Technological Web Page Curriculum
for First-Year Spanish Classes
Technological Web Page Curriculum
for First-Year Spanish Classes
I.INTRODUCTION
As we as foreign language educators are preparing ourselves for a leap
into an era of technologically advanced resources for teaching, we must
clearly keep in mind what our goals are. In the first half of this text
I will discuss (1) what these goals should be in the computer assisted
language learning (CALL) classroom, and (2) some of the advantages and
disadvantages to using CALL technology. In the second half of the paper
I will explain this site for teachers of first-year Spanish classes. I
have tried to include, where possible, suggestions for practical classroom
application.
II.EDUCATIONAL
GOALS FOR THE 'CALL' CLASSROOM
First and foremost, it is important to remember that technology can
do nothing for the CALL classroom without a well-designed curriculum provided
by the instructor. It is the instructor who can facilitate language learning
by creating successful activities in which the students can take full advantage
of the available technological resources. Technology is nothing on its
own. If used well, however, it can facilitate the teacher's job as well
as broaden the educational scope of the classroom. For this to happen we
must not lose sight of our main educational goal: facilitating second language
acquisition (SLA). As one gets caught up in the wonders of technology,
it is easy to confuse the technological means with the educational goal.
Technology should not become an end in itself, i.e. we should not choose
for a high-tech solution when a low-tech solution would be just as good,
or even better. For example, it can be useful and stimulating for students
to spend time in the computer lab, but for some activities such as mechanical
grammar-based exercises, group work with a textbook might be a more effective
use of class time. (See "grammar" section for
useful sites and ideas).
III.A
DISCUSSION OF THE 'CALL' CLASSROOM
When designing a foreign language program that incorporates technology,
it is important to first establish which aspects of the learning process
might be enhanced by technological resources and which ones may not. Gestures,
for example, an important part of communicative competence and often a
key resource in cases of communication breakdown, cannot be used in e-mail.
On the other hand, written communication such as y-talk enhances the students'
linguistic awareness and encourages peer feedback. We want to make sure
the added technology helps the learning process and does not slow down
already successful teaching methods, or worse yet, somehow discourage the
students.
The CALL classroom is not significantly different from any other classroom insofar as it should allow the students to move along at a reasonable pace for their level; if given too much new information (without adequate aids) the student will become frustrated; if given too much familiar or repeated information, however, the student will simply become bored&emdash;which will render the application of these resources virtually useless. We must constantly ask ourselves: can this be better done without a computer?
Teachers that use technological resources must keep in mind that students
today approach computer technology with a high level of expectations as
to its capabilities, and will easily become tired of "drill to kill" type
exercises. The resources used need to be fun and engaging with built-in
incentives to encourage the student to continue. Additionally, it is important
that either the teacher or the computer be able and ready to give the necessary
feedback so that the students may learn from their mistakes. Without adequate
feedback students may not fully benefit from the advantages of the CALL
classroom. Students must be encouraged when they accomplish a task successfully
and they should be somehow aided, motivated, or stimulated to continue
when they get stuck. If the CALL materials are to successfully substitute
the presence of a teacher, they must provide problem-solving strategies
for the student, such as a glossary, a thesaurus, or hint boxes.
IV.MY
WEB PAGE: TEACHING RESOURCES FOR FIRST-YEAR SPANISH
As educators we are always looking for new ideas to motivate our students.
In the web page I am in the process of designing, I will be providing some
links to educational resources that I hope teachers will find helpful.
I hope the links will assist educators as they plan in-class as well as
out of class activities. I have included links to helpful sources designed
to aid the four language skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking
(or what I call, 'virtual speaking'). Also included are links to 'cultural
hot spots' and sites that will allow students to practice new grammar or
refresh those grammar points they have not yet fully mastered. These resources
are aimed at first-year Spanish classes, but could easily be adapted for
almost any level. Although I have included some suggestions on how these
sites could be incorporated into the curriculum, the experienced educator
will want to use his or her imagination in expanding or varying these activities
to suit their individual class needs.
A teacher may want to use these sites and activities to target students that do not feel inclined to participate in the classroom due to shyness and so on. These resources will allow such students to go at their own pace and to be as creative as they like with the language&emdash;though of course the teacher should always be ready to give the appropriate feedback to the students as they begin to experiment with the new language.
The CALL classroom has been shown to be very effective in specific areas of SLA. Computer-aided writing such as e-mail and chat rooms, while promoting student independence and encouraging students to write for extended periods of time at a high quality and a greater depth of discourse, often proves to be self-motivating. Also, it allows students to be more flexible and experiment with the target language through less structured writing.
