Article about call 4

Appendix A:
A typology of CALL programs and applications

Computer as tutor

Grammar

CALL Programs designed for teaching grammar include drill and practice on a single topic (Irregular Verbs, Definite and Indefinite Articles), drills on a variety of topics (Advanced Grammar Series, English Grammar Computerized I and II), games (Code Breaker, Jr. High Grade Builder), and programs for test preparation (50 TOEFL SWE Grammar Tests) Grammar units are also included in a number of comprehensive multimedia packages (Dynamic English, Learn to Speak English Series).

Listening

This category includes programs which are specifically designed to promote second-language listening (Listen!), multi-skill drill and practice programs (TOEFL Mastery), multimedia programs for second language learners (Accelerated English, Rosetta Stone), and multimedia programs for children or the general public (Aesop's Fables, The Animals).

Pronunciation

Pronunciation programs (Sounds American, Conversations) generally allow students to record and playback their own voice and compare it to a model. Several comprehensive multimedia programs (Firsthand Access, The Lost Secret) include similar features.

Reading

This category includes reading programs designed for ESL learners (Reading Adventure 1 - ESL) and tutorials designed for children or the general public (MacReader, Reading Critically, Steps to Comprehension). and games (HangWord). Also included are more general educational programs which can assist reading (Navajo Vacation, The Night Before Christmas) and text reconstruction programs (see below).

Text reconstruction

Text reconstruction programs allow students to manipulate letters, words, sentences, or paragraphs in order to put texts together. They are usually inexpensive and can be used to support reading, writing, or discussion activities. Popular examples include Eclipse, Gapmaster, Super Cloze, Text Tanglers, and Double Up. [ICT4LT Editor's Note: See Section 8, Module 1.4, headed Text manipulation.]

Vocabulary

This category includes drill and practice programs (Synonyms), multimedia tutorials (English Vocabulary), and games (Hangman, Scrabble). Also useful are several reference and searching tools (such as concordancers) which will be described in the Computer as Tool section below.

Writing

Most software for supporting writing falls under the Computer as Tool category (see below). Exceptions include tutorials such as Sentence Combining, SentenceMaker, and Typing Tutor.

Comprehensive

A number of comprehensive multimedia programs are designed to teach ESL students a variety of skills. They range in price but many are quite expensive. Among the better known are Dynamic English, Ellis Mastery, English Discoveries, Rosetta Stone.

Computer as stimulus

The computer as stimulus category includes software which is used not so much as a tutorial in itself but to generate analysis, critical thinking, discussion, and writing. Of course a number of the above-mentioned programs (e.g. The Animals, Navajo Vacation, Night Before Christmas) can be used as a stimulus. Especially effective for a stimulus are programs which include simulations. Examples of this latter group include London Adventure, Oregon Trail, Sim City, Sleuth, Crimelab, Amazon Trail, Cross Country Canada/USA, and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

Computer as Tool

Word processing

The most common use of computer as tool, and probably the most common use overall of the computer for language learning, is word processing. High quality programs like Microsoft Word can be useful for certain academic or business settings (Healey & Johnson 1995a). Programs such as ClarisWorks and Microsoft Works are cheaper and simpler to learn and still have useful features. SimpleText and TeachText are simpler yet and may be sufficient for many learners.

Grammar checkers

Grammar checkers (e.g. Grammatik) are designed for native speakers and they typically point to problems believed typical of native speaker writing (e.g. too much use of passives). They are usually very confusing to language learners and are not recommended for an ESL/EFL context. [ICT4LT Editor's Note: See Section 6.1, Module 1.3, headed Spellcheckers, grammar checkers and style checkers.]

Concordancers

Concordancing software searches through huge files of texts (called corpora, which is the plural of corpus) in order to find all the uses of a particular word (or collocation). While very confusing for beginners, concordancers can be a wonderful tool for advanced students of language, linguistics, or literature.

The best concordancer for language students and teachers is Oxford's MicroConcord. The program includes as an optional extra several large (total 1,000,000 words) taken from British newspapers. Or this program, and other concordancers as well, can be used with any other text files available in electronic form.

[ICT4LT Editor's Note: See Module 2.4, Using concordance programs in the Modern Foreign Languages classroom.]

Collaborative writing

A number of tools exist to help students work on their writing collaboratively on computers linked in a local area network. The most popular among language teachers is Daedalus Integrated Writing Environment, which includes modules for real-time discussion, word processing, electronic mail, and brainstorming, as well as citation software and a dictionary. Other programs with some similar features are Aspects and MacCollaborator.

Reference

There are numerous CD versions of encyclopedias and dictionaries. Two which have highly recommended (Healey & Johnson 1995a) for language learners are the encyclopedia ENCARTA and the Longman Dictionary of American English.

Internet

The three most popular uses of the Internet for language teaching are electronic mail (email), the World Wide Web, and MOOs. Numerous programs exist for using electronic mail. The Eudora program has several nice features, including "point-and-click" word processing capacity, easy attachment of formatted files, and ability to include foreign characters and alphabets. The free version (Eudora Light) is suitable for most purposes; there is also a more powerful commercial version (Eudora Pro).

Eudora requires a direct connection to the Internet. Additional programs which run through the unix system and do not require a direct Internet connection are Pine and Elm.

To access the World Wide Web, one needs a special program called a browser. By far the most popular browser among educators is Netscape, which until now has been free to teachers and students. [ICT4LT Editor's Note: Internet Explorer is now the most widely used browser.]

MOOs ("Multiple-user-domains Object Oriented") allow for real time communication, simulation, and role playing among participants throughout the world, and a special MOO has been set up for ESL teachers and students (schmOOze University homepage 1995). The use of MOOs is greatly facilitated if one uses a special client software program such as TinyFugue (for Unix), MUDDweller (for Mac), or MUDwin (for Windows). [ICT4LT Editor's Note: See Section 14.2, Module 1.5 for further information on MOOs and their latest manifestation, MUVEs.]

Authoring

Authoring allows teachers to tailor software programs either by inserting new texts or by modifying the activities. Authoring runs on a spectrum from set programs which allow slight modification (e.g. inclusion of new texts) to complex authoring systems.

Many of the programs listed earlier (e.g. MacReader, Eclipse, Gapmaster, Super Cloze, Text Tanglers, and Double Up) allow teachers to insert their own texts and thus make the programs more relevant to their own lessons (and greatly extend their shelf life too). By allowing the students themselves to develop and insert the texts, the programs can be made even more communicative and interactive.

On the other end of the spectrum, authoring systems allow teachers to design their own multimedia courseware. These can take a lot of time and effort to master, and are most often used by true enthusiasts. Some are specifically designed for language teachers (CALIS, DASHER), others for educators (Digital Chiseler) and others for the general public (Hypercard, Hyperstudio, Supercard, ToolBook, Macromind Director).

[ICT4LT Editor's Note: See Module 2.5, Introduction to CALL authoring programs.]