EUROCALL Newsletter
Issue number 4, January 2004
Editor: Ana Gimeno
ISSN: 1695-2618
Table of Contents
ReCALL Journal
Reports on EUROCALL Special Interest Groups: InSTIL/ICALL2004
Symposium
Projects
Recommended website
Publications by EUROCALL members
Events Calendar
ReCALL Journal
The forthcoming issue of ReCALL (Vol.
16, Part 1) will be distributed to EUROCALL members in May/June
2004. Please send articles, software reviews, details of relevant
events or other items of interest for future issues to June Thompson,
Editor, ReCALL, EUROCALL Office, The Language Institute,
University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK, E-mail: d.j.thompson@hull.ac.uk.
All articles are considered by an intenational panel of referees.
Please see the notes for contributors.
Reports on EUROCALL Special
Interest Groups
InSTIL/ICALL Symposium 2004 on
NLP and Speech Technologies in Advanced Language Learning Systems
VENICE (Italy) 17-19 June 2004
EUROCALL's InSTIL (Integrating Speech Technology
in Learning) SIG, which gathers researchers and practitioners interested
in using computers in speech-enabled CALL and in the domain of pronunciation
in the widest sense of the word, will hold its forthcoming symposium
in Venice from June 17 to 19, 2004. The symposium will take place at
the Auditorium Santa Margherita of the Università Ca' Foscari
in Venice and is being organised by Rodolfo
Delmonte of the Laboratorio di Linguistica Computazionale del Dipartimento
di Scienze del Linguaggio and EUROCALL's Regional Representative in
Italy, among other colleagues.
GOALS AND SCOPE OF THE SYMPOSIUM
The scope of the symposium is to join together people working in the
two neighbouring and often overlapping research fields of Natural Language
and Speech Technologies, oriented towards Language Learning and Tutoring.
Thanks to latest remarkable advances in Natural Language Processing
(NLP) research, there has been an increasing interest among researchers
in the implementation of NLP-based educational applications for both
large-scale assessment and classroom instruction. Educational applications
have been developed across a variety of subject domains, among others,
in automated evaluation of free-responses and intelligent tutoring.
We feel that research in Artificial Intelligence, Computational Linguistics,
Corpus-Driven and Corpus Linguistics, Formal Linguistics, Machine Aided
Translation, Machine Translation, Natural Language Interfaces, Natural
Language Processing, Theoretical Linguistics has produced results which
have proven, are proving and will prove very useful in the field of
Computer Assisted Language Learning.
Research areas may concern not only Second Language (L2) oriented research,
but also First Language (L1) learning in the presence of language deficiencies
- deafness, dislexia - and sign language. In more general terms, we
are targeting intelligent tutoring systems that incorporate state-of-the-art
NLP methods to evaluate response content, using either text- or speech-based
analyses.
The three-day Symposium is supported by InSTIL's three parent associations,
CALICO (Computer Assisted Language
Instruction Consortium), EUROCALL and ISCA
(International Speech Communication Association), as well as EUROCALL's
SIG on Language Processing. It
builds on the excellence and excitement of the ISCA workshop, STiLL
'98, held in Marholmen, Sweden, and on InSTIL events from 2000 to 2002.
InSTIL 2004 brings together, for the first time, the two traditions
of what is generally referred to as Intelligent CALL or ICALL, hence
the twin title of ICALL 2004. The Symposium is a unique opportunity
for scholars in the language processing side of the CALL interface to
meet their speech technology colleagues. It is also a great opportunity
for anyone interested in what we consider the future of the learning
interface, including on the Web, to see the very best products and prototypes
exhibited. In the warm atmosphere of the June Venetian sun, this event
should not be missed! For full details, see http://project.cgm.unive.it/
and http://www.instil.org/
IMPORTANT DATES
- Workshop Paper Submission Deadline: Feb 21, 2004
- Notification of Acceptance: April 21, 2004
- Camera Ready Papers: May 21, 2004
- Workshop Dates: June 17-19, 2004
Philippe Delcloque
UMIST (UK)
Top
Projects
DISSEMINATE
http://www.disseminate.org.uk/
DISSEMINATE is a mnemonic
acronymic vehicle capable of brand recognition to support a set of
development principles for what some have now referred to as the emerging
science of Courseware Engineering (Marshall 1997). Above all, DISSEMINATE
is an active verb which implies that the proponents may wish to follow
this with definite planned actions which may occur simultaneously
and in a co-ordinated fashion in all parts of the world. Although
the concept of the project is "authorability", it is seen
by its members as the sum of the key elements described below, yet
considering the definition of each component proposed as open and
flexible. It is not meant to be prescriptive and to create new constraints;
quite on the contrary, it may lead to substitutions and refinements
to suit individual authors and collaborators.
