English for lawyers weblog using weblogs

34 From Brick Walls to Virtual Space: Using a Computer-Assisted Programme to Enhance the Language and Communication Skills of Information Technology Students.. 255 Challenges in Mobile

Jozef Colpaert, Ann Aerts, Margret Oberhofer (editors)

Research Challenges in CALL, Proceedings CALL 2014, Antwerp, University of Antwerp

ISBN 9789057284533

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Table of contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3

ORGANIZATION 9

INVITED KEYNOTE SPEAKERS 11

Piet Desmet 12

The Siren CALL of Technology Back to Pedagogical Basics! 12

Bryan Smith 13

Research Challenges in CALL: Musings of a Challenged CALL Researcher 13

SELECTED PLENARIES 15

Geoff Lawrence 16

The ‘Visioning’ Dilemma in Exploratory CALL Research 16

Huifen Lin 20

Computer-mediated Communication (CMC) in L2 Oral Proficiency Development: A Meta-analysis 20

Virginia Westwood 22

Using Design-Based Research for Qualitative Investigation of CALL in an Oral Indigenous Language 22

PAPER PRESENTATIONS 33

Pineteh E Angu 34

From Brick Walls to Virtual Space: Using a Computer-Assisted Programme to Enhance the Language and Communication Skills of Information Technology Students 34

Ghada Awada, Abir Abdallah 40

English for Lawyers Weblog: Using Weblogs to Promote Legal English in the Classroom 40

Ghada Awada, Abir Abdallah 45

The Extent of Efficiency of Legal Videos in Enhancing the Writing Skills and Vocabulary Acquisition of Lawyers in a Legal English Class 45

Ghada Awada, Abir Abdallah 52

The Use of the Webquest as a Technological Tool in Public Schools 52

Anke Berns, Manuel Palomo Duarte, Juan Manuel Dodero, Manuel Pérez-Zurera 60

Mobile Apps and Games to Foster Students’ Writing Competences 60

Françoise Blin, Nicolas Guichon, Sylvie Thouësny, Ciara Wigham 68

Creating and Sharing a Language Learning and Teaching Corpus of Multimodal Interactions: Ethical Challenges and Methodological Implications 68

Kris Buyse 70

ICT and the Six Experts in Writing Assistance: Objectives and Effectiveness of some Recent ICT-Experts in Language Learning 70

Joachim Castellano 76

Creating Materials: Does Visual Design Matter? 76

Mei-Mei Chang, Miao-Hua Huang, Mei-Chen Ling 77

The Application of the Mobile Game-Based Vocabulary Learning 77

Yu-Chuan Joni Chao, Kuo-Yu Liu 82

The Path to Language Acquisition: Progressive Learning or Adaptive Learning? 82

Mei-Hua Chen, Cheng-Te Chen, Hsien-Chin Liou 85

Utilizing a Paraphrase Reference Tool to Facilitate Language Learners’ Formulaic Expression Use 85

Ping-Ju Chen 89

Challenges from Learner Variable in a CALL Study 89

Heien-Kun Chiang, Feng-Lan Kuo, Li-Ming Hsiao, Long-Chyr Chang, Shao-Wei Yen 95

ABRACADARBA in the Hands of an EFL Teacher and Learners 95

Neasa Ní Chiaráin, Ailbhe Ní Chasaide 104

Evaluating Text-To-Speech Synthesis for CALL Platforms 104

Shu Mei Gloria Chwo 111

Empowering EIL Learning with a Web 2.0 Resource: an Initial Finding from the Cross Campus Storybird Commenting Study 111

Elena Cotos, Stephen Gilbert, Jivko Sinapov 117

NLP-Based Analysis of Rhetorical Functions for AWE Feedback 117

Liliana Cuesta Medina, Laura Carreño 124

Wearing the Three Hats: an Integrative Perspective of CALL Teachers’ Action 124

Ryan Downey, Lisa A Frumkes, Emily Nava 133

Research Challenges in the For-Profit Sector 133

Allyson Eamer 137

E-learning for Endangered Languages: What is the State of the Art? 137

Yuehchiu Fang 143

EFL Learners’ Perceptions of the Use of CALL in a College Class 143

Elżbieta Gajek 144

Interrelations between Context and ICT-Based Teaching Practice in the Perception of Teachers of Languages 144

Nazanin Ghodrati 148

Conceptualising and Evaluating Collaborative Critical Thinking in Asynchronous Discussion Forums: Challenges and Possible Solutions 148

