This video called my attention because it clarifies in a simple way what CALL is. We may think that CALL is just knowing about computers or technology in general, however it is more than that. It is a way to incorporate the learning process through the use of technological tools and media. For example, if we just tell our students to use a PC to read a paragraph in the target language they are using the PC as a mean, but it is not enough to be considered relevant for his/her learning. We have encourage them to apply their grammar, listening and speaking skills whie using technology. Even though computer literacy is not the ultimate goal of CALL, it is welcomed benefit for students, and even this computer knowledge can be learned in a ESL class in a more practical way than in a computer class, as mentioned by Van Dijk (2005)in the reading Theory and Research: Interaction via Computers, "...individuals learn more from practical applications of computer/information technology than from formal computer education" (p. 23). This is a perfect example of how both branches can benefit from each other, learning a second language while using technology, and learning about technology while acquiring English proficiency. If our students have that in mind, they may see it as a time saver, since they are learning two important aspects at the same time. Thanks to this, I will try to incorporate both concepts, English and Technology, in my classes as a mutual benefit relationship, so my students can feel more motivated to use one to achieve the other one.
In my opinion, the use of CALL is not a necessity, but on the other hand it could be really helpful to use it during the process of teaching. In my work experience as an English teacher I don’t see CALL as a real necessity, as you know the use of technology in class is a big challenge not only for students, but also for teachers too. In real life, not every institution counts with computers or internet, and not all students can afford a computer. This is one of the “Challenges of Computer-Mediated Interaction” described in the reading about “Theory and Research: Interaction via Computers”. The authors talk about the “Physical access to the hardware; software; and services of computers, computer networks, and other technologies…” (p.24). This access is (most of the times) denied to students for several reasons, one of the most relevant is the lack of economical resources. The benefits of CALL are many, and one of the most important benefits for me as a teacher is that it “encourages the L2 learner to become an agent in the learning process” (CALL and Its Evaluation. p.53). It is very important that students develop a sense of responsibility and, as the lady of the video mentions, “autonomy”, as constructivism propose; students should “pose a problem and then solve it” (Learning and Instruction. p.6). My students use a CD that is part of their class material (books and workbooks) it’s a very important tool in which they can practice grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary as many times they want and the most important thing is that they decide when to use this material, so they are development autonomy in their learning process. It’s a very simple tool which doesn’t need internet connection to work and it really helps students in a more interactive way.
If we look back to the history of EFL teaching/learning process, it is possible to tell that one of the main difficulties that EFL classrooms, and teachers have dealt with is the lack of realistic input for students. In today’s world such situation has changed; there are a wide range of opportunities to have students more involved with the environment where English is spoken. CALL is one of those instruments teachers can implement in their classes to have a more vivid English language interaction; that’s something that I as a teacher would be willing to implement. As a future professional, I don’t only think CALL will help me to make my instruction easier, but at the same time will benefit the intake of my students enormously. How would I use CALL on my class? I definitely picture myself in the following scenario. Whenever I will be teaching about holidays and celebrations on The United States, which actually is a topic on the MEP’s syllabus. Prior the class, I will contact on my friends back on that country, and ask that person to prepare a little speech on how they celebrate certain holidays. The day of the class, I will make a skype call to my friend, introduce him/her to the class members, let my friend tell the speech, open a space for questions. After class, students have to tweet me under a specific hash tag about their experience or feelings about the Skype call. This video introduces CALL as one of the many opportunities there are for a teacher to make language learning fun, interesting, and relevant for both the professor and the student. As the reading “CALL and Its Evaluation” emphasizes the stage where CALL is right now offers “integrative” system, where the teaching paradigm is content-based instruction, the view of language is sociocognitive, and the principal use of computers establishes an authentic discourse. (p.54)
Nowadays, as teachers we are challenged to look different strategies in order to get students attention. Students are spouse to a world full of technology, and they can find whatever they want just typing and clicking in their computer their doubts. CALL is an opportunity that we have to impress students expectations and make classes interactive and enjoyable. However, many teachers think that bringing a movie to the class is a way to introduce CALL to the class. In my opinion this is an example mentioned by the woman in the video because teachers cannot use technology just because is out there. The idea of using a software, a website, or a program is to use pedagogy in a different way. Forcier in his article Learning & Instruction on page 32 mentioned some guidelines for effective software which I like to highlight two that really support what the video showed. "Software must stimulate a high degree of interest in the learner" "Software must contribute to development learning and, thereby, increase the permanence of that learning". As it seen technology is a tool that help teacher to develop a better class; however, teachers have to control all the theory of the methods and try to interact that theory with this new technologies coming up.