D stands for Distributed so that the fruits and tools
of the project/movement are widely available and accessible across
disciplines, nations, platforms and sectors.
I stands for Integrated so that the component parts
do not act as non-compatible entities, but indeed integrate with both
existing and future technology but also pedagogy. This also applies
to possible intelligent functionality enhancements.
S stands for Stable or robust and durable, perhaps
the hardest attribute in the context of a development system with
seriously dispersed ownership, but once again we may be guided by
the relative success of Linux which now boasts millions of users world-wide
across three operating systems.
S for Superimposed in the sense that the development
is highly likely to be placed above the level of the Web browser without
suffering from its limitations. This might be labeled the top down
version of DISSEMINATE (from the Web down), whereas the original intention
was bottom up through the construction of a "vertical ladder"
which would take authors from conventional authoring systems used
to produce DISSEMINATE modules with full Web-Compatibility. This is
indeed the path which many major producers of authoring programs have
chosen including Authorware, Director and Question Mark.
E for Evolutionary, perhaps one of the most important
attributes to avoid the pitfalls of development which dies when a
particular operating system or authoring program falls out of favour
or becomes technologically obsolete. This is encouraged by open coding.
M for Modulaware responding to the evolution of modern
computing away from monolithic multifunctional large entities towards
ultimate discrete object orientation where the primary unit of construction
or building block might be the WebScreen or exerciseware module. In
either context, data and assets would be entered easily and separately
whilst the frame would contain all functionalities relying on core
web technology (Java applets, Perl code/scripts, Javascripts and CGI
forms, Functionality Plug Ins including Active X) all controlled within
non compiled authorable HTML and platform independent virtual byte-code.
The importance of the module is that it reintroduces the useful time-saving
paradigmatic dimension, and stands alone for small developments.
I for Interactive may be seen as more than a truism
in the sense that much existing web-enhanced learning might be said
to encourage more passive acquisition given the perceived technical
limitations of the medium. As interactive learning has now been the
norm in many classrooms for several decades, it is important not to
lose the foundations established through the best disc-based courseware.
In the current state of the art, conventional CALL courseware is a
great deal more interactive than Internet-based CALL courseware.
N for Networked: In CAL(L), the last years of this
millenium and progresses into the third millenium might be said to
have placed emphasis on the prominence of networks rather than stand-alone
formats. This is mirrored into the real world where the delivery of
products increasingly involves such structures which allow just in
time distant access.
A for Authorable: always core within this concept and
development architecture, this feature is one of the key elements,
although not new, in the sense that it allows flexible rapid customisation
and the much needed adaptation and instant error corrections sadly
absent in fixed and closed systems. This is a movement away from obsolete
staticity, inflexibility and proprietary tendencies.
T for Tracking: Although tracking learners is rarely
done for a whole variety of reasons (time, ethics, etc…), it
is the necessary condition behind good monitoring and communication
with the end-user, as well as the essential research instrument behind
quantitative and qualitative evaluation. In the current state of knowledge,
tracking may require the use of separate proprietary software although
it is implemented in systems such as WebCT which will serve as a model
and possible framework within which to situate DISSEMINATE.
E must obviously end the acronym with the word Education
although some might prefer the more fashionable Edutainment. There
is certainly a well-documented need for the fun element in courseware
which has mostly been implemented by commercial companies culminating
recently in the much praised Oscar series (Language Publications Interactive,
1997, Oscar Series of ‘Virtual Reality’ Adventure CD-ROMs).
The basic difference between DISSEMINATE and existing CALL courseware
authoring tools is that its elements will all function independently
and are optional. The suite of tools will simply be a menu of modules
linked together and to a database, as well as to communication structures.
The suite will be built from the "ground up", forming a
collaborative framework which other tutor-authors could expand upon
in a development paralleling Linux.