Carina Grobler, Tom Smits 157

Designing a Digital Pedagogical Pattern for Improving Foreign Language Students’ Oral Proficiency 157

Mar Gutiérrez-Colón Plana, Olga Hryckiewicz 164

Research on Mobile Phone Learning/Teaching: Three Challenges 164

Zoe Handley 168

Investigating the Impact of Text Chat on the Quality of Oral Production During Face-To-Face Speaking Tasks 168

Hsin-Chou Huang 174

Methodological Challenges in Capturing Online Reading Strategy Data: A Comparison of Verbal Protocols and Screen-Capturing Techniques 174

Fenfang Hwu 177

A Comic Creation Tool for Adaptive-Imitation Practice: Research Design Considerations 177

Jaclyn Shi Ing Ng, Lee Kean Wah, Tan Choon Keong 182

Developing “Reflection/Application” in Pre-Service Teachers’ Supported by Cognitive Apprenticeship through the Construction of Digital Language Learning Material 182

Kristi Jauregi, Sabela Melchor-Couto 191

Researching Telecollaboration in Secondary Schools: Challenges and Opportunities 191

Jeong-Ryeol Kim 199

Can a Teaching and Learning Development be a Legitimate Research? 199

Marina Kogan, Nina Popova 201

Alternative Approaches to Fulfilling CALL Tasks as a Way of Stimulating Communication among Foreign Language Learners 201

Feng-Lan Kuo, Heien-Kun Chiang, Tzu-Ying Hung 208

A Comparative Study of Effects of Computer-assisted Repeated Reading and Peer-assisted Repeated Reading on EFL Young Learners’ Oral Reading Fluency 208

Hsing-Chin Lee 217

Facebook Faces Books: What Can Facebook DO in ELF Learning? 217

Vera Leier 218

Connecting Language Theory and Learning: Activity Theory Applied to a Connectivist Environment for Second Language Acquisition in a Social Networking Site 218

Mike Levy, Phil Hubbard 228

Productive Research Agendas in CALL 228

Denis Liakin, Walcir Cardoso, Natallia Liakina 233

Learning L2 Pronunciation with a Mobile Speech Synthesizer 233

Meei-Ling Liaw, Kathryn English 237

Identity and Addressivity in Telecollaboration 237

Yi-Chun Liu, Yong-Ming Huang 240

Synchronous Collaboration in Translation for EFL Learners 240

Mair Lloyd 243

CALL for Ancient Languages: Methodological Challenges 243

Wulin Ma 248

What Do MOOCs Bring to Us? A Case Study on Chinese Tertiary Level Students’ Learning Experiences in ECAE MOOC 248

Michael W Marek, Wen-chi Vivian Wu 249

Creating Sustainable Task-based CALL Instructional Design 249

Karen McCloskey 255

Challenges in Mobile Learning Research: Developing and Employing a Smart Phone App in Foreign Language Teaching 255

Maribel Montero Perez 258

Eye-Tracking as a Means to Gauge L2 Learners’ Caption-Reading Behavior and Attention Allocation 258

Azadeh Nemati 262

SMS Blended Teaching: Invite Wireless Technology To Class 262

Hiroyuki Obari 272

A Study on English Education Integrating Emerging Technologies in Cloud Computing Environments 272

Martine Pellerin 280

Digital and Transformative Ethnography Provides New Methodological and Epistemological Perspectives for CALL Research 280

Sabrina Priego, Meei-Ling Liaw 281

Listening to the Multiple Voices in Multilingual Digital Storytelling 281

Joan-Tomàs Pujolà, Cristina Palomeque 284

Researching MUVEs: Unravelling the Complexity of Interactions in a Multifaceted Digital Environment 284

Robert Reynolds 292

Automatic Evaluation of Potential Targets for Textual Enhancement: Identifying Optimal Sentences for Learner Uptake 292

Takeshi Sato, Yuda Lai, Tyler Burden 299

Who will be Effective Users of CALL? : An Examination of Individual Variants in the Use of Technology-Enhanced Visual Glosses 299

Tetyana Sayenko 304

Using IMovie Application in Teaching English Pronunciation to Japanese Students 304

Ulf Schuetze, Detmar Meurers, Adriane Boyd 308

Exploring the Effectiveness of Web-Based Input Enhancement in an Online Exchange at the Intermediate German Level 308

