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CALL Review
The Journal of the Computer SIG
FEBRUARY 2004... FEBRUARY 2004
JOBS
TRI-POINTS!
BLOGS
CULTURE
@ RESEARCH
REVIEWS
CoPs
CONFERENCES
In this issue...
From the Editor
From the Coordinator
Creating a CALL Community for your Class using a Simple Blog-based VLE
Elements to Consider when Implementing an Internet Research Project
WorldCALL 2003 - A Review
IATEFL Annual Conference, Liverpool 2004 - Computer SIG Programme
[ Playing at ] Cowboys and Indians
Surrender Value: A call on CALL... Why are you doing what you are doing?
Book Review - The Internet & Business English
Competition - Win a copy of Technical English - Vocabulary and Grammar
Software Review - New Headway English Course Interactive Practice CDROM
Disclaimers... How Wise!
Practical Teaching Idea: Teachers, meet the Phraselator
A Process Approach to Writing Using Word Processors
An Approach to Lexis: Web-based Data-driven Learning...
Practical Teaching Idea: Let’s Talk About Tri-Points
Quick Tips: Keyboard Shortcuts
Constructing Agreement and Disagreement in an Electronic Discusssion Forum
Good CoP, Bad CoP
IATEFL CALL Review | ISSN: 1026-428
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February 2004
FROM THE EDITOR...
NEW BEGINNINGS...
NEW EDITOR... NEW
LOOK... NEW IDEAS...
Gavin Dudeney
W
elcome to the first edition of the IATEFL
Computer SIG Call Review for 2004!
Firstly I’d like to thank everyone who has
worked on the newsletter before me ( a
long list of august names which I won’t
detail here in case anyone notices I’m an
imposter!) and made it what it is. Many
thanks also to all the people who responded
to my desperate pleas for articles and to
all those people who sent emails wishing
me luck and offering help should I need it.
Because of all these people, my first edition as editor has been a joy to put together
and I hope that all of you who are now
reading it will enjoy it as much as I have.
I’ve attempted to include a variety of articles
and I sincerely hope there’s something of
interest to everybody in the SIG. So, let’s
have a quick wander through what we have:
Graham Stanley from Barcelona Spain
explains how Blogs can be used with
classes, including plenty of links to useful follow-up resources. Following him,
Hideto D. Harashima offers useful advice
for those of us considering implementing
Internet research projects in our teaching.
Susan Esnawy gives us her personal view of
the WorldCALL conference from 2003 while
Roger Hunt attempts to get us to consider why
we work with technology and what we think
we (and our ‘punters’) are getting out of it all.
On the reviews front, we have a look at
The Internet and Business English from
Summertown Publishing and
the New
Headway English Course CDROMs.
Suize Tombs (currently working in Taiwan) offers some helpful advice on getting work via the web, including the pitfalls of ‘signing’ contracts at a distance.
Practical teaching ideas from Lindsay Clandfield (Teachers, meet the Phraselator),
Nik Peachey (A Process Approach to
Writing Using Word Processors) and Rolf
Palmberg (Let’s Talk About Tri-Points).
Caroline Mei Lin Ho reports on a fascinating study
entitled “Constructing
Agreement and Disagreement in an
Electronic Discussion Forum” and
Nicky Hockly brings the issue to a close
with a look at Communities Of Practice.
If you enjoy this issue, please consider
contributing to the next (you’ll find details
on page 19) with articles, reviews, lesson plans, hints & tips, letters, opinions...
Right... having laboured late into a few
nights to get this to the printers, I’m off
for a well-deserved trip to the countryside
for the weekend. (see picture below...).
Have a very good year, and I look
forward to hearing from you all
Gavin
February 2004 - Page 2
FROM THE CO-ORDINATOR...
A QUIET 2003.... BUT HIGH
HOPES FOR THE COMING
YEAR IN THE SIG
Tilly Warren
Dear Computer SIG members,
I
am delighted to be writing this for a
newsletter which follows so hard on the
heels of the last one – but the downside
of such prompt production is that there is
very little ‘news’ as such to report. First
of all a big welcome to Gavin Dudeney
our new Newsletter editor whose first
CALL Review you are holding. The other
committee members remain the same:
Geoff Taylor – web ‘wizard’; Sophie IoannouGeorgiou – Discussion List moderator;
Gary Motteram – advisory member.
We are holding another election for
a committee member – this time an
Events Coordinator – you should find the
ballot papers enclosed. You may have
noticed (and lamented?) a distinct lack of
events this year – we desperately need
someone on the committee who can take
responsibility for this area. Please do use
your vote!! (email is fine as long as you
include your IATEFL membership number.)
Talking of email, I have tried to contact the
membership by email a few times but it is
disappointing to find how many addresses
are either out of date or wrong (many emails are returned ‘undeliverable’). It should
be possible to check the accuracy of the
contact details for you held by head office
on the IATEFL website (your membership
number gives you access). Please check
these and let the office know if there are
any mistakes. If you have not had any
messages from me in the last six months
then we do not have your correct email
address. As well as letting the office know
you could e-mail me too (tilly@southdene
.freeserve.co.uk) which would allow me to
add you directly to the mailing list. If for any
reason you do not want to be contacted by
any of the Committee about Computer SIG
issues then please let me know at the above
address and we will respect your wishes.
Also enclosed should be nomination forms
for the post of Computer SIG Coordinator.
My term of office will come to an end at
the Liverpool conference in April 2004 and
although I am happy to continue if no one
else comes forward, this is a chance for the
SIG to choose a new ‘leader / facilitator’. If
you are willing to stand or know someone
who you would like to choose, make sure
the papers are returned by the deadline.
Hopefully the election (if there is one) will take
place before the conference, allowing the
new Coordinator to be ‘initiated’ at Liverpool.
We have much to look forward to at the
Annual Conference (see the SIG programme
for starters!) and although we do not have a
Pre-Conference Event this year, there are
many talks, workshops and presentations
on computer related issues throughout the
conference. However if you are not able
to come and meet us in person in 2004, I
hope that you will feel able to contact us
at any time with your ideas / suggestions
/ complaints so that the SIG stays focused
on issues that are important to you.
Very best wishes for 2004,
Tilly
NETWORKED TECHNOLOGIES IN USE...
Creating a CALL Community for your Class
using a Simple Blog-based VLE
Graham Stanley - Barcelona, Spain
Graham Stanley is the coordinator of English for Tourism at Turismo Sant Ignasi ESADE
(Universitat de Ramon Llull), and a teacher at the British Council in Barcelona. He
is currently finishing the dissertation for his M.Ed. in ELT & Educational Technology
(University
of
Manchester,
UK).
He
can
be
contacted
at
e-mail@grahamstanley.com.
“Weblogs.The unedited voice of a person! Will easy and inexpensive publishing technology change the face of
politics, business, journalism, the law, medicine, engineering and education? Is a revolution underway, or are
weblogs just the latest Internet craze? “ (post to BloggerCon: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/bloggerCon/ 2003)
This article examines ways in which blogs (short for weblogs) are being used for language
learning, and how different types of blog can be combined to form a VLE
(Virtual
Learning Environment) by looking at some example CALL blog communities. Finally,
blogs will be compared to the other technologies more commonly used in a VLE setting.
Origins:
Like me, you may have only recently heard of them, but blogs are as old as the Web itself. In fact, the
first ever website was a weblog (Winer 2002). They were first conceived as a collection of links with
notes arranged in reverse-chronological order. Since those days, and especially with the invention
of web-based software that makes publishing web content easy and fun (Blogger,
Blogger, the most popular
Blogger
site’s motto is ‘push button publishing for the people’) there has been a blog explosion. More than
anything else, blogs are being used as personal journals and for group project work. There are
now an estimated 4.12 million weblogs, of which 1.4 are active (Blogcount, http://dijest.com/bc/
November 2003), and there is a growing interest in using the technology in educational contexts.
Edublogs & EFL:
There are now many examples of blogs being used in education (edublogs), but few
occurrences of EFL teachers using them, which is surprising given the potential they offer.
One thing that does seem to be true is that those teachers who do use blogs, are very active.
Aaron Patric Cambell is one example. He has defined three basic types of ELT blogs for use
with students (Campbell, 2003a): The Tutor blog, the Learner blog, and the Class blog.
Cambell runs his own Tutor blog, called The New Tanuki (http://thenewtanuki.blogspot.com/), which
he uses to provide information to students about their course, links to language learning sites specifically
selected for their interests and needs, and also for his observations and comments about his life in
Japan, which no doubt can be followed up with his students in class. Running a Tutor blog is an ideal
way of giving students extra reading practice, and of directing them to sources of interest on the Web.
It is likely that some of Campbell’s students have private Learner blogs. These usually have the same
function as a traditional learner journal, which acts as ‘the basis for a private dialogue between teacher
and learner’ (Vickers & Morgan 2003), where students can record their thoughts and reflections on learning,
among other things. If desired, students can post homework assignments on their blog, and the teacher
can respond with written comments and even corrections. What the learners write is for the teachers eyes
only and the community that is formed (figure i.) can help build a closer teacher/learner relationship. This
type of blog-based VLE is particularly useful when a teacher has large classes with limited contact time.
TUTOR BLOG
LEARNER BLOG
LEARNER BLOG
LEARNER BLOG
Figure i. - Private Reflective Learner-Tutor Blog VLE
When the Learner blogs run by individual students are public and act as showcases for student writing,
thoughts, photographs, etc., this gives students a real reason for writing by providing them with an
audience that consists of more than just the teacher. It’s also a great way for them to individualise their
learning, and the teacher can use what the students write as a basis for follow-up discussions in class.
Although it takes some students time to
blogs at the beginning, when the idea catches on,
it can lead to impressive results as the blog becomes a space for self-examination and selfreflection (see this example: http://linaeo.blogspot.com/ ). It is clear that blogs can be excellent
learning tools, not only for developing writing, but for promoting autonomous learning in general.
When individual public Learner blogs are connected to each other through a Class blog a totally
different type of community is formed. The class blog is a weblog which, at its most basic, can
serve as an interesting extension to a face-to-face class (see http://cat-cult.blogspot.com
), allowing all students and the teacher to post comments about the joint learning experience.
Barbara Deu’s Class blog (Bee online: http://www.beeonline.blogspot.com/ ) started
life as a discussion space shared by the members of one class, but it has now developed
into much more than this. It is a good example of a weblog that is now used as an intercultural meeting point for students of several classes in different parts of the world.
Bee Online is a class blog which has links to individual learner blogs that any of the other
students can read, but not write to. The students use their learner blogs as private individual
writing spaces, and If they want to communicate to each other, they do so on the class blog,
using this as a discussion and debating space. When this type of e-learning community does
not allow contribution from the general public, we can say it forms a private communicative
learner-class blog VLE (see figure ii), with the central focus of attention being on the class blog.
CLASS BLOG
LEARNER BLOG
LEARNER BLOG
LEARNER BLOG
Figure ii. - Private Communicative Learner-Class Blog VLE
The Bee Online blog VLE is a good example of what Siemens calls a learning ecology
(2003) offering ‘many opportunities for users to dialogue and connect’; a flexible learning
space that evolves according to learner needs in a ‘consistently evolving environment’.
If one goes to the blog Archives, the development of the site can be traced. At first, the teacher
was an active participant in the space, helping students get used to using the weblog. Barbara then
encouraged discussion between students by inviting mystery guests (other teachers, myself included)
to contribute, and the latest stage of the class blog has been stimulated by an international exchange.
Now the teacher acts as moderator, intervening only to suggest new topics, or to steer a discussion
towards something that can be followed up on in class. The space has now become owned by the
students, who are the ones that generally decide what to write about, and how far to take a topic.
With
has
from
the addition of comments and chat facilities on a weblog (which Bee Online
now
incorporated),
the
blog-based
VLE
opens
itself
up
to
contributions
the
general
public
(see
figure
iii)
and
becomes
more
interactive.
The Public
The Public
LEARNER BLOG
LEARNER BLOG
CLASS BLOG
LEARNER BLOG
The Public
Figure iii. Public Communicative Learner-Class Blog VLE
This is similar to the ‘Weblog-based VLE’ described in Campbell (2003b:64), and allows the
establishment of an ‘open dialogue with others’ that can deeply enrich the learning experience. Soon
after I started posting as a mystery guest (see the Bee Online Archives – August 2003), Barbara
told me that the students were talking about who I was and where I came from in-between classes.
Blogs vs Traditional VLEs
Commercial VLEs such as Blackboard and WebCT have become popular ways of
providing Computer Supported Cooperative Learning (CSCL), offering a variety of builtin course delivery tools useful for online learning. These often include message boards, email facilities, and chat. These controlled learning environments are good at emulating the
private classroom online, allowing spaces for discussion, assignment setting, and tests.
This type of VLE is similar to a traditional classroom, being a closed, private environment
for the group of learners concerned. A blog-based VLE, on the other hand, is useful for
educators who are interested in opening up this environment. As a posting to Cyberdash (http:
//cyberdash.com/node/view/125) states, the blog-based VLE,as outlined in this article, is not
meant as an alternative to a course management tool, but what it does offer is an opportunity
for more open, cooperative, and creative learning,
‘eliminating the firewall around the
classroom’ (Campbell 2003b:65) environment offered by VLEs such as Blackboard and WebCT.
How to get started:
There are many different sites offering free blog services, but perhaps the most reliable,
and easiest to use with students is Blogger (http://blogger.com). Setting up blogs with
students takes less than thirty minutes, and downloading the free Google toolbar (http:
//toolbar.google.com/ ) makes publishing to a weblog only two mouse clicks away.
More information about blogging and ELT can be found at my weblog: http://blog-efl.blogspot.com
References:
Campbell AP(2003a) ‘Weblogs for use with ESL classes’ The Internet TESL Journal: http://iteslj.org/
Techniques/Campbell-Weblogs.html
Campbell AP (2003b) ‘The Experience of Computer Supported Cooperative Learning Using Weblogs in the
university Classroom: a phenomenological case study
study’ Dissertation submitted to University of Sheffield.
