“Computer Assisted Language Learning” (CALL) Nazlı Gündüz, JĘZYK ANGIELSKI, academia

“Computer Assisted Language ...

“Computer Assisted Language Learning” (CALL) Nazlı Gündüz, JĘZYK ANGIELSKI, academia

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//-->Journal of Language and Linguistic StudiesVol.1, No.2,October 2005“ComputerAssisted Language Learning”(CALL)Nazlı Gündüznazgunduz@yahoo.comAbstractThis article will provide an overview of computers; an overview of the history of CALL, itspros and cons, the internet, World Wide Web, Multimedia, and research related to the uses ofcomputers in the language classroom. Also, it also aims to provide some background for the beginnerson using the Internet in language classes today. It discusses some of the common types of Internetactivities that are being used today, what the minimum requirements are for using the Internet forlanguage learning, and some easy activities you can adapt for your classes. Some special terminologyrelated to computers will also be used in this paper. For example, computer assisted language learning(CALL) refers to the sets of instructions which need to be loaded into the computer for it to be able towork in the language classroom. It should be borne in mind that CALL does not refer to the use of acomputer by a teacher to type out a worksheet or a class list or preparing his/her own teaching alone.Hardware refers to any computer equipment used, including the computer itself, the keyboard, screen(or the monitor), the disc-drive, and the printer. Software (computer programs) refers to the sets ofinstructions which need to be loaded into the computer for it to be able to work.Key words: CALL, computer assisted language learning, computer, hardware, software, internet.ÖzetBu makalenin amacı bilgisayar; bilgisayarın tarihsel gelişimi; avantajları ve dezavantajları;internet kullanımı; www; çoklu iletişim araçları ve sınıf içindeki bilgisayar kullanımı hakkında birçalışma sunmaktır. Aynı zamanda günümüzde kullanılan internet faaliyetleri, dil öğrenimi için gerekliolan en temel öğelerin neler olduğu ve sınıf içinde kullanılabilecek en kolay aktivitelerden bazılarınıyeni kullanıcılara göstermektir. Bu makalede bilgisayar kullanımına has bazı kelimeler kullanımalanları ile birlikte açıklanmaktadır. Örneğin, bilgisayar destekli dil öğrenimi (BDDÖ), öğrenilenyabancı dili desteklemek amacı ile bilgisayarın dil sınıfında değişik yöntemler ve becerilerdekullanılması ve kullanılan bilgisayarlara yüklenmesi gereken birtakım özel dil yazılım programlarınınkapsamaktadır. Bu demektir ki, BDDÖ bir öğretmenin derste kullanacağı ders notlarının veya çalışmakağıtlarının hazırlanması, yazılması ve basılmasını içermemektedir. Donanım (hardware) bilgisayarınkendisi, klavyesi, ekranı, disket sürücüsü ve yazıcı gibi bilgisayar sistemlerinin içinde ünite venesnelerin somut olanlarını nitelemek için kullanılır. Yazılım programları (software) ise bilgisayarınçalıştırılması için gerekli olan ve kullanım amacına göre özel tasarlanmış yüklenmesi gerekenprogramları niteler.Anahtar kelimeler:BDDÖ, bilgisayar destekli dil öğrenimi, bilgisayar, donanım, yazılım.1931. INTRODUCTIONIn the second half of the 20th century, education technologies were one of themost developed areas in the world. Computers, which have entered the school life in the late1950s in developed countries, are still developing day by day throughout the world. Today,they have become more powerful, faster, easier to use, more convenient and cheaper, andthey can process and store much more data, as well. Equipment such as hard disks, CD-ROMs, laser disks and printers used with computers have also developed rapidly. Usingthese, a computer program can handle sound, pictures and video along with characters.At the end of the 20th century, the computer-mediated communication and theInternet have reshaped the use of computers for language learning. Computers are nolonger a tool for only information processing and display but also a tool for informationprocessing and communication. Learners of language, with the help of the Internet, cannow simultaneously communicate with others or speakers of the target language all overthe world. Nonetheless, As Dhaif (1989) claims computers can never replace the 'live' teacher,especially in language teaching, where the emphasis is on mutual communication betweenpeople. It can just play a role in teaching the second or foreign language as an aid to theteacher.Today, there is huge amount of foreign language materials next to the traditionalgrammar book and dictionary. These materials include-course books, workbooks,programmed courses, cue carts, charts, newspapers, posters, picture cards, and cut outs, andso on. These are supplemented by other media, such as radio, television, slides, OHP,video tapes, games, toys, realia, as well as computers, multi media and the Internet.The language laboratories which were found in the 1970s under the influence of theAudiolingual Method have given room to computer assisted language learning (CALL) workstations. “Micro computers used as word processors complement the audio facilities, enablingthe interactive teaching of all four language skills reading, listening, speaking and writing”.(Crystal, 1987: 377). Crystal further adds that today a great variety of FLT exercises, such assentence restructuring, checking of spelling, checking of translations, or dictation tasks, andcloze tests can be computationally controlled using texts displayed on the screen.194Recent years have shown a boom of interest in using computers for foreignlanguage teaching and learning. A decade ago, the use of computers in the languageclassroom was of concern only to a small number of specialists in western countries.However, with the advent of multimedia computing and the Internet, the role of computersin language instruction has now become an important issue confronting large numbers oflanguage teachers throughout the world.To be realistic, although most teachers throughout the world still use chalk andblackboard, CALL is used routinely in language instruction in highly developed countries,such as the USA, Japan, and Western European countries including Turkey to providesupplementary practice in the four skills writing, reading, speaking and listening, as well asgrammar and problem solving. Though, as Chapelle points, “instructors need to understandhow CALL can best be used to offer effective instruction to