Mei-Jen Audrey Shih, Jie Chi Yang 312

Perspectives of Design-Based Research on EFL Speaking Instruction 312

Esther Stockwell 316

Developing Intercultural Competence: An Analysis of CALL Research 316

Glenn Stockwell, Philip Hubbard 320

Learner Training in Mobile Language Learning 320

Carola Strobl 323

Academic Writing in a Foreign Language: Learning to Elaborate Instead of Copy-Paste through Online Collaboration 323

Le Vo Thi Hong 327

CALL Research: Impediments to Success 327

Yan Tian 335

An Intelligent EFL Learning Platform for Cultivation of Students’ Autonomy 335

Cornelia Tschichold, Paul Meara 339

The Bibliometrics of Vocabulary CALL 339

Jelena Vranjes, Geert Brône, Kurt Feyaerts, Hans Paulussen 342

VIDEO.DE: an Online Video Annotation Tool for Second Language Education 342

Rong-Jyue Wang, Wen-Chi Vivian Wu 351

The Effect of Intelligent Robots on English Vocabulary Acquisition of Senior Citizens in Taiwan 351

Jonathan R White 354

Native and Non-native Norms in CALL 354

Ciara R Wigham, Thierry Chanier 360

Pedagogical Corpora as a Means to Reuse Research Data and Analyses in Teacher-Training 360

2014 CALL Conference

LINGUAPOLIS www.antwerpcall.be

Organization Scientific Committee

The Editorial Board of the CALL Journal

Programme Committee

Jozef Colpaert, editor of the CALL Journal (Taylor & Francis)

Mike Levy, Phil Hubbard and Glenn Stockwell, associate editors of the CALL Journal

(Taylor & Francis)

Conference Manager

Ann Aerts, University of Antwerp - LINGUAPOLIS, Belgium

INVITED KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

research team ITEC (Interactive Technologies), focusing on domain-specific educational

technology with a main interest in language learning & technology He leads a range of research projects in this field devoted amongst others to the integration of HLT into CALL and to the effectiveness of adaptive and personalized learning environments He is the National Representative of EUROCALL for Belgium

a means to an end So let’s move beyond the (Ed-)Tech Hype and rather focus on perceived usefulness, actual use and learning effectiveness of technology-enhanced language learning It’s all about pedagogical quality and added value The central aim of this presentation is to offer a series of concrete use cases in which technology does make the difference from a pedagogical point of vue

LINGUAPOLIS

SELECTED PLENARIES

Geoff’s research explores technology-mediated language teaching and learning, online

social presence, identity, teacher beliefs towards educational innovation and integrating intercultural learning and telecollaborations into language and teacher education He has extensive experience designing and teaching in face-to-face, online and blended ESL/EAP, TESOL and graduate programs in second language education Geoff teaches ESL, TESOL and graduate studies in Applied Linguistics in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics at York University in Toronto, Canada

The author will share details on a mixed methods research methodology used in a government-funded Canadian study to examine the feasibility of integrating e-learning into province-wide adult, non-credit ESL programs where many of the teacher, learner and administrator participants had little or no exposure to CALL approaches In this study, many participants appeared dramatically constrained in their ability to ‘envision’ CALL pedagogy and affordances – a primary goal of this research The author will discuss the factors contributing to this lack of participant visioning ability along with a critical assessment of the research methodologies used in this study The impacts of such inhibited visioning on research outcomes and buy-in to this and related studies will

be outlined This will be followed by an exploration of proposed research methods for a follow-up feasibility study to work more effectively with the teaching and learning experiences of CALL-nạve research participants to define CALL visions and pedagogical options

Short paper

Language teaching technology is in a constant state of development as mediated approaches to communication and interaction become increasingly normalized

technology-in today’s societies (Stanley, 2013)

This “rapid evolution of communication technologies has changed language pedagogy and language use, enabling new forms of discourse, new forms of authorship, and new

ways to create and participate in communities” (Kern, 2006, p.183) Language instructors, administrators and learners are able to choose from a dizzying range of language teaching-specific tools, software and online media that includes a continually evolving variety of generic web-based tools, communication and social networking media Given these dramatic changes in communication technologies and the promising potential for enhanced language program delivery, researchers are often asked to examine the

‘feasibility’ of integrating CALL approaches into a range of language educational contexts

