Reflection: 1st lecture, "History of CALL"

Date: 14th February 2013

Day : Thursday

Topic: History of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL)

      In this first lecture, we have learnt about the history of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) which emerged in the 1960s as an educational theoretical cycle where it has 3 stages; Behaviourist CALL (Structural), Communicative CALL (Cognitive) and Integrative CALL (Sociocognitive). Before learning the history, we assumed that the development of CALL is very technical and details as it involves the use of technology. During the lesson, we were introduced to the three different approaches of CALL since 1960s. The approaches are foreign to us except for Behaviourist approach as we have learnt the basic theory of Behaviourism in Introduction to Psychology and Psycholinguistics classes before. Furthermore, we have heard about B.F Skinner in the previous courses we took and tried to reflect back our memory about his views on language acquisition.

Some students are using computer in their learning process.

     In order to enhance our knowledge of CALL, we searched for some books in IIUM Library such as Computer Applications in Language Learning by Bongaerts, Haan, Lobbe et al (which discusses about CALL in Netherlands) and Computer and Language Learning (which discusses two main components; IT and language teaching and Using IT in the Language Classroom) edited by Ward & Renandya. They are quiet helpful indeed!

       

   

     As a conclusion for today’s lecture about History of CALL, we can sum up that the Behaviourist CALL argues that the computer is used as a mechanical tutor while the learners are passive. The second approach, the Communicative CALL regards the computer as a pupil and emphasizes in problem-solving activities. Finally, the Integrative CALL integrates the technology in language learning process and highlights the computer is used as a mechanical tool.

Benefits

                                                

•    This new information about history of CALL empowers our minds about the use of computer in language teaching.
•      We can utilize the concepts in language teaching if our career related to the teaching in workplace.

•      We can relate all the three stages of CALL with our previous studies. In fact, we realized that we have been exposed to the approaches before.
•     The computer-mediated language learning will help students in many ways because it is interesting, effective and fast.
•      As a Muslim, we should always improvise ourselves. Therefore, the knowledge of CALL will help us to develop many teaching techniques and build many ways to spread the Islamic message.

         Before we ended the class, we had been given 3 questions- Here, we also provide answer for several questions related to this topic:

     QUESTIONS:

   

       1.  Did the course incorporate the use of computer in the teaching and learning?

       2.   Are the computer-based activities related to any 3 stages of CALL? 

       3. What are the important concepts in the 3 stages relate to the activities?

      ANSWERS:

1.    Yes, the pragmatics course incorporates the use of computer in the teaching and learning. In every single tutorial, the lecturer used the computer to assist students in the learning process. He showed videos, pictures, and illustrated many examples from the internet.
2.    The computer-based activities in Pragmatics learning related to Integrative CALL because of the greater emphasizes given on the authentic use of the language and many task-based, content based and project based are used.
3.      The important concepts in the 3 stages related to the activities is the concept used in Integrative CALL where the use of  the computer as a tool to integrate in learning processes, learner-learner interaction, and the emphasis on the authentic use of the language. For instance, the important concepts in the stages of activities are when computer is used to provide information to students of and certain examples such as the concept of politeness and why it is use. The students are encouraged to be involved in many discussions to analyze the theory of politeness and others in certain conversation that they can find in the texts.

Last but not least, as a reminder for today's post:

THANKS^^,

Additional information about CALL:

Beatty, K.,(2010). Teaching and researching Computer Assisted Language Learning. England: Longman.

Robert, D., (1999). Worldcall; Global Perspectives on Computer Assisted Language Learning. Netherlands :Swets & Zeitlinger Publisher.

http://www.ict4lt.org/en/warschauer.htm

http://www.eurocall-languages.org/

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=2755280

Reflection: 2nd Lecture; Electronic Portfolio

Date  :19th February 2013
Day   : Tuesday
Topic : E-Portfolio

       Dear brothers and sisters, how are you today? May Allah bless us with His mercy and blessings. Today, we would like to share about E-Portfolio. Well, it is almost similar to the manual portfolio we used to have back in school before. However, e-portfolio has multiple advantages.

