use the computer laboratory feel more comfortable using the technology but also judge that using the technology makes them better language learners.
Approaches to Developing an Intermediate to Advanced Instructional Language Web Site
Bogdan B. Sagatov
The Russian Language Mentor (RLM) web site at the George C. Marshall Center is designed as a development/sustainment curriculum for intermediate to advanced linguists. The site offers a variety of tools and strategies used to engage and involve eLearners. Take a tour of the RLM with its developer, Dr. Bogdan Sagatov. Not just for Russian linguists!
On Slate: Creative Uses of Blackboard In and Outside the Classroom
Christina Frei
Ed Dixon
Nelleke Van Deusen-Scholl
This presentation focuses on creative uses of Blackboard (course management system) in three different settings: (a) integrating Blackboard into a first-year German language course with course assignments and classroom activities, (b) in collaborative group work in which students in a fifth-semester German conversation and composition course use Blackboard as a virtual collection space for student-created comprehension exercises (working in Hot Potatoes and Wimba) in connection with their readings of an authentic literary text, and (c) “Language Direct,” a peer-tutoring program for foreign language learners of Spanish, Italian, French, and German which provides drop-in tutoring and online help. We use Blackboard to organize each language into a community of learners and to coordinate our tutoring assignments.
Linguistic Data Mining: The Role of Corpus Linguistics in Web-based Language Pedagogy
Ken Petersen
This presentation will provide a brief theoretical overview of Corpus Linguistics and demonstrate a specific example of the implementation of Corpus Linguistics-inspired tools in action. Russet, an Internet repository for content-based Russian language materials has recently unveiled a content authoring system which allows instructors to develop content-based materials and activities. A key component of the system is a set of tools which allows students to find collocations of lexical items in the texts and activities produced on the site and allows instructors to search student work for the usage of specific forms, words, and phrases.
1:30 – 2:15
Code-switching Forms in Email Messages: An Exploratory Comparative Study
Susanna Sonia Tobias
The last three decades have seen the expansion of research exclusively committed to code-switching in its spoken form, but systematic investigation into code-switching at the written level has been largely neglected and is, therefore, still in its embryonic stage. This paper will report the findings of an exploratory comparative research carried out on code switching in emails, a new form emerging from written discourse in the electronic era. The study investigates code-switching practices of four different linguistic groups and of three levels of proficiency. Also, the paper will discuss the pragmatic use of this uninvestigated field for teaching, academic, and nonacademic purposes.
Assessing Computer Literacy in Adult ESL Learners
Amy Meckelborg
Studies into the effectiveness of CALL often assume a degree of computer literacy not reflected in a class of adult immigrant learners, many of whom have had limited exposure to technology. This presentation will report on a study that looked at computer literacy among adult ESL learners. A typical CALL lesson was analyzed to isolate the prerequisite computer literacy skills. These were then assessed by way of a self-report, a written test, and a practical test. Results will be discussed in relation to the computer literacy skills identified, the feasibility of the various assessment methods, and implications for classroom teaching.
The Auralog E-Learning System: When Technology Replaces the Textbook
Stephen LaRocca
Brian Poe
The large-scale introduction of Auralog’s Tell me More (TMM) system into West Point’s language program has taken different paths for the four languages involved. Most of these paths involve selecting some activities from TMM that preserve the structure imposed by a traditional textbook. The French program opted for a more holistic approach to incorporating the software, using the default TMM structure and sequencing as a replacement for that of a traditional text. With a goal of bringing about a dramatic increase in the amount of spoken language production that takes place in the course of a semester, all homework assignments come from TMM.
Hybrid Careers and Faculty Development with CALL
Joel Goldfield
This presentation examines trends in faculty development with CALL against the background of trends in job descriptions related to technology chiefly in the liberal arts complemented by undergraduate and graduate education programs. Background materials, updated since my 2002 CALICO presentation, will look at first-hand institutional information, recent survey results from national conferences, trends in CALICO and IALL conference programs, and job types in the Chronicle of Higher Education and MLA Job Information List ads. Pioneering results from a recently concluded joint social science and foreign language grant will be illustrated and future projects described.
Designing Web-based Activities for Active, Collaborative Language Learning
Sandra Peters
In this demonstration, participants will learn how to integrate web-based activities into classroom teaching to promote active and collaborative language learning. After examining web sites used for creating activities and sample web-based activities, they will explore low-tech ways to design and author their own activities.
Bring A New Life Into Interactive Digital Movies
Fuqiang Zhuo
DVD has an increasing role in foreign language instruction, but, due to the limited titles and features and additional hardware required to nonlinearly access to subtitles, instructors may like to have interactive digital movies with all the DVD features for teaching, learning, and research. The presenter will discuss how an interactive digital movie can satisfy various needs for instructional purposes and/or learners with different learning styles. Audience will see an interactive movie sample with its unique features such as hide-and-show of video and subtitle and annotations, accessibility to a subtitle sentence, data tracking of user’s interaction with the video, and so forth.
2:30 – 3:15
Computer Assisted French Vocabulary Learning by Signing Deaf Adults Using Le français sur le bout des doigts
Nathalie Bélanger
Michel Bastien
We will present the results obtained in a follow-up study on the evaluation of software dealing with computer assisted vocabulary learning of written French words. The results from a previous study were used as a starting point. We created new experimental material with words that were more difficult than in the previous study (less frequent and more orthographically complex words) and added a compulsory consultation of a bilingual online dictionary following some of the learning activities.