language learners” (1990: 199).2. THE COMPUTERComputer is a device that processes information with great speed and accuracy.Computers process information by helping to create the information itself, bydisplaying, storing, recognizing, and communicating information to other computers. Ingeneral they process numbers, words, still or moving pictures, and sounds.The computer has changed the way people work, learn, communicate, and play. It isused by students, teachers, and research scientists as a learning tool all over the world, aswell as by individuals at home to study, work and entertain.In Encarta Encyclopedia (2000) it is recorded that the first electronic digitalcomputer was developed by the Hungarian-American mathematician John von Neumannto solve problems in mathematics, meteorology, economics, and hydrodynamics. Then, theAmerican physicist John Mauchly proposed the electronic digital computer called ENIACand build it with the American engineer J. Presper Eckert at the University of Pennsylvaniain Philadelphia. ENIAC which is completed in 1945 is regarded as the first successful,general digital computer. However, it weighed more than 27,000 kg and contained morethan 18,000 vacuum tubes. The computer’s vacuum tubes were replaced by a team of sixtechnicians each month and it had to be reprogrammed for each task. ENIAC initially was195used for military purposes. Fortunately, the technology of computer hardware, thephysical parts of computer systems, has advanced tremendously since then. Today asingle microprocessor of approximately 2 kg can do the same work as that pioneeringmachine (Snyder: 2000, in Encarta Encyclopedia).2.1 How Do Computers Work?The computer and its components are known ashardware.In other words, hardwareis equipment involved in the function of a computer. Computer hardware consists of thecomponents that can be physically handled. The function of these components is typicallydivided into three main categories: storage, input, and output. To illustrate, computerhardware includes memory that stores data and instructions onCD-ROMsandFloppy Disksvia the CD-ROM drive and Disk drive; the central processing unit (CPU) that carries outinstructions; theBusthe electronic circuitry that connects various computer components viawires or circuitry; the input devices, such as a keyboard or mouse, that allow the user tocommunicate with the computer; and the output devices, such as printers and video displaymonitors and speakers, that enable the computer to present information to the user. The lastdevice theModemenables connection to the internet via the telephone connection. Thememory capacity of a computer is measured in kilobytes (K), that is, a computer with acapacity of 64 K can hold over 64000 characters, letters and numbers, in its memory (Ditto:2000).On the other hand, the programs that run the computer are calledSoftware.Software, is the set of instructions a computer uses to manipulate data, such as a word-processing, (e.g., to write a letter), program or a video game. These programs are usuallystored and transferred via the computer's hardware to and from the CPU. The interactionbetween the input and output hardware is controlled by software called the Basic InputOutput System software (BIOS). Software programs are loaded on either disks or CD-ROMs (compact discs). There is a big variety of ready made language learning software inthe market today. Some of these are WIDA, Oxford advanced Learner's Dictionary on CD-ROM, Learn to Speak English, Encarta Encyclopedia and many more.2.2 What is the Role of the Computer in Teaching?The computer is a human made tool which is incapable of action. That is, it has no196inborn wisdom, no initiative and inherent ability to learn or to teach. It will perform, withremarkable speed, the instructions exactly given to it by a human user. Thus, the computer is‘the servant of the user’ and it should not be forgotten that its role in teaching is solely ateaching aid. Consequently, it is dependent on the teacher in many ways: for example, it isunable to create educational materials without the teacher. All the linguistic material andinstructions for its presentation must be specified by the teacher. It is the teacher who decideswhat degree of control the computer will have in her/his classes. Hence, as Brierley &Kemble (1991) state there is no need for teachers to feel threatened to loose their professionsto the computer.The computer can be situated in the classroom, in a special laboratory (CALLlaboratory), in a specially designed area of a library or in any convenient location wherethe student, or small groups of students can work uninterruptedly (Ahmed, Corbett, Rogers &Sussex: 1985). It can be used as the mainstay of a course, or back up, revision,reinforcement, extension, and so on. It may communicate with the student visually bydisplaying text, graphics or video images on a screen; it can also present sound in the formof speech, music or other audio-output. The most common means of communication withthe computer is by clicking on icons with the mouse or by typing commands and responses ata keyboard (Higgins: 1995). As a result, unique combinations of interactive and visualcapabilities, computers have a beneficial effect on learner motivation.3. COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING (CALL)The abbreviation CALL stands for Computer Assisted Language Learning. It is a termused by teachers and students to describe the use of computers as part of a languagecourse. (Hardisty & Windeatt: 1989). It is traditionally described as a means of'presenting, reinforcing and testing' particular language items. The learner is firstpresented with a rule and some examples, and then answers a series of questions which testher/his knowledge of the rule and the computer gives appropriate feedback and awards amark, which may be stored for later inspection for the teacher. Jones & Fortescue (1987)indicate that the traditional description of CALL is unfortunate and they present thecomputer as flexible classroom aid, which can be used by teachers and learners, in andout of class, in a variety of ways and for a variety of purposes. However, work with thecomputer, as any other teaching aid, needs to be linked with ordinary classroom work andCALL lessons, like the other lessons, need to be planned carefully.197 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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