The DISSEMINATE story is hopefully about to happen via commercial
funding. Seedcorn funding should soon be obtained which will allow
the then public and private sector development of the authoring system
and the first courseware elements inspired by the approach. The aim
is to revolutionise Web-based Language Learning which one still hesitates
to label under the well known notional acronym WELL (Web Enhanced
Language Learning). It is hoped that DISSEMINATE also makes the web
speak and hear as elements of the best speech interface (VoiceXML
driven) are incorporated into the authoring tool.
References:
Marshall, I.M. (1997) Thesis for the award of Doctor of Philosophy,
University of Abertay Dundee.
Philippe Delcloque
UMIST (UK)
Top
Recommended website
JOHN'S ESL COMMUNITY - ENGLISH
INTERACTIVE
http://www.johnsesl.com
[ Site at a glance ] [ Site
contact information ] [ Site description
and analysis ] [ Technical and pedagogical
summary ]
Site at a glance
John's ESL Community - English Interactive is an interactive
website with a double portal for students and teachers. It offers
a wide range of learning and teaching resources, with over 350 activities
for students, including quizzes, games and exercises of many kinds,
as well as plenty of class resources for ESL teachers. It is claimed
to be updated almost daily. There is the possibility of obtaining
a free e-mail account. Content is sorted by communicative skills and
linguistic topics. It was set up in 1995 by John Erskin. It makes
wide use of JavaScript interactive resources. Its overall objective
is to provide general linguistic practice at different levels of general
English and in different formats. English is also the vehicular language
for the whole site. Multimedia includes audio and graphics, but no
video. Plug- ins, software and files in general are easy to access
and download.
Site contact information
John Erskin
E-mail: erskin@johnsesl.com
Address: Chung Yong Apt. 12-208
Hongdo Dong, Tonggu
Daejeon, Korea
300-781
Site description
and analysis
Although the site does not include a site map as such, there is a
lot of meta-site information giving a wealth of details about the
developer and the resource itself. The website has been clearly divided
into two parallel sections (for students and for teachers) from the
very first welcoming screen. A brief outline of the site's sections
follows:
Student sections:
- Linguistic skills (Vocabulary, Reading, Writing, Listening, Grammar,
Idioms, Quotes)
- Quizzes (organized by type: Short answer, Cloze, Yes/No, Multiple
Choice,
- Vocabulary, Scrambled Text, Flash Cards, Matching, Listening)
- Holidays (reading pages to learn about American Holidays)
- Games (sorted by type)
- Riddles (sorted by topic)
- E-cards (possibility of sending real postcards to people)
- E-mail (possibility of opening an exclusive e-mail account for
free)
- Links (a place to view categorized links and submit links onto
the page).
Teacher sections: similar to the above plus a plentiful collection
of teaching ideas and plans, as well as on-line tools to develop activities
(including a dedicated and free class website).
After the user accesses the student section, the screen displays
four distinct areas. At the top, on the right-hand, side there is
information about the site, a links section with the possibility for
the student to add and organise new links, and a facility to provide
a new e-mail account with the extension <@johnsesl.com>. The
central part of the screen is occupied by an explanatory text about
the chosen section at a given time, and links to exercise sections.
Both sides of the screen layout include columns of hyperlinks to language
skills and exercise formats (on the left-hand side) and at actual
exercises or collections of tasks (on the right). These hyperlinks
at both sides of the page lead us to different collections of actual
exercises on the central part of the screen. Consequently, the student
can move around the website in a non-linear way, making choices concerning
language skills and exercise types, depending on what he or she wishes
to practise. For all language skills, there is a section devoted to
useful learning strategies to develop them, some of which are very
interactive (e.g. vocabulary list builders).
The teachers' section has a similar layout and structure, but with
different parts. In the left-hand side column, the teacher can find
a "class web site" login facility which allows for the self-construction
of lesson plans. Available teacher resources include activity generators
(Java-programmed) that show a high degree of interaction, printable
worksheets and classroom activities, as well as links to teaching
resources of various kinds (Bookstore, professional associations,
world news, etc.). Both students and teachers can easily interact
and send messages and feedback to the site developer, by filling in
online forms.
