This bibliography first appeared at the website of the Centre for Language Teaching and Research site, University of Queensland, Australia, but it has now disappeared. We have taken the liberty to copy Ridwan Sedgwick's bibliography to the ICT4LT site and update some of the links as it is an extremely useful source of information
Message from the author, Ridwan Sedgwick: I hope that this short bibliography is useful to you. I have tried to cover a range of attitudes and approaches to CALL. If you would like to add a reference to the bibliography, please feel free to email it to me and I'll add it together with an acknowledgement of your contribution. Don't forget to annotate your reference. I also welcome any discussion or comment that you may wish to offer: rsedgwic@hct.ac.ae.
ICT4LT Editor's Note: If anyone can tell us how to contact the author we would be extremely grateful. The author's email address (above) appears to be dead.
ICT4LT Editor's Note: Concrete
evidence on the effectiveness of CALL is not easy to find. We touch on this
subject in
Section 3, Module 1.1, headed How
effective are new technologies in promoting language learning?
Links checked 20 September 2011
Lasarenko describes the development
and implementation of a Computer Mediated Composition class. Her own preconceptions
of how the class would run were shattered as she and the class discovered the
potential of this learning medium. What she reports is the positive response
of students to the program, particularly the way that they responded to the
opportunity to engage in collaboration.
As the title reads, this is a conversation
between two practitioners. Moore-Diaz is describing her practice as a bilingual
computer teacher. She makes some interesting comments about how the English
language nuances necessary for computer use encourage students to learn to read
better. She also encourages students to express their creativity through using
HTML to write web pages. She has experimented with a paperless classroom and
has some observations about constraints and benefits of the concept.
The author describes an English program developed at King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia for use in that institution. He writes to share his success and experience with the language teaching community. This is an experiential evaluation and there is no comparison with other programs.
In this volume the authors describe
what computer mediated communication is and how it can be used effectively as
a teaching/learning tool. The emphasis is the paradigm shift from the teacher
as dispenser of wisdom and knowledge to a that of a facilitator. By using computer
mediated communication the instructor encourages a greater range of interactive
class involvement and student responsibility for his or her own learning. Opportunities
abound for intellectual, interpersonal, socioemotional enrichment and creative
problem solving through independent and cooperative sharings. Writing skills
potentially improve through increased practice and motivation.
These writers argue that the Internet
offers many resources which are useful in the teaching and learning of languages.
There is discussion of some of the benefits and challenges associated with using
NEWS. This is case study based on a fourth-year Italian class taught at the
University of Utah by one of the authors (Maurizio Oliva).
A learning circle project involving
German and USA/Canadian students employed email communication. In a follow-up
activity, the texts produced during the activity were analysed by the German
students using Longman Mini Concordancer. Email texts can serve as valuable
learning materials and research data for the students themselves. This project
shows several benefits of email communication to language learning.
Ellsworth discusses how she implemented
CMC in undergraduate and graduate courses. She discusses the uses that were
made of various levels of CMC and explains how she taught students to use CMC.
Her overall impression of CMC is very positive and she clearly tells why. Her
article seems to have been written to tell others of the successes that she
and her students have enjoyed through using CMC.
This is a report of a project on
the use of an interactive videoconference system for teaching EFL, between the
University of the Air (UA), Japan and the University of New England (UNE), Armidale,
Australia. The findings indicate that videoconferencing is a viable alternative
to direct classroom teaching.
In this experiment, computer conferencing
was used by students and the tutor as a form for classroom discussions, and
as a means of introducing process writing to students. There were two purposes
of the study: 1) To find out more abut the suitability of computer conferencing
in the L2 context, and; 2) For introducing the students to the idea of writing
as process. A group of five (out of some 60) participated in the experiment.
One of the most interesting findings was that the group dynamics changed considerably
compared with traditional classroom discussions.
In this case study, McComb reports
on how she and students used computer-mediated communication (CMC) in a group
discussion course at a small college. She highlights three characteristics of
the advantages of CMC-augmented instruction: a. asyncronicity; b. efficient
information access and; c. increased social distance. She concludes that CMC
definitely has advantages for the instructor and lists those advantages.
This chapter explores the possibilities
for communication provided by computers. The author describes the potential
of this teaching methodology even though discs were sent between sites by snail
mail. Now that we have the World Wide Web, the possibilities are of course much
greater.
Through the use of email and videoconferencing to encourage students from the USA to communicate with German students, the author recorded the emergence of a significant intercultural awareness. Other media were used in this project, many of which could now be substituted with the most recent electronic media.
