The Internet and Foreign-Language Studies

This thesis is a qualitative study of the role of the Internet in Foreign-Language Studies, focussing in particular on the integration of the Internet into the Natural Approach to foreign-language learning and its implications for language-learning autonomy. The study is concerned with the role of the Internet in education, in other words teaching students how to teach Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) via the Internet to their future students. The research for this thesis was conducted primarily on the basis of a pilot programme carried out in a group of final year

Bachelor of Education students in St. Patrick’s College of Education, Drumcondra,

Dublin The principal aim of this project was to simultaneously develop three key skills in the participating students, namely their language, computer and pedagogical skills, all of which would be instrumental in implementing a Natural Approach to Foreign Language Studies, using the Internet. Saint Patrick’s College, Drumcondra and Dublin City University are joined faculties.

This dissertation examines the use of computers in foreign-language learning and the attitude of teachers towards computers. It looks at the methodology of teaching using computers, in particular the role of Computer Assisted Language Learning and the Internet in promoting independent language learning. The changing role of the lecturer, in particular with regard to integrating technology into the language curriculum is studied, along with an analysis of communicative tools which can be beneficial for student-teacher interaction. The dissertation also assesses the overall impact of this project on the participating students’ language, computer and pedagogical skills, and outlines the scope for further research in this area.

Chapter 1. The Role of Computers in the Classroom

This chapter examines the advent of computer use in foreign-language teaching and the relationship between teachers and computers. Our examination of the obstacles to computer use in the classroom deals with the type of problems encountered in the use of computers in the teaching/learning process of a foreign language. It also explores the different points of view that teachers of all subjects, and language teachers in particular, have concerning the use of computers in education, i.e. what their feelings

are towards the use of computers in the teaching and/or learning process and particularly in their classrooms. Finally, this analysis focuses on the potential functions of computers in foreign language teaching and why we should use computers as a tool in the process of teaching and/or learning a foreign language. It is possible to say that computers and related technologies are nowadays fast becoming a tool of the utmost important in teaching and learning methods and key pedagogical aids. In the learning and teaching process computers can bring new interactive dimensions which were previously almost impossible to include before in academic programmes. The main problem is in adapting to these modern technologies, not so much for students due to the fact that the majority of them would already be technologically oriented before their exposure to computers in the classroom, but for teachers and administrators. In the learning process, computers are of great benefit to students because they can benefit from the individualised tuition provided by the tireless tutor. The goal of using computers in the classroom and in long-distance learning, should be to create equal opportunities for all students to learn, regardless of their age, physical ability or disability, mental capabilities and financial status. New technologies and the Internet in particular provide better communication between students and teachers, and further students communicate with other foreign student sorally through the World Wide Web which is of great benefit to the students’ L2 listening and speaking skills. While one can say that up until relatively recently computers could only be used in the Behaviourist Approach to language teaching and learning, nowadays with new techniques and developments in multimedia technologies, computers can be used as part of the Natural Approach to language learning. The World Wide Web today enables teachers to create text, images, video and audio resources for use in all kinds of language-learning approaches, in addition to accessing the wealth of resources already available online. Any type of exercise and course can be set-up on line for the great benefit of students. It appears that in order to learn a foreign language successfully, all learning approaches must be employed and this is where the computer can be a great tool for both teachers and learners in the sense that they provide all kinds of media.The program ‘NetMeeting’ can be used for this purpose.

Chapter 2. The Relationship between CALL, the Internet and Independent Language Learning This chapter begins by looking at a methodology of teaching using computers specifically developed for foreign-languages, namely Computer Assisted Language Learning or CALL. We then examine the role of the Internet in foreign-language teaching and learning and how it relates to techniques and approaches developed through CALL. Finally we explore what effect these technologies have on independent language learning and how independent language-learning skills can improve language acquisition. The objectives of this project were to make participating students aware of what Computer Assisted Language Learning in conjunction with the Internet can offer both them and their future students in terms of independent language learning. The evolution of CALL has been accompanied by corresponding shifts in approaches to language teaching, and we have underlined the importance not just of each particular approach, but also of remaining abreast of new developments and pedagogical theories in order to continuously strive towards creating a better learning environment. The capabilities and limits of multimedia applications and computer technologies were examined, and we emphasised the need for ongoing training for teachers, so that they could exploit these technologies to their full potential. The Internet in particular was explored as a means of simulating a foreign-language environment for students, thus making it ideal for the Natural Approach to language learning, along with its value as a motivating force for independent learning. This chapter also charted the developments in students’ confidence and capabilities during the course of this project, and how the

participating students can pass on these skills in turn to their own students in the future.

Chapter 3. The Integration of the Internet into Foreign Language Studies This chapter sets out to examine the role of the lecturer in integrating technology into the language curriculum, and the corresponding shift from the lecturer’s traditional role to that of facilitator. We then analyse the communicative tools used in this project to enable students and lecturer to interact with each other. Finally we investigate the different Web authoring tools that were used to develop and publish the interactive on-

line exercises that were designed by the participating students. In this chapter we analyse the three main skills that must be employed by a lecturer in implementing a project such as this and demonstrate the importance of each skill. We then consider the changing role of the lecturer to that of a facilitator and examine how the lecturers’ use of the communicative approach could promote the development from passive to active learning skills in the students. In keeping with our discussion of the communicative approach, we then explore two communicative tools that are particularly suited for use in this project, and highlighted various uses of e-mail and Markin32 in student-lecturer communication. We next move from an examination of communicative tools to an examination of web-authoring tools, and look at the importance of familiarity and user-friendliness for students using Netscape Composer and Hot Potatoes, together with their wide range of capabilities for creating interactive on-line language-learning exercises.