Synchronous communication is not catered for within the resource,
but the degree of interaction is quite high. Links are plentiful,
coherently organised by topic or purpose, and regularly updated. Detailed
charts about performance are sometimes available. Metalinguistic feedback,
in the form of comments and explanations, is occasionally provided.
All language skills are treated, with the exception of speaking,
which is not present. There is also the possibility of skills integration,
namely Reading/Writing and Listening/Reading, for instance.
The treatment of linguistic skills and components is as follows:
- Phonetics: Perception versus production exercises. Discrimination
of sounds (minimal pairs). Exercise types: multiple choice.
- Grammar: Direct (explicit) instruction as well as indirect (implicit)
instruction. Grammatical conciousness-raising is promoted. Inductive
(examples + rule inference) and deductive (rules + practice with
examples) approach. Formal explanation of rules. Practice of structures
by analogy rather than explanation. Provision of opportunities to
use and observe the language in real contexts. Exercise types: multiple
choice, gap-filling, drag-and-drop, matching, open-input tasks,
tutorials and games.
- Vocabulary: Lexical fields included. Strategies for the deduction
of meaning. Learning by lexical association and grouping. Graphic,
multimedia or contextual cues and support. The treatment of vocabulary
is contextualized sometimes. Mnemotechnic strategies. Encouragement
of active and personal vocabulary compilation by students. Presentation
of collocations and expressions (in addition to isolated words).
Perceptive (to recognize) as well as productive (to use) approach
to vocabulary. Oral or written treatment. Exercise types: multiple
choice, open-input, games and tutorials.
- Reading comprehension: Bottom-up and top-down approach to comprehension.
Possibility of gradual approach to the text. Graphic or multimedia
support. Pre-reading exercises. Use of information transfer. Possibility
of extensive practice. Predicting, inferring and guessing from context.
Reading is seen as a highly interactive process. Exercise types:
multiple choice, gap- filling, open-input, games, tutorials, exploratory
tasks and text reconstruction.
- Listening Comprehension: Bottom-up versus top-down approach to
comprehension. Practice of the phonetic (perceptual) versus interpretative
(comprehension) component. Connections between the written and spoken
word reinforced and promoted sometimes. Exercise types: multiple
choice, gap-filling, games.
- Writing: Focus on product rather than the process. Practice derived
from reading. Levels of sentence, and text. Controlled composition.
Exercise types: open-input and games.
There is a tendency towards authenticity in tasks, although many
of them are clearly pedagogical and linguistically oriented. The coverage
of linguistic topics is quite wide, including discourse, syntax, lexis
and morphology, as well as information transfer tasks.
Regarding the role played by the computer, following the distinction
made in 1980 by Taylor, it acts as a tutor (providing linguistic practice,
guidance and feedback), as a tool (to help the student and the teacher
with their learning and teaching activities) and as a tutee (because
it is possible to feed plenty of data into the online resource). The
linguistic input (i.e. the materials available to the students) is
made comprehensible by means of explanations of words or concepts,
attached audio files, pictures and graphics. The pedagogical approach
to contents is analytical, rather than synthetic, and the website
allows for the construction of meaning and learning paths by the students
themselves, which implies a constructivist learning approach, instead
of a linear one.
Plenty of help and reference aids for learning are provided, together
with lots of examples, demonstrations and explanations. Grammar is
contextualised, and linguistic practice can be controlled, contextualised
and communicative.
Motivation is encouraged through the use of games, the provision
of a wide variety of exercises, exploratory activities, or development
of web skills (e-mail, web page creation...).
Language awareness is also promoted. In addition, this comes hand
in hand with a strong focus on meaning, which shows a communicative
approach to language learning. Interaction supported by the resource
can take the form of asynchronous communication with other people
(by e-mail) and contact with language learning materials.
The website can be considered innovative in many respects: pedagogical
use of lots of different games, possibility of adding links and contributing
content, original tasks and activities (free class website, action
mazes and other exercise generation tools, "Never ending story".
"Talking crosswords", interactive tree activity to choose
the use of articles, etc.), vocabulary builder facility, explanations
about learning strategies, exclusive e-mail account.
