The second session for the day is "Mastering Oral Foreign Language Proficiencies with Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL): Pedagogical Implications" presented by S&T's own Dr. Irina Ivliyeva, who teaches Russian.
Presentation Outline:
Presentation Outline:
- Subject background; students and classes; FL proficiencies
- CALL and evolving technologies
- Classroom activities and information management
- Evaluation and assessment
- Teaching methods: historical perspectives
Irina is a native of Russia, but still studied linguistic aspects of
the Russian language (sounds and how they are produced, among other
things). In her senior year in college, she took another look at the
phonetical system of teaching Russian (or other foreign languages). Her
instructor classified intonation types of foreign languages. Irina
taught at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute (Russian version of
S&T). She trained foreigners who had no knowledge of Russian to
speak/write in Russian in a short period of time (similar to an ESL
program).
In 1997, Irina started working at UMR (now S&T) to teach Russian (only Russian teacher on campus). Students can minor in the language. Irina teaches three levels of Russian (Elementary [001], Readings [080], and Phonetics/Intonation [301]).
Learning a foreign language requires four specific proficiencies--Reading (Passive), Listening (Passive), Writing (Active), and Speaking (Active). Speaking is considered to be the most difficult proficiency to learn, but also the most desirable. Speaking requires the help and support of the other three proficiencies, but also constant immersion and contact in order to gain proficiency (much like learning a sport).
CALL is a method of language teaching and learning in which computer technology is used as an aid to the presentation, storage, and assessment of the material which is to be learned (defined by Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium, or CALICO: http://calico.org).
CALL activities focus on two main groups of activities: 1) those which relate to speech recognition and analysis and 2) those which relate to speech synthesis (i.e. production of human speech).
Technology has evolved to greatly improve and enhance language instruction: from reel-to-reel tapes, to cassettes, to CDs, to handheld digital recorder devices, iPods, to smart phones, to ???
Audacity is a free software for recording and editing sound files. It is ideal for recording foreign language speech to help correct mispronunciation, as well as to record the proper pronunciation of foreign words. Audio files can be converted to a wide variety of formats for playback on a wide range of devices.
Wimba Voice Tools is another tool that can be used to record audio files. One of the nice things about this feature is that it is already integrated into Blackboard and can be accessed/downloaded by the instructor directly from Blackboard. Audacity files have to be uploaded for grading/assessment. Audacity also requires students to download and install the Audacity client, while Voice Tools can ideally be accessed from anywhere with an Internet connection.
Irina provides several everyday classroom activities.
First and foremost is a "permission to use form" so that students authorize the instructor to use their voice recordings (like the recordings used during this presentation). Most students don't have a problem with it, but it is necessary to cover any legal issues that may arise.
Mechanical drills are traditional "listen and repeat" exercises found in most foreign language courses. This is the foundational exercise for building vocabulary and pronunciation. It builds reading, listening, and speaking proficiencies.
Reading aloud with expression is where the student does not have the instructor present to correct mispronunciation. Students learn pronunciation rules, pay special attention to word stress, and polish the pronunciation of difficult words. Proficiencies engaged are reading and speaking.
Recording your own speech helps to find weak pronunciation points and sounds, critically analyze the recorded speech, and compare their own speech with the speech of a native speaker (e.g. the instructor, Irina in the case of Russian at S&T).
One version of this exercise forces students to listen to the text and write down the words, combining the listening and writing proficiencies of language.
Finally, Irina assigns students to listen to songs, books on CD, and film dialogues so that students improve their intonation skills and rhythm. This is effectively text to speech to text and helps students work on their listening and speaking skills.
Sound files can be managed by recording them in Blackboard or Audacity. They can be stored on a hard drive, iPod or Blackboard.
One of the homework assignments Irina likes to give students is to have them develop instructions for other students in the class. This forces the students to really identify with their target audience for the language.
According to Irina, technology use in the foreign language classroom is a work in progress as technology and its educational applications continue to evolve. Classroom instructors are not always familiar with the relevant technology, and technology experts have no, or limited, knowledge of foreign language pedagogy. Pedagogy must drive the use of technology, not the other way around. Both teachers and students need to be trained in order to use the technology effectively in the classroom.
In 1997, Irina started working at UMR (now S&T) to teach Russian (only Russian teacher on campus). Students can minor in the language. Irina teaches three levels of Russian (Elementary [001], Readings [080], and Phonetics/Intonation [301]).
Learning a foreign language requires four specific proficiencies--Reading (Passive), Listening (Passive), Writing (Active), and Speaking (Active). Speaking is considered to be the most difficult proficiency to learn, but also the most desirable. Speaking requires the help and support of the other three proficiencies, but also constant immersion and contact in order to gain proficiency (much like learning a sport).
CALL is a method of language teaching and learning in which computer technology is used as an aid to the presentation, storage, and assessment of the material which is to be learned (defined by Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium, or CALICO: http://calico.org).
CALL activities focus on two main groups of activities: 1) those which relate to speech recognition and analysis and 2) those which relate to speech synthesis (i.e. production of human speech).
Technology has evolved to greatly improve and enhance language instruction: from reel-to-reel tapes, to cassettes, to CDs, to handheld digital recorder devices, iPods, to smart phones, to ???
Audacity is a free software for recording and editing sound files. It is ideal for recording foreign language speech to help correct mispronunciation, as well as to record the proper pronunciation of foreign words. Audio files can be converted to a wide variety of formats for playback on a wide range of devices.
Wimba Voice Tools is another tool that can be used to record audio files. One of the nice things about this feature is that it is already integrated into Blackboard and can be accessed/downloaded by the instructor directly from Blackboard. Audacity files have to be uploaded for grading/assessment. Audacity also requires students to download and install the Audacity client, while Voice Tools can ideally be accessed from anywhere with an Internet connection.
Irina provides several everyday classroom activities.
First and foremost is a "permission to use form" so that students authorize the instructor to use their voice recordings (like the recordings used during this presentation). Most students don't have a problem with it, but it is necessary to cover any legal issues that may arise.
Mechanical drills are traditional "listen and repeat" exercises found in most foreign language courses. This is the foundational exercise for building vocabulary and pronunciation. It builds reading, listening, and speaking proficiencies.
Reading aloud with expression is where the student does not have the instructor present to correct mispronunciation. Students learn pronunciation rules, pay special attention to word stress, and polish the pronunciation of difficult words. Proficiencies engaged are reading and speaking.
Recording your own speech helps to find weak pronunciation points and sounds, critically analyze the recorded speech, and compare their own speech with the speech of a native speaker (e.g. the instructor, Irina in the case of Russian at S&T).
One version of this exercise forces students to listen to the text and write down the words, combining the listening and writing proficiencies of language.
Finally, Irina assigns students to listen to songs, books on CD, and film dialogues so that students improve their intonation skills and rhythm. This is effectively text to speech to text and helps students work on their listening and speaking skills.
Sound files can be managed by recording them in Blackboard or Audacity. They can be stored on a hard drive, iPod or Blackboard.
One of the homework assignments Irina likes to give students is to have them develop instructions for other students in the class. This forces the students to really identify with their target audience for the language.
According to Irina, technology use in the foreign language classroom is a work in progress as technology and its educational applications continue to evolve. Classroom instructors are not always familiar with the relevant technology, and technology experts have no, or limited, knowledge of foreign language pedagogy. Pedagogy must drive the use of technology, not the other way around. Both teachers and students need to be trained in order to use the technology effectively in the classroom.
Irina brings up a very important point. Technology must always be a tool that facilitates learning but not the learning itself. Pedagogy is the foundation of a course.