I have been involved in a number of these feasibility studies exploring stakeholders’ beliefs and visions of CALL approaches in a range of language teaching contexts Stakeholders have included instructors, learners and administrators in these varied contexts Examining the feasibility of CALL integration through diverse stakeholder perspectives offers a realistic look at how to localize CALL approaches, how to build buy-

in and how to hopefully increase the likelihood of successful program innovation These studies have included examining teachers’ beliefs towards the integration of CALL in college English-as-an-additional language (EAL) programs (Lawrence, 2000; Lawrence, 2001), instructor and learner beliefs towards the use of CALL approaches in core French language programs across Canada (Turnbull & Lawrence, 2003) and the integration of transnational wiki writing projects in post-secondary ESL/EAL contexts (Lawrence, Young, Owen & Compton, 2009) My most recent research in this area has been leading a provincially funded study examining instructor, learner and administrator beliefs and visions of CALL approaches that could be used within Ontario’s Adult, Non-Credit ESL/EAL programs (Lawrence, Haque & King, 2013) This study was designed for the purpose of defining the feasibility of integrating CALL approaches within these largely face-to-face ESL/EAL programs across Ontario

These feasibility studies have focused on examining stakeholder beliefs towards CALL, identifying CALL practices (if available) and visions of CALL using a range of research methodologies I have often employed multi-staged, mixed methods approaches to examine complex phenomena like beliefs and educational change from varied research paradigms with unique strengths and weaknesses I have sometimes adopted case study approaches to explore the complexity of CALL beliefs and visions within their rich, unique contexts Data collection tools have ranged from participant surveys, interviews, focus groups, document analysis and observations Analysis techniques have included both quantitative and qualitative approaches, data transformation approaches and both intermethod and intramethod mixing to examine data through complementary paradigmatic lenses Working in research teams on most of these studies, we have applied cross-track analytical approaches (Li, Marquart & Zercher, 2000) to triangulate findings, to seek patterns, corroborate and disconfirm data throughout the analysis procedure While the research methods have been sound, the major challenge in much of this CALL feasibility research has been the ‘visioning dilemma’ among our participants, resulting from the limited exposure many of our participants have had to CALL approaches This endemic lack of CALL exposure has often limited participants’ understandings of the potential of CALL, constraining their ability to articulate concrete visions

In the recent study I conducted examining the feasibility of integrating ESL e-learning programs in Ontario, our participants included instructors, learners and administrators working in Ontario-funded ESL/EAL programs for newcomers A key focus of this research was to define visions of CALL approaches within these contexts, using participant views and beliefs to help develop these visions However, the majority of participants had very little experience and exposure to CALL approaches

In fact, only 30% of the administrators in the programs surveyed reported having computer equipment on site, often as computer labs where students used traditional software programs Only a small minority of instructors, administrators and learners had any exposure to CALL approaches Some focus group participants had never heard of

blended programs, or CALL approaches like discussion boards or email exchanges As a result, our CALL visioning data was scarce, vague and often framed in face-to-face classroom approaches, fears about CALL or using CALL resources like adjunct Youtube clips or grammar drills to help support learners in the face-to-face (F2F) class (Lawrence, Haque & King, 2013) A number of instructors suggested using published software programs that could be purchased and used by learners alone to complement the F2F class Instructors and administrators cited the value of showing Youtube clips to provide learners with authentic content Some learners presumed websites would be used to house lesson plans and vocabulary lists, for the F2F class Many participants were fearful

of CALL approaches and their perceived anonymity and lack of social presence or engagement Many learners were unable to articulate a clear CALL vision, calling out generally for the need to move away from the ‘old fashioned methods’ used in these F2F classes Out of the 294 participants in this study, there were only several participants who articulated the use of interactive, transformative Web2.0 approaches

As the CALL literature suggests (Stockwell, 2012; Levy & Stockwell, 2006) the mindful integration of technology-mediated approaches in language programs requires a paradigm shift and often a new way of thinking about teaching and learning roles and methodology Many of the participants in these studies sensed the relevance of CALL, and the need to work with digital literacies and teach computer-mediated communication skills in their classes However, very few participants had any training or experience with CALL from which they could formulate concrete visions for the future As a result, CALL implementation strategies evolving out of such research tends to remain top-down, not directly engaging with the varied stakeholders that will ultimately implement and actualize these visions

Lawrence, G (2001) Second language teacher belief systems towards

computer-mediated language learning: Defining teacher belief systems In K Cameron (Ed.),

C.A.L.L - The challenge of change: Research & practice (pp 41 - 52) Exeter, UK: Elm Bank Publications