However, some researchers may claim that computer-assisted learning may disadvantage students in that it provides for less verbal communication, less interpersonal interaction, and less verbal comprehensible input from the teacher. Nevertheless, these disadvantages are easily remedied if the technology is implemented in a balanced manner.
V. MY WEB PAGE: CONTENTS AND SOME SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES
CULTURE
On the World Wide Web there are numerous sites available to encourage
cultural understanding among students. Thus far I have provided only a
few links, but these sites should suggest additional links to those interested.
In this section I have included, among other things, music, art, and traditional
culture. I realize that not all Spanish speaking countries are represented
in each section, but I hope that throughout the web page all are somehow
given attention.
Activities
One activity for which these cultural web pages could be used, is a
"scavenger hunt". After visiting all the suggested links, the teacher would
make up questions which become progressively more challenging. One could
start with a simple question such as "The flag of which country(s) has
an eagle on it?", and by the end ask students to write a paragraph on the
different indigenous cultures of a specific region such as Oaxaca, Mexico.
The group that comes up with the most correct answers wins the game. This
activity, which is only one example among many possible, should lead into
interesting class discussions and expand the students' cultural awareness.
LISTENING
Although there are many great software programs available which include
listening exercises, it is still difficult to get a wide range of listening
activities from the Web. So far I have encountered several pages of basic
Spanish phrases, pronounced by a native Spanish-speaker, which a student
can listen to repeatedly. The most interesting and advantageous audio-based
activity, however, is provided on those pages that include music samples.
Although the teacher could easily bring a sample of music on cassette or
CD into the classroom, the web has the advantage of supplying pictures
and biographical information of the musicians. The songs can also be played
repeatedly and paused or stopped when necessary. The lyrics are sometimes
provided, but when they are not, I have tried to include a link to the
site containing the lyrics (which are many times given in Spanish and English).
Another extremely promising development on the Web are the audio news
segments in Spanish taken off the radio in various countries and updated
daily. As Lafford and Lafford suggest, these segments "could be downloaded
by the teacher at the beginning of the day and played locally off the network
without repeating the download each time." (Lafford & Lafford, "Learning
Language and Culture with Internet Technologies", p.231) This resource
can be combined, moreover, with the Spanish-language newspapers included
in my reading section.
READING
In this section I have primarily included links to Spanish-language
newspapers and magazines from around the world. The primary goal of this
section is to find activities and sites that will in some way make students
to want to read in the L2&emdash;not always an easy task for beginners
since their vocabulary is very basic. The key to the reading section is
that the teacher provide useful pre-reading exercises and activities. Without
these activities prior to reading, the students will have low comprehension
of the reading materials and will thus benefit very little. Through pre-reading
activities the teacher has a chance to spark the students' curiosity. In
fact, guided web-surfing with an emphasis on visual imagery and superficial
scanning for specific information can be incorporated as a pre-reading
activity for a larger text either on the web or in the textbook.
Reading is one section where technology can really benefit L2 education at a very low cost. The newspapers on the web appear at least daily and the students can easily choose texts that match their personal interests. The availability of recent pictures allows students to visualize the news in a more realistic context &emdash;which also helps get the students interested. Since the language used in newspapers tends to be rather difficult for beginners, the student should be encouraged to use the appropriate reading strategy. Rather than close-reading the articles, the student can be taught to skim through the newspaper by focusing on headlines, pictures, first paragraphs and so on, to glean the most important news facts. The teacher may want to provide guiding questions for students to answer as they begin to read.
Activities
As students become accustomed to these exercises, they can be divided
into groups or together as a class, create their own newspaper (maybe modeled
after the school paper) or magazine during the remainder of the course.
They should be encouraged to find interesting articles about specific events
in Spanish-speaking countries. Certain groups might be responsible for
following the news in one Hispanic country. Every week each group gives
a short "news flash" about the most important events in that country. This
will encourage class discussions on current events: crises, earthquakes,
presidential visits, elections, holidays and so on. This will allow the
teacher to give appropriate feedback and correct specific grammar points
either on an overhead together as a class, or on the individual articles
they have written each week. By the end of the course, the students will
be proud of what they have been able to produce together.
WRITING AND 'VIRTUAL SPEAKING'
Writing
In the context of the World Wide Web, writing in a second language
is closely related to the reading activities mentioned above (i.e. written
reports on information found on the web) as well as to 'virtual speaking'
activities such as e-mail, y-talk, bulletin boards, chat rooms, and MOOs
(see below). Sites such as the
"Latino Page" provides bulletin
boards for writing and getting feedback from native Spanish speakers. There
is also a chat room and various resources provided to explain or discuss
almost any aspect of the Latino community. This is a bilingual page that
can serve students in many ways. Other resources for writing such as suggested
vocabulary and dictionaries are important to encourage students when they
need assistance. When writing it is always helpful for beginning students
if they can have a dictionary close at hand where you simply type in a
needed word and the translation is given to you or in a text, you stand
on any word you do not know and the English translation is immediately
provided for you.
