Central
South University Changsha PRC, 410013
Abstract:
The university learners are interested in e-learning environment while
learning a foreign language. Different CALL software items may place the
learners in various roles in the process and also influence on their learning
in different degrees thus bring about disparate results. In our research
program of classroom teaching observation, both teacher dairy and feedbacks of
our learners (comments and achievements of learning) were studied; we found
that closed software could help our learners in learning about the language
points and memorizing specific items of language; but their role in the process
were both passive and mechanical.
As for the opening software，the
learners could enjoy rich resources and vivid multimedia in language class,
they could learn and practice the language in a given space as these software
items on display. These kinds of resources
could arouse and stimulate the learners of their learning, but the learners
were still taking a passive role in the learning process. As for the
interactive platform that based on the internet websites, both teacher and
learners could make direct connection and communication via e-mail, e-chat and
forum and so on. The learners could take active part in the language learning
process thus make real improvement in their language performance. These kinds
of platform required a lot of preparation work and needed close cooperation of
both teacher and learners and the teacher’s guidance. Thus we believe that the
roles of the learners in the e-learning environment can shift according to the
situations and demands. Various kinds of software items and comprehensive
approaches can achieve desired results as they can arouse the learners’
motivations and set up vivid learning environments.
Key words:
E-learning, CALL software, Classroom activities, Learners’ role
中南大学外语学院 徐育年
摘要：E-learning环境下，大学生的学习兴趣有了极大的提高，但是在不同的课堂中，教学软件的格式构成对学生的学习角色形成有不同的影响，其学习的效果也大不相同。我们在课堂教学中进行教学改革研究，并通过课堂教学的实际观察和学生的学习效果反馈注意到，封闭型教学软件对学生的语言点知识的操练和反复有益于加强记忆，但学生的被动学习角色和机械的学习方式。开放性的教学软件中，丰富的教学资源和多维的多媒体教学手段能提高学生的学习兴趣和改善教学效果；但学生的被动学习角色未得到改变，学生不能投入语言的学习活动之中。在基于网络的课堂式教学平台上，学生和教师的直接联系和多媒体材料的开放式应用将有益于学生主动的学习活动，自我评价学习效果和师生的沟通互动有益于教学效果的实际提高，但需要学生和教师的相互配合和合理的引导。学生的学习角色因具体环境和要求而异，依照不同的学习目的选用不同的软件或综合运用之有利于学生学习积极性的提高和学习效果的改善。
关键词：e-learning 教学软件 课堂教学，学生角色
CALL
software and other multimedia courseware become more and more widely used in
EFL classroom activities. CALL language classroom teachings have achieved a marvelous
effect as an e-learning environment is offered for the learners and an
effective teaching approach for EFL teachers. Both parts in classroom are
offered an easy way to make direct interaction and communication in language
events. As we all know, EFL classroom teaching activity usually follows an
order of 3P (Presentation—Practice— Production), and according to Johnson
(2002) the order may have various sequences such as “from understand to doing,
from reception to production, from controlled to free” and so on (266p.) CALL
classroom activities, compared with our traditional routines, make both teaching environment vivid
and interest and the learners more enthusiastic and interested in the
activities. Our research program will focus on the role shifting of university
learners in various CALL environments.
CALL software and other multimedia means can provide
very stimulatingly and arousing e-learning situation for the language
learners. It covers from simple oral
drills program to similar written exercises; the learners can take the
advantages of (1) interaction, (2) immediate feedback, (3) error analysis and
(4) self-correction, in their language learning process (Ariew, 2000, 177p). In
the classroom activities it can serve as a model of stimulus, just like a
springboard for interaction between teacher and learners (Price, 2000,
157p.).Thus many ESL or EFL teachers have piloted in making use of various
E-learning sources in their classroom activities (Williamson, 2000; Pecnik,
2001). Williamson also states that CALL is just like other means of teaching in
classroom, it should be people oriented instead of the technology. The CALL
software can provide the learners with various access points to a material and
multiple potential paths through the material (Kramsch, 1999, 197p.) but the
teacher and learners, when confronting the materials may take different positions
and status toward the process (Klein and Pridemore, 1992). Therefore, in CALL
software provided e-learning situation, much of the teacher-focused
presentation process will certainly be reduced and more production from the
learners can be observed (Foley, 2001). So the study of the processes and
effects of these classroom activities, our attentions certainly place on the
role and behaviors of the learners in such teaching situations.