Technical and pedagogical
summary
From a pedagogical standpoint, John's ESL Community is an
example of a resource which follows sound communicative and constructivist
approaches to language learning and teaching. It integrates the interaction
possibilities provided by JavaScript programming within a coherent
pedagogical framework, using relevant organizing criteria, such as
language skills and varying activity types. It is an innovative, interactive
and motivating learning tool which allows the student to construct
their own learning paths quite easily in a non-linear way. On the
debit side, the grouping of the exercises and the overall structure
of the site is at times confusing, partly due to the fact that there
does not seem to be a default route (or learning path) and a full
site map is missing.
Technologically speaking, John's ESL Community is very efficient,
well designed and optimised for ease of use. It is generally very
user-friendly. Audio files, as well as supporting software and plug-ins
are easily and quickly accessible, and work. So does the Java-programmed
interface. It is a robust tool that successfully integrates content
submitted by users (links, messages) and organises external links
in a very coherent way. Nevertheless, sometimes there are different
links for the same exercise, faulty links (eg. Adjectives quiz), different
font sizes together, and spelling mistakes. Screen readability is
occasionally poor. But, all in all, the site follows a consistent
modern design, is easy to use and responds in an efficient way.
Review by Rafael Seiz Ortiz
Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain
Top
Publications
by EUROCALL members: review
Enseñar
español en la era del Internet
 |
Cruz Piñol, M. (2002) Enseñar
español en la era del Internet (Teaching Spanish in the
era of the Internet), Barcelona. Ediciones Octaedro, S.L, 174 page
book, ISBN 84-8063-556-8, €11.80. Further information: http://www.octaedro.com/prod_show.asp?art_no=10041. |
Teaching Spanish in the era of the Internet is the reduced and revised
version of the doctoral thesis of University of Barcelona academic,
Mar Cruz Piñol. Cruz Piñol has built a respected reputation
over several years, as an advocate for the application and adoption
of new technologies in Spanish Foreign Language Teaching (SFLT) through
active research and publication. This new book defines the current situation
in the use of the Internet as a teaching aid in general, and more specifically,
in the acquisition of Spanish as a Foreign Language. It presents a new
methodology for describing websites that are appropriate for SFLT, and
draws conclusions from 207 Spanish Foreign Language websites described
using this methodology.
The volume is well documented and for the first time provides Spanish
readers with detailed information related to CALL (Computer Assisted
Language Learning) and a method to help Spanish language teachers to
find in the web resources for a variety of teaching and learning situations.
One of the innovative aspects of this volume is the presentation of
content in two complementary formats: the printed book itself, and a
supplementary website, accessible from the editor's home page, containing
references, an exhaustive bibliography, and a database of the websites
analysed in the book. The book is divided into two parts with three
and two chapters respectively, followed by a conclusion, a glossary
and finally brief instructions for using the Internet resources that
are an extension of the book. The overall structure progresses from
a theoretical view to the ordered analysis of Web-based STFL resources.
The first section, "New learning methods, new teaching methods",
reads easily and situates the use of the Internet for language teaching
in a broader pedagogical and historical context. The author emphasises
throughout the entire first section that theoretical knowledge of the
formal characteristics of electronic discourse and the peculiarities
of computer-mediated communication (CMC) will facilitate the work of
teachers wishing to use Internet resources as a teaching aid. This is
justified and supported by an extensive review of existing literature
focused on the innovations that the Internet brings to teaching in general
and SFLT in particular.
The three chapters that comprise the first section address the three
pillars of the World Wide Web: hypertext, hypermedia and personal communication.
The first compares the efficiency of linear text and hypertext for teaching,
the second discusses the use of hypermedia in learning -over a surprisingly
long period of time- and the third discusses the characteristics of
synchronous and asynchronous forms of electronic discourse. Each chapter
is structured according to a similar framework: defining the general
characteristics of each resource; reviewing theoretical studies supporting
its use in pedagogy; and more specifically, concluding with a review
of practical experiences of the application of the resource within the
teaching and learning of a foreign language. It might have been useful
in the revision of practical experiences to discuss on-line courses
or CD-ROM projects such as the CAMILLE Project (Computer Assisted Multimedia
Interactive Language Learning Environment), which uses hypertext and
hypermedia, but it is clear that the author has deliberately limited
her study to free on-line materials since they are more accessible to
Spanish foreign language teachers. Especially interesting is the author's
emphasis on the dearth of published evidence concerning research written
in Spanish that studies the application of Internet resources in general,
and the use of asynchronous communication for SFLT in particular. However,
she does document some innovative and pioneering projects and experiments
conducted prior to 1999. Without the examination of projects after this
date, it is difficult for the reader to know whether this is indicative
of a systematic problem concerning the use of the Internet by SFL teachers,
or if the cause lies elsewhere.