       Electronic portfolios are much more than innovative resumes or scrapbooks.As we reach electronic saturation, new norms of work are emerging. Arising out of this critical mass is a vision of how educational institutions can benefit, which is with the e-portfolio.       Portfolios are not a new concept. In various guises, digital presentations of skills and competences, online records of achievement and action plans with opportunities for reflection have been in use in education for nearly a decade. Tools and systems built for these purposes are now numerous.
There is a push to free student work from paper and to make it 

• organized 
• searchable
• transportable 

The benefits for e-portfolio user:

                                                                                               

• increased learning effectiveness 
• enhance information technology skills 
• organize the works and information 

Other Benefits:

• Students’ progress can be observed by parents, teachers and students themselves.
• It allows teachers and students to do the process of evaluating the learning process in an innovative way and more effective.

This figure is taken from this website : benefits E-Portfolio 

Apart from learning e-portfolio, we also learnt about the Reflection. Let us share!

What is reflection?

Reflection is actually the core or main issue in collaborative and integrative CALL. It promotes self awareness as well as personal and professional growth. Reflection can be done individually or collectively. Furthermore, reflection will bring out a unique perspective in ourselves as student about what we have learned. It will make students understand the topic learned better and thus gaining better insights of particular topics that we have learned. In addition, it opens our eyes about our roles as Muslims in the quest for knowledge. Through reflection, we can get a clear concept of our action therefore we can reflect back whether we have done right things or not while we were in the learning process.

To sum up, it is our duty to share the knowledge and spread Islamic messages. Nowadays, with the advancement of technology, we can use the electronic portfolio to provide and share information. Undoubtedly, it is more creative and innovative!

So, today's quote:

 Thanks!


Other links - just click the words below:

• e-portfolio

• e-portfolio 2

• e-portfolio 3

Reflection 3: Islamization of Knowledge (IOK)

Date  : 21st February 2013
Day   : Thursday
Topic : Islamization of Knowledge (IOK)

     Salaam to all beautiful souls! Alhamdulillah, we still wake up today with Iman & Islam, the two biggest gifts that has been given by our creator. We’re on week 3 and the topic of the week is Islamization of Knowledge.

     First of all, we would like to give credit to Dr Mahmudul Hasan for his power point slides which we’ve used in his class. What we got for this week? Everything on Earth, almost everything even as small as a sunflower seed has its Islamic point of view. The term Islamicisation is actually introduced by Prof Kamal Hassan who was the former rector of this university.

We ponder upon this beautiful Hadith during the lesson:

“The relationship of the believer with another believer is like (the bricks) of building, each strengthens the other” – Bukhari & Muslim.

What is Islamization?

     Islamization can be defined as desecularisation of modern contemporary human knowledge, reform of thought and development of knowledge together with its Islamic perspectives. The first slide was full of questions which can be taken as food for thoughts, the questions made us think and ponder on our responsibilities as a vicegerent of Allah and made us aware of the current situation of our brother and sisters in Islam all over the world.

Concept of IOK

• Since IOK is a term describes a variety of attempts and approaches to synthesize the ethics of Islam, it is a duty to academicians and professionals in the field of teaching to integrate this approach in learning process.

• We have to deal with the concept of existing modern knowledge which has been embodied in current system and how to develop IOK. Muslims are urged to learn from them. However, the Muslim should possess the Islamic worldview necessary to filter out theories that are not in line with the Aqidah (the belief) and Shari’ah (Islamic rules and regulations).

• It is the process of intellectual reform implies the incalculation of Islamic spiritual values and ethics in the mind. It is also referred to the personality and conduct of the Muslim academic and scholars as expected in Muslim’s university.

How  to inculcate such values and ethics?

It is by reintegrating values and ethics of revealed knowledge likely in Islamic ethics, Islamic Aqidah, Sciences of Quran in the disciplines of social sciences, human sciences and professional sciences like Sociology and Anthropology, Political Science, Medic, Dentistry and History. 