Lawrence, G., Haque, E & King, J (2013) Rationale and recommendations for

implementing e-learning in Ontario non-credit adult ESL programs: A feasibility report Toronto, Canada: The Toronto Catholic District School Board

Lawrence, G., Young, C., Owen, H., & Compton, T (2009) Using wikis for collaborative writing and intercultural learning In M Dantas-Whitney, & S Rilling (Eds.), Authenticity

in the adult language classroom (pp 199-212) Alexandria, VA: TESOL

Levy, M., & Stockwell, G (2006) CALL dimensions: Options and issues in assisted language learning New York, NY: Routledge

Huifen Lin is an associate professor in the Foreign Languages and Literature Department

in National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan Her research interests include mediated communication, instructional animation and web-based instruction

by computer/technologies produced a moderate and positive effect on L2 learners’ oral proficiency compared to F2F or no interaction Furthermore, CMC has roughly similar effect on pronunciation, lexical and syntactic level of oral production; however, it might have a negative impact on fluency and accuracy This meta-analysis also found that the effect of CMC on oral proficiency depends on several methodological factors such as task type, outcome measurement, treatment length, and assessment task Future research suggestions are provided taking into consideration the limitations of this meta-analysis

Short paper

CALL researchers have proposed that the affordances and features of CMC technologies provide mediating tools that can create or support a social context in virtual space that may be beneficial for the cognitive development needed for L2 learning (Meskill, 1999; Peterson, 2009) A number of justifications for CMC to be used for language development

in accordance with the social-cultural framework have been made For example, interpersonal and intrapersonal interactions mediated by CMC tools such as chat rooms, emails or discussion bulletin boards offer opportunities for learners to tackle communication problems collaboratively, which is believed to facilitate L2 learning Furthermore, some features of CMC tools, for instance, the modality of information presentation during interaction, might be effective in terms of enhancing depth of processing For example, some technologies, such as email, support only written text while others, such as audio/video-conferencing, include audio, video and visuals Dual or multiple coding of the same information through a number of sensory channels is believed to enhance the comprehension and retention of incoming knowledge (Smith, Alvarez-Torresb, & Zhao, 2003) Another feature of CMC, temporality, which differentiates between communication taking place in real time or involving some delay in

2006, p 59-60) The present meta-analysis investigates whether there is a causal relationship between computer-mediated communication (CMC) and L2 oral proficiency development Specifically, the meta-analysis addresses the following questions:

1 Compared to face-to-face interaction or no interaction at all, how effective is CMC

in promoting L2 oral proficiency?

2 Is the effectiveness of CMC related to the type of data collected (e.g., naturalistic

vs elicited data) and assessment task (e.g., oral interview, response to a topic)?

3 What components of oral competences (fluency, lexical, accuracy, etc.) are CMC most likely to facilitate?

4 Are certain task types (e.g., Jigsaw, information exchange, etc.) more effective than others in promoting oral proficiency in a CMC environment?

5 Is there a relationship between treatment duration and CMC effectiveness?

Results of the research will be presented in the conference Here the author summarizes the suggestions for future research in the CMC domain which reflect the problems she encountered in conducting the meta-analysis:

1 Future research should provide adequate details of the assessment procedures and tasks when measuring L2 oral proficiency we are able to provide a number

of suggestions for future research in the CMC domain:

2 Future research should provide adequate details of the assessment procedures and tasks when measuring L2 oral proficiency

3 Future research should examine the delayed effect of CMC on oral performance, study less-researched target languages and expand the task repertoire

Virginia Westwood

Murdoch University, Perth, Australia

admin@proteatextware.com

Using Design-Based Research for Qualitative Investigation of CALL

in an Oral Indigenous Language

Bio data

Virginia Westwood is a PhD student at Murdoch University in Western Australia With

her partner Heather Kaufmann, she established Protea Textware in 1994 to develop interactive multimedia language, literacy and numeracy programs Since 1994, Virginia has been director of design and programming in the company which has produced many internationally successful English CALL programs Following an invitation in 2009 from

an Aboriginal Language Centre to create similar CALL for their language, Virginia lived and worked in the Kimberley for 2 years Now relocated in Melbourne, Virginia visits remote areas of Australia to work on CALL programs with other language communities

