Article Review

        A.   ARTICLE AND AUTHOR BACKGROUND

The title of the article I have chosen to review is “Gender Difference in CALL Programs for English as a Second Language Acquisition”, published in 2007. The article was written by Cheng-Chieh Lai, a PhD student in Educational Leadership from Prairie View A&M University and Ming-Mu Kuo, an assistant professor in the Department of Foreign Language Instruction from Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages. Both authors have research interests in the field of Second Language Acquisition, Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), Instructional Technology and Faculty Motivation.

  

         B. SUMMARY AND REVIEW

This research aims at studying the effects of gender differences on the application of CALL programs for second language acquisition. It stresses that gender difference is an important theme in linguistic education because it influences the design curriculum, teaching method, instructional strategy and students’ learning processes. From the biological viewpoint, females and males differ fundamentally in the cognitive ability and learning style. These differences derive both from basic physiological differences, such as differences in the development of brain and from differences in higher-level cortical functions. In order to conduct their research, the authors used a sample of 200 students comprising of 34 male students and 166 female students who were taking EFL courses and CALL programs in Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages in Taiwan. This research has both qualitative and quantitative data. The quantitative data was collected by means of a questionnaire which comprised of 4 sections that examined students’ learning attitude, efficiency and anxiety when they learn English with CALL programs. The researchers also conducted interviews with 5 male students and 5 female students from the same college. The interviews were conducted to explore their learning barriers on the application of CALL programs on students’ genders. The interviews consisted of 10 open-ended questions, which provided data concerning the learning barriers on the application of CALL programs for the respondents. Out of the 250 surveys sent out, 200 were returned. The findings of the study are divided into four areas; learning attitude, learning efficacy, learning anxiety and learning barrier. As a summary of the findings, a majority of the male students who were surveyed claim that they enjoy using CALL programs to learn English and that would spend at least six hours per week on the Internet to enhance their English learning. However, a majority of the female students state that they find learning English with CALL programs to be difficult as well as uncomfortable. The male students however, found that they were more comfortable using CALL programs to learn English. According to the results of the interviews, the participating female students expressed that their main language barrier for learning English using CALL programs in that they lack related computer technology and training or they are not familiar with the procedures of computer learning software. On the other hand, the male students showed more confidence of technology which ultimately lowered the barriers they had with learning English using CALL programs. According to the authors, the reason for this may be the fact that male students are usually encourages in technology learning and have more opportunities for technology practice. Respondents also stressed that the appropriate software of CALL programs is too expensive and often not available in the school’s computer labs. Therefore the problem for male students learning English with CALL programs is whether the software is available rather than their computer skills. As a conclusion, the authors state that although both male and female students confirmed that CALL programs is helpful for strengthening their English skills, make students have more positive learning attitude and less learning anxiety toward the use of CALL programs for their learning than female students. They then recommend that EFL teachers should create more training opportunities to increase female students’ technology skills. Schools should also purchase more CALL program software in order to increase students’ English learning practices and reduce the learning barriers.

            This research definitely interests me on a more personal level. I have always been interested in the areas concerning gender disparity and desensitisation. The reality is, that even though feminists may think that males and females should be equals in every way, we will always remain different from each other and that affects our way of life, especially our way of learning. Research has shown that females have a higher tendency to learn language in a slightly faster pace than our male counterparts. However, when it comes to technology, females feel anxious and uncomfortable due to the lack of technological knowledge and skills needed to use these programs. This paper was fairly well conducted and written. However, my only suggestion on how it could be improved is to standardize the sample size. The sample used by the researchers consisted of 34 male students and 166 female students. This is a huge disparity which could possibly affect the viability of their findings. In my opinion, if the number of male and female students were equal, their findings would definitely be more convincing. Finally, I feel that this research can be applied to our Malaysian scenario at present. Educators and practitioners of the education system in Malaysia should explore this area of education further. If we can acknowledge the disparity that exists in the cognitive ability between a male and a female student, we can design a curriculum that can further accommodate the learning needs of our students. Furthermore, schools in Malaysia should also dedicate more lessons for students to acquire computer skills and for them to get comfortable with CALL and its benefits in the learning of English as a second language. CALL may be the future of our education system but we still need to acknowledge that teachers and students need to dedicate more time in this area and schools should also purchase more CALL software and computer in order to facilitate the growing number of students who could possibly access these software in order to enhance their acquisition of the English language. 

Read the full article here!

Quatre - CALL & Listening and Speaking

Linda and I presented CALL & Listening and Speaking this week. It was a verrryyyy long presentation and we had 50++ slides, hadn't slept all night, but we managed to pull through and I'm pretty confident that we did a good job ;))

Basically, we talked about how CALL can enhance the learning of skills, more specifically, listening and speaking. We demonstrated using examples of websites that use audio tracks and quizzes to test learner's listening abilities. One such website is esl-lab.com. It provides various listening tests ranging from beginner level to advanced. 

