CALL Design

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CALL Design

• Xiaofei Lu
• APLNG 588
• September 13, 2007

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Outline

• Design overview
• Sample products of CALL design
• Design perspectives

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Design overview

• Level and focus
• Points of departure
• Design process

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Levels and focus

• Institutionwide learning environment
• Computer-enhanced language classroom
• Online language courses
• Websites, tasks, activities, exercises
• Language learning software and tools

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Points of departure

• Theory or pedagogical model
• Development environment or technology
• Nature of project course, syllabus, task,
  exercise
• Language skill
• Student needs

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Design process

• Tradeoffs between the ideal and the practical
• An evolving process
• Design with user modeling in mind
• Constrained by
• Context
• Technological and pedagogical resources

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Language learning tasks (LLTs)

• LLT as a pivotal component in design
• What is an LLT?
• Nunan (1989)
• Task goals
• Input data and activities derived from them
• Roles and settings for different tasks for
  teachers/learners
• Issues
• Learner contributions to task design
• What variables affect interaction in an LLT?

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Task from theory to practice

• LLT as a means to translate theory into a
  practical activity
• Multiple ability tasks (Cohen 1994)
• Multiple answers and solutions
• Different students, different contributions
• Use multimedia
• Interesting, rewarding, and challenging
• Involve sight, sound and touch
• Require multiple skills/behaviors
  reading/writing

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Some examples

• González-Lloret (2003)
• Internet-based CALL activity for Spanish
• Design principles IA, TBLT, multimedia CALL
• Mishan and Strunz (2003)
• Interactive resources for authentic LL using XML
• Design principles authenticity-centered approach
• WebQuests
• Singing Peace
• Whale Explorations

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Group activity

• In groups of 2-3, design a WebQuest
• Describe a context for the designed task
• Define the task
• Define the process for completing the task
• Define the means of evaluating the task
• Summarize the meaning and usefulness of the task

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Course and syllabus design

• Status of course and role of online component
• Examples
• Zhang (2002) Teaching business Chinese online
• Rogerson-Revell (2003) Developing a cultural
  syllabus for business language e-learning
  materials
• Long distance learners
• Strambi Bouvet (2003)
• Software options

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Design integration

• Principled integration of design elements
• Elements pedagogical and technical
• Levels approach, design, and procedure
• Goal a practical, working set of CALL materials
• Trinder (2003) Online English Mentor
• Approach theories, experience and teaching
  philosophy
• Content activities and business-oriented themes
• Technology

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Language-learning areas and skills

• Skill and area
• Speaking, listening, reading, writing
• Pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, discourse
• References on page 21
• Brandl (2002)
• Theories specific to the acquisition of the skill
  
• Issues relate to L1

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Design of CALL tutors

• A tutor evaluates and provides feedback to
  learner response
• Simple systems (e.g., ANGEL)
• ICALL systems (e.g., Language Tool)
• Corpus of L2 learner errors

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Design of CALL tools

• Computer as an enabling device
• Searchable language databases and archives
• Dictionaries
• CMC tools
• Shaping tools for language learning
• Electronic Tandem Resources
• British National Corpus

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General discussion

• Multidimensional nature of the design process
• Clear and convincing rationale for design
• Understand the user and the situation
• A creative process (Shneiderman 1987)
• Design is a process, not a static state
• Non-hierarchical not bottom-up or top-down
• Radically transformational
• Involves discovery of new goals

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Language teachers perspective

• Integration of
• Classroom and lab-based learning
• In-class and out-of-class work
• Offline and online elements of course
• CALL and the curriculum
• Fixed vs. flexible curriculum
• The middle path
• Student learning on their own

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Language learners perspective

• Learner perceptions
• Continuity across the curriculum
• Specialist knowledge required for different
  learning purposes or courses
• Horizontal integration
• Know students technical background
• Provide appropriate technologies and training
• Use generic application programs creatively

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Institutionwide perspective

• Vertical integration
• Local and wider environment
• Institution policies, resources, and support
• Infrastructure integration (Barr Gillespie
  2003)
• Design constraints
• Local, domain-specific needs
• University-wide LMS systems vs. authoring tools
• User needs, abilities and expectations

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A focus on the learner

• HCI approaches to design
• The system is more than the software
• Need to consider users and the wider environment
• User-centered approach (Hemard 2003)
• Define design or problem space
• Collect data to identify user needs and goals
• Build conceptual and mental models using HCI
  methods for understanding user requirements
• Make specific design decisions

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A focus on the learner

• Be sensible to
• Individual learner characteristics
• The learning context
• Involve users in the design process

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Guidelines for designers

• Know existing CALL materials
• Know your technology infrastructure
• Know your audience
• Know your development tools
• Know ways of approaching design problems
• Refine project goals and the design space
• Link theoretical elements with design features
• Test and evaluate be creative

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