Abstract

This presentation describes an instance of a design-based research (DBR) approach used

in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) research The research investigates a potentially replicable design process for a CALL package for oral Indigenous languages (IL) CALL has been researched and developed principally for the more commonly spoken languages (CSL) The design process for the development of CALL programs has arisen in CSL environments CSL have been written, analysed, described and documented over hundreds of years, in contrast to many IL Few attempts have been made to develop CALL for Indigenous languages, and the success rate is not high The wider study to investigate how CALL could be responsive to IL started from a critical standpoint in partnership with the Nyikina community in the remote northwest of Western Australia Within this, DBR was chosen as a research approach to work up a model process for the design and development of a CALL program as it supports both Western and Indigenous situated methodologies DBR is a participatory approach and calls for collaborative cycles of iteration through (sometimes concurrent) phases of exploration, development, implementation and reflection and results in a practical solution and theory, or Design Principles, which can be tested in replication of the research This approach afforded continuous data collection and interpretation through a critical lens Challenges arose both as a result of investigating the design and development of CALL in an IL, and as a result of using DBR in the investigation The major challenges, which are broadly methodological and epistemological, and their impacts on the course and outcomes of the research, are discussed in this paper

Short paper

As a result of colonisation and imposed fragmentation of their communities, there are few remaining speakers of the many Aboriginal1 languages of the Kimberley region in Western Australia In the case of Nyikina, it is reported that there were about 50 speakers in 1981 (Stokes, 1982) and it is currently spoken by only about fifteen people

1 The term ‘Aboriginal’ is preferred to ‘Indigenous’ by the First Australians of the Kimberley region (Dwyer, 2012)

of the grandparent generation and as such is classified as severely endangered (Endangered Languages, 2012) As a developer of CALL programs for commonly spoken languages (CSL), I was approached in 2009 by representatives of the remote Nyikina community to create a CALL program for their language (Figure 1)

Fig 1 Nyikina lands (AIATSIS (Australian Institute of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies), 2008)

I am a white Anglo-European Australian and have been responsible for the commercial design and development of CALL programs for 20 years I had had no contact with Aboriginal communities or their languages prior to this invitation, and my experience was largely based in English language programs However, theoretically CALL was Eurocentric, and I needed to find out how CALL could respond to Indigenous languages (IL) In 2011, I embarked upon a study to investigate this issue (Figure 2)

Nyikina

Fig 2 Map of the broader study – “How can CALL respond to Indigenous languages?”

In the current study, design-based research (DBR) as described by Collins et al (2004) was chosen as a research approach as it supports both Western and Indigenous situated methodologies DBR is an approach, not a methodology, and was used in an

unconventional fashion from a number of viewpoints Firstly it was used as the method

for developing Design Principles for a process for the design and development of a CALL

program Secondly it was used to develop a process rather than a construct, or

intervention, although there was a CALL artefact produced as a result of the DBR DBR is

a participatory approach and calls for collaborative cycles of iteration through (sometimes concurrent) phases of exploration, development, implementation and reflection and results in a practical solution and theory, or Design Principles, which can be tested in replication of the research (Figure 3).

Fig 3 Phases of design-based research (after Reeves, 2006, p 59)

DBR produces data that has to be gathered, recorded and analysed in a rigorous and valid fashion (Figure 4) Some of this data is consumed within the iterations of DBR, and some is available for analysis and interpretation in the wider study

Fig 4 Phases of design-based research

Many of the challenges in this study, their impacts on the course of the research and our responses, are summarised in the tables below They are broadly methodological and epistemological and most of them are peculiar to the conduct of research by Westerners with Indigenous communities, but some relate to the choice of DBR as the research approach In this paper, the data is organised following the four phases of the DBR cycle Only the major challenges relating to CALL specifically are discussed in detail

1 Collaborative analysis of a problem

Remoteness, location Difficulty in establishing

relationships to enable collaborative discussions Participants had lower levels of access to resources generally assumed to be available in Western culture

Researcher relocated to Derby, WA for two years Funding for technical resources

Participants’ unfamiliarity

with CALL Difficult for participants to engage in discussion Production of prototype based on ESL programs

but with Nyikina content

engagement Workshops with few participants

Create and occupy the Third Space (Bhabha, 1990; Durie, 2005;

Nakata, 2007)

Two different language

ecologies - oral vs written Established pronunciation vs established grammars

Incorporate findings in draft Design Principles

The DBR problem identified was how were we going to get an appropriate CALL program based on existing ESL models of traditional (CALL) software – i.e what would the process be?