Vickers C & S Morgan ‘Learner Diaries – An important tool for teacher and learner alike’ (2003) Modern
English Teacher Vol 12 No 4
Winer D (2002) The History of Weblogs: http://newhome.weblogs.com/historyOfWeblogs (last updated
May 17 2002, accessed 28 Nov 2003)
RESEARCH - PROJECTS...
Elements to Consider
when Implementing an
Internet Research Project
Hideto D. Harashima, Japan
Hideto D. Harashima is an associate professor at
Maebashi Institute of Technology in Japan. He has
been engaged in CALL since 1995. He obtained his
MA in Linguistics from San Diego State University in
the U.S.A., and is currently doing his doctoral study
as e-learning with Macquarie University in Australia.
1.0 Introduction
I
n recent years the Internet has empowered us to
get virtually any kind of information from all over the
world with just a few mouse clicks. It has especially
benefited people in isolated or remote countries by
providing an easy access to abundant information
outside of the country. In Japan, for example, where
most people have had little contact with Westerners
or information in English, the Internet has given
learners of English a new reason to learn the
language. The reason is the hope that, with a good
command of English and the Internet, they can obtain
valuable information in the world without seeking a
foreign informant, taking the trouble of going to a
large library, paying money for foreign newspapers
or magazines, or being frustrated with belated
news delivery. Japanese people are beginning to
realize that English has become more authentic, or
meaningful, to their daily lives than ever before. They
are at last beginning to use English as a common and
convenient tool for learning about world events.
However, it is a regrettable fact that not many college
students are familiar with methods of searching
for information in English on the Net. With such a
situation at hand, teachers in the CALL field are
increasingly under pressure to design good research
projects or activities which effectively build up
students’ interest in world affairs, their search skills,
and their ability to process information. This paper
will discuss some of the elements that all CALL
instructors should consider for the betterment of an
Internet research project, which will serve to prepare
students for full-scale research.
2.0 Teacher Control
The first element is the degree of teacher control
over a student project. Students with little computer
training background, who are the majority in most
Japanese universities, are hopeless for Internet
research, since they don’t know the basic technique
of using a web browser and various other search
tools. If a teacher dispatches such students into the
high seas of WWW without much basic skill building,
they will very likely be drowned or waste their time.
If students are at novice level, “sheltered” research
projects with substantial teacher control are more
desirable.
Students at an elementary level of CALL should not
be asked to surf the Net at random because they
may very easily get lost. Rather, the teacher should
guide them to a particular portal site with some links
to selected resources. Students can use this site as
a base from which to hop around following the links,
and they can always go back to it. This way they can
avoid getting lost or getting stuck in the maze of the
WWW, which is also beneficial to the teacher. It is
safe for both the students and the teacher. Naturally,
it cannot help but be somewhat primitive, for an
activity that we are terming 'research'. Nonetheless,
it can be interpreted as a good introductory research
activity as it satisfies the minimum definition of
research by Nunan (Nunan, 1992): a combination of
(1) a question, problem, or hypothesis, (2) data, and
(3) analysis and interpretation of data.
One good site for such an introductory research
project is the World Fact Book by CIA (http:
//www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/docs/
profileguide.html). This is a very informative
resource site of basic facts about most countries
in the world. With this resource a teacher can give
students the task of doing geographical research
on a particular country of their interest or comparing
data from a selection of countries. The whole activity
can be fairly controlled and there will be little room
for panic.
3.0 Student Autonomy
Though the above is a good project at its introductory
stage, it certainly lacks some important elements of
legitimate research. The crucial one is autonomy.
Research activity is generally understood as an
autonomous inquiry into truth. Research is an active
process of planning, hypothesizing, data searching,
trial and error, experiencing frustration from
unsuccessful searches, and feeling the excitement
of new discoveries. Students are expected to
experience those steps by themselves while engaged
in research activities on the Internet, otherwise they
will not learn the essence of what research is about.
Teachers must always try to allow as much student
autonomy as possible for a better research project.
4.0 Variety of Information Sources
Another element we cannot overlook in the above
project is the limitation of information sources. If
students are collecting data from one or a limited
number of source(s) of information, they are not
expected to give fair consideration to comparison
of different, sometimes opposite, data elsewhere.
Consequently, it doesn’t nurture critical thinking habits
among the students. It is certainly not desirable.
Research projects should be taken by a teacher as
a prime opportunity to teach important elements of
media literacy. Students should be encouraged to
access multiple and varied sources of information on
one subject as far as circumstances allow.
When students write a research paper by retrieving
information from very limited sources, it tends to
become a mere report on what they found there,
for the activity inevitably breeds a passive attitude
among the students. The paper may be full of
citations and copies of data with no substantial or
original arguments. Poor editing skills often add to the
obscurity. Inevitably, the teacher is doomed to difficult
decisions on the issue of plagiarism. To avoid such
a situation, students must eventually be freed from
tight teacher control; they must be given autonomy
but with an emphasis on originality. They must be
given a chance to get information autonomously
and process it autonomously after being adequately
introduced to the concept of polite behavior on the
Net, or netiquette.
5.0 Search Technique Instruction
In the above the author argued that students must
be led from teacher control to student autonomy as
they develop Internet research skills. However, once
students start out on an autonomous voyage into the
universe of the Internet, the class can become chaotic.
There will be a number of faces in anguish and dismay.
It is therefore important for a teacher to introduce them
to adequate search techniques before rendering them
total autonomy. The most essential technique includes
how to use search engines and effective keywords.
First, students must be introduced to some of the
basic search directories, search engines, online
libraries, databases, and other valuable resource
sites. Attentive instruction on how to use search
engines effectively should never be neglected. It is
also extremely essential to teach how information is
typically categorized. Advanced search techniques
such as the Boolean search, title search, searching
by language, searching by dates, etc., should be
introduced, too. Practical tips such as Dodge (2001)
will be a good help for introducing some important
Internet search skills to students.
Second, an introduction of useful search keywords
must be provided for students. Thinking up good
keywords in a foreign language can be very difficult
for students and teachers must pay special attention
to this, for the ability to select effective keywords
can be crucial in reaching the desired information
successfully. Some helpful keywords for objective
information search include data, records, numbers,
statistics, stats, list, table, countries, standing,
comparison, facts, recent, increase, decrease, etc.;
some good keywords for subjective information
search are opinions, views, review, analysis,
discussion, forum, criticism, critic, argument,
opposition,
controversy,
conflict,
difference,
comparison, assessment, evaluation, and so forth.
As soon as students receive proper guidance on
search technique, they will start to show skills in
looking for information at their own discretion and
according to their own capabilities. It is at this point
that truly autonomous research begins to take
shape.
6.0 Selection of research topics and methods
The next element we must consider for a better
Internet research project is wisdom in the selection
of research topics. Though student autonomy should
be respected, giving them total freedom in choosing
a research topic may not always be very educational.
They would most likely choose an easy topic such as
the private life of a popular rock singer. This kind of
research activity may not be totally meaningless, but
before letting students settle for amusing Net surfing,
teachers need to lead the students to the awareness of
two different search methods: the Internet search and
the library search. Not all research topics are suited
for Internet search; some may be better searched
by a more conventional method, i.e. browsing
through printed materials. Therefore, students must
be led to an understanding of the advantages and
disadvantages of doing research on the Internet.
One way of leading students to this awareness is
to give them a list of different search queries and
let them try to reach the answers for each query by
the two methods. In the meantime, the students are
required to record and report the differences in the
time they spent on each method, in search results,
and in levels of difficulty.
The author tried giving his students a variety of
search queries to which they had to apply the two
methods, ranging from a simple question such as
“What is the name of the pet dog of George W.
Bush?” to more challenging one like “Is NAFTA a
success or failure for Canada?” The students took
them to the Internet and local libraries and reported
their evaluations of the two methods. Eventually, the
author learned empirically and from students' reports
what kinds of queries were suited for each method,
shown as below.
Areas of queries suited for the Internet
research: current issues; statistics; frequently
updated
data;
personal
information;
discussion results; controversial issues;
institutions and their activities; IT-related
information; business-related information
Areas of queries suited for the library
research:historical or chronological events;
established value, thoughts, theories, and
systems; famous people in history; works
of specific areas such as literature, art,
architecture, etc.; information about the
third-world countries; academic studies in
depth
The author believes that it is worthwhile to introduce
to students an activity, such as the one above, which
leads to the awareness of the differences in the nature
of research topics. Good research guidelines such
as Wilson (2001), Pepperdine University Library
(2001), and Brown-Daniel Library (2001) will help
students do research by both methods. Meanwhile,
if we intend to make our Internet research project
fairly feasible, it is important to select research topics
suitable for Internet research.
7.0 Objective or Subjectively Oriented Information
The final element is whether we should guide
our students to look for objective information or
subjectively oriented information on the Internet.
An activity of searching for simple objective facts/
data may be straightforward and fun, but it does
not stimulate students’ motivation for intellectual
investigation, nor develop their search skills or critical
thinking habit very much. It could become a factfinding game, and as soon as a fast student finds the
answer, he/she gets satisfied and does nothing but
idle around. It is also susceptible to plagiarism.
An activity of searching for subjectively oriented
information, on the other hand, could elevate
students’ overall research competence. By looking
into some opinion sites on controversial issues or
confronting values, students learn the importance
of comparing multiple sources and thinking critically.
They are pressed to duly understand the different
views, and to create their own views through some
dialectical processes. This course of activities has
crucial importance to the students for developing
their overall media literacy. It should be considered a
vital element of a worthwhile Internet research project
in preparation for a good full-scale research paper.
8.0 Conclusion
The author has so far argued for some important
elements to consider when we try to implement an
Internet research project to our classes in the context
of Japanese universities. These elements must be
relevant to many CALL classrooms elsewhere in the
world. A successful Internet research project can be
summarized as one that has a good balance between
teacher control and student autonomy, being smooth
yet challenging, and with a well-thought-out design
by the instructor.
References
Brown-Daniel Library (2001) Library Research
http://www.tnstate.edu/library/library_
research.htm
Dodge, B. (2001) Seven Steps Toward Better
Searching
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/WebQuest/searching/
sevensteps.html
Nunan, D. (1992) Research Method in Language
Learning, CUP. 3.
Pepperdine University Library (2001) Seven
Steps to Effective Library Research
http://rigel.pepperdine.edu/instruction/
bisteps.html
Wilson, F. (2001) Effective Library Research
http://www.nceltr.mq.edu.au/resources/
REVIEWS - CONFERENCE...
which it can be useful to them, and improve life in the
community so that they could make optimal use of it.
WorldCALL 2003
Banff, Alberta, Canada
Susan Esnawy, Egypt
Susan
Esnawy
has
been
an
ELT
at
the
Academic
English
for
Freshmen
Program
at
the
American
University
in
Cairo,
Egypt, for 15 years.
She has taught EAP
and ESL/EFL for 20 years and is interested
in
the
use
of
computers
and
the
Internet
in
English
Language
Teaching.
W
orldCALL 2003 drew professionals in CALL
and language teaching from over 40 countries
from different parts of the world.
Participants
enjoyed the beautiful setting of the Banff National
Park, in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. The
Banff Centre provided a very good venue for the
conference as participants managed to take walks
and discover the beautiful surroundings and town.
The conference was very well organized, due to the
efforts of the hosts. Two activities were planned for
the day before the conference: a tour of Johnson
Canyon and Lake Louise at noon, which impressed
participants with the beautiful natural scenery and
few elks they saw! In the evening, the Conference
Reception gave participants a chance to meet and
get over their jet-lag and the altitude! The next day
the conference started early. The following is only a
selection of the contributions and, as usual, reflects
the interests and views of the writer of this report.
In the first day keynote address, “Of Digital Divides
and Social Multipliers: A Global Perspective on
Language, Technology, and Development”, Mark
Warschauer discussed the disparity between
countries and regions as regards the spread of
computer use and Internet technology (IT). He
cited examples and studies of people’s reactions
to the introduction of IT in their communities from
India, Egypt, and Ireland. He concluded that the
solution was not only providing hardware, but
also preparing and training people in using this
technology, and introducing them to the ways in
Building on the conference’s theme “Call from the
Margins”, the International Panel, chaired by Martin
Beaudoin chair of WorldCALL 2003’s organizing
committee, hosted presentations discussing the state
of CALL in seven countries from Asia and Africa:
Egypt by S. Esnawy, Thailand by C. Intratat, Iran
by Fahimeh Marefat, South Africa by Nombulelo
Monoana, Ukraine by Halia Kaluzhna, Kazakhstan
by Sulushash Kerimkulova, and Vietnam by A. N.
Truong. They discussed the available facilities in
these countries and their institutions, the students
and the teachers who use CALL and the Internet and
their access to them, and the types of programs and
activities used. Although the panelists’ talks reflected
the limited spread of CALL and the Internet in these
countries, they emphasized the positive steps taken to
date to spread the use of CALL. They all agreed that
the use of CALL in these countries is on the rise and
they hoped its spread would increase in the future.
Peter Ruthven-Stuart in “Bringing CALL in from the
Margins into the Mainstream of Language Teaching”
reported on a 52 item survey of the use of computers
in language teaching and teachers’ attitudes towards
it. Although the percentage of teachers who use
CALL is not large, most teachers believe that its use
in language teaching will increase and they want to
learn more about incorporating it into their teaching.
Integrating CALL into language teaching requires
both “Broad Integration” and “Deep Integration”;
the former is achieved with the increase in the
number of teachers using CALL in their teaching,
while the latter, which is more challenging, requires
that “ICT…become a central pillar of language
teaching”.
This requires changes in teachers’
perceptions of the role of computers in the learning
process and in teaching styles. Ruthven-Stuart
concluded that changes in teacher training and
material development, and institutions’ recognition
of creation of online materials are needed for CALL
to be fully integrated into the mainstream and to
have a significant impact on language teaching.