Our research program is mainly on the study of the
integrations of EFL teaching and learners’ quality education at university. We
extend our English teaching from in-class activities to after-class activities,
from the text books to other materials such as literature works and movies as
well as TV programs in English. CALL software in classroom activities is one of
the major pilot experiments in our research program.
The learners involved in our research program are
mainly 7-year students with medicine majors and senior undergraduates of
pharmacy majors. The study covers from 2001-2003 school years and students in
formation as follows
Table 1
Basic information of the E-learning environments teaching
|
Grade |
Major |
Persons |
Courses involved |
Duration |
|
99 |
pharmacy |
56 |
Pharmaceutical English |
2001 school year |
|
2001 |
7-year, medicine |
123 |
New College English (1st year), English through Movie (2nd
year,*) |
2001 school year The 2nd term of 2002school year |
|
2002 |
7-year, medicine |
177 |
New College English (1st year) |
2002 school year |
l *English
through movie is an elective course for quality education.
The text books for the learners are: 7-year students
of medicine major--New College English (Zhejiang University; published by
Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press) and senior pharmacy majors –
Pharmaceutical English (1, 2) (edited by Hu Tingxi, and Published be People’s
Medical Publishing House).
In our experiment we have made use of the following
CALL software items and web resources in classroom:
For 7-year medicine majors:
(1)
New College
English (CALL-CD) (Book I and II) Zhejiang University, made by Silver CD
company of FLTRP (ISBN 7-980038-60-6/H.08 and ISBN 7-980038-61-4/H.00)
(2)
English
through Movie Zhu Weifang，made by made by Silver CD Company of FLTRP
(ISBN 7-900626-06-9/G.05….
(3)
Speak English
As you wish II Hongen computer
company\, made by Tsinghua University Press (ISBN 7-900622-67-5)
(4)
Various
materials from Internet Websites as WWW.poetry.com
and WWW.hollywood.com so on.
For Senior Pharmacy majors:
(3)
http://www.pharmacy.arizona.edu/students/
(4)
http://www.utexas.edu/pharmacy/students/
(5) Set
up an email address for students’ net meeting and their channel for teacher’s
communication for both discussion and homework.
During the two years program, we made use of the above
resources for different functions of language teaching. Such as listening and
speaking, oral discussion and as resources for written assignments and debate preparation
as well as teacher and learners direct communications. All activities were
recorded in teaching dairy and students’ homework grade records. The learners
also reflect their comments and feedback in activity reports and term summary
of their English course learning.
In the experiments, we conducted various activities to
makes the above e-learning resources as part of supplements for the major
textbooks and inseparable part of classroom activities
(1)
Drill and Practice According to our research schedule, we
should pay more attention to the listening and speaking skills among the first
year of 7-year students of medicine major. So we made use of Speak English as you wish II and New
College English (CALL CD edition) as the supplement materials for their
listening and speaking practice course. We selected some related dialogues as
samples for the students to make their own ones and practice their listening
ability.
In the second year, we used English through movie CD software in our
elective quality education course for 7-year students, which made the drills
and practice “a contextualized activity” (Price, 2000, 179p.), the students had
dramatized and played their imitation of the movie scripts in class.
(2)
Games In 7-year medical students’ classroom, the teacher
also made use of the games in that above software and from internet websites,
not from the text that they mew better, such as cross talks and short poems for
them to enjoy and play. These activities were very short in time and usually at
the beginning of the classroom activities, however they had had an indispensably
role in opening the English class. These games usually could keep the entire
class in high spirits throughout the classes.
(3)
Stimulation In all three classes, the teacher used the sources
from related websites as the background information for each unit of textbooks.
The display of the web page bring the learners a vivid appreciation of the
subjects that they were going to study and also aroused their desire and
interest of knowing something more
about the topic from various media and sources( Harmer, 2000, 16p.).
(4)
Resources and tool As for senior pharmacy majors, the teacher
conducted a task-oriented teaching method in the ESP program. Besides the text
book the internet websites also were used in helping the learners to make use
of internet resources for their active learning and practices. In their pharmaceutical
documents translocation and term-paper compiling program, the internet
resources played an important part as data base and models of writing styles in
the students’ preparation.