The major issue for CALL researchers here is the difference in language ecologies CALL has been researched and practised in CSL, especially English These languages have written grammars, orthographies and pronunciation systems that have been established and refined over centuries The linguistic features can be used by teachers and learners who are familiar with the metalanguage and generally literate in their first language However, IL are mostly unwritten languages with established and known pronunciation, but with linguistic features only recently described by Western linguists, in Western languages Language documentation of this type is often not accessible to speakers and learners of IL such as Nyikina Traditional CALL instructional design and pedagogy draws heavily on linguistic characteristics but they are unfamiliar to speakers of oral languages

In addition, there has been little research on the learning of an oral language as a second

or additional language other than by pre-literate children, and so this problem was accepted as one to be investigated in the course of the study

other’s ways of knowing,

being and doing (Martin,

2003)

Misunderstandings, threats

to participation Working in the third space (Bhabha, 1990; Durie,

2005; Nakata, 2007); researcher reflection on positionality

Existing design principles

are mostly based in either

CSL or language

revitalisation with large

number of active speakers

Two different language

ecologies- oral vs written Established pronunciation vs established grammars

and orthographies

First iteration based on established CALL pedagogy i.e learning theories (Brown, 2007), SLA (Chapelle, 2009) and linguistic features

(Chapelle, 2009) Colonialism and coloniality

(Maldonado-Torres, 2007) Participants had lower levels of access to

resources generally assumed in Western culture

Funding for technical resources

technology with no internet

Had to be desktop, asynchronous, tutorial CALL

The major challenge for CALL researchers in developing a theoretical solution, i.e a process for design and development of a CALL program for IL, follows from the problem encountered in the first phase – that of differing language genealogies between unwritten and written languages Most available Design Principles have been derived in the context

of CSL or in revitalisation programs where there are a large number of active speakers,

or CALL is not under consideration In the first case, many of the design principles were not relevant as the linguistic features of the language were not obvious to the speakers

or learners In the second instance, we did not have a large pool of active speakers to draw on

Collaborative iterations

These are iterations of the process which resulted in sequential instances of a CALL

program

Lack of technical skills,

establishing a ‘team’ Costs prohibitive Do it ourselves with minimal technology,

capacity building Evaluation – direct

questioning, survey, etc

not appropriate way to

give and receive

information

How then to get data? My observations and

recordings about how people were engaged Oral data

Previous experience with

linguists, academics Outsider language workers not listening or recording

cultural language

Time, listening, being a resource, collaboration

My unfamiliarity with

language Difficult to comprehend pedagogical needs of

language and therefore to design activities

Researcher worked with speakers in oral mode and linguist in CSL mode to learn language and linguistic features

well with speakers to get content (Aboriginal English)

Work with intermediaries who have language in common

situated design and participatory (Cárdenas-Claros & Gruba, 2009) or user (Carr-Chellman, 2007) design, and DBR itself couldn’t be achieved without participation

Time, building relationships, fishing, yarning, workshops on country

Number of active speakers

- only one available to do

all the work

Stress on speaker to do all work; no work if speaker indisposed

No cohort of active speakers for learners to experience authentic learning activities (Ozverir

& Herrington, 2011)

Used some existing resources as compiled by linguists

No synchronous activities possible

Cultural representations Existing stock images not

appropriate to culture Time, skills, equipment, distance, costs

Bought cameras and laptops for participants

Oral language - CALL

pedagogy for written

languages i.e Western

Work on new pedagogy starting with oral work, not literacy assumptions like alphabet, orthography, vocabulary, wordlists Started with oral language recordings and worked backwards in design Speech recognition needs

to be developed Collecting data Couldn’t use interviews,

questionnaires, surveys as these are culturally

inappropriate ways of collecting information

Reliance on yarning, conversations, design artefacts, photos of whiteboards, etc and memory >> journal

No specific data points in the cycles

There are two challenges addressed here Firstly is that of collecting and recording data

in this context, where interviews, direct questioning and surveys are an inappropriate way of obtaining information; where filming workshops or yarning (Bessarab & Ng'andu, 2010), conversation (Kovach, 2010) and just hanging around are the only ways of collecting data in a valid way

Secondly, the need for a new pedagogy which could be operationalised in a CALL program, and which respected the oral-ness of the language and the way it has been taught and learned for millennia In this case, we worked backwards from the spoken recordings and in some cases never actually made complete or accurate transcriptions or translations The outcome is a call for a rethinking of the pedagogy in CALL for oral languages, and a need for development of speech recognition services to incorporate in the programs

Refine design Principles

Are the Design Principles

for the model process

generalisable?