Tannis Morgan and Stephen Carrey in “Intercultural
Collaborative Learning in Online Forums” reported
on a two-month study whose aim was to develop
ESL undergraduate students’ reading and writing
skills and make them aware of cross-cultural
issues. Students from Mexico, Russia and Japan
were involved in asynchronous text forums and
discussed different teacher and student initiated
topics. They wrote five times a week and their
contributions were evaluated on quality and quantity,
but were not corrected by the teachers. Morgan and
Carrey found that the international audience was
a good motivator, but that the discussion threads
became exhausted at about eight weeks. The forum
exposed students to multiple perspectives on issues
discussed in class and provided them with a chance
to express their thoughts in depth, in authentic
communication, and the freedom to choose their
communication partners. Although students’ level
of academic writing did not improve significantly, the
activity could be designed so as to improve academic
writing skills through making up teams of students
from different cultural backgrounds and involving
them in online group projects and assignments.
Gina Mikel Petrie in “The Role of Visual Language
in the Multimedia Language Classroom” presented
the findings of three qualitative pilot studies in which
she observed classes and interviewed teachers.
She found that although teachers and students
were unaware of it, visual language is present in
adult ESL classes. Students use visual language
as a scaffolding device; e.g., in a Powerpoint
presentation, they read everything off the screen
without any additions. As for teachers’ perceptions,
she found that some teachers view visual language
as “a separate component” from language or “just
another support to teaching that motivates students.”
Some teachers worry about distraction due to
graphics or interference from print conventions,
such as underlining which signals an important
point in print, while in online texts it signals links. As
regards navigational tasks, some teachers believe
that students need to be guided through every step,
while others assume that students can do them
without teacher help, so they assign tasks in which
students help each other, and any problems students
face are attributed to their level of computer skills.
Teachers who became aware of their assumptions
about reading online started to change their ideas
about it and to prepare students for such tasks.
Scott Gerrity in “Think, Do, Rethink, Redo: Lessons
Learned in Developing a Multimedia Based Language
Learning Web Site” discussed the different aspects
of creating such a web site. He explained the tasks
involved: web design, display, and navigation;
creating the content; data and files management;
and management of the project. Technological
development implies having to change some features
of the web site. In such a project, the teacher’s role
changes into a project manager. When available,
educational technologists help, but one has to
know exactly what is needed from them. Gerrity’s
recommendations for CALL web sites’ developers
were: first, one should determine navigation, manage
structures and design issues, and plan for possible
expansion. Second, a prototype should be made
and tested first, then one should adhere to it. Third,
one should be consistent in documentation of data
and files to facilitate their management. Last, one
should select the authoring tools which reflect one’s
pedagogical approach and suit one’s materials.
Elena Nalon and Mauro Marangon in “Which
Web Technology is Right for You? Case Studies
from the University of Padua Language Centre”
presented their multimedia website CLAWEB, http:
//claweb.cla.unipd.it, which they developed to meet
the needs of their students. They integrated several
technologies, such as Flash, dynamic HTML, and
advanced QuickTime to build their web-based
materials. CLAWEB is a language portal made
of independent web projects. Teachers build their
learning environments and each site targets a certain
course’s objectives. It is used for several activities:
as a supplement to class work, a bulletin board, and
for autonomous study and revision. There were
some shortcomings and their solution was the project
“Matlida” which is based on Keiron, a learning content
management system. They used Overlib, a free
software that makes it possible to add interactivity
to texts, and PHPBB, a free discussion forum
that can be used to develop writing skills. Matlida
combines rich hypertextuality and free style which
allows flexible student movement. The interface
of the platform is multilingual and records students’
responses, allowing tracking of their production
and progress. It offers effortless publishing and
integration with popular course authoring tools.
The conference scheduled one hour daily for
poster sessions, which gave the audience a
chance to read the posters and have discussions
with the presenters.
There were several
interesting
poster
sessions,
for
example:
•
Susan Esnawy “Combining In-class and Online
in EAP Writing? Yes, It Worked!” described
how the use of both helped graduate EAP
students improve their academic writing skills.
•
Al Evans “Learner Evaluated Content
Conversations on the Web” described how
in an economics class, taught by an ELT
and an economics professor, students
evaluated their performance in recordings
of their class activities; students’ skills
improved in both language and content area.
•
Alida Abbott “CALL and Translation
Technologies: A Discussion of Training,
Tools, and Methods” discussed the effect of
the new technologies on translation and the
types of training beneficial for translators.
The conference was a rich and beneficial sharing
experience in CALL. It was exciting and informative
as the presentations spanned a wide variety of
practices from different educational settings and
countries. We look forward to the next WorldCALL.
ADV
ERTI
SE
RE
HE
ADVERTISING RATES 2004
Think about it... if you’re reading this, so
are plenty of other people - and they could
be interested in your product. The CALL
Review is published three times a year...
FULL PAGE: £150 (b/w) | £200 (colour)
HALF PAGE: £100 (b/w only)
BACK PAGE: £250 (colour only)
INSERTS
Please
contact
IATEFL
Head
Office for issue price per brochure,
diskette
or
CDROM
sampler.
Next issue due out in May 2004. Contact
Gavin Dudeney on gavin.dudeney@
theconsultants-e.com
to
advertise.
IATEFL SIG PROGRAMME FOR LIVERPOOL 2004
FRIDAY 16 APRIL
1030 - 1120 (50)
1120 - 1155
1155 - 1310 (75)
1310 - 1420
1420 - 1510 (50)
1530 - 1600 (30)
1600 - 1630
1630 - 1720 (50)
WILLIAMS – Interactive whiteboards – lessons learned and lesson taught
COFFEE BREAK
BALDWIN – Resources on the Cheap: where they are and how to get them
LUNCH
Open Forum – refreshments will be served! This is your chance to meet the
committee, hear what we have been doing for the past year, have your say in the
SIG’s affairs and raise issues of interest or concern. All are welcome, members and
non-members alike.
CARBALLO CALERO – Computers: are they really a tool of motivation?
COFFEE BREAK
EDMETT – On-line tasks in ELT
Peter WILLIAMS
Interactive whiteboards – lessons learned and lesson taught
This is the first time a talk on Interactive Whiteboards has been on the Computer SIG programme
but as this is a use of technology that is becoming increasingly available it seems timely to hear
how one Teaching Centre (The British Council in Kuala Lumpur) managed the transition to their
use. Peter Williams is the Assistant Teaching Centre Manager (IT) at the BC in Kuala Lumpur.
Lucy BALDWIN
Resources on the Cheap: where they are and how to get them
Always popular on the SIG programme is a session on the best websites for good quality, studentcentred materials that our members can exploit as soon as they get back to work. This workshop
promises a chance to discuss issues such as motivation and access to resources as well as a
‘whistle stop tour of the best ESL sites on the Web’. These sites cover a wide range of areas:
listening and pronunciation; lexical and grammatical reference; corpora, collocation samplers
and concordances; grammar, lexical and skills exercises; authentic texts and lesson plans and
ideas. The session will also explore ‘ways in which the Internet can replace the teacher’ with many
practical ideas for student-centred lessons. Lucy Baldwin works at CES Embassy in Brighton, UK.
Maria Victoria Fernández CARBALLO CALERO
Computers: are they really a tool of motivation?
To balance out what might otherwise seem as a blind love affair with computers
and technology afflicting the Computer SIG, this talk discusses a real course where
computers were used, investigating particularly whether the initial flush of enthusiasm
could be sustained throughout the whole programme, and if not why not. The
influence of individual differences which affect attitudes to CALL will be discussed.
Maria Victoria Fernández Carballo Calero works at the Universidad de Vigo, Spain.
Adam EDMETT
E-tivities: On-line tasks in ELT
This talk will look at a particular framework for web-related work, Salmon’s five stage model for online learning as outlined in ‘E-tivities’ published by Kogan press in 2002. The presenter will describe
a project where ‘e-tivities’ were used, illustrating how the framework can be applied in an EFL context
by showing students’ work which resulted from tasks undertaken during the project. Although
focusing on a practical example the presenter will discuss the theoretical context, i.e. current online pedagogy in education and its relation to language pedagogy, thus rounding off the day with
plenty to discuss and reflect on. Adam Edmett works for the British Council in Bratislava, Slovakia.
ISSUES - CULTURAL...
[ Playing at ] Cowboys
& Indians
Gavin Dudeney, Spain
Gavin Dudeney is Project Director for the online
training
and
development
consultancy
The
Consultants-E
(www.theconsultants-e.com).
Author of the CUP title The Internet and The
Language
Classroom,
he
is
webmaster
for
the IATEFL TTEdSIG and IATEFL PAL sites and
editor of the Computer SIG Newsletter. This
article first appeared in the TTEdSIG newsletter.
E
arlier last year I was fortunate enough and very
privileged to be able to deliver a training course to
38 teachers in the Indian city of Bangalore. Organised
by a prestigious teaching organisation, this was one
of a set of four two-week training courses in four
different Indian cities. My particular course, “Creative
Use of Computers in the Language Classroom”, was
run over two weeks – the time shared with a local
trainer who is a leading light in the field.
A Wing and a Prayer
Before I left for Bangalore I was given plenty of
opportunity to exchange views with my co-trainer,
and the organisers, and they even went so far as
to send me example coursebooks from the various
regions, samples which shocked me, intrigued me
and left me sitting on a plane bound for Bangalore
(via Frankfurt) wondering what on earth had induced
But, I reasoned, I am a professional… I am
reasonably well-qualified, relatively well-experienced
and some (mainly my mother, it has to be said)
consider me to be something of an expert in my
field. I was going to be alright, it was going to be fun,
rewarding and everyone was going to be delighted
with the outcome.
Fast forward then through the most amazingly
intense two weeks of fantastically friendly, open
and receptive people, delicious cuisine, excursions,
theatre evenings, building a network, dead snakes,
cigarette breaks in the yard, late-night excursions
into town, the obligatory souvenir shopping, and join
me at the other end of this incredible journey…
The course finished at 6 o’clock on a Tuesday evening
and, due to prior work engagements, by midnight I
was sitting in the airport waiting for my flight back to
Barcelona, reading through the participants’ feedback
and preparing to write the report I had to turn in. On a
purely empirical level, I found out that the course had
been successful within the parameters that we had
set – the people who had not had the skills we had
set out to share felt that they had indeed acquired
them.
Those who had come with no skills (including the
participant whose shaking hand I had held over
a mouse after he had explained he had seen a
picture of a computer once in a magazine and was,
understandably, a little nervous at encountering one
‘in the flesh’, as it were) had left with something
they felt they could share with their fellow teachers.
Those who had had basic IT skills felt they had learnt
to apply those skills within the language teaching
context, and – albeit to a lesser extent – those who
had been technically proficient beforehand had, at
the very least, been given the opportunity to delve
deeper into the field.
School, Dazed...
But as I sat in that bustling airport, reading the
feedback from the participants, trying to collect my
thoughts and impressions on what had happened
over the previous 14 days, I was particularly struck
by the following comment (note to self: never again
leave a blank box on a feedback form asking for
‘general impressions…):
“Gavin has always remained cheerful
despite all the obstacles in his path.
He did try his best to make the course
interesting but maybe if he had done a
little more in-depth study into Southern
India and the problem of languages faced
here, he wouldn’t have found himself at
a loss. Anyway, it isn’t his fault that half
of the course people didn’t have the
language and the other half didn’t know
how to go about operating a computer.”
Now I haven’t had a school report in many, many
years – though some of my friends and colleagues
might claim that I often act the age to be getting
them – but this sounded a little like the kind of report
I used to receive as a youngster: the ‘could do better’
approach so favoured by teachers when I was
growing up. But – I reflected - in the case of those
halcyon days, the goal was at least (as defined by
my teachers) potentially attainable. Here, I felt, was
an extremely valid evaluation of the course through
the eyes of one of the participants – a paragraph
of enormous significance for future courses of this
nature. Yet I felt powerless to change that perception,
both during and after the course itself.
Guru Go Home
And I think that was as accurate a summation of
the potential pitfalls of teacher training – and indeed
training in technology – that I have ever seen. One
which needs to be broken down into its component
parts in order to be understood, evaluated and acted
upon.
There are two issues I’d like to deal with here:
1) The Global / ‘Native’ Market
“...maybe if he had done a little more
in-depth study into Southern India and
the problem of languages faced here, he
wouldn’t have found himself at a loss.”
So-called ‘native experts’ (such as we are) are seen
as desirable commodities. There is an assumption
that we know what’s best for people, that we know
our professional field inside out and that there is
something unique that we can bring to the training
arena. We are no more responsible for this attitude
than the people who purvey it – but we often end up
taking on the role of ‘social (or professional) cachet’ –
rather like having Kenneth Tynan in your local theatre
appreciation club or something, an attraction…
What is not touched upon in this assumption
(presumption?) is that the world – despite its
reduced size in the global era – is still a varied and
complicated place.
Since I started my life as a teacher trainer in the
use of technology I have been fortunate enough
to be able to hawk my experience around a lot of
different countries, from Australia to Colombia, taking
in England, France, Portugal, Poland, Brazil… but I
have mainly been working in the private sector, with
materials and approaches to teaching that have been
extremely familiar to me. And as such, I pride myself
in my depth of experience and my ability to convey
that experience to other interested parties. But whilst
I may be considered to be somewhat of an expert in
the use of technology, I am very much not au fait with
the varied situations of teachers around the world. I
read literature from all walks of life and all countries,
I subscribe to numerous mailing lists, read a wide
collection of newspapers, magazines, etc., but this is
merely skirting the edge of an extremely wide playing
field.
Alien Perceptions
What I found in India was alien to me – the language
was the same, the overall goal was the same (and,
by the way, the food was delicious and the hospitality
second to none…) but the situations – and I’d like
to focus very much on the plural there – of the
participants were totally detached from anything
I had seen before. An enquiring mind and an
interest in what they were doing were not enough
to overcome the obvious gap in our shared realities,
and I ultimately did them a disservice.
I don’t necessarily consider this to be a shortcoming of
mine. I talked to people before I went, I read through
the coursebooks they sent me, and whilst I was there
I made every effort to understand where they came
from and how they worked. But trying to understand
in 15 days what people have spent lifetimes trying
to understand is a physical and mental impossibility.