In the latest years, the World Wide Web has facilitated people’s life, every day more and more people make use of this great tool to make every task easier; the use of computers and internet has taken an important role not only in daily life but also in the field of education. According to Blake in the reading: “Web pages in service of L2 learning” “…nine of ten teenage school children, ages twelve through seventeen, have online access”, concluding that technology “…is a medium that our students understand, pay attention to, and like to use”. (p.25) For that reason, it is very important for us to employ the CALL in the teaching process, since this tool can help us to make our classes funny and interesting for our pupils. We could encourage our students to use the online sites they like most as a tool for learning, for example: Twitter, that can be used for the students to make comments about other classmates’ works; or Skype, that can be helpful to make video – calls to keep in touch with native speakers to reinforce the oral production. As the lady in the video says, we do not have to use technology just because it is out there; we have to integrate it in a way that contributes to the second language learning, by establishing goals. In the reading “Introduction: foundations for teaching and learning” the author introduces the most important language learning classroom goals we should keep focused on (knowledge acquisition, productivity, creativity, communication, research, problem solving and critical thinking). (p.4) If we keep this in mind, we will teach our students computer knowledge and the English language at the same time.
The use of call is very important for teachers and for students. it is a better way to teach because both enjoy the classes. I think that it is necessary that every teacher know about technology because in some caes the oldest teachers think that they are not able to learn how to use it but it is something that we as teachers must learn. students love to use technology and also it could facilitate our job; of course it doesn´t mean that we are going to use just CALL to teach but it is a great tool for us. the use of call has many benefits as the speaker says but also yhe author of the reading " Learning with multimedia tools" says "these technologies are interesting, interactive, multidimensional, and student controlled, they are ideally suited for educational purposes" (pag 308) so, for that reason we have to implement it and enjoy it, It is useful for teachers and I think I´ll use it in order to practice what we are studying, making games because it´s nice to learn playing
This video is a must see for teachers, and not only for those new in the process of knowing or using CALL, but also for those that are relatively "good" at the implementation of CALL. The woman in the video explains very well and concise what CALL is about. I think one of the intention of the woman speaking is to explain why it is important to know about CALL and its use, this as a way of inviting teachers to implement or at least test CALL in their classrooms, as not every teacher would like to use CALL but all teachers should know about it. I will use the following quote to support my last point "Understandably, not every language teacher will actively wish to launch into the creation of technologically based materials for their students, but everyone should be interested in evaluating CALL materials in the service of FL curriculum." (CALL and its evaluation, p. 64). Another important aspect of the video is that, the woman explains that the use of CALL can be a great advantage and tool, but if it is used accurately and assertively. This is because if it is not done in that way, the classroom can become in a Technology class instead of a language class, or it can become a class where students just go to use technology for their benefits and leisure instead of learning. So, we as teachers must know how and when it is relevant to use CALL in order to get the best from it. As it is stated in the reading "CALL and its evaluation" where says as follows "[...] each type of CALL program and activity has its own place and time, as should be revealed by any thoughtful CALL evaluation process." (p. 67). We are the responsibles for the correct use and implementation of methods or approaches like CALL, that is why we need to study and investigate about them, to keep updated as teachers and make the learning process easier for students and us (teachers).
