CALL in Language Skills

Speaking & Communication Skills 
In this section we learnt about 3 degrees of speaking skills known as Mechanics, Functions, and Social and cultural rules and norms. Mechanics infers to a speaker's ability to produce a correct and well-meaning sentence based on our cognitive apprehension through pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.

On another basis, the question of how we utilize our mechanics takes place in the functions which occur in our everyday lives through interacting with people around us. These skills would then help in developing many examples of social and cultural rules and norms between speakers. Individual speaking skills appear its drilling through language tools of turn-taking, rate of speech, length of pauses, and relative roles of participants.

It is safe to say that in attempting to integrate CALL with the nature of human language production such as understanding how to take into an account who is speaking to whom, in what circumstances, about what, and for what reason, the development of the technology for oral language development to both hardware and software was taken as a challenge. Particularly, the main challenge is to create speech recognition software that is sensitive and accurate for language learning (Hincks, 2003). As stated earlier, this type of skill dribbles along the techniques of drill-type activities. The invention of language in technology and audio broadcast through portable devices hence let it to be known as 'podcast'.

Language Teaching and Language Skills

CALL in Language Skills

1.      Listening

2.      Speaking

3.      Reading

4.      Writing

5.      Grammar

The incorporation of computer in the process of learning the language skills involve listening skill, speaking skill, reading skill, writing skill and grammar skill. There are many technologies or computer language learning and language teaching which are TELL (technology Enhance English Learning), CALI, CBLT, IT, ICT, NBLT, DLL, MALL etc. Each of the acronyms is talking about the learning of language. It gears with computer or technology language teaching and learning.

Benefits of CALL

The findings as conducted through a research proven that student are motivated to learn more with CALL. It is because by using computer and technology to assist the student with their drills, exercises, assignment a lot easier, they started to feel a self-fulfillment because they believe that they have accomplish something. As student started to feel interested in the use of computer and searching through internets for more input, eventually it creates a sense of pleasure of learning. Thus, motivates them to learn more and more.

Listening Skill

Learners today exist in an increasingly multimodal environment. Audio devices provide extra levels of flexibility for such learners, providing them with auditory input allowing them to learn anytime, anywhere and while doing anything. As Eisenwine and Hadley (2011, 5) state, ‘the digital generation prefers parallel processing and multitasking as a way of digesting information. In addition, that generation prefers pictures, sounds and video over text’.

The pedagogical value of providing audio-based resources, especially podcasts, has been well documented (Hew, 2009; Kervin, et al. 2006; McGarr, 2009; Tempelhof, et al. 2009). Generally, such podcasts have been based on lecture materials or supplementary materials designed to support specific units. Other examples include the provision of conference or workshop presentations. Little has been written evaluating the use of audio forms of published and/or scholarly literature.

Healing by Listening to Quran


Speaking

With the development of technology, many studies have been conducted to investigate the effectof the use of computers in language learning, and many findings and evidence provide positive evaluation in this field (see Warschauer and Healey, 1998, Chapelle 2001, 2003 and Hegelheimer and Tower, 2004).Speaking is at the heart of second language learning. It is arguably the most important skill for business and government personnel working in the field, yet it appears particularly vulnerable to attrition.The current situation is different. An increased emphasis on the acquisition of communicative language skills calls for language learning software that is speech-enabled and engages learners in interactive speaking activities. Developing this software is now feasible with the deployment of automated speech recognition (ASR) on PC platforms.At the same time as the profession shifted towards communication in foreign languages, CALL technology began to flourish. However, the technology available to CALL developers limited their ability to promote speaking proficiency.

                Computers have a role to play in learningto speak; however, interaction with the computer remains mainly via keyboard and mouse. Most commercial software provides learners with practice in filling blanks or choosing the correct answer. A small proportion of available software offers learners practice in reading and listening to authentic written and spoken language. An even smaller proportion lets learners produce language by repeating words or sentences, recording their responses, and comparing them to native models (see Wachowicz& Scott, this issue).

However, getting learners to produce spoken language cannot be limitedto recording one’s voice and comparing it to native models. Speech needs to be an integral part of the instructional design, and production possibilities need to be expanded. We share the view of Chapelle (1998) that multimedia CALL must have learners produce in meaningful ways in the target language. “Like input, which can be either uncomprehendnoise or valuable for acquisition, output can be produced mindlessly or it can be created by the learner under conditions that facilitate acquisition.”

CALL systems that include ASR can help develop proficiency. Learners exposed to large quantities of speech from different native speakers will have a trained ear to better discriminate sounds and constructs. Learners who also get to produce speech will improve their speaking skills. While onedoes not know whether this improvement affects fluency, confidence, or fully functional communicative skills, but it is important to note that CALL does not keep learners mute. Creativity and multidisciplinary partnership is the key to making CALL fully communicative.

