The development of CALL

CALL has been developed since 1960, which is half century ago. However, over the last 30years, the development of CALL has gradually increased. The development can be categorized in terms of three distinct phases, which are Behavioristic (1950-1970), Communicative (1970-1990) and Integrative (1990 until Present).

The first phase of CALL emphasizes on drill and practice. It is believed that repeated exposure is beneficial to learner. The second phase of CALL focuses on using forms. It teaches grammar implicitly and it allows and encourages students to generate original utterances. The third phase of CALL integrates the teaching of language skills into tasks and projects to provide direction and coherence. Multimedia and internet were introduced in this phase. With the introduction of multimedia, more authentic learning environment using different media was created. Language skills are easily integrated through multimedia. Besides, students have a high degree of control over their learning through hypermedia. It facilitates a principal focus on the content without sacrificing a secondary focus on language form. By using multimedia, it enables reading, writing, speaking and listening to be combined in a single activity. In addition, internet also plays important roles in Integrative CALL and brings the greatest impact on language teaching. It provides authentic synchronous and asynchronous communication channels. Students can search through millions of files around the world within minutes and they also can use the Web to publish their texts or multimedia materials.

To sum up,

Principal objective of Behavioristic CALL is ACCURACY.

Principal objective of Communicative CALL is FLUENCY.

Principal objective of Integrative CALL is AGENCY.

There are a few learning theories that related to CALL. The first theory is Behaviorism Theory, which applies the concept of programmed learning. It reinforces students after each series of steps. The second theory is Constructivism Theory. It encourages students to actively participate in task. Students also construct new knowledge based on experience and learn other skills by making intelligent guesses. The third theory is Sociocultural theory, which states that learning is a process of becoming part of a desired community and learning that community’s rules of behavior. Through CALL, students have the autonomy on their own learning and computer provide opportunity for them to be less dependent on the teacher.

Computer makes my life easier.

As the world is developing, computer becomes very important tool nowadays. The development of technology also brings a new environment in education system. Teachers are encouraged to incorporate technology in the classroom. It is believed that technology will enhance classroom involvement and interaction since the usage of computer can successfully arouse students’ interest.
Computer can be defined as a device that computes, especially a programmable electronic machine that performs high-speed mathematical or logical operations or that assembles, stores, correlates, or otherwise processes information. In teaching and learning process, the usage of computer brings a lot of benefits to teachers and students.
During my teaching practice, I used computer as my teaching aids and it makes my life easier. In my grammar class, I played song or video as my set induction. It is very helpful to arouse students’ interest. Then, I used Microsoft PowerPoint to deliver my lesson to my students. After that, I provided some materials and exercises, which I developed using application software such as word processing. If they have any question regarding my lesson, they can communicate with me using email or online chatting. In addition, I used Microsoft Excel to record my students’ grades of performance.
As a student, I also used computer as my learning tool. I used it as a platform for classroom discussions through asynchronous computer mediated communication such as online forums, live webs conferences and email. Besides, I used word processing to carry out my written assignments and search information from website.
In conclusion, computer makes my life easier since it brings a lot of benefits. It is very useful and helpful for learning and teaching process. I hope one day Malaysia can provide computer for every student in the school.

Hole in the wall..

There are too many hindrances when poverty becomes part of life. Education is important but without money, everything seems impossible. Good school s and teachers are expensive. The concept of no child left behind cannot be applied in India. Nobody cares about remote areas, which is full of helpless people.

Hole in the wall is a unique approach, which has been done in the rural areas of India. Even in the absence of any direct input, mere curiosity led groups of children to explore, which resulted in learning. Children learn how to use computer by discovering and exploring. This situation make them collaborate with each other to learn more and explore how to use computer. An adequate level of curiosity in learning environment can cause learning among groups of children and prove everything is possible. As the children explore their environment, they relate their new experience with their previous experience and thereby new learning takes place (Frontline World, 2002; Education Guardian, 2000; Businessweek Online, 2000; Mitra, 2000; Mitra 2003; van Cappelle, Evers & Mitra, 2004; Wullenweber, 2001).

"Minimally invasive" refers to the least possible, negligible, or the minimum help required by the child to initiate and continue the process of learning basic computing skills. Children are found to collaborate and support each other. The learning environment is characterised by its absence from adult intervention, openness and flexibility.MIE experiments clearly indicate that children are able to learn to use computers and the Internet on their own, irrespective of their social, cultural or economic backgrounds (Mitra & Rana, 2001; Mitra, 2004).

First of all, I am amaze with the way this experiment is being conduct. It caused money, time and efforts to get the result. However, everything is paid when the experiment is successful. This experiment discover new thing in life where we should give chance to other people. Although the children live in poverty, deep inside their heart, they still want to try new thing in life, especially using technologies. Computer and internet is a perfect combination to gain knowledge. When the children can learn how to use it without any professional help that mean they can get information which seems impossible to them a few years ago.

CALL

CALL brings new environment in language learning. Traditional method of language learning is a bit boring for students to learn. Texts from the beginning till the end of the class make students hardly learn language. However, when CALL is being introduced, the world changes their perspective in language learning. Language learning is FUN! Graphics, audio and animation are what the students want in language classroom. A CALL has successfully aroused students’ interest and makes them learn language by heart.