CALL%20Computer%20Assisted%20Language%20Learning

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CALLComputer Assisted Language Learning

• University of Stellenbosch

2
Introduction

• This presentation attempts to provide an
  overview of the historical development of
  CALI/CALL, with particular attention to the
  concepts, principles, techniques and applications
  that have evolved over the years.

3
Terminology

• The term
• Computer assisted language learning
• refers to educational measures taken to enhance
  language instruction which is not conducted by
  computer.

4
Terminology

• The term
• Computer assisted language learning
• appears to imply that stand-alone language
  software true self-study applications are
  impossible, unlikely or undesirable.

5
Terminology

• If language instruction by computer is only
  possible or desirable as an enhancement of other
  educational measures, it follows that it must be
  well integrated into these measures.

6
Interdisciplinary character

• CALL is a hybrid discipline. It has strong
  affinities to other disciplines outside the field
  of language teaching e.g.
• Information Science,
• Materials Design,
• Artificial Intelligence,
• Expert Systems,
• Interface Design.

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Interdisciplinary character

• Language educators with a solid scientific
  grounding in these other disciplines are rare
  which is why Levy states that
• When one looks at CALL software, one often finds
  that it adheres less to educational
  considerations, but that hardware and software
  tools determine, to a considerable degree, how
  CALL is conceptualized
• (Levy 1997 17).

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History (1)

• CALL began in the age of mainframe computers with
  large well-funded projects, e.g.
• PLATO Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching
  Operations, 1960, University of Illinois
• TICCIT Time-Shared Interactive Computer
  Controlled Information Television, 1971,
  Brigham Young University.

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History (2)

• The appearance of the home computer in the
  middle of the 70s (Apple I und II, Commodore PET,
  Radio Shack TRS-80) and at the beginning of 80s
  (Apple IIe, Sinclair ZX80, BBC micro, Amiga,
  Atari, IBM PC) opened computing to a broader
  audience. The beginning boom also extended to
  CALI. (cf. Info DaF 1992 147)

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History (3)

• As most of the new micro computers were
  equipped with the relatively easy to learn
  programming language, BASIC, many language
  instructors learned programming and began to
  write their own little applications.
• Manuals on programming for CALL soon appeared
  (e.g. Graham Davies 1985 Talking Basic) and
  the first CALL journals were founded (e.g.
  Calico Journal 1983).

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History (4)

• In the second half of the eighties, the Apple
  MacIntosh with the authoring system HyperCard
  became the trendsetter (cf. Levy 1997 23).
• By introducing a sophisticated graphical
  interface, using symbols to represent functions
  and the mouse to activate them, it set new
  standards for user friendliness.

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History (5)

Soon, the MacIntosh offered integrated sound and
video. CALL, which had so far mainly relied on
reading and writing abilities, could now also
address listening ability. Moreover, the
authoring system HyperCard made it possible to
develop sophisticated hypertext applications
without much programming skill (cf. Pisani/
Rünneburger 1994). The British Company OWL soon
followed with Guide, a hypertext authoring system
for the PC (cf. Kussler 1990).
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History (6)

• A vision from the early days of computing became
  reality. Ted Nelson who had coined the term
  Hypertext in 1965, following a concept of
  Vannevar Bush in 1945, understood it as one
  network which would eventually integrate all
  texts.The world wide web of the Internet
  which has revolutionised the world of information
  since the beginning of the 90s, has made this
  vision a reality.

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History (7)

• The Internet thrives on the hypertext principle,
  i.e.
• interconnecting
• electronically available
• information units.

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History (8)

• Using speech recognition, modern multimedia
  systems cannot only reproduce language, but
  actually be trained to analyse input from a user.
  
• This enables CALL, for the first time, to
  address all four language skills reading,
  writing listening and speaking.

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The Present

• The increasing use of CMC (computer mediated
  communication) has given the educator another
  tool in the CALL arsenal. One can now use chat,
  e-mail, SMS and Skype to enhance ones teaching.
• Apple has made a significant comeback with the
  introduction of the iLife concept which includes
  iPod, iTunes and an array of tools with which
  easily to create multimedia interaction.

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Types of Applications

• CALL applications have been classified in a
  number of ways. The following three types are
  intended as a very basic distinction
• Drill-and-practice
• Authoring programmes and authoring systems
• Hypermedia

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Drill and Practice

• The first CALL applications adhered to the
  dominating learning theory of the time,
  Behaviorism, and to the principles of Programmed
  Instruction (cf. Levy 1997 183)
• They consisted of simple text presentation and
  Drill-and-practice-exercises. Because of their
  rigid structure, they were easy to develop. (cf.
  Levy 1997 15-21)

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Drill and Practice

• DP exercises had a formative influence on CALL.
  Until the end of the 80s, CALL software
  consisted predominantly of exercises and tests of
  the types multiple choice, cloze and
  matching to facilitate vocabulary and grammar
  learning. (cf. Jung 1988a, 1988b and Info DaF
  19, 1992, 2).
• Depite the availability of other approaches to
  assessment, multimedia applications nowadays
  still mainly use these types of exercises. Maybe
  because they really are quite simple to develop.

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Authoring tools

• Authoring programmes either provide
  prefabricated templates for specific kinds of
  programmes or a toolkit with programming elements
  (or a combination of these types) which enable
  users to create applications without actually
  having to program. Sophisticated authoring
  programmes of the toolkit type are called
  Authoring systems. They normally offer a
  Courseware Management System with which learner
  responses can be evaluated, analysed and stored.

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Authoring Systems

• The PLATO project resulted in a versatile
  authoring system, TUTOR. Later, the Plato Author
  System for single user workstations was
  developed. The successors of these early ASs
  became more and more powerful.
• Extremely sophisticated and versatile hypermedia
  learning applications can be developed with the
  latest versions of programs like Authorware,
  Director and Captivate, for example.

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CALL Authoring Systems

• Authoring systems like CALIS (later WinCALIS
  Computer Assisted Language Instruction System)
  and Dasher were developed specifically for
  language teaching.
• However, the more sophisticated the system, the
  more it requires in terms of mastering it. Simple
  authoring programmes can be mastered in a few
  hours. Sophisticated authoring systems like
  Authorware require months of very intensive
  training.

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The cognitive model of AS

• Until the end of the 80s, CALL applications were
  mainly used as paging machines, presenting
  information and then asking questions on the
  material presented. The questions were set
  according to a few expected options, and users
  were branched according to their results.
• The cognitive model behind such applications was
  a flowchart which predetermined what, how and in
  which sequence material ought to be learned based
  on the accepted theory of the time.

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Hypermedia

• The paging machine type of CALL application
  became much less prominent with the advent of
  hypermedia.
• Hypermedia applications can be stand-alone or
  web-based, the latter becoming more and more
  widespread, because of ease of delivery.

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Hypermedia
Hypermedia enables the creation of applications
which can be used with a greater amount of
freedom for the user to choose how she wants to
master the material. Obviously, the learning
theory which underpins the development of a
specific learning application will influence the
choice of developmental tool.
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Hypermedia
Hypermedia enables the creation of applications
which can be used with a greater amount of
freedom for the user to choose how she wants to
master the material. Obviously, the learning
theory which underpins the development of a
specific learning application will influence the
choice of developmental tool.