(5)
Direct interaction In all the three kinds of students, the
teacher issued an e-mail address for all students, so that they could discuss
the items that left in the classroom. Both teachers and learners could make use
of the e-mail address for further discussion and homework hand-in and comments.
These kind of e-learning situations place a close link and contact among the
learners and the teacher. (Gu, Cai and Xu, 1999，85p.)
During the experiments, both teacher and learners keep
clear records of their behavior and performance.
i.)
Teaching
notes and dairy.
ii.)
Assignments
and grade records
iii.)
Tests grades
and evaluation reports of the test
papers
iv.)
Learners’
term summary and activities reports.
All records are studied statistically and analytically
on the quality study and quantity methods.
In our experiment, the role of the learners in the
e-learning environment showed great significant difference with that of normal
classroom settings.
Table 2: Comparison of learners’ classroom behaviors
|
|
Terms |
English Courses |
Types of activities |
Average Attend Rate (%) |
Classroom Activities (average times) |
Average score of activities (total=10) |
|
7-m* 2001 |
1st /2001 |
New College |
normal |
94.9 |
9.6 |
7.3 |
|
e-learning |
96.1 |
15.3 |
8.8 |
|||
|
2nd /2001 |
New College |
normal |
92.5 |
8.6 |
6.8 |
|
|
e-learning |
95.3 |
14.1 |
8.5 |
|||
|
2nd /2002 |
Through Movie |
normal |
|
|
|
|
|
e-learning |
89.2 |
5.3 |
7.3 |
|||
|
7-m* 2002 |
1st /2002 |
New College |
normal |
95.9 |
10.3 |
7.8 |
|
e-learning |
97.1 |
17.3 |
8.7 |
|||
|
2nd /2002 |
New College |
normal |
92.7 |
8.7 |
7.9 |
|
|
e-learning |
94.8 |
13.4 |
8.5 |
|||
|
SP* 1999 |
1st /2001 |
For Pharmaceutical |
normal |
84.3 |
8.9 |
6.1 |
|
e-learning |
90.2 |
11.7 |
7.2 |
|||
|
2nd /2001 |
For
Pharmaceutical |
normal |
87.2 |
10.4 |
5.7 |
|
|
e-learning |
93.3 |
15.3 |
6.7 |
l
*7-m = 7-year student
of medicine major; SP = senior undergraduate of Pharmacy major.
l
Normal class
refers to reading and other course in normal classroom settings, e-learning
class refers to activities including listening, movie showing and others in multimedia
or sound lab.
l
Average attend
rate: learners’ attend records including sick-leave/ numbers of the classes
l
Classroom
activities refer to the learners’ major language activities such as question
answering, text reading and other performance of learners.( based on the
teaching notes)
l Average score of activities refers to the
teachers assessment of the learners’ performance in above activities.(based on
the grade records)
In teacher’s dairy, and the term learning summaries of
the learners’, we have the following items as in common:
a)
In the
e-learning environment, the learners usually show higher learning motivation
than that in normal classroom settings. “Students showed great interests in
multimedia classroom settings, they tried to take the front seats and arrange
their seats with their oral drill partners so that they could take oral
practice easily… (English through movie teaching dairy, 3/14/03); while in
normal classroom settings, the students usually take their seat arbitrarily and
the ideal place would be the rare of the classroom. In the students’ commentary
of the movie course, they also suggested that the scale of class should be
reduced so that they might have more chance to practice English. In other cases, when in the sound labs,
the student’s seats were assigned according to their student ID numbers and the
class attend rate was higher than that of normal classroom (for intensive
reading).
When CALL software was used in classroom, the learners
showed more enthusiastic mood and more cooperative with the teacher in
classroom activities. According to Harmer’s (2000, 10p.) criteria of good
learners, most learners in multimedia classroom showed willingness to all items
(listening, experiment, think about how to learn and accept correct) except
asking questions. The pairs or group work became more easily and smoothly that
that in other classroom settings.
b)
Different
formats of CALL software will make the learners have different attitudes and
have various responses to ward the learning activities. Vaughan (1999) classifies
the multimedia course ware in to five categories: edutainment, instructional,
general reference, authoring, task-based and authoring tools programs. In the
teaching experiment, the teacher used various software items. And according to
the learners’ attitude and functions of the programs, we can classify them into
three kinds: closed software, opening software and interactive course platform.
