Copyright Issues

We have learnt copyright issues in our class tonight. That is inspiring in the sense that I have realised some terms that are used in the Copyright Ordinance are arguable and arbitrary, such as the terms 'fair dealing', 'to a reasonable extent', etc. For teachers who are not legally trained easily fall into the traps of copyright infringement.
Here is a website where local teachers may refer to whenever they have questions about copyright issues.
www.ipd.gov.hk/eng/faq/copyrights/cpr_ed.htm

Reflection of CALL Materials that I Am Currently Using

The most frequently used CALL materials for my teaching is a WebCT platform provided by my institution. There are e-learning materials for my students to engage in. However, sad to say, most of the resources available are just the extension of an English lesson as the materials are usually in the format of 'drills and practice'. After taking the course of New Technologies in Language Teaching, I feel upset to see such e-learning materials provided for my students. E-learning materials are supposed to be fun, interactive on the one hand and less threatening, self-explanatory and manageable on the other hand. So, I have designed a WebQuest for my individual assignment to see how this form of e-learning material can enrich my students' learning.

Reflect and Review on Article ‘Computer Assisted Language Learning: an Introduction’ written by Mark Warschauer

Computer assisted language learning has become so widespread that almost most of the schools in Hong Kong incorporate computer assisted language learning in their English curriculum. Based on the sharing given by my classmates, it is very popular for primary school teachers to use E-books for teaching as there are songs, animations and story-telling, etc. to arouse students’ interests. Others like using resources in You Tube and some well-known English learning websites, such as BBC Learning English.com. And last but not least, the most widely used software for teaching in classrooms is PowerPoint as it saves teachers’ time for writing blackboard and it helps teachers to deliver their messages more effectively and efficiently.
According to the introduction made by Mark Warschauer, Computer Assisted Language Learning can be divided into three phases: behavourist CALL, communicative CALL and integrative CALL. The aforementioned resources used by my classmates can be categorized as a mixture of behavouristic and communicative CALL. For example, the use of e-book on the one hand allows students to practice passage reading and pronunciations. Although the system is usually unable to tell students whether they are correct or not, this kind of practice does not provide any communicative opportunities for students. Another special feature is that repeated exposure is possible as long as students would like to replay the tasks. On the other hand, simple language games in the E-book enable students to focus more on using the language rather than on forms.
However, the existence of integrative CALL is still not popular in local context although multimedia computers and the Internet are so common. I believe there are two major reasons which prevent teachers in Hong Kong from adopting integrative CALL in language teaching. First, most local teachers may not understand how they can properly exploit multimedia and Internet for their students in language learning. Second, they usually lack support from their schools and colleagues to develop such a platform for students to learn through exposure to authentic examples, feedbacks and continuous amendments of work by themselves.
In order to help teachers cope with the challenges, EDB in Hong Kong should make serious thoughts in thinking about how to help teachers exploit the use of multimedia resources and Internet.

Review on Theory-driven CALL and the Development Process by Mike Levy

The purpose of Mike’s paper is to examine the implications of theory-driven CALL, particularly in relation to the materials development process.

According to the author, there are three major instructional designs in the development process of CALL. First and foremost, a design suggested by Andrews & Goodson comprises with three key stages: the analysis phase, the development phase and the evaluation phase. There are a number of tasks associated with these three stages, ranging from ‘needs assessment’, ‘measurement’, ‘types of skill/ learning’ to ‘learner characteristics’, etc. Andrews and Goodson’s design is broken down into a number of steps in which the sequence can be varied. Another instructional approach is the one suggested by Meskill. In his suggestions, eight elements in the design process are identified including ‘modifying, rethinking, redefining, rewriting until all these highly interdependent considerations fit together and satisfy one another’s definitions and requirements.’ One special feature about his ideas is that ‘the elements are not hierarchical but circular.’ On the contrary, the approach suggested by Hubbard is hierarchical and ‘it is composed of three levels called Approach, Design and Procedure.’

As summarized by the author of this paper, ‘the development approaches are, by and large, systematic and that discrete elements can be identified and distinguished’ although ‘the method of handling these elements varies from the hierarchical and linear to the non-hierarchical and circular.’ In addition, the media used is taken into account at different points of development process depending on the approach adopted.

In order to examine the points of departure in the development of CALL materials, a survey was done by the author. It was found that 18.6% of the respondents said that they started to develop CALL materials when they came across practical problems in language teaching and learning while 17.6% responded that they started with a higher level theoretical framework such as a review on an educational theory. Syllabus specifications and matching activity to authoring tool as points of departure were less common with an equally weighting of 4.4% respondents saying that they developed their CALL materials based on these.

Apart from the findings regarding the points of departure, the author found that the development process can be fallen into two categories: more structures, discrete element processes and less structures, more iterative processes.

To conclude, the author stated three major issues regarding the development process of CALL materials. First, ‘the initial theoretical orientation has to be reconciled with the technological environment in which it is realized.’ Second, many CALL practitioners were procedualists as they believed that CALL could be advanced and improved through working continuously on ‘writing programs’ and ‘testing them with language learners’ while some of them were formalists as they were theory-driven. Both types of practices have their own advantages and disadvantages. The author advised CALL developers to be more aware of the approach they adopt and handle the shortcomings of their approach with greater care.