Higher Education Commission - The Four Language Teaching Skills

with Innovation & Technology

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Importance of Technology in Education David Crystal on Technology in Linguistics Interactive Software Web Technologies Blogs Webinars Virtual Worlds



Teachers will not be replaced by technology but teachers who don’t use technology will be replaced by those who do .

Sheryl Nussbaum Beach



CALL (Computer Assisted language learning) IMLL (Internet mediated language learning) TELL (Technology Enhanced language

Learning)



Wepner & Kramar (1987) argue that such interactive software has ‘the unique ability to create a dialogue with the user. This interactive feature encourages students to become involved actively as they communicate what they are learning’(p.61). In addition, pointing to another feature of interactive language learning software, they explain that it is programmed to assess learners’ progress as well. Thus, a user not only can practice listening and speaking skills but can also see how much progress he has made in learning these skills.

English learning interactive software can also help us learn English with fun. Such interactive software are available in CDs and DVDs. They can also be downloaded from the Internet. A number of companies have produced interactive software CDs and DVDs for the learners such as Longman, Euro Talk, Merit, Oxford University Press , the Learning Company and English Software. Some of the companies offer online interactive English learning sessions. English interactive http://englishinteractive.net/ is one of them. With the interactive software, we can not only learn English but we can test our own level of achievement. These DVDs and CDs are the result of years of work and research in speech recognition and other areas of computational English. The focus has been on how to make computers respond to human language. Different pieces of software focus on different aspects of English language. There is software for spelling and grammar, there is software for reading , there is software for pronunciation. As the following image shows that we can measure our pronunciation of English using the soft meter given to the right. In addition, there is the feature of simulated conversation with computer. As the image below show that with the help of programmed responses , we can have simulated conversations.

In simulated conversation, computer gives the expressions for both the listener and speaker. The software records your simulated conversation with the computer figure and you can listen to the recorded conversation later. It gives a good idea of real life conversation that one may have with foreigners and native speakers.


Reading and writing blogs is a useful way of improving proficiency in a foreign language. Erben et al (2008) explain that ‘the term blog is short for ‘weblog’, a term coined by Jorn Barger in 1977 to describe Websites that are updated continuously’. Blogs use modern CMS (content management system) technology which lets ordinary people manage and publish the content on websites in a simple way. Ward (2004) argues that a blog ‘can be compared to a type of interactive public journal. A blog is similar to an e-mail message in that any reader can reply to it, yet it is different because it is published to the Internet’. He further explains that ‘it is similar to an online forum. Moreover old postings are archived and can be accessed by readers’. (as cited in Erben et al, 2008. p.22) . Blogging has made publishing your ideas and concepts as easy as a few clicks. Students can design their blogs based on the content of the topics in their studies. Making a blog can be given as an assignment. For example, the researcher made this blog on the topic of this Study.

Webinars

Among the well-known virtual worlds are Second Life Kiwi heroes Handipoints Miamiopia Active worlds 3D planets There and Twinity More and more virtual worlds are being created.

These virtual worlds offer educational activities as well as social activities which include gaming, sports, and fashion, music and business activities.

Games


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http://www.trulymovingpictures.org/honors/youth-film-project/page/1/

Higher Education Commission - The Four Language Teaching Skills

Education

Transcript of Higher Education Commission - The Four Language Teaching Skills