USES OF CALL IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

This section gives a brief overview of how CALL has been used or can be used for
the purpose of language learning and teaching. The use of CALL can be divided as
follows:

(1) Drill and practice, (2) Computer as tutor (3)Games on computers,

(4) Computer as a tool for EL teachers and learners, (5) Internet applications.

1. Drill and practice

In this use of CALL, computers are viewed as a tool for saving time with the
immediate feedback. The learning principle behind Drill and Practice is the
Behaviorism Learning Theory and the Audiolingual approach language to
teaching.

aim 1. to review the content / background knowledge;

2. to assist the learners to master separate language skills (such as reading,
listening, etc.)
Parts 1. Providing stimulus;
2. Receiving active response from the learner;
3. Giving immediate feedback.
Types Paired Associate (Matching); Sentence Completion; Multiple Choice; Part
Identification; True-False; and Short-Answer questions.
Focus To practicing language skills and components separately (such as
vocabulary, grammar (such as irregular verbs, past tense, articles), reading,
and translation.
Limitations The lack of interaction and content materials which are not authentic,

meaningful, and contextualized.

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 2. Computer as tutor
The role of the computer as tutor is to present to the learners the content of the
lesson as text graphics, video, animation, or slides, including learning activities,
drills and practice. The computer serves as a means for delivering instructional
materials. The program consists of the following stages: Introduction stage
(stating aims, background knowledge), Presentation of the content, exercises
and/or testing; and Giving the feedback. Some Examples of CALL tutorial
programs:

Grammar: Reading Writing Speaking, Integrated Skills

Pronunciation or Courseware
& Listening
 Longman  Read It! Study  Paragraph  Learn to  Ellis (CALI),
Grammar Skills (Clarity Punch (a Speak (The Dynamic English
Software; Language writing tutor Learning (DynEd);
 Grammar Consultants) for effective Company);  English
Expert Plus; (EAP reading); paragraph);  English Discoveries
Tense Buster  RocketReader  WriteExpress Pronunciation (Berlitz);
(Clarity (1998) (a speed Easy Letters (1997-98)  English
Software); reading (effective (Okanagan Language
 Grammar program); business University Development
Mastery (ALA);  ReadFlex letters); College); (Jostens);
 Grammar Rom (Speed Reading);  Dragon,  Rosetta Stone
(Addison  Reading for  Power Naturally (Fairfield
Wesley English Editing (an Speaking (A Language
Longman); (Athelstan) interactive voice Technologies);
 Grammar 3D: (Reading tutorial on recognition  Planet English
Contextualized Comprehension) how to edit program); (Unisearch Ltd
Practice for ; and revise  See It, Hear It, and the
Learners of  SEEN: Tutorials sentences); Say It! University of
English (Heinle for Critical  Report (Courseware New South
& Heinle). Reading (KenCD Writer for Publishing Wales);
Software) Science and International);  Issues in
(tutorials Engineering  Accent English (Protea
designed to Reports Improvement Software);
develop (Clarity (SpeakWare);  Active English
analytical Language Real English (Courseware
thinking and Consultants) (Wiser Publishing
critical reading (EFL/ESL Software). International).
skills). report
science and
engineer
writing).

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 3. Games on computer
The main principle behind computer gaming is that “Learning is Fun.” The main
aim is to create a pleasurable learning environment , and to motivate the
language learner. However, good educational games should have clear
educational objectives. CALL games focus on providing fun, but challenging
environment to the learner. Though CALL games have clear learning objectives,
they are different from Tutorials and Drill and Practice; as there is not so much to
present the language content as tutorials do but to provide entertainment to the
learner. Examples of CALL vocabulary games are Spelling Games, Spelling Bee
and Magic Hat, Scrambled Word, Word Worm, Word Order, Find a Word, Word
Puzzles, Spelling Buddy, Cross Words, I Love Spelling (DK multimedia), etc.

4. Computer as a tool for teachers and learners

 Word Processors
Word Processors are tools for creating documents for making handouts, sheets,
desktop publishing, letters, and flyers for language teaching and learning.
Types of word processors: 1. high quality programs ( Microsoft Word , Corel
Word Perfect) 2. Simpler and cheaper programs ( Microsoft Works , and Claris
Works) .
 Spelling checkers
Spelling checkers are tools for conducting spelling check. Most high quality word
processing programs such as Microsoft Word, Word Perfect have built in spelling
checkers. However, there are separate spelling checking programs available such
as Spell it Deluxe (1997), or Sentry Spelling-Checker Engine.
 Grammar checkers