Reading

The essential skill of reading, including decoding and comprehension, has not been learned by all. The number of children identified with learning disabilities continues to increase in all parts of the world. The ability to read provides access to written information and is necessary for understanding and learning from text-based resources in all media formats. Consequently, teaching students to read is one of the primary objectives of an education system. Poor reading skills adversely affect a student’s other learning endeavors, often causing serious learning difficulties and resulting in low academic achievement overall (Bloom 1997). Consequently, it is imperative to find instructional methods and media to help poor readers develop and improve their reading skills and achieve reading proficiency.

                In determining how to teach reading, we need to first consider how individuals learn to read. Learning is a complex mental process by which the learner gains knowledge, information, understanding or skill through inquiry, study, investigation, or instruction. Although some learning may occur without intention, learning and mastering tasks, skills and knowledge generally requires concerted cognitive effort by the learner (Driscoll 1994; Woolfolk 1998). In addition, learning is a unique process for each learner (DeCorte 1995, p. 40), affected by many instructional and learning factors. Understanding the learning process is important because the instructional method, techniques, technologies, and medium implemented impact the quality and quantity of learning(Newby et al. 2000).

                Choosing an instructional method is an instrumental decision in teaching reading because the instruction method directly affects a learner’s educational progress by making it easier (or harder) to learn (Berliner &Rosenshine 1977; Cronbach& Snow 1977; Newby et al. 2000; Schunk 2000). The organization of the material and modality of presentation affect the learner’s ability to understand and assimilate what is being taught. An instructional method should focus on helping the learner develop a mental schema (Rumelhart 1980; Sweller 1999). Since low ability learners have difficulty adapting to the learning environment, the learning environment needs to conform to their specific learning needs (Calfee& Drum 1986; Kleiman 1982).

                Individual computer-based reading and spelling offers good prospects for delivering literacy instruction adapted to the specific needs of both precocious readers and reading-disabled children. If appropriately programmed, the computer will auto- maticallyadjust its responses to the actions of the learner. A range of computer- mediated or computer-assisted activities for reading and spelling has been developed over the last few years and shows promising results (e.g. Leong, 1992; Olson and Wise, 1992). Olofsson (1992) created a computer program using a Scandinaviantext-to-speech unit, which allowed children to read a text on the monitor and to use a mouse to request the immediate pronunciation of a word. This relatively simple way of partially compensating for word decoding problems was much appreciated by Grade 2 children and their understanding of texts was found to be higher when using computer-aided reading. Older children with reading problems also benefited from using this program. Elbro, Rasmussen and Spelling (1996) developed and refined a similar system and evaluated the effect of different types of feedback.

                There is clearly a great need for a solution to improve the reading ability of the nation’s students. Technology, particularly Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) has been a trend in the literature for the improvement of achievement in varied subject areas. More researchers conclude that a positive motivation toward learning is a result of the use of CAI than imply a neutral or negative result.

Writing

Computer-Assisted Language Learning’s deep interest in determining improvement in language efficiency also involves within the scope of writing skills. One would first wonder what are the elements in writing skills; bound from each linguistics sub-topics such as discourse, pragmatics, and psycholinguistics should be the wider views pertain to the writing skills such as vocabulary, spelling, sentence structure, organization, cohesion, register, and genre. Each elements of usage are dependant to how a person writes technically how he/she create and produce sentence and structure from the innate language acquainted mind to his styles of writing.

Basically, a language learner can improve or attain writing skills through the use of a computer through modern worldwide websites; e-mails, blogs, and website chatting-tools or software programs such as text-analysis programs and synchronous chat programs. The brinks of the 21^st century in promulgating the usage of email and discussion boards for individual fluency development are nowadays accepted in every layers of age and genders. Online writing resources such as from Purdue and Monash Education offer universities and college students around the world to have a shared medium of various sources of language writing skills which everyone can benefit from. Even out of education necessities, people tend to write by themselves to express and communicate. Nowadays, we have also seen many online word-processors available mainly one which is offered free downloads by Google. This collaborative writing tasks and writing-practice support provide various web publishing projects globally.

Bauvois(1998) and Warschauer(1996) claimed that larger and better quality of networked computers have helped improved writing skills. Alongside that of mentioned improvements also based from their close analysis on self-disclosure and complex sentences. Day by day, a person attempts to improve his/her writing skills by direct or indirectly challenging his/her self to produce various meaningful sentences in various ways. Hence, to have the inputs and ideas to write, they’re embed with data-driven learning which somehow guides an individual’s writing.

In describing writing skills improvement through CALL class sessions, a particular helpful software/program suits as a “Word-Processor” is most applicable in nowadays class activities. For example, a student’s writing skills can be tested as well as improved by altering or reorganizing any given text by his teacher through a given context. The significant alterations to an entire text made by the student are called a ‘Transformation’. The use of a word-processor also implies to changing any alternative dialogue as the speed and ease of reorganizing or altering a text are increased.