There are two recognized strategies which can help in inculcate the Revealed knowledge’s ethics and values in the secular sciences:

1.       The reform of the university curriculum
2.       The refinement of the character and work ethics of all staff & students.

  

Benefits:

• We have learnt how important it is to reform the curriculum of the university in line with Islamic teaching and to have refinement of characters and work ethic among colleagues. We also had further discussion on the IIUM dress code, either to have it as a rule and regulation or to chop it off for the university laws. However, all of us agreed that the IIUM dress code should be in the rules as students may at least be aware of their dress code from time to time. Without us noticing, the Islamic dress code do contributes to our thinking and lifestyle and it even helps us more in Islamization of knowledge as to improve our code and conduct, spiritual needs and others; our physical appearance has to start first.
• Learning this topic has awakened us up from the illusion of this world. Everyone reflects back the reason why they have been created by Allah S.W.T. We started to realize the main purpose of we have been living in this world by simply looking at the question who do we represent? Firstly, we represent our parents, then our family, our hometown, our country, Muslim communities, and the most important thing is,we represent our religion-Islam. Therefore we should show good example to others.
• By becoming good and excellent students in studies, we can help to build the nation and Ummah through Islamic way of life.

Conclusion

     Yes, IOK is a very important concept not just in teaching and learning, but also in everyday management of life. We should learn, practice, and apply this concept in our lives therefore we can fulfill our duty as vicegerents in this earth.

Last but not least, as a motivation for us, let us reflect on this words:

Thanks=)

Books and links about IOK - let's click:

IOK explanation

IOK- article "Yesterday and Today"

The Quest for an Islamic Methodology


Books:

Ali & Muhammad Mumtaz.,(2010). The History and Philosophy of Islamization of knowledge : a Preliminary Study of Pioneers' Thoughts. Selangor: IIUM Press.

Mohamed Aslam Haneef., (2009). A Critical Survey of Islamization of knowledge. Kuala Lumpur: IIUM Press.

Reflection 4: Intro of CALL in Language Skills and Improvement of Self-concept as a benefit of CALL

Date  : 26th February 2013
Day   : Tuesday
Topic : CALL in Language Skills

                  Dear our readers, today we enhanced our knowledge about CALL in language skills. We were introduced with several acronyms used in CALL and some of them were unfamiliar to us ^^, Such as:
CELL : Computer Enhanced Language Learning
CALI  : Computer Assisted Language Instructions
CBLT : Computer Based Language Training
NBLT : Network- Based Language Training

and many more...

Alhamdulillah now we learnt the terms and feel good about them=) 

                We also learnt about other benefits of CALL to students based on previous research such as increased motivation, improvement of self-concept, mastery of basic skills, student-centered, active process, higher order thinking skills and others. Yes, we believe that CALL give multiple advantages to teachers and students. As our lecturer asked us to elaborate on one of the benefits, we choose Improvement of Self-concept.



Improvement of Self-concept as a Benefit of CALL

       The term self-concept is a general term used to refer to how someone thinks about or perceives themselves (link). Computer Assisted Language Learning improves one's self concept in various ways. Firstly, students can be very independent and self reliance because they can gain information from the internet such as from academic journals, online news, e-books and scholarly article. For example, online databases are provided in university library's website such as Academic Search Premier, JetP, ACM Digital Library, Britannica Online and many more. Thus, students will improve their knowledge from time to time and be able to study independently. This simultaneously will improve their way of thinking and their self confidence. In addition, learners will be more open minded because they are exposed with several views from different sources. Besides, many dictionary software available to assist students in learning new words and be more confident in using those words in writing and speaking. 

         Furthermore, the computer adds various attractions since "it gives the learner immediate feedback and the chance 'to have another go' until the quiz is mastered" (Bongaerts, Haan & Lobbe et.al,1998, p.10). Bongaerts, Haan & Lobbe et.al argued that some software that can build up quizzes and drills using the computer such as Adobe Flash Player encourages learners to learn more and grow the enthusiasm in learners. This application is very attractive and suitable for learners in various ages. At the same time, they will gain confidence when they are able to solve the problems given and developing skills which are important for themselves such as thinking skills and time management skill. 