Closed
software refers to the instructional programs, in which the functions
are fixed and the learners can only do the drills or reading the materials as
the program goes on. When this kind of software was used in the classroom, the
learners usually adapt their role in a passive learner of a specific aspect of
language skills. Listening, and reading practice, for example, are the common
functions of the closed software working in class. The learners are usually
passive receptors of the activities, and their language practice can do no more
than and substitute exercises of the drills.
In our dairy and
records, we find that the English course of 7-year medical major this kind of
software was always used. Both teacher and learners showed great satisfaction
and enthusiasm to the use of the software in classes. Learners could have a
better performance and got higher grade in classroom practice (8.75 average in
the first term and 8.5 in the second term). The teacher also found it easy for
him to carried out, imaginative drill practice, and the learners can even make
their own stories according to the programs and images on the screen. In the
second term, teacher tried to use the voiced reading passages to help the
learners to train their passage listening ability. Though it was had for the
learners to suit the length of listening passage, they soon got used to and
achieved great success.
The learners in their summaries and other reports,
highly agreed that this kind of multimedia classes could help them a lot in
real language exposure and practice, They mentioned that: “With multimedia
classes, I can not only listen to the natives speaking, but also we can view in
which situation these statement are spoken and how the dialogue goes on as if
we were in the very place.”(Term Summary, Sample 1) the others insisted that “we
find that the teacher intends to make us feel about how and what the real
English speakers make the dialogue goes, though strange and hard to follow it,
I feel they are interesting and
good for us to know about the cultures.”(Term Summary, Sample 2).
Its disadvantages, as we see it, are (1) the learners
usually in a passive learning position. If the teacher or learners were not
active enough to make multi-dimensional use of the software, they would be
regarded as single-functioned courseware and may be neglected by the teachers
in classes; (2) they provide an mechanical learning process, and the learners
can only try to follow what the program asked to do and can not make any
communications or real language practice. Besides, mechanical learning style
that the software presented would fossilize the learners learning habits, in
our study we found sound people got used to this software in their preparation
of tests and felt puzzled and nervous when asked to make use of internet web in
their ESP study.
Opening software refers to the program that besides functional practice,
offers a space for the learner to practice the language on the program. For
example in the movie software, the learners were asked to speak out the drama
scripts that follow the CD-disk. And in some other reading or written practice
software items, the correction and evaluations area also provided by the
program makers. When the software are used in classroom activities, the
learners usually be active in the practice procedures and they also are
interested in that their performance or exercises can be evaluated instantly.
In our teaching experiment, we used the movie software
in quality education course and the students showed great interests on the
process of the course. The learners, though in the second school year, showed
great zest in attending the course and doing the drama script imitation
practice. In normal case, their English score and attending rate should be
lower than these of their first year. But in this elective course the attend
rate and score still remain the similar level to the 1st school
year. “When I assigned a drama script imitation practice in class, all the
students tried their best to follow the CD program and this is unusual for the
second year students in the second year” (Teaching notes, 05/22/03). The
teacher found some students keen on the script imitation and learn it much
quick than that in the first year listening course. In classroom, the learners
not only imitate the script but also try to follow the facial expressions and
gestures as that show in the movie. All these helped them to master the
dialogue and language performance, also be better for the quality training.
(Wilkinson, 2000)
In the learners summary they stated “I think I have
experienced a new way of learning English, I think learning English through
watching films has made it an easy way in mastering the language and its
culture. By imitation I think we now remember the scripts more easily and we
are familiar with the intonation and oral patterns.”(Term Summary Sample 3)
Opening software can achieve an effective in language
teaching because it can make the learners drill or practise the language in a
direct way. Moving pictures and real chances of showing the learners’ ability
of drama performance and language communication have developed a positive
motivation among the learners and set up a better environment thus they have experienced
success in language learning. (Lightbown and Spada 1995, 112p) And this kind of
software still place the learners in a passive position in the language
learning, because the learners can not have their real communications and
interactions with the language sources
during the learning process.
Interactive web platform refers to a course platform or plate that
the teacher and learners can both participate and involve in. They both can
make direct and real communication and interactions on the subject that they
are going to teach and learn. The platform can provide both teacher and
learners with plentiful of materials and communication situations in which they
both can interact with each other and real practice in language.
