Introduction to the Computers for Pedagogy Professor Van Lier

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Larysa Kudryavtseva

Introduction to the Computers for Pedagogy Professor Van Lier

Part 1. Chapter 3 “Classroom Practice: Creating Interactive CALL Activities”

Summary

The chapter focuses on social interaction as a critical component of the language learning. The chapter is organized around the following participant configurations most likely to be used in the language learning classrooms:

 Learners interacting with classmates;

 Learners interacting with the teacher;

Learners interacting with other students in their school;

 Learners interacting with community members and experts;

Learners interacting with their classmates:

1.Sharing information from the traditional grammar drill package from the computer program (student No 1) in combination with vocabulary and topic development from the prepared handout worksheet (student No 2).Learning objective: Formation of the sentences into a story based upon the vocabulary and peer information exchange.

2.Adding a reference text in which the students can find the answers to the questions. With one student doing the screen work and another looking up the information in the book, both students interact and share their versions of the answers. (Mactrivia.) (Killon, 1995)

3. Problem-solving and decision-making tasks (National Inspirer, 1996,1997)

4.TSP Timeliner (1994) software helps the students visualize content, summarize, compare and contrast, and use graphic organizers to arrange the information. It allows students to take on roles. The students do research in teams, present the data and answer the questions from the class later. The critical component is that each student has a role - visual designer, audio-mixer, text preparer - so that all group members participate in each step.

Interaction Among Classes in the same School

♣ E-mail exchanges

♣ Creation of the electronic books and their discussion

♣ Shared presentations of research projects across the school

Interaction Among Classes in Different Schools

WEB-based literature discussion circles. Some resources are available on-line. (

♣ Creation of electronic postcards and other types of short applications to share with other classes. (Hypercard, 1997)

♣ School-to-school videoconferencing sessions and chat rooms. (CU-SeeMe (1997) and Microsoft Netmeeting 1997)

Interaction with the Local Community Members

♣ Small-scale system analysis

♣ Community Web design project

Both activities mentioned above require consulting, analysis, design, and other oral, written, and graphics-based procedures. Student teams choose a client from the local community (a non-profit organization, small business, a school department) who has agreed to participate. The students interview the client about the organization; determine the client’s needs to include on a Web page; and obtain any graphics, photos, or other materials the client would like to include. The students, then, make a preliminary design for the pages, discuss the project with the instructor and return the entire package to the client for review. The students work on the final version of the Web pages if approved by the client. The clients may choose to keep the pages as their home pages on the Web, making the experience highly authentic.

Interaction With World Community Members/Experts

♣“Born on the Fourth of July” project

(ESL student interview the war veterans, write the essays centering on the themes and send the essays to the veterans for comments.)

Conclusion: Two principles for building interaction can serve as guidelines for creating interactive activities:

♣Each student’s role should be clear;

♣Each student should possess information that is crucial to the learner’s or

team’s goal.