          Apart from that, the computer is usually used to reinforce or to support the existing curriculum. It is true that CALL techniques have been successfully applied to some language skills (Ward & Renandya, 1998). Thus, the users can improve their self-concept in various language skills using the computer. Many computer programs particularly word processors (Microsoft Office, Documents to Go, Apple Pages, and Nisus Writer) are very helpful in improving the users' writing skills. The tools available in the applications such as spell check, auto-correct, sentence structure check, synonym and antonym, words translator enable users to edit and enhance their writing skills. This simultaneously increase their vocabulary and also enhance speaking skills.

        Last but not least, it is true that various applications in computer will improve self-concept among students and computer users. Thus, it is important for computer users to utilize the applications wisely in order to gain more benefits.

Written by: Ainina, Amirah, Amira & Raihan.



REFERENCES:


Ward, C. & Renandya, W. (1998). Computers and Language Learning. Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre.


Bongaerts,T., Haan, P.D & Lobbe et.al. (1998). Computer Applications in Language Learning. USA: Foris Publication.


Lisa, R.k., Self-concept enhancement, computer education and remediation: A study of the relationship between a multifaceted intervention program and academic achievement. (January 1, 1992)http://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI9227700/


http://dictionary-software-review.toptenreviews.com/


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_word_processors

Last but not least, let's take a look at this words of wisdom:

Thank you ^^ till we meet again in the next post=)

REFLECTION 6: Computer Mediated Communication (CMC)

Date    : 19th March 2013
Day     : Tuesday
Topic   : Computer Mediated Communication

Assalamualaikum  Wbt.

       Dear our beloved reader, today is a very wonderful day, Alhamdulillah.. Allah still blessed us with strength so we can learn a new topic for today's class. It is CMC (Computer Mediated Communication). This term is very new to us, but, in a real world, we have been using this CMC since our primary school! ^^, 

        E-mail, Yahoo!Messenger, MSN, Facebook, Twitter, Bulletin Board, Forum, and many more applications that mainly used in the internet to converse with other people including social networking sites are the examples of CMC. Very familiar to us right? ;)

       Well, there are actually two forms of CMC:
   1) Synchronus - real time, instantaneous communication (just like Yahoo!Messenger or MSN or    Skype)
   2) Asynchronus - non-real time communication (like E-mail, Blog, or Bulletin Board)

       It is indisputable that there are many differences in language styles between these two forms of CMC because one is rapid process (just like talking face to face! *but still have time to pause) and the other is delayed process (like when we write an e-mail, we can edit several times!). Many research had been done to investigate the features of language use in both forms of CMC.

       Yes, we can chat, e-mail, use social networking sites but we must always beware of the negative consequences if the use of this technology is not properly utilized in the ethical manner. Islam always emphasized on the importance of being ethical in all aspects of our lives so we can avoid from the backsides that occur from the use of the Internet.

Lastly, let us share a word of wisdom for today's post:

Reflection 7: Corpus Linguistics

Date   : 2nd April 2013
Day    : Tuesday
Topic  : Corpus Linguistic

Assalamualaikum and may all readers in the state of pink of health. Do you know how a dictionary can be produced? How such a book can happen to have so many words inside of it with the meanings and usage of the words in appropriate situation and condition? The answer is corpus linguistic. So what is corpus linguistic actually? It is a study of language and a method of linguistic analysis which uses a collection of natural or real word texts known as corpus. It deals with both spoken and written texts. It is a sample of a particular varieties or use of languages that are presented in machine readable form. What makes it more interesting is that it comes with description and explanation of nature, structure and use of language with particular matters. In addition, it highlights possible words, structures or uses in a language and shows probable occurrence in a language. It is not only restricted to one language instead several languages. Hence, it is applicable to language learning. Among roles of corpus linguistics are:

1) To store huge amount of text.

2) To quickly retrieve huge amount of texts.

3) To retrieve words, phrases or whole texts in context.

4) To sort out linguistics items.

5) To increase reliability and validity in searching, counting and sorting linguistics items.