In general terms, education, must be constantly updated in order to implement, and develop, adaptable teaching methods that best fit with the sociocultural context where the educative process takes place. In this sense, the Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is a most to learn activity for those who teach English as a second or a foreign language. Teachers are in charge of taking advantage of different teaching methods, by implementing and combining them, with the aim of creating an appropriate environment which enhances students’ learning process. Therefore, it is roundly necessary to start looking for options that make teaching fun, attractive, interactive and, of course, didactic. Nevertheless, technology is not just part of teaching, if not that it has to be part of teachers’ daily life; in the sense that it is a potential tool that should eases teachers’ daily duties. On the other hand, the speaker mentioned that nor CALL, or technology, can be considered the “holy cure” for bad teaching; whereas most newbies teachers may be computer literate, but they may not be necessarily aware about how can technology give effectiveness a lesson plan. Finally, I would use CALL as method in which technology must be focused on teaching a language; so, extra internet practices may be use, as well as real-time conferences or round tables with native English speakers. However, there is always a lack of technological devices; especially among rural places; whose are my targeted population when teaching. But if there is the chance of having the opportunity to use it, I will definitely do it. According to the reading “Theory and Research: Interaction via Computers”, “technology can support the development of language and cultural knowledge in all of the areas covered by standards for foreign languge learning -communication, communities, cultures and connections” (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, 1983; cited on Khalsa, Maloney&Peyton, 2004:12)
As the lecturer said, using CALL in the language classroom is not about how much I understand computers matters, it is about language literacy. Making language learning fun, interesting and relevant for the teacher and students is the objective. Teachers, who are looking for ways to improve their classes and make it more dynamic, can find out the CALL is one possibility to do it so. However, teachers need to be careful when performing its theory, just adding technology in the classroom will not make a class more interesting and successful. We as teachers must begin by implementing a plan and then by understanding how technology can make a specific lesson more effective and valuable for teachers and students. As Blake points out in CALL and its evaluation reading (p. 52), a “well-designed CALL program should engage learners in problem –solving activities or constructivism in order to make use of each learner’s previous experience”, for this reason, it is important that we always consider the pros and cons of using technology in the language classroom with the aim of building a balance. I’m pretty sure that there exist more advantages than disadvantages, but we are in charge of evaluating our lesson to distinguish if they achieve what we have planned.
We should encourage students, especially the ones who had none or few access to it, in order to be open to technology, breaking the barriers, giving students the opportunity to access more information letting them to get more accurate and up-to-date knowledge. So, our role in the classroom is to guide and supervise each students while they are using these tools so that students make the correct use of it. It is important to explain to them the advantages and drawbacks of using technology. Letting them know about the risks as well as giving tips to create a pleasant environment. Egbert J. et all. in "Introduction: Foundations for Teaching and Learning" also provide some great ideas, for example the Condition 6, which expresses very well the idea of getting the most of technology and as the authors say: " … be mindful" (pag. 7) So, using online or downloaded videos to reinforce the listening skills in the language learning process would be an useful idea to implement with student, so after watching a video for instance about pollution, you as a teacher can ask students to gather on a round table discussion and express their opinions. By doing this everyone would be part of the learning process and the outcome will be reached.
As the presenter of the video mentioned, CALL is just a tool that can be used by teachers, but using technology in our class does not really mean that our students are learning effectively; in the latest years there is like a trend among academic fields of using technology in classroom just because is available for everyone, and in some way I guess it becomes into a “academic karaoke” in which we just to rehearse and to reproduce what someone else has done, without producing something new. In fact, we have been bombed by the market with different electronic tools which might be very useful in education but we must be aware of what we are teaching and the means or ways we are applying, otherwise the use of technology will be useless and our students might not be able to achieve a meaningful learning. As a future teacher, my work is to make the use of technology responsibly, to use as much as possible as long as my student really understand and acquire the knowledge they are supposed to do. In words of Forcier (2008), from the student's perspective, multimedia authoring presents a rich environment in which to explore information and construct knowledge. Students may do the work individually or in cooperative groups. As an example, students might be assigned the task of developing a multimedia project describing the early settlement and subsequent development of their community. (Learning with multimedia tools, page 308). As the author mentioned, students need to explore and to construct their knowledge and the teacher role in CALL is to guide students throughout the use of technology to achieve that knowledge.