I was left with a definable set of variables: we all
spoke the same language (to varying degrees),
we all taught English, we had all - at some point experienced coursebooks…
But the more my co-trainer dwelt upon “the tyranny
of the content”, the more time I spent dealing with
comments along the lines of “in my school we would
never be allowed to do that” and the more I examined
the textbooks with their George Orwell reading text
followed by three pages of literary analysis, the more
I realised that trying to do a Suzanne Vega song
class (complete with audio, video and attractive
worksheets prepared using Internet content) was
pointless. Pointless for the stress it caused me, and
pointless because most of the participants felt that
this was not what they needed – that what I was
doing ultimately had very little bearing on what they
had to do.
There is much talk these days of the battle between
global and local resources – the potential for
coursebooks and materials which address the local
needs and interests of the people studying them.
Whilst this debate is raging in materials design, it
seems to be being less widely addressed in training.
And although this particular course seemed perfectly
conceived (a ‘native expert’ and a ‘local’ trainer) the
reality of the situation showed that what is normal
and acceptable in Barcelona - or indeed in a swanky
cosmopolitan school in Chennai - is not necessarily
relevant to the rural school teacher in a small village
in the Punjab.
2) Trainee Selection
“... it isn’t his fault that half of the course
people didn’t have the language and the
other half didn’t know how to go about
operating a computer.”
In my experience, 38 trainee teachers from
Manchester or Barcelona could reasonably be
expected to have shared knowledge, a similar level
of English, have used similar course materials, etc.,
and to be approaching any training situation from a
relatively common starting point.
IT + TT = No - No
The complications I usually encounter in my line of
work are ones of technical proficiency – any training
group of six or more participants will inevitably
include people who are very proficient in IT terms and
who are there for the pedagogical aspect of using
technology, and a number (increasingly unusual)
who have little experience of using computers and
are there primarily for the technical knowledge they
might be able to pick up.
To encounter a group such as the one we were
training in India is to be presented with an almost
impossible task, a never-ending compromise in which
the trainers struggle to keep the technically proficient
gainfully occupied whilst imparting the basic skills
the newcomers need, and – in this particular case
– trying to grade language so as to include the less
proficient speakers in the group without appearing to
be talking like an idiot to the totally fluent.
It was a challenge, I’m afraid to say, that neither of us
was able to walk away from two weeks later secure
in the knowledge that we had risen to it sufficiently.
What we managed to achieve, in my opinion, is an
‘unhappy medium’ in which we catered for the needs
and to the abilities of the vast majority in the middle
ground of the group, whilst leaving a few at either
end wondering why they had attended and what – if
anything – they had got from the course.
The conclusion here is just as obvious, but sometimes
it’s worth re-stating things so that people remember
them. If the 38 people had been divided into three
groups, had some needs analysis and previous
experience interviewing been done, and had there
then been three separate courses, then perhaps it
might have been a success (as long as I’d also had
time to get to grips with the complicated education
system as well...).
Perhaps I’m asking too much here, perhaps that was
as good as it was ever going to get, but I’d like to
believe differently.
Is That It?
Having said all this, the course in Bangalore was one
of the most interesting, exhilarating, nerve-wracking
and rewarding experiences that I have ever had. I’m
reminded of a Monty Python sketch where one of the
team is dead and is complaining that he didn’t really
understand the whole life thing and consequently
didn’t get as much out of it as he might have – and
could he have another try, please? - and is told
“Sorry, that’s your lot, you only get one go”.
My only hope is that I will one day get another go at
this. I would love to go back to India (something I’m
currently planning with my co-trainer from the original
course) and have another go, armed with more time
to plan, more local knowledge – and with a carefully
selected and graded group of participants. I owe it
to them, and I think I owe it to myself. Perhaps then
I might stop thinking of myself as a ‘cowboy’ (in the
derogatory British English sense, I hasten to add)
and more as a carefully prepared professional.
And maybe after that I’ll tackle China… (any offers?)
ISSUES - WEIGHING UP TECHNOLOGY...
SURRENDER VALUE
A call on CALL - Why are you doing
what you are doing?
Roger Hunt, Spain
Roger
Hunt
is
Director
of
Education
at
International House Barcelona. He has worked
in ELT for nearly 25 years and is currently
reviews editor for the TTEd SIG Newsletter. He
can
be
contacted
at:
rhunt@bcn.ihes.com
I
studied French at school. My teacher was called
Mr Pope. One summer after the holiday I went
back to school and saw Mr Pope gleefully rubbing
his hands together and there was a new glint in his
bespectacled eye. He knew something I didn’t and he
was waiting for me, along with the rest of the lower
sixth, to inflict it: he had technology - the language
laboratory. He would, at last, win. We would, at last,
learn. Victory was his. Or so he thought. However,
in spite of the summer he had spent learning how to
use the latest and greatest, we stubbornly retained
a mule like ignorance of the French language.
We sat, we plugged in and put on earphones, we
listened, we repeated, and we repeated again. Mr
Pope listened, occasionally he would bark and a
head would be seen wandering and wondering
where his voice had come from (ever seen ‘Pigs in
Space’?). But we didn’t learn French. We remained
studiously monoglot. The technology (or was it
Mr Pope?) had failed. Certainly we had failed in
appreciation of this technological wonder; we couldn’t
see the point. The whole exercise was meaningless
- we perceived no validity in it, it had no surrender
value. In other words, we didn’t get anything out of
it. It gave us nothing we felt we wanted or needed.
Many years later on a ‘Dip’ course (now Cambridge
DELTA) I gave an essay title to the candidates that
suggested that language laboratories were lying
around gathering dust - the great experiment had
failed. All candidates’ essays showed agreement
with this statement and were, disappointingly for
me, unanimous in the belief that the technology
was a waste of time. Students needed teachers
and other students to talk with if they were going
to learn to speak another language. I thought
of Mr Pope and his dreams gathering dust and
had to concede some rhyme in their reason
because the lab hadn’t worked for me either.
I have out-lived the laboratory, the banda machine
(yes, we had one when I started in language
teaching), the audio-visual, the audio-lingual, the
OHP (can’t be bothered anymore), the video,
cassette recorder and reel to reel. I wonder about the
future of the photocopier (it seems assured, but....).
And what about the mouse, the computer, the on-line
course? More dinosaurs or here to stay? I currently
work in Barcelona, scene of the recent demise of
a number of computer based schools which just
went west leaving (estimates have it) up to twelve
thousand students bereft and returning to the good
old traditional ‘conversation’ type classroom where
they learn how to speak. Apart from mismanagement,
it may be that these schools went west because
what they offered didn’t match what the students
wanted. No surrender value. Or, ‘No surrender!’ by
the course providers? Call me a luddite but students
seem to like being clustered in a classroom in ‘U’
shaped seating arrangements with a whiteboard
and teacher up front. Even before the demise of the
CALL centred schools I mention above, students
were drifting back to tradition to ‘learn how to speak’.
So, do they want your computer based learning, or is
this something you have decided they need because
it’s what you do, you like it, it’s your hobby, source
of enjoyment, everyone needs it, the world can’t live
without computers, it’s the best way, they don’t know
what’s good for them, I’ve got twenty megabytes
left, or what? What is your surrender value?
‘Surrender Value’ could be classed in two ways:
What’s in it for them? (the students /
punters / learners / customers / clients)
CONTRIBUTE - WRITE NOW!
What’s in it for me? (You)
The answer to the two questions above is quite
simple really: it’s another question. Have you
identified a market that wants what you offer? If
‘Yes’, fantastic! If ‘No’, maybe you should? (Or
change your product to fit a market that wants it.)
Some of the questions the students might be
asking themselves follow; you might find it revealing
to answer them for yourselves with regard to
the product you offer. If you can’t answer them,
maybe there is something your product lacks.
- Will this course help me speak?
- How does it help me speak?
- Will this course help me understand
spoken English?
- How does it help me understand when I
listen?
- Do I get a certificate which my job/
university/school will acknowledge?
- Will this lead to points which increase my
salary?
- How is this (on-line) course better from the
one at the local school?
- How is this (on-line material) different from
a course book?
- Will I meet anyone new?
- Will this course help me use English on the
phone at work?
- Will it help me give my presentation on our
developments in hydraulics in Seattle next
month?
- Will it help me when I have to take those
four Japanese businessmen out to dinner
next week?
- (Please add to this list)
The second of my questions above ‘What’s in it for
me? (You)’ you can answer for yourself!
PS: I am not a luddite. I can’t even write a
shopping list anymore without a computer. I am
a teacher though, and I listen to my students.
I’d love to hear your answers...
The
IATEFL
Computer
SIG
CALL
Review is published three times a
year - in Spring, Summer and Autumn.
Contributions concerning any aspect
of technology in ELT should be sent
to the editor at the following address:
gavin.dudeney@theconsultants-e.com
Please send contributions in any popular
word processor format, including your
biodata, a photo and any illustrations, along
with a short abstract for the SIG website.
All submissions will be ackowledged and
you will be given a definite publication
date (where appropriate) by return of mail.
THIS NEWSLETTER NEEDS YOU
About CALL Review
The CALL Review is only available
to
members
of
IATEFL
who
have chosen to belong to the
Computer Special Interest Group.
For details on how to join IATEFL,
please see the back cover of this issue.
[ if you’ve got something to say to Roger or anybody
else who has written for this newsletter, please write
to the editor who will be delighted to hear from you. ]
REVIEW - BOOKS...
The Internet & Business English
Barney Barrett and Pete Sharma
Summertown Publishing, 2003 - ISBN 1902741773
Graham Stanley, Spain
Graham Stanley is the coordinator of English for
Tourism at Turismo Sant Ignasi ESADE (Universitat
de Ramon Llull), and a teacher at the British
Council in Barcelona. He is currently finishing the
dissertation for his M.Ed. in ELT & Educational
Technology (University of Manchester, UK). He can
be contacted at e-mail@grahamstanley.com.
F
ive years ago, the phrase that “technology will
not replace teachers…but teachers who use
technology will probably replace those who do not
not”
(Ray Clifford, Provost of the Defense Language
Institute, Monterey, California) became popular
among educators promoting the use of the Internet
in EFL. It has also been over five years since the first
ESL/EFL Internet book (‘Dave Sperling’s Internet
Guide’, Prentice Hall 1997) was published.
Much has changed since Dave Sperling was a
welcome pioneer, back in the days when few teachers
had even heard of the Internet let alone used it with
their students. Now it seems like every teacher is
Internet-savvy. The impact of the Internet on our
profession cannot be understated. We all check our
e-mails, surf and use downloaded web materials in
class. Some of us even teach online, have our own
web-sites, involve students in online chats or keep
professional development weblogs. You might think
that there no longer a need for an introductory guide
to the Internet. Or so it may seem to members of this
SIG. Use of the Internet among most EFL teachers
is still superficial, however, and many are still too
daunted by the technology to make full use of it.
Books like ‘The Internet and Business English’ go a
long way to coaxing these teachers online.
Is it too far-fetched to expect to see books of the type
‘Role-playing in the chat room with Young Learners’
or even ‘Student Writing with Weblogs – the DOGME
approach’? Probably, but we are bound to see more
specialist guides in the future.
The book is clearly written and well-designed, with
a good balance between text and photographs. It
is divided into three sections (an overview of the
Internet, Practical Ideas, Reference) which make it
useful both as a practical classroom recipe book and
a place to go to look up terms and look for links. All
of which make it an attractive guide for any Business
English teaching centre’s resources shelf.
There is only one problem with a book like this.
Checking the Business English links section in Dave
Sperling’s book, for example reveals much about the
nature of the dynamic beast that is the Internet: Of the
9 suggested URLs, only 2 are still available online.
An obligatory solution is to provide a companion
website, and this is what the authors have done here
too, providing extra material and downloadable PDFs
of some of the material in the book.
As a business English teacher myself, and one who
has been using the Internet with Business English
classes for years, I still found a lot to be interested in.
All-in-all, a very welcome resource book.
‘The Internet and Business English’ is the first guide
to appear aimed at Business English teachers, and
perhaps the first to focus on any specialist area of
ESL/EFL. I welcome the day when there are more.
COMPETITION... COMPETITION... COMPETITION...
Those
nice
people
at
Summertown
Publishing have donated three copies of another of their publications as
prizes
for
this
issue’s
competition.
Technical English - Vocabulary and Grammar Nick Brieger and Alison Pohl (ISBN: 1902741765)
is a reference and practice book for learners of technical English at intermediate level
and above. According to the website, the book:
Increases knowledge of technical vocabulary &
grammar, with 30 units covering key technical
vocabulary drawn from: professional activities – health
and safety, production and quality & company profiles
– automotive, pharmaceutical, mining and telecoms.
20 units review core grammar in technical contexts
1,500
key
technical
terms
glossary
Ideal
for
classroom
and/or
self-study
use
In order to win one of three copies of this book all you have to do is answer the following three
questions and send them via email to the editor at: gavin.dudeney@theconsultants-e.com no later
than April 30th, 2004. The first three correct answers selected at random from the ones received will
be sent a free copy of Technical English - Vocabulary and Grammar by Summertown Publishing.
COMPETITION QUESTIONS
1. Who is widely credited with ‘inventing’ the World Wide Web?
2. What are MyDoom, SoBig and Badtrans?
3. Which of these languages is Google available in: Catalan,
Estonian, Klingon, Tamil?
deadline: April 30th, 2004
IATEFL Special Interest Groups Symposium
Special Interests, International Perspectives
10 - 12 September 2004, Bielefeld Germany
Forms can be downloaded from the website on
the SIG page (Special Interest Groups) Contact
generalenquiries@iatefl.org
for
more
information
SOFTWARE REVIEW...
New Headway English Course - Interactive Practice CD-ROM
Tom Walton, Spain
Tom Walton has lived and worked in Barcelona since 1982, principally in English language teaching and technology.
Currently he is webmaster at International House Barcelona. He can be contacted at: tomdoliveira@yahoo.com
I
should declare at the outset that, having had to use it in the classroom for a number of
years, I am not a great fan of Headway, to say the very least. It always struck me as being
thorough, but dull, and it always seemed a choice between not doing the book at all, and
coming up with something a little more “interactive”, or of everyone first doing three exercises
on the present perfect vs the present perfect continuous, whether they “knew” it or not, followed
by a killer four on the different uses of “going to”, followed by… Er, anyone still awake?