Some researchers might argue against Web writing since students do not necessarily receive teacher feedback and grammar corrections. However, Semke concluded from her research that "students achievement is enhanced by writing practice alone and that corrections do not significantly increase writing skills" (Semke p.201, In Brandl, 1995:196). It is important to realize that while students are conversing in the L2, they are constantly providing feedback for each other; i.e. asking for clarifications and so forth. Teachers can also stress good writing strategies in the classroom which students can then use to assess and solve many of their own problems. Brandl explains that "In the classroom, the teacher functions as a source of information and guides the students by helping them understand and solve problems. That is, the teacher tells the students to rethink, to refocus attention, and in general, what strategies to apply" (Brandl, 1995:208).
'Virtual Speaking'
Recent developments in SLA have tended to stress the importance of
verbal communicative strategies. According to Garrett (1991),
The major goal in communicative language teaching methods is that students make themselves understood and are able to carry on a conversation. Even though our immediate focus is not on perfect grammaticality or spelling, however, it is necessary that these areas do receive a certain amount of feedback. Some instructors may choose to give feedback only when communication or comprehension is inhibited, so long as the student is given the chance to correct him or herself and attempt to be understood. Researchers are increasingly aware of the importance of communicative output for students' progress in their L2. Barson and Debski note that "Language is acquired not in the role of spectator but through use" (Bruner, 1992:70-71, in Barson & Debski, 1996:50).
Within the four skills, much priority has recently been given to speaking. Although "the computer is far from ready to substitute for a human being in spontaneous authentic communication" (Garrett, 1991:83) it may be able, on the other hand, to assist in communicative practice and thus significantly contribute to the communicative abilities and linguistic structures which students produce. Through writing in a communicative fashion, such as Y-talk, RTA, or even e-mail (although it is not in 'real time'), the student writes in an informal discourse that allows for negotiation of meaning. Also, he or she has the extra time needed to create language at a comfortable pace, while getting the feedback of direct communication. As Sanchez observes,
The use of computer mediated communication (CMC) in the foreign language classroom currently includes mediums such as electronic mail, electronic bulletin board services, World Wide Web, chat lines, and Local Area Network (LAN )-based discussion systems. MOOs&emdash;text-based virtual reality systems accessed through the Internet&emdash;are quickly gaining attention and are being explored for their utility as another tool for language learning. They provide a new medium for communication in the target language; and the motivating nature and enjoyable experience of connecting to MOOs can bring new enthusiasm and empowerment to reluctant students which is, after all, our goal. (Sanchez, 1996, p.145)
In fact, communication through the computer might have several distinct advantages. Veronica Pantelidis (1995, in Sanchez, 1996, p.147) gives a list of reasons why text-based virtual reality is beneficial in the foreign language classroom. Text-based virtual reality:
GRAMMAR
PRACTICE
There exist web pages such as "Basic Spanish for the Virtual Student"(URL:
http://www.umr.edu/~amigos/Virtual/), which present grammar-based activities
for the beginning level Spanish student. This particular page is best suited
for those students looking to review basic Spanish grammar or those that
need a new perspective on already learned material. It has a lot of potential
for out of class activities and primarily for reviewing written forms and
functions of the language. The greatest development of the page is the
'easy to use' index. Here the student can simply click on the grammar point
which is giving them the most difficulty and they are readily presented
with several charts and helpful hints on how to better understand and/or
account for the problems they are having. A more advanced student might
also find this site helpful since many grammar points can be easily reviewed
at the individual pace of the learner.
To use this web site to benefit a beginning level Spanish class, I would suggest the following curriculum and techniques to facilitate language learning with computer technology. Since the pages are linked together, the student can easily choose to jump forward to more difficult grammar information, or backward to the more basic concepts whenever necessary.
The section at the beginning entitled "COSAS", is the most interesting section consisting of three sorts of activities for language practice: (1) Bilingual readings, (2) Theme based word lists (the theme is usually a movie), or (3) Grammar Reviews. One exercise would be to ask the students to read one of the bilingual readings and write a page in Spanish including e.g. their opinion about the topic they read. This would be done outside of class and the students would come to class ready to discuss and/or debate their opinions. It is often very exciting for the students to debate issues in class. Dividing the class in two or three large groups and telling them the opinions they will be arguing in favor of, allows the students to realize they must argue for that particular opinion regardless of what they would normally choose to say on the issue. This discourages the students from feeling they are right or wrong in what they believe to be true, and lets them focus on the language and form as they struggle to formulate their thoughts and ideas. The teacher should allow students to use what they have written to help them with formulating their sentences. Before beginning the debate, it is good to have each group discuss what they plan to say in order to get feedback from their peers. After the debate, the writing activity can be collected and corrected for specific grammar errors. In this way the students receive the necessary feedback they need to better their grammar and writing skills.