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 ELT teachers can use grammar checker programs to check and point out
grammatical problems in writing. Grammar checkers can be a separate
program such as Grammatik or built-in programs such as the Grammar Check
in Microsoft Word.
 Concordancers
Concordancing is an alphabetical list of words. It displays, in context, all
occurrences of words, phrases, etc. from a database of text. Teachers and
learners can use concordancing software to search large databases to find all the
uses of a particular word. It might be confusing for ESL/EFL beginners. The best
concordancer for ELT teachers and students is Oxford MicroConcord . The
software includes a total of about 1,000,000 words from British newspapers.
 Reference software
At present many CD versions of encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauruses, maps
and other references are available to the teachers and learners. Popular
reference CD-ROM programs are Microsoft Encarta, Longman Dictionary of
American English, Oxford Picture Dictionary CD-ROM and BookShelf; WordWeb,
(a thesaurus /dictionary), Collins OnLine Dictionaries, American Heritage
Dictionary (Softkey); Longman Multimedia Dictionary, Grammar Reference (US
English grammar usage).

5. Internet applications
Computers can be connected to the internet and can incorporate interactive
multimedia: text, graphics, audio, video, and animation. To access text, graphics,
audio, video, and animation published on the internet, the teacher and learner
need to use "Web browser" software. Common Web browsers are Netscape
Navigator and Microsoft internet Explorer. It is expected that the internet will
become one of the most popular mediums for CALL because it allows for world-
wide distance education.
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The following are internet applications that ELT teachers can use for language
teaching:
 Electronic mail (e-mail)
E-mail is an excellent method for teaching interactive writing. One of its
advantages is that it provides interaction with native speakers through pen-pal
correspondence. E-mail writing is considered to be more personal and
meaningful than classroom writing activities. A problem concerning interaction
through E-mail is that the communication does not take place at the same time
(asynchronous). If the user wants to access to e-mail anywhere and anyplace in
the world, he/she can apply for free web-based e-mail services such as
Hotmail.com , Yahoo.com, Mail.com , AltaVista.com , etc.
 World Wide Web (WWW)
Computer networks have allowed to connect to information around the world,
and share millions of documents— texts, graphics, sounds, and video via
hypertext keywords or links. WWW or the web now has absorbed many of the
above services. For example, the web can now do e-mail, chat and voice chat,
and desktop conferencing. The WWW provides a rich resource of “authentic
materials” for language teaching and learning. The teacher and learner can
search for the following materials on the WWW:
a) Texts
Text can be downloaded, saved as .html or .text files, and printed and kept as
worksheets. Teacher can download suitable texts from WWW and put them on
the school’s website for further reading assignments or doing English exercises
such as grammar, vocabulary, etc. However, there are some limitations on using
text files on the WWW. Many web sites consist of poor written texts with
grammar and spelling mistakes or poor writing style. The teacher must be
selective in choosing text files for ELT learners. A good website is CNN News

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Room . The student will learn both news and do some language exercises such as
vocabulary, grammar, reading, etc.
b) Pictures
Pictures can convey meaning and stimulate language. By using a web browser,
teachers can download, save and print pictures and keep them as a resource for
language teaching. There is a variety of pictures on the web. Many pictures are
copyright-free for educational use. AltaVista is a good search engine for
searching pictures on the internet.
c) Audio files
A lot of web sites provide audio clips that the user can download and store for
use in language teaching and learning. With advanced technologies such as the
RealAudio program, the teacher can download “live” audio files such as news,
short stories, songs for use in class and self access center or for individual
listening at home. Web sites that provide audio files are such as CNN News, BBC
English , etc.
d) Video files
The WWW is also a rich resource for Video files (video films, video clips, digital
movies). To view video files, there is a need for video and movie viewing
programs such as RealVideo, QuickTime Movie, which can be downloaded from
the internet. Useful videos and movies that can be downloaded and saved are:
previews of video films, movies, conversations or dialogues among people,
news, speeches, and documentary films. Teachers can use videos and movies
with other media, such as textbooks, pictures, handouts, or audio materials.
However, there are some technical limitations with downloading video
materials. Video clips, which are usually short, are easy to download and
manipulate. However, long videos and movies, which need a lot of computer
RAM and disk spaces, always cause problems. The computer must be powerful
and must have a fast internet connection.
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e) Chat & voice chat
Computer-mediated communication allows users to exchange real time instant.
The applications of this capacity are chat programs that allow users to connect
to remote sites to send and receive instant written messages. Examples of chat
programs on the web are: ICQ < http://wwp.icq.com/>, IRC (Internet Relay Chat)
< http://www.ircnet.org/>, Yahoo . With the progress in real time audio
technologies, voice chat is becoming available (e.g. Yahoo Voice Chat ). Voice
chat allows users to exchange real time instant digital voice messages with users
in remote sites. Chat provides a strong motivation for interactive and
communicative use of language. ELT teachers can use chat sessions as a means
for meaningful authentic communication with the real audience. The learner can
join several chat groups according to his/her own interest.

REFERENCE:
Torut , B (1999) Computer assisted language learning: an overview. Thailand-
Australia
Science & Engineering Assistance Project (TASEAP).