Software and Internet resources for the EFL classroom

Introduction

In keeping with the spirit of the session, this training-session will be screen-based, instead of following the usual “I explain, you listen politely” format. Together with a partner or partners you should work through the following questions and activities. You can make notes as you go on a piece of paper!!

Part 1 – Why use computers for language learning?

Why do you think computers are a useful tool for language learning? Write down at least five reasons before continuing:

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Do you know what the acronym CALL stands for? 

Read the Wikipedia entry on to find out what it is and to access resources related to it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-assisted_language_learning

How do (would) YOU use CALL with your students?

Do you think it is more useful as part of a class? As a substitute for a class? As an extra activity to support work done in class?

Complete this sentence in your own words:

I think the role of CALL in language-learning is...

Part 2 – Hardware

What do you need to use CALL with your students?

Look around you – what hardware is available? How many terminals are there? Is there an Internet connection? Is there a printer?

Think of one of your classes – is the hardware you see suitable for this class? Are there enough terminals? Would your students need help to learn to use them? Or would they be self-sufficient?

Part 3 – Software

Now let's turn to the preloaded software which is installed on the computer you are using, or which can be run directly from a CD rom available in the school (ask your trainer what CD roms are available.)

Locate the various programmes on your desktop and try each of them out for a few minutes. Then, on a piece of paper, write your impressions for each piece of software using the following headings:

• Name of software
• Is it pre-loaded or does it run off a CD?
• Intended for use by?
• Marks out of 10?
• Your comments..

Part 4 – Internet resources

On the Madrelingua website there is a page with links and comments for teachers regarding useful sites. Now visit the page (link below) and check out some of the resources available. In particular, answer the following “questions from students”:

1. Where can I find exercises to practise the present perfect?
2. I'm a business-person. Can you suggest some interesting listening activities?
3. What fun-activities could you recommend for my 4-year old son?
4. I want something to read!
5. I'm looking for something to help me improve my vocabulary.

http://www.madrelinguabologna.com/links.html

Part 5 – authoring online activities

One of the beauties of CALL material is that, at least in theory, material can be easily personalised to your students' particular needs. You may recall from the Wikipedia article above that one of the first CALL software packages (WIDA) was and is sold as an “Authoring Suite”, the idea being that teachers can create personalised activities for there classes.

Now visit the WIDA site to get an idea of the sort of software available on the market (and the prices!!) http://www.wida.co.uk/noframes/index.htm

At Madrelingua School of English we would really like to buy some of this software! Unfortunately, it's not cheap and our resources are limited... So, the solution is to write our own web-page activities for our students to use, and it's not as difficult as you might think! Visit this page to see what we've come up with so far: http://www.imparareinglese.co.uk/esercizi_inglese.htm

Like it? Well, it's not perfect, we admit. But it was FREE!!

Now it's your turn to make an exercise...Go to the following webpage:

http://www.imparareinglese.co.uk/esercizi_inglese/presentperfect.html

1. Save the webpage you are looking at on your desktop as a “complete webpage” using the name “experiment.html”. You should then find an html document, and a folder, with the same name on your desktop. The folder contains the graphic and stylistic elements needed to visualise the page, while the html file has the content and layout.
2. In the “accessories” folder of the “programmes” menu, locate “Notepad (Blocco note)” and use it to open experiment.html. Use “save as” to rename the file “new_exercise.html” and to save it onto your desktop.
3. Now open “new_exercise.html” using notepad/blocco note and scroll down the page. You'll see the exercise data at the top, and down near the bottom of the page the title and the instructions for the exercise. Work with your partner to create a new exercise comparing two tenses (e.g. present simple and present continuous) or other appropriate structure. Be careful to copy the syntax of the original!
4. When you've finished, save the file, minimise notepad, and go back to the desktop. Clicking on the icon for your file should launch the browser (Internet Explorer or whatever your default browser is) and display your exercise. If it doesn't work, or if you decide to make changes, open up notepad again
5. To publish your exercises online, where your students can access them, you'll need to save both your html file and any associated elements in the folder onto a web server. Otherwise, you can simply save the file onto your own computer and use it directly from there. You could even e-mail it to your students! To save the file you have adapted, go to your online email account and post it to yourself as an attachment. Or copy it onto a pen drive, if you have one.

If all this has fired your enthusiasm, try one of the other types of exercise on the page given above, or search for examples on the web. Please note that you should respect the copyright of those who have placed materials and exercises on the web.

For those who feel less confident about their IT skills, one piece of software which is widely used by teachers to prepare online materials is Hot Potatoes. It's available free for certain non-commercial users, and at a reasonable price for the rest of us. To find out more, visit:

http://www.halfbakedsoftware.com/

Part 6 - Conclusion

There are schools which base their teaching on the use of computers, and schools in which computers are completely ignored, but the ideal may be somewhere in the middle. At Madrelingua School of English we believe that effective learning results from a combination of high-quality teaching and from access to appropriate and up-to-date self-study resources. Computers are a useful tool with which an experienced teacher can enhance the classroom experience, and an increasingly invaluable one for a motivated student to use to supplement a language course. However, in both cases, the teacher's role in selecting material and advising on its use is an important one. 

We hope that as a result of this session you feel feel more confident and knowledgeable when working with IT resources. As usual, please e-mail any comments you may have to:

info@madrelinguabologna.com