In our experiment, we made use of international pharmaceutical
student’s union website http://www.pharmweb.net/
and others as the teaching
sources for our classroom teaching and explaining. The teacher adopted the
materials from above and other related websites and demonstrated and explained
them in classes, the students, on the other hand, were also encouraged to visit
the websites and found out their own materials for class discussion and
homework assignments. The students were urged to make use of these materials
and study them so as to write out a term paper as a part of term examination.
Besides, the teacher also opened an e-mail address for the learners and teacher
to make direct communication and homework assignments.
In classroom, the students found it interest and
useful for them to learn the ESP program in this way. “Internet is an advance
item and we feel it fun for us to learn pharmaceutical English in this way. I
am sure that we can both learn and language and something about our specialty
in this place” (Term Summary Sample Four). Some of the students, by this way
get familiar with the utilization of internet resources in their major courses
learning.
Internet website is a better classroom for both
teachers and learners in language teaching and learning. Gu (1999) points out
that the internet recourses will be replace the traditional classroom for the
learners all over the world to learn the same language and the same subject (153p.).
We tried to make use of the internet webs sources as a part of the supplement
for our EFL course teaching and it will have a more prosperous future and will benefits
both teachers and students at large.
Using
websites for language teaching need a lot work being done. In the founding of
the website, the web maker should place sufficient raw materials and open
various ways for the teachers and learners so that they can conduct various
activities and interact with each other on the platform.
c)
Make improper
use of the software sometimes can bring nervous to the learners and can not
lead to ideal teaching results.
Because of the differences in personalities
and learning styles, learners when in e-learning situation may have various
reactions toward the classroom settings and activities. In most cases, active
learners can involve themselves in the classroom activities, while some shy
learners feel hard to cope with other students in classes. When the software is
used in an improper way to those shy learners they may feel nervous and be
reluctant to the language practice. “Multimedia courses are very interesting, I
know, but I feel nervous when the teacher called me to stand up for the
performance and questions.”(Term Summary Sample Five) In this circumstance,
teachers should try to find out some individual work for the learners and
encourage them to enjoy and learn from others’ practice and performance.
In our experiment, we arranged a listening course in
multimedia classroom; the listening material was a long after-class reading
passage. In classroom the learner felt puzzled at the long and difficult
passage though with illustration of cartoons and background music. “The
students just closed their eyes and tried hard to memorize the ling and dull
sentences that the CD played. They seemed motionless in their appearances and felt
very hard to match the speed of the listening”(teaching dairy, 11/08/02) So
when the material is beyond the learners, the vividness and productive CALL software
will lose it power in arousing the learners’ interest.
In the e-learning environment, the learners usually show higher
motivation in language learning that these in the normal settings. And
different formats of software can achieve various effects. In this process, the
learners can adapt themselves in various ways to meet the functions of the
teaching process; the role of the learners can be shifted from receptors ---
participant –active involvement in various stages of learning. In our teaching
experiment, we made use of the 3P approach and task-based learning (Harmer,
2000, 31p.) the learners had took active role in all classroom activities and
instant results of teaching were significant and the learners felt satisfied
with our teaching arrangement. But if the learners are in lower level, the
attention should be taken as to arouse the participation of the slower and shay
learners in the classroom activities. And in e-learning environment, the
teacher should take the role of director of the guidance of the language tour,
arouse the learners’ mood and help them when they need.
CALL software in classroom may show an even
better usage for the learners that they use it personally because the teacher
can arrange certain activities for group or pair work, but they should be in a
passive position and take part in the activities that designed by the teacher.
While in the internet website, the learners and teacher may stay in the same
position and they can learn, discuss, chat and comment on the performance of
both sides. They can free their actions from the classroom and do it at any
time. In this case we should also pay attention to the classroom activities so
as to make the class teaching in a harmony and smooth way.
E-learning environment and CALL software in
some day will certainly replace the traditional printed textbooks and
teacher-centered classroom activities and its advantages in helping the
learners learn and practise the real language in a suppositional environment
will be advent and be recognized by teachers and learners in some day. So study
of the application of CALL and Internet in language learning should be carried
out in a larger scale in the universities.
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