1'0Making More Effective Use of Technology in Foreign Language Teaching Using Material from the Worl

1
1.0 Making More Effective Use of Technology in
Foreign Language Teaching-- Using Material
from the World Wide Web in the Classroom --
Symposium,The Annual LET Conference in
Nagoya, August 5, 2001.
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1.2 Presentation Title

• Web-Enhanced language teaching How to make use
  of the web resources for oral and written
  communications in EFL classes

Info of the presenter/ panelist YASUDA,
Masami, Kwansei Gakuin Univ., myasuda_at_kwansei.ac
.jp
http//isweb28.infoseek.co.jp/school/myasuda/myind
ex.html
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1.3 Abstract

• The use of Internet, in particular, rich
  authentic Web sources, is becoming more and more
  popular in foreign language teaching.
• As with the printed reading materials, however,
  we are all the more concerned with how to guide
  the learners to make more productive use of the
  target language, using Web resources.

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1.3.1 Abstract 2

• The presenter will discuss and demonstrate how to
  organize the so-called "Web-enhanced" language
  teaching, in particular, for oral and written
  communications in regular EFL classes on a
  university level.
• I would like to share with the audience what I
  see as a moderate success in having the students
  use the language - from reading to writing and
  discussion, as well as motivating them toward the
  use of IT and computers.

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1.3.1 Abstract 3

• The presentation will include examples of actual
  lesson plans, students' project work and findings
  from a tentative questionnaire study.
• It will also introduce classroom setup and
  software, as well as IT tools which are mostly
  free services.
• Since the syllabus design to be presented is
  still developmental, and in fact it is a result
  of trials and painful errors, suggestions and
  discussion from the floor will be much
  appreciated.

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2.0 Introduction

• There are notably two major trends in the
  teaching of English profession.
• One is the need for implementing communicative
  language teaching (CLT) and,
• the other is that of web or Internet technology
  or resources.

How can one incorporate such two major objectives
in organizing teaching syllabus? Actually, it is
easier said than done.
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2.1.1 Kinds of questions to pose

• How can we focus on meaning rather than forms?
• How can we put communicative aspects in classroom
  -
• with or without the use of Internet?
• How can we have interactive drills,
• so that students can actively participate in
  class?

Skip to Sec. 3 Use of Internet
Skip to Sec 4 WELL
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2.2 Three generations on the use of computers and
my experience

• Three generations on the use of computers

• Mainframe computers 1960s and 1970s
• Stand-alone micro or personal computers 1980s
• Network based or Internet technology 1990s to
  present

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2.2.2 My experience of computer and network

• Mainframe days
• I myself have gone through these three major
  evolving generations of computer technology
  development in my last 25 year career,
• and accordingly adopted my teaching strategies,
  and especially the delivery mode of teaching and
  testing materials.
• First of all, between 1975 through 1985, on
  the mainframe, I had programmed the following
  systems

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2.2.2 My experience of computer and network
(contd)

• (1) Computer-Assisted Instruction program, with
  'ad-hoc frame' and branching style tutorial and
  drill modes,
• (2) Computer Based or On-line testing,
• (3) The pseudo message bulletin board or
  messenger with which my students could browse and
  download the lesson materials and announcements,
• (4) Other tools, such as
• (a) KWIC programs for concordance checking, and
• (b) Text formatting programs (RUNOFF)

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2.2.2.1.2 Basically, the use of the mainframe
computer in those days was 'computer-as-tutor'
and high speed 'printing' tools, in terms of
Charles Crook's (1994) metaphors quoted in Kern
and Warschauer (2000, p. 7)

• Crook, Charles. (1994) .
• Computers and the collaborative experience of
  learning. London Routledge.

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2.2.2.2 Then, came the stand-alone micro
technology, the debut of IBM compatible PCs and
Apple computers in the mid 1980's.
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2.2.2.2.1.1

• Since I had almost ten years of experience with
  the mainframe, I gradually started using Big Blue
  PCs with the classroom bound network. I designed
  a Multi-media classrooms in 1985 thanks to the
  matching grant of the Ministry of Education.
  Multi-media, in those days, was limited where
  standalone Computer Assisted Instruction with the
  Laserdisks can be programmed and administered.
• The scope of the network was so limited that we
  had to deliver and collect students' work by
  either floppy disks or hardcopies.
• Besides making most of the word-processing to
  teach writing,
• I searched and purchased a number of stand-alone
  and site-licensed CALL softwares on PCs form the
  US, for example,
• a) Games - Police Quest,
• b) Reading and Cloze authoring software - John
  Higgins' Storyboard and Double-Ups, and
• even programmed interactive ELIZA programs in
  Microsoft Basic and PL/M.