This video called my attention because it clarifies in a simple way what CALL is. We may think that CALL is just knowing about computers or technology in general, however it is more than that. It is a way to incorporate the learning process through the use of technological tools and media. For example, if we just tell our students to use a PC to read a paragraph in the target language they are using the PC as a mean, but it is not enough to be considered relevant for his/her learning. We have encourage them to apply their grammar, listening and speaking skills whie using technology. Even though computer literacy is not the ultimate goal of CALL, it is welcomed benefit for students, and even this computer knowledge can be learned in a ESL class in a more practical way than in a computer class, as mentioned by Van Dijk (2005)in the reading Theory and Research: Interaction via Computers, "...individuals learn more from practical applications of computer/information technology than from formal computer education" (p. 23). This is a perfect example of how both branches can benefit from each other, learning a second language while using technology, and learning about technology while acquiring English proficiency. If our students have that in mind, they may see it as a time saver, since they are learning two important aspects at the same time. Thanks to this, I will try to incorporate both concepts, English and Technology, in my classes as a mutual benefit relationship, so my students can feel more motivated to use one to achieve the other one.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the use of CALL is not a necessity, but on the other hand it could be really helpful to use it during the process of teaching. In my work experience as an English teacher I don’t see CALL as a real necessity, as you know the use of technology in class is a big challenge not only for students, but also for teachers too. In real life, not every institution counts with computers or internet, and not all students can afford a computer. This is one of the “Challenges of Computer-Mediated Interaction” described in the reading about “Theory and Research: Interaction via Computers”. The authors talk about the “Physical access to the hardware; software; and services of computers, computer networks, and other technologies…” (p.24). This access is (most of the times) denied to students for several reasons, one of the most relevant is the lack of economical resources. The benefits of CALL are many, and one of the most important benefits for me as a teacher is that it “encourages the L2 learner to become an agent in the learning process” (CALL and Its Evaluation. p.53). It is very important that students develop a sense of responsibility and, as the lady of the video mentions, “autonomy”, as constructivism propose; students should “pose a problem and then solve it” (Learning and Instruction. p.6). My students use a CD that is part of their class material (books and workbooks) it’s a very important tool in which they can practice grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary as many times they want and the most important thing is that they decide when to use this material, so they are development autonomy in their learning process. It’s a very simple tool which doesn’t need internet connection to work and it really helps students in a more interactive way.
ReplyDeleteIf we look back to the history of EFL teaching/learning process, it is possible to tell that one of the main difficulties that EFL classrooms, and teachers have dealt with is the lack of realistic input for students. In today’s world such situation has changed; there are a wide range of opportunities to have students more involved with the environment where English is spoken. CALL is one of those instruments teachers can implement in their classes to have a more vivid English language interaction; that’s something that I as a teacher would be willing to implement. As a future professional, I don’t only think CALL will help me to make my instruction easier, but at the same time will benefit the intake of my students enormously.
ReplyDeleteHow would I use CALL on my class? I definitely picture myself in the following scenario. Whenever I will be teaching about holidays and celebrations on The United States, which actually is a topic on the MEP’s syllabus. Prior the class, I will contact on my friends back on that country, and ask that person to prepare a little speech on how they celebrate certain holidays. The day of the class, I will make a skype call to my friend, introduce him/her to the class members, let my friend tell the speech, open a space for questions. After class, students have to tweet me under a specific hash tag about their experience or feelings about the Skype call.
This video introduces CALL as one of the many opportunities there are for a teacher to make language learning fun, interesting, and relevant for both the professor and the student. As the reading “CALL and Its Evaluation” emphasizes the stage where CALL is right now offers “integrative” system, where the teaching paradigm is content-based instruction, the view of language is sociocognitive, and the principal use of computers establishes an authentic discourse. (p.54)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNowadays, as teachers we are challenged to look different strategies in order to get students attention. Students are spouse to a world full of technology, and they can find whatever they want just typing and clicking in their computer their doubts. CALL is an opportunity that we have to impress students expectations and make classes interactive and enjoyable. However, many teachers think that bringing a movie to the class is a way to introduce CALL to the class. In my opinion this is an example mentioned by the woman in the video because teachers cannot use technology just because is out there. The idea of using a software, a website, or a program is to use pedagogy in a different way. Forcier in his article Learning & Instruction on page 32 mentioned some guidelines for effective software which I like to highlight two that really support what the video showed. "Software must stimulate a high degree of interest in the learner" "Software must contribute to development learning and, thereby, increase the permanence of that learning". As it seen technology is a tool that help teacher to develop a better class; however, teachers have to control all the theory of the methods and try to interact that theory with this new technologies coming up.