Maybe it was that, if I had been the learner, it just wouldn’t have suited my learning style.
That said, Headway has always enjoyed a plethora of solid supplementary materials, added
to which are now two interactive practice CD-ROMs, for the first two levels in the series,
which link to the 14 units of the Student’s Books and Workbook and are designed to provide
further practice and revision, for self-study either at home or in a school’s resource centre.
Getting Started
Set-up is pleasingly straightforward, non-existent in fact, particularly if Autorun is enabled
on your computer. It is worth taking a quick look through the rather brief guide to be
found in the case before starting, as otherwise any form of introduction is sadly lacking:
from the first screen you are prompted to start selecting exercises, rather than easing in
with a welcome or a guided tour, which would perhaps have been useful to the learner.
There is a case to be made for allowing the learner to be able to use the material
as they wish, but some sort of guide, some suggestions as to how to use it would
have been nice. Do you pick the listening option first, before doing the exercise, for
example…? Why…? And in which particular exercises might that be useful/advisable…?
Contents
Each CD-ROM contains 84 interactive tasks (exercises, that is) that are linked to the
material in the Student’s Book, and which provide practice in four areas, namely grammar,
vocabulary, everyday English and Writing. There are five different exercise types,
matching, keying in, ordering (letters, words or longer phrases), “role-play” and “writing”.
Each of the exercises has a “check” option, which will tell you which questions you got right (though
regrettably not why, or any other feedback); a “repeat” option, so that you can start the exercise
again; and a “key”, which will display all of the answers. Most also have “listen”, “record” and
“playback” buttons, with the reference and wordlist (dictionary) also readily available (see Figure 1).
It is possible to “personalise” the material, though in fact this only means the option to choose
what order you do which exercises in. In effect what you have to do is to select which of the 84
exercises you want to do today, and these then display on a palette, referred to as the “task list”,
so that to some extent it is possible for the learners to tailor what they do to their specific needs
Figure 1: the clean neat interface is one of the better features of the material
Figure 2: We’re going to practice “going to” and we’re going to use short forms…
The grammar exercises have you dragging and dropping and matching in the sort of standard exercise
types that will be familiar to all. On occasions it distinctly recalls those four “going to” exercises.
Perhaps it’s just that the texts themselves are rather uninspired. Aren’t there just are so many more
much more interesting texts out there in cyberspace that learners could be recommended to read?
Figure 3: In the beginning, there was Storyboard…
Writing
The “writing” exercises are all the old Storyboard-type, complete-the-text exercises which you do by entering
words which then get added if in fact they are in the text (see Figure 3). There are pedagogical reasons
why Storyboard was a good idea, one being that it requires you to really look and think about, and puzzle
over, the text. But I would quibble over whether or not we could really describe this as being “writing”.
As with many of the other exercises, you can choose to listen to the text at any time, one of the better features
of the material, I felt, though again the recommendation that in fact you should do this is perhaps missing
Audio Material
For many of the exercises there is also audio material, with listening practice as well as record and
playback facilities, so that the material also provides fairly extensive listening and pronunciation
practice – though perhaps some real listening (and reading) comprehension tasks would have been
better than merely being able to play the often random, uncontextualised phrases in an exercise.
Grammar Reference and Wordlist
From an always-visible menu a grammar reference section and interactive wordlist are available as
support, which are thorough and a useful, if obviously fairly standard item on any CD-ROM of this nature.
Score Recording
There is also a “score” available from the same menu, which gives you a rough idea of how much you
have completed in each exercise. I say “rough idea” because in fact no matter how many times you call
up help, your score remains unaltered and as much as anything your score is in fact really not much more
than how much you have completed. If, no matter how many tries it takes, you eventually get it right,
you score 100%. Now maybe for the sake of encouraging the learner that’s a good thing but, personally,
I would have preferred something that really “tested” me and told me how well I was really doing.
Unfortunately, there is no built-in tracking system that will tell you which exercises
you may have done on a previous occasion so that you cannot, for example, track
progress over, say, a period of weeks. Likewise, your “score” is only today’s score.
Ease of Use and Navigation
The material is easy to use (so much so that it wasn’t, apparently, thought necessary to include a Help section!)
and to navigate, with the clean, uncluttered and consistent interface being another of the material’s better features.
The program seems perfectly robust, the Macromedia technology it has been built with will give
few running or incompatibility problems, though on a PC that only just came up to the minimum
specifications (see below) I found that it was frustratingly slow, particularly in the writing exercises.
Fun Animation…?
A “key feature” of the material is, according to the OUP website, the “attractive photos and illustrations, together
with fun animation” which is supposed to “help to maintain student’s interest and motivation”. The photos are on
the whole attractive, I agree, and the general design of the material is generally pleasing and easy on the eye.
However, I have my doubts about the “fun animation” bit. As someone who has two smallish children
who like playing computer games, not to mention the odd hour (or ten) I waste myself playing “Age
of Empires” and the like, I reckon I know a thing or two about what constitutes “fun animation”.
My idea of “fun animation” is not illustrating the phrase “Would you like some wine?” with a line drawing
of a hand pouring wine into a glass, particular when the same hand pouring the same wine into the
same glass then also illustrates the phrase “Would you like some coffee?” (now, would that be in the
same glass?), not to mention the next two phrases as well. It’s not fun animation, and pedagogically
it does not seem a very sound idea to illustrate language by an animation that does not match it.
Likewise the spaceshippy sort of sound you get when you drag exercises into your task list and the
doorbell chime when you click on the unit list don’t seem the happiest of choices – and are certainly not
my idea of a bundle of laughs. These sounds in fact only appeared on the pre-elementary level, but I
assumed that this must (surely?) have been merely a problem with my version of the elementary level…
Would I Recommend This?
On balance, if you are looking for something for technologically undemanding adults, to go on the shelf of
your resource centre, this might be a reasonable choice which students will be able to use autonomously,
without requiring an extensive tutorial to get them started. An alternative to it might be the fairly similar
Macmillan Reward CD-ROM material, which is older, neither more nor less attractive visually, but which
exists at four different levels, rather than the just two that OUP have so far produced for Headway1.
If a learner asked me to recommend something, I would be a little more reluctant. For a certain
kind of learner, someone who likes methodically working through grammar and vocabulary
exercises and, most importantly, someone who actually learns in that fashion, then it is probably
perfect. In a class using Headway, it might also be useful to anyone needed to “catch up”.
But I am not sure that an exercise on CD-ROM is either necessary in order to discover that
there is a difference in the meaning of the word “play” in the sentences “I play the piano”
and “We’re going to see a play” – or is the best way of going about making that discovery,
which would surely be to come across it in reading, preferably in reading authentic text.
Six out of ten, then, I’d say, as the material does what it sets out to do, achieving its rather limited
objective of providing “further practice”. But is this really using new technology to its full potential?
Is it being used for communication – and, more importantly, will it actually teach anyone to do that?
Technical Requirements
PC: Pentium II, 166 Mhz processor or above. Windows 95, 98, 2000 or NT4. 32 MB RAM. SVGA monitor
(800 x 600 screen resolution with thousands of colours). Windows-compatible 24x CD-ROM drive.
Microsoft mouse or compatible. Optional sound blaster card or compatible. Headphones. Microphone.
Macintosh:
Apple
MB
RAM.
800
Mac
x
8.6
600
or
later.
166
Mhz
processor
or
screen
resolution
with
thousands
above.
32
of
colours.
An online support line is available for any technical problems that might arise with the material.
Price
New Headway Elementary Interactive Practice CD-ROM (ISBN 0194386805) - £13.00
New Headway Pre-Intermediate Interactive Practice CD-ROM (ISBN 0194375692) - £13.00
Packs of 10 are available for £75.00
Further Information
Further information – including demo material – is available on the OUP ELT site at
http://www.oup.com/elt/global/isbn/3630/?view=get
1
OUP tell me that they are “more than likely” to produce further levels of the material but “probably not until 2005
CAREERS - GETTING A JOB ONLINE...
Disclaimers... how wise!
Suzie Tombs, Taiwan
Suzie Tombs began teaching English in 1992 in
Taipei, Taiwan. Her background is in publishing and
project management but before, during and after
all that, she has taught in Vietnam, South Africa and
Barcelona. She is currently teaching English and
studying Chinese in Southern Taiwan and despite
the details outlined in this article, wouldn’t want to
be doing anything else, anywhere else right now.
‘I’m so happy I’m not discussing curtains anymore
with co-workers in an office in London.’ She can
be contacted at alrightron@hotmail.com.
“TEFL Professional Network Ltd.
makes no claims as to the validity or
accuracy of employment information
contained within any advertisement
and it shall bear no responsibility for
the outcome of any positions to which
an individual might apply. Prior to
accepting employment, Job-seekers are
advised to fully research employers and
request references where appropriate.”
H
ow could I have been so stupid? What on
earth was I thinking? Having taught English in
Barcelona for 18 months, I decided to return to Taiwan
to get to grips with some outstanding finances. I’d
taught English in Taiwan for 18 months from 19921994. Back then I was intrepid and fearless. I left
the UK with 400 (pounds) and a one-way ticket.
This time my priorities were different – I needed to
start working, (and earning) as soon as possible.
I searched the internet to see what my options
were. Various search engines listed hundreds
of available jobs. The information and potential
opportunities were overwhelming. I narrowed my
search down to 2 or 3 of the more well-known sites.
I entered my CV into the various databases and
subsequently applied for several jobs. Over the
next few days I got many requests and job offers.
Telephone interviews followed and within 2 weeks
I had accepted a job. The advertisement read:
“…teach English in remote mountain village,
practise Tai Chi, swim and cycle among the tea
fields and canals”. I signed the contract and
faxed it back to the school. The deal was done.
Of course, this route is a risky one. There can
be no way of knowing what you are heading
out to, which obviously works both ways. At the
time however, the pros: the school organizing
accommodation for me; the job – ready to start
4 days after arriving; ability to start earning
immediately, outweighed the cons: debts; teaching
in beautiful Barcelona which is unfortunately
saturated with teachers, therefore forcing the hourly
rate down so low it’s difficult to get a good contract.
Three weeks later, I arrived in Taiwan on the tail
end of a typhoon and was met at the airport by
the 2 owners of the school. We drove for over an
hour into the night, through gales and lashing rain.
Finally, we stopped outside a large apartment block.
In the darkness we took the lift to my new home
on the 6th floor, turned on the fluorescent lights
which flickered to reveal a large empty apartment,
and 10 or so large cockroaches scurrying around
on the white tiled floor. There were many more.
It took a week of frantic toxic spraying, chasing
and squashing to make the place habitable.
During that time I discovered that there were
indeed mountains, quite beautiful at that, but a
long way off. For the future, always read between
the lines, in reality, “rural mountain village” may
mean “high security military zone next to a nuclear
power research center, miles from anywhere”.
I had made a hasty decision. I’d tried to avoid the
usual 2-3 months it takes setting up in a new country.
www.tefl.com
www.tealit.com
www.daveseflcafe.com
I worked 2 miserable weeks at the school, each night
returning to my apartment to spray, chase and squash
and then stare at the walls in the bare apartment. I
decided to leave and start again, this time on my terms.
The application process was all very convenient.
Accepting a job before arriving in Taiwan will almost
certainly be a bad deal. Although the initial benefits are
enticing, for example, return airfare paid on completion
of the contract, bonuses etc, there are lots of “hidden
extras”! The hourly pay is much lower than the going
rate, there are often hours of unpaid paper work and
extra curricular activities, and many contracts include
a clause which “fines” the teacher should they break
the contract prematurely. My contract stated the fine
to be one month’s salary. Some schools withhold a
percentage of the salary each month as a guarantee.
In a twist of irony, I turned back to the internet to
find a solution. www.tealit.com (Teaching English
and Living in Taiwan) has an excellent resource
of legal, tax and visa information. For the naive
new comer, signing a contract before arriving in
a new country can be a minefield. If you think the
job sounds dubious, cut and paste the following
url to anyone who contacts you with a job offer:
http://www.tealit.com/q&a.htm
It asks the questions clearly in English and
Chinese. Then, you can decide. Or, negotiate.
This is just a selection of the questions raised:
1. Are
you
an
agent
for
a
school?
2. If so, are you an independent person acting
as an agent to different schools; a company
incorporated as an agency; a busiban
which also contracts out as an agent; a
language institute which acts as an agent?
3. Are you getting a fee for introducing me to this job?
If I sign with the school, are you willing
to share part of the fee with me?
4. Before I agree to work at the school I need
to see a complete list of the rules and
obligations that the school has for foreign
personnel. Can you provide me with this?
5. Will the school take a deposit? How much
is it? Is it negotiable? Do you understand
that a deposit will make it very hard
for me to agree to work at the school?
6. During my contract, will I
pay from the school or
receive my
from you?
7. How much will I be paid every month?
8. As a result of my accepting the job are you getting
paid every month by the school? If so, how much?
9. How much will I be paid every hour?
10. As a result of my accepting the job are you getting
paid every hour by the school? If so, how much?
11. How long have you been in business?
However, if you have done as I did and are now in Taiwan
and want to quit your job, here are some guidelines:
1. Do not tell your employer that you are
unhappy, this will cause “face” to be
lost and create many more problems.
2. Contact the Foreign Workers’ Centre in your
area. All centers are listed on www.tealit.com
They advised me to “tell a white lie” and leave. I
did.
The timing of the gods was quite amazing. At 10pm
after work, in the middle of a typhoon, lashing
rain, wind and soon to be floods, I headed for the
bus station with all my possessions. Once there,
I discovered there was a train strike and a public
holiday the next day resulting in all buses being
full, but eventually I got a seat and headed south.
Alden Su, a licensed Taiwanese Labour Attorney,
writes for tealit. (alden@tealit.com). From him I
learned, that as stated in the Labour Standards
Act, it is illegal for a school to collect a deposit,
fine or withhold any money from its employees.
You are also entitled to a free Arbitration hearing,
which he told me, “is an efficient means to
resolve issues of illegitimate wage garnishing”.