The central and more original contribution of the volume is contained
within the second section, "Internet materials for SFLT".
In this section, the author describes a methodology to describe web
pages that are appropriate for SFLT, and the database that resulted
from applying these descriptive criteria to a corpus of 207 websites
collected up to the year 2000. The author makes it clear that she does
not intend to evaluate the websites, but instead, assign values for
every criterion to each site. This methodology -applying values to websites
to make them comprehensible to SFL practitioners according to their
needs- is the primary contribution of Cruz' work.
Chapter 4 describes the 120 questions or value descriptors used in
her methodology, which are grouped by field. Some fields focus on the
identity of the pages, such as the address, language of navigation,
features of recipient, variety of Spanish used in the page and cultural
aspects introduced. Other fields focus on relevant aspects of the online
materials, such as the possibility of interaction, use of hypertext,
user-friendliness, use of multimedia components, and the existence or
not of an assessment system. Finally there is a group of questions to
describe the language content, such as the type of exercises, index
of resources, specification of the level of the exercise, type of skills
practiced, and the level of linguistic analysis. To enable tutors and
students to apply these criteria the author has developed a database
where they can access a list of materials that are available on the
Internet, according to their needs.
Chapter 5 offers an analysis of this database. Amongst the results,
it is not surprising that half of the web pages are based in the United
States or that the language of navigation is mostly English. Cruz Piñol
identifies a preponderance of resources for developing listening and
reading comprehension and a corresponding lack of resources for phonetic
skills, and suggests -quite correctly in our view- that this reflects
modern teaching trends. Another interesting result is the lack of identification
of the teaching methodology used in each site, perhaps resulting from
the fact that many teachers today use a combination of methods. Websites
that assist in the development of writing skills are practically non-existent,
claims the author, and there is an absence of sites making use of tools
such as syntactic analysers and electronic reference materials applicable
to automatic correction of texts. This is surprising since these tasks,
which are well suited to automation, were anticipated by early CALL
researchers as ideal learning tools. However, the finding is corroborated
by recent studies that indicate that up to the year 2002, there has
been a significant decrease in the development of pedagogically-driven
online materials.
It is difficult to determine from the study how representative of the
norm for SFLT are the collection of 207 sites included in the database.
We are not told why these particular sites were chosen for the study,
except that they are the result of seven years of scouring the Internet.
It is worth noting that the database does not include materials that
may make use of Internet technologies but are available via other means;
however, this does not limit the usefulness of the database for teachers.
More important is being aware that the Internet changes rapidly and
therefore the database and the results will have to be regularly updated.
The inclusion of an online component of the book is an innovative idea
and an entirely appropriate application of some of the principles the
author discusses. Included in the publisher's website (http://www.octaedro.com/espanoleninternet/)
one can find a bibliography that is organised by author and theme, citations
quoted in the footnotes, and the URLs of the web pages mentioned in
the book. Furthermore, the site will soon provide access to the database
of websites described above. The bibliography provides an excellent
and comprehensive resource for Spanish researchers interested in the
integration of Internet technologies into the language learning and
teaching environment.
This volume brings together -for the first time for a Spanish audience-
a comprehensive survey of research into the application of Internet
technologies to teaching, a methodology to describe web pages applicable
to SFLT, and a database that serves as a guide to find practical resources
for teachers of Spanish. The volume is easy to read, comprises an essential
addition to the library of any forward-looking Spanish language educationalist,
and is a useful source of information for teachers wishing to adapt
their courses to respond to changing student needs. In particular the
website database is a very useful aid to SFL teachers facilitating the
location of appropriate materials to be incorporated into a course,
and helping teachers and tutors to understand when and why the use of
these websites are useful.
Review
Carmen Cabot
University of New South Wales, Australia
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Events Calendar
For information on events, please refer to our Events
Calendar which is regularly updated.
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3 September 2003 |