The Psychological Power of Cyberculture? Computer-mediated Communication and Foreign Language Anxiety
Marion Nike Arnold
Research in the field of computer-mediated communication (CMC) suggests that electronic discussions provide an egalitarian, low-pressure environment which can be especially beneficial for students suffering from foreign language (FL) anxiety. This presentation reports on the findings of a research study designed to address whether students actually experience a reduction in FL anxiety in electronic environments. This study compared six sets of small-group synchronous chat, email, and face-to-face discussions between 56 college students from third-semester German.
Application of Information Visualization to the Analysis of Online Discussion Among ESL Students
Teresa Chen
Language teaching professionals have increasingly used computer-mediated communication (CMC) to enhance instruction. As the medium becomes prevalent in language learning contexts, data that can generate information regarding the nature of educational CMC increase exponentially. Nevertheless, compared to the voluminous data available, there has been little analysis conducted to derive information for the improvement of teaching and learning. Information visualization, which is concerned with obtaining insightful understanding of data by means of visual representations, is ideal for the analysis. This presentation demonstrates an application of visualization to CMC analyses and claims that this analytical approach enables the generation of new insights.
Building a Community of Foreign Language Learners and Teachers Through a Web-based Environment
Nancy Pedraza Araque
Martha Berdugo Torres
This paper will report on partial findings from the authors’ on-going research concerning the design of a web-based environment to support undergraduate foreign language teaching and learning at the Universidad del Valle (Cali, Colombia). It will show an overview of the web-based platform, some of the activities and materials developed at the moment of the presentation, as well as the evaluation strategies and tools used throughout the participatory design process. Finally, some conclusions and comments on the experience will be presented.
Analyses of the Effects of an Electronic Course Management Tool in First-Year College Spanish Courses
Christine M. Huhn
Maria Cooks
Despite various semesters of study and using methodologies identified as best practices, it is not uncommon in today’s language classes to find students who have not developed the most basic of language skills. In order to address this concern at one university, a hybrid course design was implemented (distance learning combined with traditional language instruction) through the use of WebCT. This research project discusses the initial evaluation of the program used in the first-year Spanish classes at Purdue University. Included in the presentation will be a discussion of the use of WebCT as both a course management and research tool.
Dynamic Digital Media Archive for Language Teaching and Learning
John Vitaglione
LARC’s digital media archive (DMA) provides users connecting from different learning environments one-stop access to authentic language text and media resources. Foreign language teachers and learners will be able to find the resources they need easily without time-consuming Internet searches. The blend of topical language resources and instructional design suggestions will also enable language faculty to incorporate DMA materials into their lesson plans quickly. Content accessibility affords different learner modalities the ability to approach learning as best suited for them in a nonthreatening environment.
3:30 – 4:15
Collecting Topical Language Examples from the Internet
Joel Martin
Selim Levy
We describe a general technique for enhancing CALL systems by collecting topical, authentic language examples from the world wide web. Often CALL systems have very few examples displaying only a limited variety of syntax, authors, writing styles, and topics. By providing that variety, CALL systems may be more motivating to students, allowing them to choose the topic of the presented language examples. In addition, the students can learn from up-to-date, authentic uses of language rather than rote learning a small set of language examples.
Giving en E-Workbook a Go: Student and Faculty Perspectives
Catherine M. Barrette
Using technology in FL instruction has advantages and challenges; online workbooks are no different. An investigation into an e-workbook and e-lab manual for introductory Spanish led to their optional use in 12 first-semester Spanish classes because of their pedagogical and technological promise, and some manageable introductory challenges. This presentation describes the first uses of these e-materials, including percentage of students using them, start-up challenges, and ongoing problems and benefits. In addition, the results of a survey completed by faculty and students regarding the utility of these e-materials are discussed. Suggestions for others considering e-workbooks and lab manuals are offered.
CMC and the Five Cs: Bilingual Synchronous Computer-mediated Communication and the National Standards
Mark Darhower
The National Standards are by now a common and useful framework within which to conceptualize and deliver foreign language instruction at all levels. This presentation will demonstrate various ways in which the “five Cs” of the National Standards movement (communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities) unfold and develop throughout a semester of bilingual chat. Discourse analysis and questionnaire data will describe the discourse community of university intermediate-level English-speaking learners of Spanish in the United States and Spanish-speaking learners of English in Puerto Rico.
Key Word Searches for CALL Targeted Feedback
Howard Pomann
Jose Paez
In many CALL programs, fill-in phrase or sentence tasks only accept feedback for one correct response. Keyed-in response tasks accepting multiple correct responses usually provide limited feedback for incorrect responses. Through the use of key word search answer analysis, more interactive and effective fill-in tasks can be created which (a) accept multiple answers appropriate to specific contexts, giving students the opportunity to try out different lexical and grammatical forms; and (b) provide targeted feedback for incorrect responses, corresponding to correct answers students are trying to express. Presenters will demonstrate advantages and limitations of ESL templates developed using key word search analysis.
Providing Teachers with Innovative Technologies for English Language Learners: Collaborative Efforts for the Mainstream Classroom
David Rutledge
Sittipon Imasen
Mainstream public classroom teachers often lack the necessary skills to move beyond a reliance on commercially produced CALL materials to provide innovative technology learning opportunities for their English language learning (ELL) students. This session presents teacher produced materials that respond to ELL students’ linguistic (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and cultural needs. The session also describes some of the challenges in bringing together language learning theory and technology to a group of teachers with backgrounds that had been previously limited to language learning or technology. This separation of expertise created opportunities for a collaboration of skills to emerge.
Collaborative Online Reading as Strategic Activity
Sabine Siekmann
This presentation will report results of a qualitative investigation into the strategic activity of student dyads engaged in collaborative online reading tasks. Approaching reading from the perspective of sociocultural theory, students are viewed as engaging in tool mediation goal-directed activity. A microgenetic analysis provides insight into mediation tool use and types of dialogic engagement.