Chapter 4. Skills Assessment

In this chapter we examine the participating students’ self-assessment of their language, computer and pedagogical skills at the beginning of this course and compare it with their self-assessment of their skills on completion of the course to see how the students benefited from the Natural Approach to language teaching. We further assess the overall impact of the course in the context of its general and specific benefits, its possible shortfalls, and discuss some potential methods of improving the course

structure for similar future programmes. These questionnaires provide this study with sufficient information to establish the students’ profile regarding computer applications, pedagogy, and foreign language studies for the purposes of this project. They also may indicate that there is a real need for such a course, particularly for students training to be teachers, who could potentially be implementing computer applications in language learning themselves in the future. The participating students seemed to appreciate the benefits of computer applications in education, and particularly the use of the Internet as an independent language learning tool in foreign language studies. Such a course has to be well designed to best fit its students’ needs, and should also have some form of assessment to measure students’ understanding of the role of the Internet in language learning. Above all, this course hopes to give the opportunity to students to put their computer, pedagogical, and language skills into practice. Thus, it is also hoped that this would encourage them to use computer applications in their teaching methods and particularly to use and develop websites for foreign language learning. Conclusion

This project was concerned with teaching computer applications for educational purposes, and focussed chiefly on how one specific computer application, namely the creation and publication of interactive on-line exercises, could be used in the study of

French. In order to achieve the goal of this pilot project, which was to have the participating students create and publish their own interactive on-line French exercises on a specially conceived website (which can be found at the following address: http://indigo.ie/pmachu/spd/spd.htm), the course concentrated on developing three key skills in the participants, namely language skills, computer skills and pedagogical skills. This approach differed from the methods used in the host institution, where language skills, computer skills and pedagogical skills are all targeted separately in different modules. In contrast, this pilot project was carried out in a teaching environment where the different modules were integrated, in order to combine all of these three skills to optimise the benefits for the participating students. The participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire at the beginning of the course in order to pinpoint what they perceived as their weaknesses in these three skills, so that we could concentrate on improving those during the course. A second questionnaire was distributed among the participants at the end of the course for them to give an evaluation of the success of this project in developing these three skills and its effects

on their language learning autonomy, and the results of that survey revealed that the students had found this method highly successful. Significant progress had been made in the students’ computer skills and pedagogical skills in particular, but perhaps the best measure of the success of this integrated approach to foreign-language studies was the fact that all the participants expressed enthusiasm for implementing this methodology in their future careers as French teachers. Scope for Further Research

This project was limited in scope by a number of factors. Firstly there were only a small number of students who matched the criteria necessary for participation in this pilot course. Secondly, because of the time constraints involved, the project could not

undertake highly ambitious web design projects. Finally, the scope of the project was severely limited by the constraints of the Internet server in operation in St. Patrick’s College, both by its slowness and by the restrictions on uploading and downloading

audio and video files. Future programmes on the integration of the role of the Internet in Foreign Language Studies could be improved by using a larger group of participants, which would stimulate teamwork and encourage more group communication via the online bulletin board. It would also be beneficial to develop a more comprehensive website, with a wider variety of interactive exercises covering a greater range of topics. To enrich the variety of exercises, it would also be important to have the facility to upload and download audio and video files, so that interactive exercises could be designed, which focused not only on improving the learners’ writing and reading skills, but also their listening and speaking skills. Increased course hours would also be crucial both to concentrate on overcoming the students’ weak points and to devote more time to developing the key skills needed for the production of such exercises. One further way of increasing the scope of future research in this area would be if the participants were taught a programming language such as Java or JavaScript, or how to produce texts in the hypertext mark-up language, as this would free them from the confines of working within established parameters, such as those of the Hot Potatoes software used in this pilot project.

Learning languagesThe problem of learning languages is very important today. Foreign languages are socially demanded especially at the present time when the progress in science and technology has led to an explosion of knowledge and has contributed to an overflow of information. The total knowledge of mankind is known to double every seven years. Foreign languages are needed as the main and most efficient means of information exchange of the people of our planet.Today English is the language of the world. Over 350 million people speak it as a mother tongue. The native speakers of English live in Great Britain, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. English is one of the official languages in the Irish Republic, Canada, the South African Republic. As a second language it is used in the former British and US colonies.It is the major international language for communication in such areas as science, technology, business and mass entertainment. English is one of the official languages of the United Nations Organization and other political organization. It is the language of the literature, education, modern music, international tourism.Russia is integrating into the world community and the problem of learning English for the purpose of communication is espicially urgent today. Learning a foreing language is not as easy thing. It is a long and slow process that takes a lot of time and patience. But to know English is absolutely necessary for every educated person, for every good specialist.It is well known that reading books in the original , listening to the BBC news, communicating with the English speaking people will help a lot. When learning a foreign language you learn the culture and history of the native speakers. One must work hard to learn any foreign language.

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 1028