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2.2.2.1.2

• Gradually, I got more interested in Apple's
  Macintosh computers since 1987, and installed a
  Macintosh CALL lab with CD's and audio input and
  output.
• Macintosh stations were then hooked to the Unix
  based campus network, so that we could make use
  of the Unix based e-mail, and BBS systems.
• The use of the World Wide Web has gradually
  started around 1990's,
• but we could never make use of such facilities
  for classroom use until the widespread of
  Internet in late 1990s.

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2.2.2.3

• The use of PCs and Macs was mostly 'computer-as
  tutor' and some, if at all, 'computer-as-tool' in
  terms of Charles Crook's (1994) metaphors quoted
  in Kern and Warschauer (2000, p. 7)

• Crook, Charles. (1994).
• Computers and the collaborative experience of
  learning. London Routledge.

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2.2.2.4 Then the rise of World Wide Web, and
friendly web browsers, since 1990s.

• Honestly, however, it took another three to five
  years for me to adopt the network-based facility
  in actual teaching.
• Naturally, I had to learn and feel comfortable
  enough to make full use of the web resources
  together with the HTML programming, before I even
  adopted the so-called 'web-enhanced' language
  teaching in the last two years or so.

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3.0 The use of Internet

• 3.1 The World Wide Web has been widely
  recognized as the potential and revolutionary new
  medium for information sources in education, let
  alone in foreign language teaching. The use of
  Internet, in particular, rich authentic Web
  sources, is becoming more and more popular in
  foreign language teaching.

3.1.1 Long, Michael, Richards, Jack C. (2000)
Series editors' preface in Warschauer, Mark,
Kern, Richard (Eds.) (2000)
Skip to Sec. 3 Use of Internet
Skip to Sec 4 WELL
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3.1.2 Long and Richards. (2000)

• For many second and foreign language learners,
  experience of the target language has
  traditionally been limited to opportunities
  created by the teacher in the classroom, drawing
  on such resources as textbooks, tapes or CDs, and
  videos.
• In recent years, alternative modes of delivery in
  teaching have been developed such as distance
  learning and self-access learning, seeking on the
  one hand to economize on teaching resources, and
  on the other to recognize principles of
  learner-centeredness in teaching.
• However, perhaps the most dramatic changes in the
  mode in which second language teaching and
  learning is accomplished have come about as a
  result of developments in computer-based teaching
  and learning. The Internet in particular has
  become a new medium of communication that is
  shaping both the process and the products of
  communication.
• Long and Richards. (2000) in Warschauer and
  Kern. (Eds.) (2000) p. ix

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3.2 Innovation of technology

• As to the use of such new technologies, i.e. the
  Word Wide Web, as well as the Information
  network,
• Kern and Warschauer (2000) claims that "they do
  not only serve the new teaching/learning
  paradigms, they also help shape the new
  paradigms.
• Their observation are consistent with Markee's
  (1997) characterization of innovation in second
  language teaching.
• In his book, Markee (1997) illustrates that
  changes in materials do not occur independently.
  Instead, they would occur with changes in both
  methodological skills and philosophical values.

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4.0 "Web-enhanced" language teaching

• I would like, now, to present my own experience
  of "Web-enhanced" language teaching, in
  particular, for oral and written communications
  in "regular" EFL classes on a university level.

Skip to Sec. 3 Use of Internet
Skip to Sec 4.2.2 Exercises in conventional
textbooks
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4.2 The class needs and purposes

• At the Law Dept, at Kwansei Gakuin Univ., we
  offer two classes each for the two year required
  English courses.

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4.2.1.1 two kinds of classes for each year

• Roughly speaking, one is for reading, and the
  other for communication. The credit hours of
  English total to 8 hours out of 16 hours in
  foreign language requirements.
• Since 1987, we adopted a semester course for
  English, and since 1998 for all foreign language
  classes.
• The classes where I adopted "Web-enhanced"
  language teaching are not specialized classes
  such as "information English" or "advanced"
  classes, but the general 'regular' EFL classes.
• And these classes are named as "English Otsu" in
  Japanese, which places an emphasis on oral and
  written communication.