ReplyDeleteIn the latest years, the World Wide Web has facilitated people’s life, every day more and more people make use of this great tool to make every task easier; the use of computers and internet has taken an important role not only in daily life but also in the field of education. According to Blake in the reading: “Web pages in service of L2 learning” “…nine of ten teenage school children, ages twelve through seventeen, have online access”, concluding that technology “…is a medium that our students understand, pay attention to, and like to use”. (p.25) For that reason, it is very important for us to employ the CALL in the teaching process, since this tool can help us to make our classes funny and interesting for our pupils. We could encourage our students to use the online sites they like most as a tool for learning, for example: Twitter, that can be used for the students to make comments about other classmates’ works; or Skype, that can be helpful to make video – calls to keep in touch with native speakers to reinforce the oral production. As the lady in the video says, we do not have to use technology just because it is out there; we have to integrate it in a way that contributes to the second language learning, by establishing goals. In the reading “Introduction: foundations for teaching and learning” the author introduces the most important language learning classroom goals we should keep focused on (knowledge acquisition, productivity, creativity, communication, research, problem solving and critical thinking). (p.4) If we keep this in mind, we will teach our students computer knowledge and the English language at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThe use of call is very important for teachers and for students. it is a better way to teach because both enjoy the classes. I think that it is necessary that every teacher know about technology because in some caes the oldest teachers think that they are not able to learn how to use it but it is something that we as teachers must learn. students love to use technology and also it could facilitate our job; of course it doesn´t mean that we are going to use just CALL to teach but it is a great tool for us. the use of call has many benefits as the speaker says but also yhe author of the reading " Learning with multimedia tools" says "these technologies are interesting, interactive, multidimensional, and student controlled, they are ideally suited for educational purposes" (pag 308) so, for that reason we have to implement it and enjoy it, It is useful for teachers and I think I´ll use it in order to practice what we are studying, making games because it´s nice to learn playing
ReplyDeleteThis video is a must see for teachers, and not only for those new in the process of knowing or using CALL, but also for those that are relatively "good" at the implementation of CALL. The woman in the video explains very well and concise what CALL is about.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the intention of the woman speaking is to explain why it is important to know about CALL and its use, this as a way of inviting teachers to implement or at least test CALL in their classrooms, as not every teacher would like to use CALL but all teachers should know about it. I will use the following quote to support my last point "Understandably, not every language teacher will actively wish to launch into the creation of technologically based materials for their students, but everyone should be interested in evaluating CALL materials in the service of FL curriculum." (CALL and its evaluation, p. 64).
Another important aspect of the video is that, the woman explains that the use of CALL can be a great advantage and tool, but if it is used accurately and assertively. This is because if it is not done in that way, the classroom can become in a Technology class instead of a language class, or it can become a class where students just go to use technology for their benefits and leisure instead of learning. So, we as teachers must know how and when it is relevant to use CALL in order to get the best from it. As it is stated in the reading "CALL and its evaluation" where says as follows "[...] each type of CALL program and activity has its own place and time, as should be revealed by any thoughtful CALL evaluation process." (p. 67).
We are the responsibles for the correct use and implementation of methods or approaches like CALL, that is why we need to study and investigate about them, to keep updated as teachers and make the learning process easier for students and us (teachers).