6) To provide accurate probability of occurrence of specific linguistic items.

      All in all, corpus linguistics is a useful study that has been developed and can be used to guide students to learn languages more efficient. After learning this topic, we believe it has given us a fresh view about computer application in language studies.

          In addition, Corpus Linguistic provides more objective view about the analysis of language. By using computer, it gives proper analytical tools to analyze the words or sentences. We believe this field is very useful for classroom activities.

Reflection 8 : Concordancer

Date   : 4th April 2013

Day    : Thursday

Topic  : Concordancer

Assalamualaikum Wbt everybody!

           Alhamdulillah today we have learnt something new in the field of Corpus Linguistics which is Concordancer. To be frank, we haven’t know much about this tool before and we have not been exposed to this tool before. Alhamdulillah, after learning this topic, we now have the basic idea about concordancer.

Firstly, what is concordancer? From our lecture, we learnt that it is a basic tool for Corpus Linguists to construct a concordance. It has been used for the text analysis. How it works? It turns the electronic texts into databases which can be searched. Therefore, it offers the possibility of searching for word combination within a specified range of words and looking up parts of words.

The example for sample concordancer can be seen by visiting this link:

http://www.webcorp.org.uk

          The corpora hat can be searched for this concordancer are text files, websites and emails.

Another example for concordancer program are TEXTSTAT, WordCruncher, AntConc, MnoConc, and WordSmith that can make indexes and word lists, count word frequencies and compare different usages of words.

If you are interested to try a concordancer program, you can check this:

http://www/Papyr.com/applets/concordancer

         In today’s class, we have look at this link and try to search for the lists of the words. Well, it is quite interesting because it can provide how many of that words are used (in the internet, for example) and what are the sentences before and after the words. It is helpful indeed!

        We feel glad to share this information and hopefully we can utilize this software in our learning. We believe that concordancer is very important tool for Corpus Linguistics and it can be used in many areas.

Reflection 9 : Lexicography

Date   : 9th April 2013
Day    : Tuesday
Topic  : Lexicography

Lexicography is a scholarly discipline that involves compiling, writing or editing dictionaries. It is divided into two related areas: practical and theoretical lexicography.

1.       Practical lexicography: The basic concern of lexicography is ‘word’ which is studied in different branches of linguistics, phonetics, grammar, stylistics and etc. lexicography focuses on the design, compilation, use and evaluation of general dictionaries.

2.          Theoretical lexicography: is the analysis or description of the vocabulary of a particular language, and the meaning that links certain words to others in a dictionary.

Relevance or application of lexicography to language learning/language research.

·         Giving definitions to avoid ambiguity

·         As a main source for record keeping in preserving the collection of words

·         Served as a guideline on how words are changing

·         New words are been introduced and old words die out

·         Give status labels for example: slang, jargon, taboo, etc

Reflection 10: Computational Stylistics and Forensic Linguistics

Date    : 11th April 2013
Day     : Thursday
Topic   : Computational Stylistics and Forensic Linguistics

 

          Last April 11^th, we learnt about Computational Stylistics and forensic Linguistics in class. Computational Stylistics is the study of stylistics characteristics of texts, authors and genres using the computer. This study is quite interesting as we can look further at the style of a particular work such as literary field, social sciences nor humanities. 

The scope of computational stylistics vary as they look into common words, rare words, writing style attitude and tone of authors and the unique characteristics of an author’s writing.  For instance, Slyvia Plath; her depressing and dark poems can be a production of her family background where she is not close with her father and the fact that she commits suicide also can be seen in her poems. However, there are risks as the authors may change their style over time and the possibility of two authors writing alike.

           

Forensic linguistics on the other hand is a linguistics field that closely related to law. Forensic linguists work under forensic and legal firms where their job is to understand the language of the written law, understand language use in forensic and legal processes and the condition of linguistics evidences. There are quite a number of corpuses in forensic linguistics such as ransom notes, anonymous letters, threatening letters, plagiarism, suicide notes, examination fraud, missing person and others. We just knew the fact that plagiarism and examination fraud are considered as a criminal! 

TQ^^