This study aimed to provide empirical evidence of the role of the computer in engendering conversation. The aims of the study were two-fold: to record and describe the discourse used by students working on one CALL and one non-CALL text; and to analyse and evaluate the nature of students' discourse thus generated. The author concludes that as a means of promoting communicative competence, setting students to work at a computer together does not appear to be an effective strategy. However, students' enthusiasm combined with the potential of CALL programs for individualizing programs, warrants the continued use of CALL programs.
ICT4LT Editor's Note: See Section 3.4, Module 1.4 and Section 3.4.2, Module 2.1 for further information on this topic.
These authors present a review of effectiveness studies that contrasts CALL with conventional instruction and analyses the effects of various CALL lesson strategies. They summarise comments made by researchers on attitudes toward CALL as well as summarising answers provided by research to questions on CALL.
Backer examines the possibilities of teaching grammar using computers, and categorises the ways the computer can be used in ESL/EFL teaching in general. With these categories we can evaluate the potential of using CALL as a teaching environment. He details how early instructional CALL corresponded to behaviouristic methodologies, and how contemporary instructional CALL often is meaning-based, contextualized, and holistic. In this exhaustive review of the literature, Baker concludes that grammar can be taught in all three modes of CALL: instructional, revelatory, and conjectural.
This is a review of 17 CD ROMs and
a brief treatise on the evaluation of CD-ROMs. This is not an evaluation of
the effectiveness of CALL, rather an insight of how to evaluate CD-ROMs to ensure
that this powerful learning medium is used to good effect.
This is an investigation of the
relevance of multimedia to language learning. The author asks the question,
"if learning is ever so easy - why bother doing it at all?" She compares multimedia
language programs with MTV and Intellamation (dissect a frog, pig or human body
without touching a knife). She complains that the realm of socio-cultural transactions
remains untapped.
In this study, 37 seventh-grade students created multimedia research reports about mammals as part of their science curriculum. With 9-10 hours of hands-on time they developed confidence in HyperCard authoring and created individual hypermedia science reports. The study indicates that in learning to use hypermedia software and hardware, the students acquired a powerful new means of communication as well as processing skills related to organizing information and to writing. There are several comments relating to the effect the hypermedia environment had on the writing process.
Chen describes the standing of CAI
and CALL application in Taiwan. She then looks at CALL generally and asserts
that negative experiences with language labs have led teachers to be sceptical
of new technologies in the classroom. There is an interesting list of studies
that have shown that students have positive attitudes about computer technology
being used in the classroom and that such technology does have a positive impact.
In an effort to turn around low
academic performance of students in a poor, urban school district, Bell Atlantic
and the school developed a CAL program. Testing in reading, math and writing
shows that the students are performing at 10 points above state average, and
students with the most exposure to technology had the highest overall scores
for the district. Another result is that non-English speaking background parents
also improved their language skills through having computers in their homes.
Easdown is not looking at CALL specifically
rather, as the title suggests, computer aided instruction. He says that the
issue that is central to capitalising on the potential of this technology for
teaching and learning is how can teachers be encouraged to investigate the potential
of this technology and to integrate it into their practice. He identifies three
major areas in which change has to take place; teaching materials, teaching
strategies and teaching beliefs, for the implementation of the innovation to
achieve the desired effects. Within the exploration of educational innovation,
there lies some understanding of why some teachers are resistant to CALL.
This work presents an overview and
impressions of the field from 1966 to 1993. Higgins is a long-time practitioner
reflecting on his own and others' work. He doesn't make any comparisons but
reveals some interesting criticisms and evaluation of CALL.
This is a report of a speech in
which the speaker presents three imagined scenarios for CALL, the Star Trek
scenario, where the target language is instantly integrated into one's mind;
the 2001 scenario, where the machine is a fully human conversationalist and
tutor; and the Now scenario, the current state of the art (in the non-ideal
sense of the term) scenario, where interaction is via keyboard/screen and audio/visual
multimedia are basic. Some basic views underlying the talk: current CALL software
is limited, perhaps disappointing, since most items are either slick programmer
productions which miss much of the wisdom that educators have to offer, or are
educator produced and lack the stimulating interface that a programmer could
provide.
This web site offers a review of
the conference not, unfortunately, the full conference papers. The information
on how to purchase the collection is on the web site. According to the editor's
notes, the conference was based on the premise that not all of the language
teachers are experts on educational technology, especially computers. Except
for some of the computer wizards most of them can not use computers for their
teaching situations so easily. They often use word processors for their own
purposes such as writing papers and end up with using word processors in their
composition classes because they are familiar with word processing.