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4.2.2 I decided to make use of the resources on
the Internet as the basic materials, so that I
can motivate the students in my class toward the
use of IT and computers.
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4.2.3 Syllabus - a list of bookmarks?

• At first, I thought I would organize the syllabus
  to have the students present what they research
  and read authentic materials on the Web. There
  was a need to make a reading list on the bookmark
  format, with some annotations.
• Quickly, I realized that it would not be too easy
  to prepare such a list in a year or so, and worse
  still the resources might be broken, by the time
  I begin teaching.

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4.3 authentic materials - only for reading?

• With a quick and easy access and linkage, Web
  resources present an enormous amount of authentic
  materials - of various topics, from adventure
  games, short stories, even to ethics
  philosophy.
• In a way, they present a wide selection of
  reading materials, and thus it is possible,
• for example, to organize a list of reading
  materials on the web in a form of bookmarks on
  the reading list.

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4.3- Questions - Reading to productive practice?

• But there arise a number of questions.
• Is it only useful for reading?
• How can we control the difficulty level of the
  reading materials on the web?
• How can we structure the genre or topics of the
  web resources?
• And more importantly,
• how can we guide the learners to appreciate the
  contents
• as well as,
• to guide them to make a productive use of the
  target language, based on such rich resources?

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4.4 Traditional textbooks and the need for
authentic materials and helpful exercises

• 4.4.1 Well, the other day I was visited by a
  representative of the textbook publisher, who
  asked me if I were using Internet resources
  rather than conventional textbooks.
• My answer was YES, and I showed two
  representative textbooks or workbooks, one of
  which I have been adopting for my sophomore
  general English courses.

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Textbook - 2

• He humbly asked if I were interested in compiling
  textbooks that encourage the use of Web or
  Internet resources.
• And then I started realizing a simple fact that
  there are more resource books on how to make use
  of the Web or Internet resources than actual
  textbooks or syllabi in the market.
• Is it really possible to compile such workbooks
  with tried and succeeded lesson plans?

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Textbook - 3

• I never thought of such needs in the market in
  textbook publishing,
• but I have been experimenting how to make use of
  the rich, authentic resources on Internet to
  organize communicative language teaching,
• and that in a regular General English classes.

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4.4.2 Exercises in conventional textbooks

• As most of you, I myself had long used such
  conventional textbooks where reading materials
  are organized with
• such exercises as
• comprehension checks,
• True or False,
• Fill-in-the-blanks,
• Questions and Answers, open-ended discussion and
  composition topics, and others.

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4.4.2 part 2

• Often reading materials are enriched by the
  audio, videos resources
• and recently lists of related web addresses which
  students can access for further reading.
• More recent textbooks even go so far as to
  compile the web resource materials as the reading
  lessons, with such exercises that are proven
  useful in the past.

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4.5 Internet English (OUP)

• It took me almost a year and half with trials and
  errors to come up with feasible lesson plans,
  which can be used for not 'special' or advanced',
  but 'regular' general English classes on a
  university level.
• I have adopted a recently published and
  well-received textbook entitled
• Internet English (Oxford University Press, 2000)

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4.6 How to make more productive use of the target
language, using Web resources.

• 4.7 from reading to writing and discussion

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5.0 Examples of actual lesson plans - 90 min.

• Cycle - 3 classes to cover two topics
• Day 1 - homework topics - email or in class
• smalltalk and other topics 5 min.
• due in two weeks or two classes ahead
• Questions and Answer drills (topic 1)
• Pair Drills - 10 min.
• 15 to 20 students - 70 min.
• Day 2 ( a week after)
• Questions and Answer Drills (topic 2)
• Discussion of pros cons - 20 min.
• Day 3 ( 2 weeks after) - same as Day 1
• 20 students - 70 min.

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5.1 Homework - sample work separate

• Compile resources - web or library
• Search engines
• Instructors bookmark collection file
• Publishers lesson portal sites
• Stationary file - word processing
• Copy paste allowed, but,
• 10 WH-Questions - a frame of mind
• Review of homework grading
• Winning the students trust that their work is
  being graded
• by the first 3 topics

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6.0 Students project work

• Separate video ouput (OHC)

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7.0 IT tools which are mostly free services.