Any employer who violates this act, risks a large
fine and possible criminal prosecution. In 8090% of hearings, the employee wins. Don’t be
bullied into paying up or losing out. I have since
met several teachers who did not know about this
and therefore quit their jobs and paid the fine.
www.tealit.com has many documents you can
download, in English and Chinese, that if presented
to your employer, could help you negotiate a better
outcome. There is also information available on how
to get back any money withheld or owed to you.
Taiwan is a great place to live and teach
English, but there are risks. To avoid a potential
legal saga or midnight run, do as I didn’t…
read the small print and do your homework.
PRACTICAL TEACHING IDEA...
Teachers, meet the Phraselator
Lindsay Clandfield, Spain
Lindsay Clandfield looks at how you can use
the latest, cutting edge military technology in
your own classroom - and all you need is paper!
Lindsay Clandfield is a teacher and teacher trainer at
Oxford TEFL in Barcelona. He is the editor of biTs, a
magazine for elementary learners of English, and of
the IATEFL Teacher Trainers SIG newsletter. He has
written materials for Macmillan and Oxford University
Press.This article first appeared in iT´s Magazine, 2003
of Marine Acoustics Inc.) claims that the
Phraselator has been effective in three areas:
1.) Giving specific information, 2) giving orders
or directions, 3) asking questions with easily
conveyed responses (see below for examples)
. At the moment it also only works one-way, in
that it takes English and translates into the target
language. So it would be great for me when I
want to explain a difficult pairwork activity in
my learners’ L1, but wouldn’t help if my learner
asked me a question about it afterwards. But the
two-way Phraselator, VoxTec assured me, is
on its way. My students and I could debate the
merits of my activity through our Phraselators!
VoxTec do insist that the Phraselator is “not
a replacement for learning conversational
language, nor replacing linguists” and I also
ave you ever had students who stubbornly assume (hope) not a replacement for English
insisted on looking every word up using teachers. There have been mixed reports on
a bilingual dictionary? Many teachers have its effectiveness in Iraq. As James Meek, a
expressed particular annoyance at the handheld reporter from the Guardian Weekly, wrote during
computer variety of translation device, which the 2003 Iraq war : “If you want to tell someone
replaced dictionaries for some students (and to get out of a car slowly … (the Phraselator)
were easier for them to hide). If this kind of thing is great. If you have to talk to farmers about
got on your nerves, steel yourselves for the new intimate details of their lives, family, crops… and
generation of translation devices: the Phraselator. understand what they say back, it’s useless.”
H
The Phraselator is a hand-held phrase-based
translation device, which literally “hears” a phrase
in English and “speaks” it in another language
(see the text on page x for more information). The
Phraselator is currently only military technology,
but is going into commercial production in 2003
and 2004. It is thought that one day people all
over the world will be able to pick a Phraselator
up at the airport on their way somewhere and get
by without having to learn any languages at all!
Many teachers can scoff at computer translation
programmes, because computers often translate
whole expressions word for word and the
result is bizarre, if not incomprehensible. The
Phraselator is different in that it will do whole
“chunks” of language. That is, it will hear a
phrase and say the equivalent phrase in the
target language. It is perhaps an improvement,
but it is still essentially a portable phrasebook.
Since its use in the battlefields of Afghanisatan
and Iraq, its manufacturer VoxTec (a division
So maybe students wouldn’t find it that useful
in English class after all and we will be spared
the onerous task of confiscating all translation
devices at the beginning of class. But what
about a Phraselator for the teacher? Imagine
having one hanging by your side, there just for
emergencies in classroom management. VoxTec
says that the Phraselator “was also developed
with enhanced audio quality for use in a variety of
environments”, and judging from its recent use,
I imagine these to mean military environments.
If this thing can hear my voice and be heard
over the sound of gunfire and bombs exploding,
then I’m sure it could function in my class of
junior teenagers! Can I get mine programmed
with an intimidating, Terminator-like voice?
In the meantime, here are some things you
can do with the Phraselator in class right now!
---------->
“Stay calm”
“Medical help is on the way.”
“Are you thirsty?”
“Take a deep breath in and out.”
“Do you know where the weapons are stored?”
“Drop the knife”
“Everyone stop talking.”
“Can you point to this location on the map?”
“Kneel down.”
“Do not enter this area.”
Six Things to do With
a Phraselator
1 Read about the Phraselator
The Phraselator is a translation device that translates
whole phrases in English into other languages. It is a
verbal to verbal device. This means that it can hear
and recognise a spoken English phrase and then say
the translation for that phrase in a different language.
To use the Phraselator, you have to speak your
phrase into the microphone. Out of the speaker
you “hear” the phrase spoken in another language.
At the moment, it translates from English into other
languages, but soon there will be phraselators
that can translate from English into another
language and from that language back into English.
The Phraselator can be “loaded” with different mini
discs for different situations. For example, if you
were at a hospital, you could put in your “Hospital
Card” and have all the phrases ready for that
situation. The Phraselator can show you a list of
what phrases are available on its computer screen.
The Phraselator was designed by a company
called VoxTec for the United States Department
of Defense. It was first used in Afghanistan. There
were more than 400 phraselators used by American
military personnel during the Iraq war in 2003.
Here are some of the
phraselators
that
were
phrases
used
from the
in
Iraq.
First you can use the text and picture on this page
as a reading comprehension test. Ask learners to
read the text quickly and then turn it over. They
then tell each other everything they remember
about the Phraselator. Then ask them to match the
following question headings to the paragraphs (note:
these appear in the same order as in the reading,
so mix them up before you ask your learners!):
What is it?
How does it work?
How much does it know?
Who uses the Phraselator?
What are some examples of its use?
For higher levels you could rewrite the above
questions so that they express the same
idea, but perhaps a little more ambiguously.
2 Someone dropped the Phraselator
Tell the learners that you have a cheap Phraselator
at home, but that someone dropped it! Now
all the phrases in English are wrong, and so it
can’t translate them that well. Provide learners
with a set of incorrect phrases (these could be
of your own devising or from the coursebook).
The learners must rewrite the phrases correctly
and help you “reprogramme” the Phraselator.
3 A teacher’s phraselator vs a
learner’s phraselator
After reading about the Phraselator tell learners
that they are being contracted to create two new
phraselators: a teacher’s version and a learner’s
version. Divide the class into groups and assign
them each one of the versions. Tell them to
generate as many useful phrases for that version
as possible. Give learners a time limit for this.
Then compare different groups’ lists for their
Phraselator. Who has the best list of phrases?
Sample learner phrases:
What is the word for __?
Can I go to the bathroom please?
Can you write it on the board please?
Sample teacher phrases:
Everyone please sit down.
Open your books to page xx.
Work in pairs for this activity.
4 The Human Phraselator
Ask a learner to take the role of the Phraselator.
Tell them something in English, which they must
say in their language to the rest of the class. This
of course works best with monolingual classes. After
they get the hang of it, ask learners to work in small
groups and nominate a Phraselator for each group.
Can the learners beat the ‘human Phraselator’?
5 The Phraselator Reloaded
This idea is somewhat similar to number 2 above,
but instead of restricting it to teacher phrases and
learner phrases give different groups completely
different situations. Explain that they must “reload”
the Phraselator with phrases from a specific situation.
Some sample situations could be: In a restaurant, At
the airport, Talking to the police, In a hospital. Or
ask learners to come with their own situations. Give
a time limit and ask groups to generate as many
functional phrases for that situation as they can.
6 The Many Uses of the Military
Phraselator
After reading about the Phraselator, ask learners
to look at the sample phrases quoted in the article.
Under what circumstances would they hear those
phrases? Brainstorm a few ideas. Then divide
the class into small groups. Ask each group to
choose one of the sample phrases and generate
as many different possible contexts, or sets of
circumstances, where they might hear that phrase.
For example, here is what the phrase “Take a deep
breath in and out” might generate:
· A soldier asking if a companion is injured.
· A doctor examining a patient.
· Someone giving advice to a rock singer before
he goes on stage.
· A mother talking to her son, who is crying.
· A language teacher trying to teach
pronunciation.
· A yoga teacher giving a class in meditation
techniques.
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PRACTICAL TEACHING IDEA...
A Process Approach to Writing Using Word Processors
Nik Peachey, Morocco
Nik has worked as an ELT Teacher, Teacher Trainer and ICT trainer for both British Council and International House
in schools around the world. He is also a materials writer and has worked on a number of CD-ROM projects for
British Council and Longman ELT and contributed both teaching and training materials to a number of websites
including including: www.leanrenglish.org.uk, www.in2english.com.cn and www.globalvillage.org.uk.
D
o
the
you
mark
have
students
that
take
or
your
comments
for
a
back
their
moment
and
writing
assignments,
glance
at
then
never
look
at
it
again?
I’ve often found it very difficult to get students motivated to develop their writing skills in class, especially when it
comes to redrafting, improving their content and trying to correct their own mistakes. The most effective way that
I’ve found to overcome this and really implement a ‘process’ approach to writing has been by using word processors.
Students are much more willing to rewrite, alter and redraft their work if it doesn’t involve the painful process of
repeatedly rewriting it by hand. With a word processor they can easily make alterations and move things around without
having to start from scratch again. It also makes it much easier form me to mark and comment on their work. I usually
do this using the ‘comments’ feature in word. This can be found by going to ‘View’ on the menu bar and moving down
to ‘Toolbars
T
Toolbars
’ and then clicking on ‘Reviewing’. The tool bar you get should look something like this (MS Word 97).
Once your students have done the first draft of their text you can then highlight particular words or sentences that you think
need to be corrected or developed and then click on the first icon on the left-hand side of the toolbar. This will open up a field
into which you can type your comments. When your students come back to their text they will see parts of it highlighted in
yellow and when they place the cursor over the yellow area a window like the one below will pop up with your comments in.
NP: Try to add more description here. Use some adjectives.
This will help to guide and encourage them to develop their writing, as well as making it much easier and quicker for
them to do without having to start from scratch. There are also other advantages of having written work in a digital form:
•
•
•
•
Homework assignments can be emailed in to you and returned by email
Writing work that has been developed to a sufficiently high standard can be easily cut and pasted into a
student website
The work can become part of their digital portfolio
You or your students can paste the texts into Clarity’s Author Plus and make them into interactive
multimedia activities that you can save and use with other classes or as revision.
Since I started using ICT with my students to develop their writing skills I’ve seen a real increase in their enthusiasm
for writing and a real determination to get their work to a high standard. It’s also made life much easier for me,
as I no longer have to try to find room between the lines of their writing to try to squeeze my comments into.
PROJECT REPORT...
An Approach to Lexis - Webbased Data-driven Learning at
the School of Foreign Languages,
Eastern Mediterranean University
Steve
Neufeld
is
the
Academic
Coordinator
of
the
Modern
Languages
Division
at
the
School
of
Foreign
Languages,
Eastern
Mediterranean
University. He has taught EFL in the Czech Republic,
Turkey
and
the
Sultante
of
Oman.
Background
T
he School of Foreign Languages, Eastern
Mediterranean University is comprised of the
Intensive English Division -IED, and the Modern
Languages Division -MLD, and offers tuition to around
9,000 students across the university. The Intensive
English Division offers intensive instruction in English
for students preparing for university programs, whilst
the Modern Languages Division offers service
language courses to university faculties and schools.
Other foreign language electives are also offered.
The School has recently embarked on a structured
approach to lexis. The ‘vision’ is to develop an
institution-wide syllabus to encourage students to
learn the ‘2,000’ most commonly used words in
English and extend this to include the ‘570’ most
commonly used academic words (AWL). Ultimately,
this could be extended further on a faculty-by-faculty
basis to add vocabulary specific to each discipline.
This approach is based on considerable research
by professional linguists in this field, from West’s
original 2,000 word General Service List (GSL) of
19531, up to exciting new developments in on-line
corpora and freely available web-based tools. The
research confirms that students who have this
basic lexical competence of the 2,000 GSL can
understand 80% of the words in any written text,
and competence in the additional 570 AWL words2
increases this to 90% coverage of words in almost
any academic text. Paul Nation3 suggests that for
academic texts to be fully accessible to a student,
they do need to reach a 95% threshold, but this
remaining set of lexis is largely discipline-specific.
Problem
It is clear from the research of pioneers like Tom
Cobb4, that a conventional EFL curriculum will only
cover 500 to 600 words in the target lexis within a
one-year intensive programme. Cobb’s research
in particular illustrates the weakness in traditional
course books, with the Headway series cited as a
particularly poor choice in terms of the essential
lexis students need. However, with a structured
approach to lexis our expectation is that students
will be able to cover to a certain extent up to 80% of
the most common words within a one-year intensive
preparatory programme, with 20 contact hours a
week. Due to the density of the syllabi, developing
more competence in the newly learned vocabulary
as well as learning the remaining 20% must be
done by students, on their own. There are several
possible ways this could be encouraged, obviously
through self-access materials and extensive
reading programmes, as well as on-line activities.
The foundation steps in such a programme obviously
begin with very structured vocabulary work and
awareness of the key lexis through worksheets and
in-class activities. However, the main way to get
students over the threshold of the first 1,000 words is to
get them to actively use a monolingual dictionary and
begin a fairly intensive reading programme in which
other tools, such as concordances and vocabulary
profilers, are used to explore semantics, collocations,
connotations, etc. which are all involved in ‘knowing’
a word. At the SFL a comprehensive pack of
worksheets for the intensive preparatory programme
covers approximately 1,800 of the GSL. This has
been supplemented by the choice of the Longman
WordWise dictionary which basically supports the
concept of a set of the most commonly used words
by highlighting the key headword entries. Such an
approach needs to be complemented by a system
that students can employ for learning vocabulary,
such as Will Mcculoch’s WordSurfing5 approach.
However, at most we can expect students to enter the
degree programme with a basic lexical competence
in the 2,000 most commonly used words. Academic
texts will still be inaccessible on this basis as they
also need to know the 570 academic words to
approach the 90% threshold. Even this still needs
to be augmented by knowledge of discipline-specific
vocabulary to reach the ultimate target of 95%
coverage of words in any academic text in their field.
or comfortable with such an approach to lexis.