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn general terms, education, must be constantly updated in order to implement, and develop, adaptable teaching methods that best fit with the sociocultural context where the educative process takes place. In this sense, the Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is a most to learn activity for those who teach English as a second or a foreign language. Teachers are in charge of taking advantage of different teaching methods, by implementing and combining them, with the aim of creating an appropriate environment which enhances students’ learning process.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, it is roundly necessary to start looking for options that make teaching fun, attractive, interactive and, of course, didactic. Nevertheless, technology is not just part of teaching, if not that it has to be part of teachers’ daily life; in the sense that it is a potential tool that should eases teachers’ daily duties.
On the other hand, the speaker mentioned that nor CALL, or technology, can be considered the “holy cure” for bad teaching; whereas most newbies teachers may be computer literate, but they may not be necessarily aware about how can technology give effectiveness a lesson plan.
Finally, I would use CALL as method in which technology must be focused on teaching a language; so, extra internet practices may be use, as well as real-time conferences or round tables with native English speakers. However, there is always a lack of technological devices; especially among rural places; whose are my targeted population when teaching. But if there is the chance of having the opportunity to use it, I will definitely do it. According to the reading “Theory and Research: Interaction via Computers”, “technology can support the development of language and cultural knowledge in all of the areas covered by standards for foreign languge learning -communication, communities, cultures and connections” (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, 1983; cited on Khalsa, Maloney&Peyton, 2004:12)
As the lecturer said, using CALL in the language classroom is not about how much I understand computers matters, it is about language literacy. Making language learning fun, interesting and relevant for the teacher and students is the objective. Teachers, who are looking for ways to improve their classes and make it more dynamic, can find out the CALL is one possibility to do it so. However, teachers need to be careful when performing its theory, just adding technology in the classroom will not make a class more interesting and successful. We as teachers must begin by implementing a plan and then by understanding how technology can make a specific lesson more effective and valuable for teachers and students. As Blake points out in CALL and its evaluation reading (p. 52), a “well-designed CALL program should engage learners in problem –solving activities or constructivism in order to make use of each learner’s previous experience”, for this reason, it is important that we always consider the pros and cons of using technology in the language classroom with the aim of building a balance. I’m pretty sure that there exist more advantages than disadvantages, but we are in charge of evaluating our lesson to distinguish if they achieve what we have planned.
ReplyDeleteWe should encourage students, especially the ones who had none or few access to it, in order to be open to technology, breaking the barriers, giving students the opportunity to access more information letting them to get more accurate and up-to-date knowledge. So, our role in the classroom is to guide and supervise each students while they are using these tools so that students make the correct use of it. It is important to explain to them the advantages and drawbacks of using technology. Letting them know about the risks as well as giving tips to create a pleasant environment.
ReplyDeleteEgbert J. et all. in "Introduction: Foundations for Teaching and Learning" also provide some great ideas, for example the Condition 6, which expresses very well the idea of getting the most of technology and as the authors say: " … be mindful" (pag. 7)
So, using online or downloaded videos to reinforce the listening skills in the language learning process would be an useful idea to implement with student, so after watching a video for instance about pollution, you as a teacher can ask students to gather on a round table discussion and express their opinions. By doing this everyone would be part of the learning process and the outcome will be reached.
As the presenter of the video mentioned, CALL is just a tool that can be used by teachers, but using technology in our class does not really mean that our students are learning effectively; in the latest years there is like a trend among academic fields of using technology in classroom just because is available for everyone, and in some way I guess it becomes into a “academic karaoke” in which we just to rehearse and to reproduce what someone else has done, without producing something new. In fact, we have been bombed by the market with different electronic tools which might be very useful in education but we must be aware of what we are teaching and the means or ways we are applying, otherwise the use of technology will be useless and our students might not be able to achieve a meaningful learning. As a future teacher, my work is to make the use of technology responsibly, to use as much as possible as long as my student really understand and acquire the knowledge they are supposed to do. In words of Forcier (2008), from the student's perspective, multimedia authoring presents a rich environment in which to explore information and construct knowledge. Students may do the work individually or in cooperative groups. As an example, students might be assigned the task of developing a multimedia project describing the early settlement and subsequent development of their community. (Learning with multimedia tools, page 308). As the author mentioned, students need to explore and to construct their knowledge and the teacher role in CALL is to guide students throughout the use of technology to achieve that knowledge.
ReplyDelete