In this article the author explains
why the computer is particularly suitable for use in mixed-ability EFL classes.
There is a list of several characteristics that make the use of computers suitable.
These include: individualization, pace, peer-teaching, success-oriented, motivation,
variety, interesting content, visually interesting, pupils' choice, personal
feedback, and minimal teacher preparation. Although not a formal evaluation,
this is a strong recommendation of CALL. Sela practices these principles, and
the pupils can bear out most, if not all, of the assertions made.
The author has conducted a survey of teachers' attitudes in the King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia. He is interested to evaluate the benefits of CALL and to whom those benefits apply; teachers or students. His survey took the form of a questionnaire for teachers about attitude.
This paper compares the effects
of pencil-and-paper and computer-assisted versions of a process/model approach
in a college writing program with the effects of a more traditional approach.
CAI materials may enhance the efficiency of student learning of some formal
aspects of reasoning in writing. The research findings suggest that there may
have been a gain in overall efficiency in the CAI version of the program.
Clutterbuck reports that he has
recently seen colleagues still writing their materials by hand or typing with
the Liquid Paper within easy reach. He offers to do a spot of converting by
offering sceptical teachers "the thin end of the wedge". He insists that spending
an hour learning to reap the benefits from a word-processor can be highly profitable
for a foreign language or ESL teacher. The discovery that a computer is a very
useful tool may bring about a change of heart among language staff, and once
they have learned about word-processing, they may wish to investigate other
ways in which the computer can help their teaching.
In the field of special education,
Coorley has found that word prediction is a powerful tool for reluctant writers.
This is case study of a 13 year old boy with severe learning disabilities. She
describes how she was able to employ Write Away, a word processing program with
word prediction, to get him to write a coherent piece. This was after he had
rejected the use of Carmen San Diego, Explore-A-Science and other programs.
In this case study the teacher/author
describes her experience using laptops to empower students during fourth grade
writing workshop periods. She describes how the workshop can enable students
to narrow the gap between oral and written communication skills. Word processors
make the students more independent, they focused more on what they wanted to
say and did much more polishing of their work. Self concepts changed, with children
who had previously avoided writing becoming enthusiastic writers.
This research tests the hypothesis
that more frequent revising throughout composing with word processors might
interfere with the constructive processes of composition. From comparing students'
work with word processors and pencil and paper, the writers conclude that assumptions
should not be made about the general benefits of word processing without considering
the specific writing and text-editing capabilities of the students under consideration.
In response to a perceived lack
of software for grammar or writing, the authors designed and tested a program
to enhance writing instruction in the area of language use, specifically to
correct recurrent grammatical weaknesses for Chinese EFL learners. Although
the study did not show CALL to be superior to paper and pencil, they did not
find any evidence that indicated CALL to be detrimental. Overall, they conclude
that combined with classroom learning, grammatical CALL is helpful for writing
performance.
These researchers looked into the
effectiveness of CALL for teaching writing to establish whether positive results
accrue to non-native English students who use PCs in their ESL language class,
and whether these students hold positive attitudes toward using computers to
compose in their writing class. There was no comparison with baseline data obtained
from comparable groups of students enrolled in traditional classrooms. The data
was collected through the use of a questionnaire administered to the students.
Marianne Phinney reports the results
of a two-phase study of ESL students writing apprehension in English and analyses
the ways in which the apprehension was affected by students using computers
to compose. The study tested some of the claims made by enthusiasts of computer-assisted
composition and provides an analysis of the types of blocking behaviour that
may be reduced as a result of using a computer when writing.
A report of research conducted 88-89 involving seventh and eighth grade students. It involved qualitative and quantitative comparisons of hand-written and computer-written compositions. A majority of frequent users of computers made statistically significant improvement in the quantity and quality of their written work although no significant differences in features such as spelling and punctuation were observed.
In this article, Heimans summarises the potential of the WWW in ESL learning and teaching. The ideas presented are the culmination of research into the potential of the WWW as a resource for the teaching and learning of ESL. He also poses a couple of questions that will need to be addressed: What are the generic forms of the linguistic interaction made possible by Email and internet 'chat' sites, and how might these be useful in terms of applicability to spoken, and other forms of written language development, or to the second language learning process in general? What also, are the nature of the hypertextual reading and writing process and how might the use of hypertext effect the acquisition of these skills?