Students in the SFL Modern Languages Division
on average receive four hours of English language
instruction a week in a 16-week semester. during both
semesters in the freshmen year.. At this level, the
students need to see the AWL words more frequently
in appropriate reading texts, with specific activities
to achieve minimum competence in terms of a
lexical approach and data-driven learning principles.
They also need to be given adequate coverage and
practice of the bulk of the 570 AWL words that they
need. Given the limited time available in class, the
one obvious solution is to provide such a structured
approach to lexis in an online environment.
This approach is something that would have been
unthinkable even two years ago.
The software,
online corpora and freely available programs at sites
like the Compleat Lexical Tutor have only recently
appeared on the Internet. Thanks to the contributions
and research of key individuals in this field in the
last decade, a whole new world of opportunity is
available for all teachers and students to explore.
Lists are available on the Internet. One comprehensive
source is the Compleat Lexical Tutor website created
by
Tom
Cobb
at
http://132.208.224.131/
1
The Academic Word List was developed at the School of
Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at Victoria University
of Wellington, New Zealand and details can be found at
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/lals/div1/awl/awlinfo.html
2
PILOT
The SFL is currently piloting a corpus-based lexical
approach with freshmen students in the engineering
faculty. The online course6 has been designed with
interactive activities and feedback mechanisms
which facilitate independent study and require
little direct involvement of teachers. The course
is also available offline to students on CDROM,
as our Internet backbone is quite weak, and not
all students have access at home. It covers a
subset of 190 words from the AWL (one third of the
total), building cumulatively through a progression
including recycling of not only the AWL words, but
also the more frequently occurring K2 (second
thousand) of the GSL. The corpus is based on 14
authentic texts chosen according to an engineering
theme, but for the purpose of the pilot only two were
chosen. Students were given a pre-test before
doing the online activities, and will be tested after
to determine what impact the approach has had.
Each reading introduces approximately 25 new AWL
words, as well as recycling targeted K2 words. In
order to manage the target lexis, a ‘lexis matrix’ was
developed in Excel to analyse the texts and track
the commonly used AWL and K2 words. The aim
is also to expose students to texts that contain not
only the target AWL, but also additional vocabulary
specific to their discipline. In the future, we plan
to build our corpora based on the actual textbooks
and readings used in the subject-matter courses.
The activities have all been generated by computer
software directly from the texts, so no proof reading is
required. This also means that virtually any teacher,
with a minimum of training in the software to process
the texts, can develop a standardized interactive
corpus-based lexis ‘package’ within a relatively
short period of time. However, teacher-training
remains an issue, as many teachers are not familiar
The best place to get an overview of Paul Nation’s
contribution to this field is at his web page at http:
//www.vuw.ac.nz/lals/staff/paul_nation/
3
Tom Cobb has published numerous articles in this
field, links to which can be found at his web page
at
http://www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/r21270/cv/
4
See the WordSurfing website at http://
www.wordsurfing.co.uk/
5
The pilot course is available on the Internet at http://
eps.emu.edu.tr/lexis/awl_courses/engineering_01
6
GET MORE...
There’s more to the IATEFL Computer
SIG than just the newsletter. We have our
own website and an active Yahoo Group
You can visit the website at: http://www.paddock
s64.freeserve.co.uk/CompSIG2/callsig.htm
To
join
the
mailing
list,
visit:
http://
groups.yahoo.com/group/IATEFLComputerSig/
or send email to the following address: IATEFLComputerSig-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
PRACTICAL TEACHING IDEAS...
Let’s Talk About Tri-Points
Rolf Palmberg
Rolf Palmberg works at the Department of Teacher Education at Åbo Akademi University where
he teaches (E)FL methodology. He has given lectures, seminars and workshops at international
conferences and numerous in-service courses on CALL and ICT for foreign-language teachers in Finland.
Suggestions for an Internet-based EFL lesson
Pre-computer work
Ask the students if they know what a tripoint is. For the benefit of those students who are unfamiliar with the
concept, you could:
- use other current terms such as three-state-border or the Latin-based trifinium
- explain that a tripoint is the place where the borders of three neighbouring countries meet
- use the translational equivalent in the students’ mother tongue, e.g. dreiländereck (German),
drielandenpunt (Dutch), trijonction (French), or trifinio (Italian, Spanish).
A tripoint in Andorra
Divide the students into groups of three or four and give each group a large-scale map of Europe. Ask the
students to study the map in order to find answers to the following questions about international tripoints in
Europe:
- How many international tripoints are there in Europe?
- Which is the westernmost tripoint?
- Which countries have no tripoints?
- Which country has the largest number of tripoints, and how many are the tripoints?
- Andorra has two international tripoints, both with France and Spain. How many other triplets of
countries (like Andorra-France-Spain) can you find that have such double tripoints, and which are they?
Next, divide the students into new groups of three or four and ask them to compare each other’s answers.
Computer work
Tell the students to remain in their new groups and then ask each group to decide on their favourite dry tripoint (a
tripoint that is on solid ground). Ask them to take into consideration criteria such as the tripoint area in general
and the design of the actual tripoint monument. Remind them to give reasons for their choice of tripoint.
[Two very informative sites for this purpose are European tripoints and Jesper Nielsen’s Borderbase.]
Next, ask the students to decide on their favourite wet tripoint (a tripoint that is in a river or a lake)
using criteria of their own choice. Again, remind them to give reasons for their choice of tripoint.
Next, ask them to plan a trip from their favourite dry tripoint to their favourite wet tripoint. The trip must
also include three other tripoints of their choice, irrespectively of whether the additional tripoints make
the planned route longer or not. The plans must include detailed information about their starting point,
mode(s) of transportation, border crossings, points of interest en route, resting places, and of course, their
destination. As before, ask them to make notes of their decisions. [For a zoomable map, see e.g. Mapquest.]
Post-computer work
Repeat the English names for the European countries and their adjectives (you
may have to remind the students that some countries have different words for the
actual adjective, for a person from that country, and for the country’s language).
Next, ask the students to prepare and present orally in class (using transparencies to clarify their
presentations) their respective routes. Remind them to make realistic timetables (allowing time for
travelling, tripoint sightseeing, eating and sleeping) and to make ample use of country names and
adjectives relating to the countries in question. Allow time for questions after each presentation.
Finally, challenge the students to test their knowledge about European tripoints using The Tripoint
Guru (a free, downloadable computer program which will work with all versions of Windows).
Links
European tripoints: http://www.vasa.abo.fi/users/rpalmber/borders3.htm
Borderbase: http://www.nicolette.dk/borderbase/index.php
Mapquest: http://www.mapquest.com
The Tripoint Guru: http://www.vasa.abo.fi/users/rpalmber/tripoint.exe
QUICK TIPS - KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
Chris Sion, Netherlands
Chris Sion has taught English as a Foreign Language and been involved in teacher training since 1973. He has worked
in several countries in Europe and has held posts in private language schools, universities and in industry. In addition to
numerous articles in teaching journals, his publications include “Recipes for Tired Teachers” (Alta Book Center Publishers),
“Creating Conversation in Class” and “Talking Business in Class” (Delta), and “Talking to Yourself in English” (Training
Etcetera). Chris is married, has two children, and lives in the Netherlands, very near the German and Belgian borders.
It’s never too late to learn something new - so here are a few quick keyboard shortcuts from Chris (they should work in
all Microsoft products and a lot of other Windows-based programs too...). All you need to do is hold down the Ctrl key
and then the key for the shortcut - e.g. Ctrl + N = New Document:
N = New Document
W = Close Document
X = Cut
B = Bold
F = Find
Z = Undo Typing
2 = Double Spacing
E = Centre
O = Open Document
P = Print Document
C = Copy
I = Italic
G = Go to
Y = Repeat Typing
D = Font Options
R = Right
S = Save Document
A = Select All
P = Paste
U = Underline
H = Find & Replace
1 = Single Spacing
L = Left
RESEARCH - DISCUSSION FORUMS...
Constructing Agreement & Disagreement in an Electronic
Discussion Forum
Caroline Mei Lin Ho, Singapore
Caroline Mei Lin Ho lectures with the English Language and Literature Academic Group, National Institute of Education,
Singapore. She specialises in EL teaching methodology. Her doctorate in Applied English Linguistics from the University
of Birmingham (UK) was in the area of electronic discourse analysis. Her research interests include computer-mediated
communication and integrating ICT in EL teaching and learning. She can be contacted at : mlcho@nie.edu.sg
T
his article focuses on how participants in an electronic discussion forum (EDF) for young people in Singapore
engage with each other asynchronously. Of specific interest is the nature of computer-mediated agreement and
disagreement within an online environment. Through an analysis of electronic message content, specific discourse
features and strategies are identified which shape the dynamics and levels of electronic argumentation, and pedagogical
implications considered for the classroom practitioner.
The Electronic Discussion Forum
The study drew on messages from an EDF, `Young Voices’, set up by a Singapore Internet Service Provider for young
people to voice their thoughts and experiences. Messages were selected based on the following criteria:
•
•
threads
which
attract
a
minimum
number
of
five
messages,
messages of topical interest and currency to participants at the time of the study - specifically,
issues of general interest to Singaporeans and those which appeal to young people.
The different threads from where the unedited 370 messages were drawn are as follows:
•
•
•
•
Concerns of young people
Current and topical issues at the time of the study
Singapore-specific issues
Electronic discussion issues.
The participants are largely in Singapore, aged between 13 and 20 years for whom English is the main medium of
instruction in school.
Response Types in the Forum
A message which responds to another message in the EDF essentially fills the `gap’ created by an initiation. Broadly
defined roles are discernible from the data (see figure 1, below). Messages which offer a response can be broadly
categorised as those which àgree’ and those which `disagree’. Participants may also remain neutral to the issues at
hand or provide information elicited.
Agreement
A message which reacts positively offers agreement and supports a position taken (Baym, 1996:
325).
Participants’ stance on a topic is aligned with previous views presented (Herring, 1996).
Unconditional Agreement
Messages of unconditional agreement offer unqualified positions on issues
(1) Now I see your point. It’s quite true that making friends on the net is harmless.
(2) That’s a very good point you bring up. Maybe because, if you were to read all the
“looking for a friend” messages, some of them do give an intro. From this brief intro,
someone can decide whether to e-mail this person or not.
Figure 1: Response types and their realisations in the electronic discussion forum
Messages which offer positive
position taken (`supports’) by
reasons or evidence, and those
on the underlying reasons or
evaluation can further be categorised into those which justify the
providing further elaboration, detailed information and/or underlying
which indicate general agreement on issues raised without elaborating
providing substantiating evidence to support one’s stand (àffirms’):
Supports
(3) I agree with you. Rafflesians are always faced with criticism that they are snobs, always
showing off…I think it is all what people think and spread around…just becoz (because)
raffles happens to be a name that is always at the top, they think that they MUST be
snobs. Actually, it is only a few black sheeps spoiling the reputation of the schools
Affirms
(4) I felt the same too.
Hedged Agreement
Hedged agreement provides qualified agreement in displaying features which temper a position taken through `stance
qualifiers’(Goffman,1981) which mitigate the force of a statement or position taken and decrease the extent to which the
participant can be held accountable for the message content (italicized):
(5) This is only my opinion but I believe some guys like taller girls because they have
longer legs.
By qualifying participants’ position, the softening effect from hedged agreements, in effect, strengthens their position
rather than weakens it. This is a strategic device for participants to deliberately wield influence over others in the EDF
and in manipulating the desired effect aimed at.
Disagreement
A message which expresses disagreement offers a position which is ìncompatible with prior messages’ (Baym, 1996:
325). The stance taken is opposed to and in conflict with earlier views presented.
(6) Friend, I’m not a Rafflesian, neither am I speaking up for anyone. But, to be fair,
I disagree (v) with the points you raised because the reasons given don’t sound at
all valid.
(7) I think that it is very unfair (adj) of you to say whatever you have said, sir alfred.
Don’t you think that you think too highly of yourself?
Varying degrees of disagreement are evident:
Intensified Disagreement
An extreme form of disagreement intensifies or heightens the impact of specific points of disagreement on participants.
This may take the form of deliberate attempts at mockery and insults, aimed at offending the addressee(s) to whom the
message is directed:
(8) I don’t give a hoot how hip u (you)think u are, or how many languages u can speak.u
want to make a statement across singapore? Go to the president himself and go explain
to him about the differences in the wannabes and the real ones. Go ahead, go tell
him.i’m oh sooooo (so) sure he will understand…
No. btw (by the way), please don’t speak like u are a very cultured person, u look more
like a good girl wannabe. U just make me want to laugh out loud.
A deliberate attempt at ridiculing and belittling the other participant is evident in the sarcasm of the emphatic ì’m oh
sooooo sure he will understand…’ and the appeal to `please don’t speak like u are a very cultured person, u look more
like a good girl wannabe. U just make me want to laugh out loud’.
Justified Disagreement
Justified disagreement
provides
reasons
or
examples
in
support
of
an
opposing
stand:
(9) Bengs and lians should be treated equally and if possible, with extra privileges. They
help the Singapore economy buy buying branded stuff, help to solve the trouble the
police has to go through by juz (just) even writing statements and help them to get
rid of other gangs, thus making the number of gangs the police has to raid lower.
They have foreigners a good impression of the unique sense of fashion and style here
in Singapore.
Hedged Disagreement
Hedged disagreement features concession which is prefaced by partial agreements (italicised) before being followed by
a discourse marker (`but’). A `temporal shift’ (Baym, 1996:335) is evident in the thinking of contributors from the initial
show of support (`yes I agree’) for a point in the first part of the message (`Bengs’ and `Lians’ causing trouble) to the
contrasting perspective offered in the rest of the message (individuals’ personal make-up justifying the way they are:
(10) yes I agree that bengs and lians* do cause troubles but do anyone ever really find out
y(why) they would do such a thing?? Every one has a reason in doing things and maybe
they should try to help them instead of condemning them....every one has their own
decisions and u (you) are wat (what) u (you) r (are)and where u (you) are becoz
(because) of a decision made...
(*`Lians’ and ‘Bengs’: Àh Beng’ - A Chinese male with little dress sense; wears clothes which do not coordinate in terms of colour
and style. Often applies to those who are Chinese-educated, and may also refer to those with unrefined speech and mannerisms.
