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This
introductory section briefly outlines the challenges second and/or foreign
language educators are faced with in terms of using technology in their
classrooms in a way that is beneficial to their students. Also provided
is an overview of the main components of this article. |
 the challenge | article overview |
The Challenge Many
forms of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) are being used
in todayís second and foreign language classrooms and students and
teachers alike agree that the use of computers enhances the studentsí
language learning process. However, both technology and language
instruction have changed over the years and so have expectations.
DÌaz-Rico
(1999) aptly verbalizes the ongoing trend concerning the use of
the World Wide Web when she says: |
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Cybertutorial technologies describe the brave new world of the
computer-learner nexus. These are not the preprogrammed tutorials of the
integrated language systems, in which basic skills are carefully sequenced
in computer-managed drill-and-kill. This is learner-managed information
access, with project-based learning at its core. Who would have thought that
an interactional information web would empower the learner-as-creator to
spin around so artfully? Students who surf the web to complete projects for
class can process English purposefully and independently, becoming, in
effect, their own tutors. (p. 20) |
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In
other words, the recent developments of
CALL[1]
in the second and foreign language classroom go beyond the task-based
student-centered communicative approach with project-based learning
being emphasized. Whereas computers had been used primarily as
machine drillmasters
in the past, they now provide learners and teachers with an opportunity
to communicate with native speakers via the Internet (Lambert,
2001, p. 359) and to create projects in the target language making
the computer not only a tool
to learn with but also a means
to learn with and thus offering the learner a chance to engage
in meaningful authentic activities. And while experts, students,
and teachers alike are in favor of using technology in the language
learning classroom, questions on how to best incorporate and use
all of the technologyís capabilities remain widely unanswered.
Chun
and Plass (2000) describe the current situation as
follows: |
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In recent
years, use of the World Wide Web for delivery of language learning
materials has been expanding rapidly. […] There is a plethora
of Web sites for language teaching and learning that incorporate
the multimedia capabilities of the Web and present information in
form of visuals and audio in addition to text. However, the vast
majority of learner production activities involve only text-based
responses from the learner (e.g., answering multi-choice questions
about content or grammar, typing in answers to content questions
or grammatical exercises, filling in tables with information discovered
in the various Web sites, and writing short answers or essays […]).
Follow-up activities suggested on Web sites do often require students
to compare notes with each other, discuss what they found, or present
their findings orally to the class. Although these activities may
be inspired by hypermedia environments, however, they are usually
carried out in more traditional, non-networked means. (p. 151) |
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Thus,
the real challenge is to incorporate the technologyís many capabilities
into the learnersí production of the target language in a meaningful
way. This article is meant to present various theoretical concerns
on how to implement technology in a way that it supports the language
acquisition process of the learner. |
|
the challenge | article overview |
Article Overview The
article consists of two parts. Part one discusses recent publications
on the use of technology in the second/foreign language classroom.
Numerous variations of technology applications in the classroom
such as Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), Computer Mediated
Communication (CMC), Computer-Enhanced Language Learning (CELL),
and Technology-Enhanced Language Learning (TELL) as well as Computer-Assisted
Language Testing (CALT) will be looked at. It will also be
discussed how the use of technology changes the classroom dynamics and how
this influences the studentsí learning process. The second part of this
article provides a number of guidelines and checklists for evaluating
software packages and web pages which can be modified and further adapted to
many different teaching contexts. |