• Internet Browser
• Netscape Communicator - both on Windows and
  Macintosh
• E-mails
• Students Netscape Communicator on Windows or
  Eudora Light (PDS) on Macintosh
• Instructor Eudora Pro on Macintosh
• Mailing List no campus support
• Instructor himself compiled E-mail aliases from
  student master files

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7.3 Servers
Intranet Server - on campus 1 Students - mail
file and other documents - Windows NT Apple Share
quota 2 Instructors/Managers - Macintosh with
Apple Share in Law Dept. zone

• Internet Server - off campus - freeweb provider
  with FTP - free server space

http//isweb28.infoseek.co.jp/school/myasuda/myind
ex.html
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7.4 BBS - Bulletin Board

• On-campus BBS
• Alta Vista Forum
• for classes - intranet only
• - accessible only from campus client machines
• (to be changed in October, 2001, and to be
  accessible from off-campus as well)

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AltaVista.EngIIZ.Screen01.pict
41
AltaVista.EngIIZ.Screen02.pict
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7.4.2Off-campus BBS - aaacafe and others

• URL http//isweb28.infoseek.co.jp/school/myasuda
  /public_html/aaacafebbs.html
• URL http//www2.aaacafe.ne.jp/free/myasuda/main.b
  bs

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7.5 On-line quizzes authoring and delivery- QUIA
and others

• QUIA - (login name myasuda_kg)
• http//www.quia.com/
• QUIA - stores students' logs and grades, but not
  item answers
• Class portal page URL http//www.quia.com/pages/ma
  samimystery.html

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7.5.2 Others -

• Mr. Irie's free software JavaScript based web MC
  quiz authoring
• http//www.iwai-h.ed.jp/irie
• http//www.iwai-h.ed.jp/irie/javascript/webquiz/
• 7.5.2.1.1.2 URL http//www.kcc.zaq.ne.jp/myasuda
  /MysteryTour.Web.html.f/MysteryTourUnit6_Lines.htm
  
• Multiple Choice question HTML generator - can not
  take students' logs or grades
• Others - HotPotatoes SuperCard based authoring
  software

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8.0 Findings from the tentative questionnaire
study.

• Questionnaire form - mirror html - no submit
• http//isweb28.infoseek.co.jp/school/myasuda/publi
  c_html/LET2001.f/00InternetEngQuestionnaire.html
• Questionnaire results analysis
• http//isweb28.infoseek.co.jp/school/myasuda/publi
  c_html/LET2001.f/index.html

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9.0 Classroom setup and software

• 50 Macintosh PowerBook 1400c stations in Mac Lab
  at the Law Dept.
• two Laser Printers in Mac Lab

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9.3 Software

• Netscape Communicator
• MS-Office
• MS-Word 98
• Excel
• PowerPoint
• E-mail Eudora Light
• E-Dictionary - installed in HD from CD
• Kenkyusha's Bilingual Dictionary
• American Heritage Dictionary

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10.0 Kwansei Gakuin Media Center (ITC) -
Hardware configuration

• Servers
• Description URL http//www.media.kwansei.ac.jp/h
  ome/intro/equipment/index.html

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10.1.2 A. Server

• 1. STATHOST - DEC AlphaServer4100 5/466 Digital
  UNIX 4.0D
• 2. Mail Server - DEC AlphaServer1200
  5/533 Digital UNIX 4.0D with TruCluster
• 3. FileManager - DEC DIGITAL Server7305 WindowsNT
  Server 4.0 with DigitalClusters for WindowsNT
• 4. BBS - DEC AlphaServer1200 5/533 Digital
  UNIX 4.0D
• 5. Course Server DEC DIGITAL Server5305
  WindowsNT Server 4.0
• 6. PDC - DEC DIGITAL Server5305 WindowsNT
  Server 4.0
• 7. BDC - DEC DIGITAL Server3205 WindowsNT
  Server 4.0

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10.1.3 B. Network

• 1. DNS Fujitsu S-7/400Ui model 270D Solaris2.6
• 2. mail same as the above
• 3. NetNews Fujitsu S-7/400Ui model 270D
  Solaris2.6
• 4. proxy Fujitsu S-7/400Ui model 270D Fujitsu
  S-7/300U model 170E Solaris2.6
• Client Windows NT client machines - ca 700
  stations
• DIGITAL PC 5510 6266 - CPU- Pentium II 266MHz,
  Memory64MB, HD 3GB
• URL
• http//www.media.kwansei.ac.jp/home/intro/equipmen
  t/pc.htm