Using a web page like this one allows students to simply click on any grammar points they are not sure of as they try to write up their opinion essays. Due to the set-up of the page, the student is likely to browse and thus review or learn additional grammar points while doing the writing exercise. It is also helpful to have the students refer to a dictionary site like 'Anaya' (see web page) for vocabulary.
Since the 'Virtual Amigo' web site is divided into eight pages of organized grammatical topics (each page covering 1-10 grammar points), the site is helpful in preparing students for exams and for writing compositions. It is also helpful for students which, for one reason or another, have simply not been able to comprehend specific concepts when they were taught in class. Some of the grammar sections are more complete than others, but they all seem at least to minimally outline the basic idea for each concept.
Linking of Ideas or Grammar Points
The "Virtual Amigo" site also conveniently links ideas that traditional
Spanish books do not connect. In presenting "Ser y Estar", it includes
etymological information for the student which allows him or her to make
more clear-cut connections and to realize that the rules are not 100% reliable.
According to the page editor, for example,
Additional Exercises
As another exercise each student could be assigned to look at a specific
grammar point on the web site (or on additional sites that they might seek
out on their own which will promote creativity) and design a presentation
for the class based on what he or she has learned. They could then make
up more creative sentences to pass out to their peers for additional practice.
This is how I prepare my students for their final exams. I find it works
much better to have the students present the grammar points to each other
in a way that they can better comprehend the ideas. Since my job as a teacher
in my classroom is to guide them as they use language, I try to be as little
"teacher centered" as possible and I find they can often better direct
each other than I can. They better understand where their peers are having,
or will have difficulties because they are at the same level.
Making Grammar Practice Interesting
The section which presents the "Preterite and Imperfect" is nice in
that it uses the language in context and uses the "X-Files" (TV show) as
the theme. This will no doubt catch the attention of most students. As
an exercise they could look at this section and write a story about the
X-Files (or some other mystery show, book, or movie they have recently
seen or read) in which they try to show they understand the contrast between
the preterite and imperfect. One can ask students to come to class and
read their stories in groups of 3-4 and pick the best story. Then one person
from each group can read and/or explain the story to the class. (The teacher
should then ask comprehension questions and provide the necessary feedback.)
The best story would then be either (1) corrected and photocopied for the
students to read and see an example of a well written story or (2) not
corrected and photocopied for the students to work in groups to try and
improve it (or on an overhead to correct as a class). Either way the students
are getting corrective feedback from the teacher. Exercises like these
allow students to work and play with language while creating valuable linguistic
constructions on which they can build as they develop in their L2. Teacher
creativity is the key to motivating a successful CALL classroom.
VI. CONCLUSION
Most computer based tutorial programs have been strictly used as a
more traditional grammar-based learning tool, but recent advances in computer
technology allow us to provide a rich and valuable source of educational
resources for teachers and students within a communicative methodology.
According to Laurillard, "Currently experiments are now beginning with
the new communication tools, such as computer-mediated conferencing, video
conferencing, satellite broadcasting etc., which facilitate the practice
of communication skills with native speakers" (Laurillard, p.148). Brandl
(1995) adds that "Further research on learning strategies should take learners'
personalities into account as students of different personalities may respond
to and perform in a computerized learning environment in different ways"
(Brandl, 1995:209). As teachers we need to be familiar enough with the
resources available to us in order know how to implement them in the classroom
successfully.
Garrett, Nina, (1991) "Technology in the Service of Language Learning: Trends and Issues", Modern Language Journal, 75:74-101.
Laurillard, Diana, (date?), "Principles for Computer-Based Software Design for Language Learning", CALL, 4(3):141-152.
Pica, Teresa, (1994), "Review Article- Research on Negotiation: What Does It Reveal About Second-Language Learning Conditions, Processes, and Outcomes?", Language Learning, 44(3):493-527.
Sanchez, Barbara, (1996). "MOOving to a New Frontier in Language Learning", In Mark Warschauer (Ed.), Telecollaboration in foreign language learning: Proceedings of the Hawaii symposium. (Technical Report #12), Honolulu, Hawaii, University of Hawaii, Second Language Teaching & Curriculum Center, pp.145-163.
Sussex, Roland, (date?), "Research in Practiced and Research on Practice in CALL", CALL, 4(3):191-206.
"Basic Spanish for the Virtual Student", URL: http://www.umr.edu/~amigos/Virtual/
"Teacher Resources of First-Year Spanish", URL: http://philo.ucdavis.edu/~kim/kim/