Linda later talked about podcasts and how they can be used as lessons or as a means of instruction for language learners. Podcasts are audio tracks that you create can post online and they can be subscribed to. Teachers can use podcasts to test students' listening abilities, as well as ask students to create their own podcasts to sharpen their speaking skills, Hey! It works both ways! Still wanna know what podcasts are? Listen to a few here. 

There is a whole process of choosing the appropriate podcast and subscribing to one and then to listen to every episode. So basically Linda had to explain to the whole class how to do it, but she did a pretty good job. 

Still not clear? Ask us if you want to know more! 

Trois - Development of CALL

Fatin and Syazwani talked about the development of CALL for their presentation. The history of CALL and its eras are divided into three; behavioristic, communicative and integrative.

1. Behavioristic

- Structural / Behavioristic CALL (1960s -1970s)

- View of Language: Structural

- English Teaching Paradigm: Grammar-Translation & Audio-lingual

- Principal Use of Computers: Drill and Practice

- Principal Objective: Accuracy

2. Communicative

- Communicative / Cognitive CALL (1970s -1980s)

- View of Language: Cognitive

- English Teaching Paradigm: Communicative Language Teaching

- Principal Use of Computers: Communicative Exercises

- Principal Objective: Fluency

3. Integrative

- Integrative / Sociocognitive / Socioconstructive CALL (1990s -present)

- View of Language: Sociocognitive

- English Teaching Paradigm: Content-based & ESP

- Principal Use of Computers: Authentic Discourse

- Principal Objective: Agency

- Two types:Multimedia CALL (CD-ROMs) and Web-based CALL (on the Internet)

Hole in the Wall.

Mitra et al.
Title: Acquisition of computing literacy on shared public computers: Children and the "hole in the wall"

I found this article very interesting. The fact that children can learn with minimal assistance just shows how powerful curiosity can be. This paper talks about letting children learn on their own through a pedagogic method called "Minimally Invasive Education" (MIE). MIE speculates that children can learn to use the computer on their own. It is an approach that promises to bridge the digital divide by helping diverse populations achieve computer literacy. "Minimally invasive" refers to the least possible amount of help given to children before they can continue using basic computer-handling skills. Help can be offered by friends, siblings or other children who are more familiar with computers. Children are found to provide support for each other. The learning environment is described as free of adult intervention, structures and rules. It is also done in an open, public space where children can share and help each other. It  is designed for use by children.

The findings were that children are able to learn how to use the computers without help from teachers, parents or other adults. They manage to learn through experience or in other words, they let their curiosity guide them.
I remembered when I was a child and I used to go to my father's office to use the computer because we didn't have one at home, yet. I learnt how to type and also explored other softwares. But this was wayyy before the Internet was even a household name.

The point is, I think this research is really beneficial to adults, rather than children themselves. After reading this article, adults, teachers, parents should know that children can learn on their own and learning may even be more effective without the structures and rules enforced upon them by adults.

Very interesting, no?

Read more here!

Deux - Role of Computers

Ridhwan and Hazween presented on the Role of Computers in Language Learning and Teaching. Basically, they talked about the role of computer in instruction and learning as well as its role as a tool for communication between teachers and students and amongst students themselves. There are basically two means of communicating using computers; synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous communication basically means that you're communicating with each other in real-time. Yahoo! Messenger, Skype and other versions of chat rooms are examples of how people communicate synchronously. Asynchronous communication however, is the opposite. Using e-mails and voice mail programmes, communication still takes place but not in real-time. 

They also talked about the advantages and disadvantages of CALL.

Some disadvantages are;

1. it increases educational costs

2. CALL softwares are still imperfect

3. Computers cannot handle unexpected situations

Some advantages include;

1. It enhances student achievements

2. It encourages greater communication between students and peers and their teachers

3. Provides practices for students through experimental learning.

Oh, aaannd, we also created our very own blogs today!! ;))

Une - Introduction to CAI & CALL

Kak Hani and Kiki presented this week's topic and as the title states, they introduced the classroom to Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI) and Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL). Besides that, they also presented a brief history on CAI and CALL and also the types of programmes that can be used in order to fuloly utilise CAI and CALL.

As they presented, I made a short summary in my head about what CAI and CALL really is. Basically, it's how instructors as well as learners can utilise computer programmes and the Internet in order to assist in their learning and instruction. More specifically in this subject, to assist in the learning/acquisition of a certain language. For example, using blogs to help students learn on their own, or something like that.

So, after their presentation I decided to Google some activities that were available online for students as well as teachers. There are so many I didn't know which one to choose! Just goes to show that CALL is a useful tool in the classroom and A LOT of people are making good use of it. Are you?