The female version is Àh Lian’.)
Indirect Disagreement
Rhetorical questions realise an indirect form of disagreement aimed at eliciting a specific response from participants.
The questions (italicised) provoke participants into adopting a particular line of thinking and manipulate participants’
perspectives on issues:
(11) I hate exams. I like learning a lot but I hate it when we get so much stress and
pressure in Singapore. Why can’t teachers and principals just shut up about results.
Why can’t we just enjoy studying? Studying is not just about exams. It is about
learning and having fun!!!
Neutral Stance
Messages with a neutral stance neither strongly support nor oppose a stand. Participants take into account varied
perspectives on an issue and refrain from taking an absolutist position with the `neutralising’ effect in italics:
(12) As my title suggests, I do not find that this is an appropriate topic to debate on, as
one cannot generalise on certain things. It is up to each and everyone of us to
determine if we’re inferior or on the other hand, superior, to the opposite sex.
Informs
Messages which ìnform’ supply information (facts, advice to solutions) elicited in initiating messages and offer a noncritical expression of views. The following responds to a question on the right way to approach the opposite sex:
(13) Well, it’s just like the chicken & the egg thing. Does it matter who makes the move?
More importantly, it’s the `getting to know you’ that’s really important. Make friends
& you’ll soon know if the cute hunk of a fella is what you thot (thought) he might be.
There’s always no harm in having more friends. But bear in mind that real GOOD FRIENDS
are hard to come by. Happy Clucking!
Overview
The following table summarises the distribution of response types in the EDF
Response type
Number of messages (N=333)
Percentage of total number of responding
messages (%) / Percentage of
number of
response type(%)
Agreement
Affirm
Support
Hedged
78
46
22
10
23.5
Disagreement
Intensified
Justified
Indirect
Hedged
225
150
40
31
4
67.5
Neutral
Informs
20
10
5.9
3.1
59.0
28.2
12.8
66.7
17.8
13.7
1.8
Figure 2: Distribution of response types in the electronic discussion forum
A relatively higher proportion of disagreement (67.5%) is evident compared to other agreement types. This supports
findings from studies which attribute the higher incidence of opposing views that challenge issues raised to the use
of computer (Baym, 1996). Of the messages which show disagreement, a higher proportion of messages comprise
intensified disagreement (66.7%) compared to the other forms of disagreement. This endorses the view that computermediated groups engaging in an impersonal, text-only form of communication become susceptible to extensive and
often frequent instances of argumentative discussion (Cooper and Selfe, 1990; Kiesler and Sproull, 1992) to the extent
of using insults, sarcasm and hostile language to belittle or ridicule opponents. The medium provides less inhibition
with electronic messages existing independently of space and time, making it èasy to disagree with, confront, or take
exception to others’ opinions’ (Zuboff, 1988: 370).
Pedagogical Implications
Teachers play a significant role in enabling effective computer-mediated discussions. Disparate ideas have to be weaved
together from the range of contributions, and students helped to synthesize ideas. These could include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
providing an overview of a wide-ranging discussion
categorising ideas
summarising points of agreement and disagreement in one or several threads of the discussion
posing questions rather than giving answers
setting off new lines of enquiry
challenging ideas posed in ‘playing the devil’s advocate’.
Selected electronic messages from forums could be used for classroom discussion and analysis. Specifically, attention
could be drawn to various ways of expressing counter-arguments or dissenting views and how differing degrees of
agreement and disagreement are linguistically realized. Further, awareness of specific means whereby arguments are
justified and/or supported, and how the strength of arguments can be tempered or participants’ thinking manipulated in
specific ways are critical in enhancing the nature of the electronic exchange.
Teachers need to be aware of the dynamics involved in electronic agreement and disagreement, and, specifically, the
means by which messages are formulated to fulfil specific purposes. Attention to these would inevitably raise the quality
of computer-mediated discussion among participants significantly, and provide for effective participant engagement in
meaningful rhetoric and challenging online debates.
This article was based on a presentation shared in Singapore at a Seminar for Heads of Department, Èngaging learners,
empowering leaders’, organized by the Ministry of Education, Educational Technology Division on 13 November 2003.
References (Contact the author for a complete list of references):
Baym, N.K. (1996) “Agreements and disagreements in a computer-mediated discussion.” Research on language and social interaction,
29 (4), 315-345.
Cooper, M. M., & Selfe, C.L. (1990). Computer conferences and learning: Authority, resistance and internally persuasive discourse. College
English, 52 (8), 847-869.
Goffman, E. (1981). Forms of talk. Oxford: Basil Blackwell Publisher.
Hathorn, L. G., & Ingram, A. L. (2002). Online collaboration: Making it work. Educational Technology, 42(1), 33-40.
Herring, S.C. (1996). Two variants of an electronic message schema. In Herring, S.C. (Ed.) Computer-mediated communication: Linguistic,
social and cross-cultural perspectives, (pp.81-106). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Jones, B., Valdez, G., Nowakowski, J., & Rasmussen, C. (1994). Designing learning and technology for educational reform. Oak Brook,
IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.
Kiesler, S., & Sproull, L. (1992). Group decision making and communication technology. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision
Processes, 52, 96-123.
Kotthoff, H. (1993). Disagreement and concession in disputes: On the context sensitivity of preference structures. Language in society,
22, 193-216.
Linell, P. (1990). The power of dialogue dynamics. In Markova, I. & Foppa, K. (Eds.) The dynamics of dialogue (pp.147-177). Hertfordshire:
Harvester Wheatsheaf.
Mabry, E.A. (1998). “Framing flames: The structure of argumentative messages on the Net.” Journal of computer-mediated communication,
2 (4). [Online] Available http://jcmc.huji.ac.il/vol2/issue4/mabry.html. Also in Sudweeks, F., McLaughlin, M. & Rafaeli, S. (Eds.) Network
and netplay: Virtual groups on the Internet (pp. 13-26). Menlo Park, California; Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, UK:American
Association for Artificial Intelligence Press and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press.
Pawan, F., Paulus, T.M., Yalcin, S., & Chang, C-F. (2003). Online learning: Patterns of engagement and interaction among in-service
teachers. Language learning and technology, 7 (3), 119-140.
Whitworth, B., Gallupe, R.B., & McQueen, R. (2001). Generating agreement in computer-mediated groups. Small Group Research, 32
(5), 625-665.
Zuboff, S. (1988). In the age of the smart machine: The future of work and power. New York: Basic Books.
THEORY AND PRACTICE - OF GOATS AND CoPs...
Good CoP, Bad CoP
What’s the connection between goats and teacher
training and learning? The answer, says Nicky
Hockly, is in communities of practice (CoPs).
Taking her cue from the world of business, she
looks at how online CoPs can help ELT teachers
develop professionally.
O
nce upon a time - but not very long ago at all in
these fast-changing times - there was a girl who
had wanted, ever since she could remember, to own
a goat. So, being a very modern computer-literate
girl, she joined an online community called Goatweb,
and started to learn all about goat breeding. Once
she had learnt enough, her parents allowed her to
buy her own baby goat, and she shared this joyous
news with her new friends and fellow goat lovers on
Goatweb. Unfortunately, as time went by, her goat
got sick. Despite advice and support from her online
friends in Goatweb, and visits from the vet, her goat
eventually died. The girl was heartbroken. Now, it
so happened that another member of Goatweb was
leaving the USA (homeland of this particular girl)
to return to his native land. He had several goats
for which he had to find good homes (there being
no provision on airlines for goat ferrying), and he
offered the girl a mother and baby goat. Her parents
agreed, but then a problem arose – how were they
going to get the goats from one side of the US to
their new home on the other side? The members of
Goatweb sprang into action: calls were made, emails
exchanged, messages posted, etc. They set up route
maps for transporting the goats across the country
between themselves, investigated livestock transport
regulations and decided on dates. And, truck journey
by truck journey, coffee break by coffee break, the
goats were duly delivered.
The above true story (http://goatweb.com/
index.shtml) illustrates a good community of
practice (CoP) at work.
According to Etienne Wenger, a researcher at
Xerox PARC who (it is popularly recognised) coined
the term, a CoP is “a group of people who share an
interest in something, and come together to develop
knowledge around this topic, in order to use it in
practice”. According to his later development of the
concept, a CoP will contain three crucial elements:
knowledge domain (that is, the common topic which
binds the group together), community and practice.
Membership of a CoP is ideally voluntary, and
the goals of a CoP will be negotiated, normally in
reponse to a commonly perceived need or problem.
We see the Goatweb CoP functioning in its response
to the problem of moving the goats across the US
– the members pulling together to solve it, and all
this achieved through negotiation between group
members.
Now let’s leave behind the world of goats and focus
in on how the idea of CoPs can be applied to the ELT
world, especially at teacher training level.
In real life (f2f, or face-to-face situations) – and
certainly in the context of language teaching and
training - CoPs have a natural tendency to develop.
Consider groups of like-minded ELT teachers being
drawn together in staff or teachers’ rooms, in coffee
bars or around the photocopier. Indeed, the original
business model of nurturing these communities
came in part from observing people in these natural
meeting places (often referred to as Schelling
Points, after Richard Schelling) participating in
informal peer training sessions which seemed, to the
observers, to be more fruitful and less pressurised
than the more structured training sessions which the
company regularly organised.
Since those heady early days of conversations
around the water cooler, working practices and
technology have developed apace. The pressures
of modern life and the adoption of networked and
distance communications have given rise to the
virtual equivalent of these meeting places - the online
version being known as a ‘distributed CoP’ (or DCoP).
DcoPs generally start as small websites (the meeting
place or Schelling Point), with members using various
modes of communication and knowledge sharing synchronous tools (such as chat, instant messenging
or video-conferencing) or asynchronous tools (such
as postings to a bulletin board or a discussion list)
- as their preferred medium of interaction.
But exactly how does a distributed (or online) CoP
differ from a common or garden discussion list?
The most important thing about a CoP is that it’s “a
group that learns” (Wenger
Wenger again). Members not
only discuss issues, challenges, needs or goals, but
actually try out tools or strategies to help them deal
with these. In other words, a CoP leads to ‘creative
practice’ in that members develop their own personal
practice, and reflect overtly on the effects of trying
out new things within the group. In this sense the
learning that takes place in a CoP is constructivist in
nature.
A well-functioning CoP will typically have a leader (a
key figure for Wenger) who will motivate the group
and keep it alive, and also a group of core members,
who will contribute regularly to the group (e.g. via
postings), and keep things ticking over. Then there
will be ‘boundary’ members, who may contribute
sporadically, or merely lurk, and may belong to
several CoPs, thus transferring knowledge from one
CoP to another. A boundary member may lurk on
your CoP but be very active on another. Any CoP
will have a range of competencies in the group, and
these will come to the fore depending on the area of
expertise needed at any one point to help the group
approach issues or problems. The structure of a
CoP is attractively democratic in this sense: every
member has potential value for the group.
CoPs are an excellent tool for professional
development for ELT teachers. There are several
ELT related CoPs already well-established
on the Net. Two of the best-known ones are
Vance Stevens’ Webheads in Action (http:
//www.geocities.com/vance_stevens/papers/
evonline2002/webheads.htm), whose members
explore issues related to applying technology to
ELT classes, and Scott Thornbury’s Dogme (http:
//groups.yahoo.com/group/dogme/), whose brief
is to explore a pedagogy using minimal resources
– a back-to-basics approach to teaching and
learning. Both of these CoPs go beyond the standard
discussion list, in that their members actively try out
ideas and materials in their own ELT classes, and in
this sense are continually evolving their own ‘creative
practice’. Other, less public, CoPs also exist, with
more springing up every day.
A CoP can evolve spontaneously in, for example,
an online Masters in ELT course, where course
participants form small informal groups, and
communicate online, discussing how to apply new
ideas and techniques to their practice, and reflecting
on the changes these bring about for their own
teaching. These are just a few examples of the real
application of CoPS in the day-to-day lives of working
and practising teachers and learners.
At its worst (bad CoP – usually imposed as a working
practice by management or directors), a community
of practice will stagnate and not ‘gel’ into a truly
creative group of individuals who have an interest in
sharing and growing. But in its purest form (good CoP
– naturally occurring, peopled with interested and
committed members) a community of practice will
provide focus and support for its members, allowing
them to cut through the fog of information overload
and concentrate on those issues which are important
– both to the group and to each individual member
– and, consequently, to develop these in practice.
Nicky Hockly has been a teacher and teacher
trainer for over 15 years. Coordinator of the IATEFL
TTEdSIG, she was - until recently - pedagogical
director of an online MA in ELT for Latin America.
She is now Pedagogical Director for The ConsultantsE ( www.theconsultants-e.com ). She can be
contacted at: nicky.hockly@theconsultants-e.com
INCENSED? EXCITED? BORED?
Have you been annoyed, excited, bored,
frustrated or anything else by what you’ve
read in this newsletter? If so - we’d like to
hear from you. Send your letters, comments,
articles,
reviews
or
anything
else
to:
gavin.dudeney@theconsultants-e.com
Who’s Who in the Computer
T
SIG
he Computer SIG is the IATEFL Special
Interest Group for Computers in Language
Education. It produces the CALL Review,
moderates a free discussion list and organises
CALL-related events in the UK and overseas.
The SIG is entirely dependent on the interest
and enthusiasm of its members. If you would
like to know more about the SIG, please visit
the IATEFL website or SIG Discussion List. If
you have any suggestions or feel that you can
make a contribution to our activities, please
contact one of the committee members below...
COORDINATOR
Tilly Harrison
tilly@southdene.freeserve.co.uk
WEB EDITOR
Geoff Taylor
gjtaylor@btinternet.com
EDITOR
Gary Motteram
mewssgjm@fs1.ed.man.ac.uk
Gavin Dudeney
dudeney@encomix.es
LIST MODERATOR
Sophie Ioannou-Georgiu
yiansoph@cytanet.com.cy
EVENTS
position vacant
JOIN IATEFL TODAY FOR CONFERENCES, NEWSLETTERS, EVENTS AND MORE...
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