Is it worthwhile research? Model process with

re-useable code which could

be transferred, re-useable resources within the process

Trial on second IL 2014

Is the model process

sustainable? Costs of developing the model would be too high

as a one-off venture The model could not be used by the community for further development without outsider assistance

Separating code and data and resources

Re-useable code Re-useable resources Creation of an ‘editing’ interface

The major challenges in this study stemmed from the lack of previous research in CALL for IL Specifically, the difference in the language ecologies of written and unwritten languages meant that previous research and outcomes for CALL in CSL needed to be questioned; the different epistemologies of Western and Indigenous participants meant that much time was spent in building relationships in order to achieve participation in the project; finally, the ongoing ramifications of coloniality meant that participants did not have access to many of the resources that are taken for granted in Western/CSL contexts, including a history of CALL DBR proved to be a very appropriate way of investigating the larger issue through providing a bounded method for the development

of a process and consequently a CALL program for IL within the wider context of a critical study of the responsiveness of CALL to IL In particular, DBR affords the opportunity to bridge the chasm we see between research and practice I thank the Nyikina people for their generosity and patience in sharing their language, culture and country with me while I worked on this project

References

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LINGUAPOLIS

PAPER PRESENTATIONS

Bio data

Pineteh E Angu is a Communication lecturer in the Faculty of Informatics and Design at

Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa

Short paper

Introduction

One of the main fascinations of the 21st century is the way that computers and other mobile technologies are reconfiguring the lives of human beings (Martin & Madigan, 2006)

Today, these technologies are present everywhere, compelling learners and lecturers to immerse in mobile and computer-mediated teaching and learning activities in a very uncharacteristic way (Yang, 2009; Shana, 2009) Various computer-assisted language programmes are now being used in schools and universities to promote independent and collaborative learning amongst students (Ghasemi, Hashemi & Bardine, 2011; Tal & Yelenevskaya, 2012) At Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), computer-assisted teaching and learning is gaining prominence and academics are being pressured

to complement traditional approaches with self-directed online programmes (Pineteh, 2012) Despite the pressure from the university management, computer-assisted language learning (CALL) is still a road less travelled especially in courses like Communication and Academic Literacy, designed to provide language support to its students This is because students bring with them different levels of computer literacy and English language proficiency Consequently, using computers to promote independent language learning has been embraced with mixed feelings (Pineteh, 2012; Naba’h, Hussein, Al-Omari & Shdeifat, 2009) Interestingly, CPUT’s Communication courses are designed to provide not only language support but also other generic academic and professional literacies required by students However, the number of contact hours and human resources are usually inadequate for the very expansive Communication curricula This means that lecturers have to devise smarter and innovative ways to impart knowledge to the students Given that this is a university of technology, one of the ways to reduce the burden of the teaching and learning of communication skills is to use self-directed computer-assisted language programmes (Pata, 2009; Oxford, 2006; Longhurst & Sandage, 2004)

This paper is based on the pilot of a computer-assisted language programme-Learning 100- in the Department of Information Technology at Cape Peninsula University of

Technology, South Africa It analyses quantitative and qualitative data gleaned from an online mini survey, open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews The interviews and mini survey sought to evaluate the usefulness of the programme in enhancing the language and communication skills of Information Technology students In addition, they aimed to assess the challenges encountered by students and technical support staff during the pilot and the research process The results of the survey and interview responses show that students were able to hone language and other academic skills However, they hinted that to install and effectively run the programme on the CPUT computer systems was a logistical nightmare The paper therefore argues that because of the quality of technology at CPUT as well as the disparate language and computer skills of its students, it is an arduous task to use computers as the main platform for language teaching and learning To justify this argument, the paper charts the teaching of language and communication at CPUT, it describes the piloted online programme and research methodology The paper also discusses some of the key findings from the empirical data

The Teaching of Language and Communication at CPUT

The inclusion of Academic Literacy, Language and communication courses in CPUT’s mainstream programmes is critical to the academic and professional development of its students However, the design and teaching of these courses are seemingly failing to address the skills deficiencies that South African students bring to the universities Evidence from student writings and other array of communication activities suggest that these courses have also been affected by the new vision of modern universities (Shore, 2010; Pineteh, 2012 & 2014) Arguably, the courses have the potential to emancipate, empower and socialise students into discipline-specific discourses but lecturers have failed to use this space to stimulate meaningful teaching and learning

Despite the poor language and communicative skills of CPUT students, the South African Department of Higher Education still considers courses like Communication as support subjects, especially in universities of technology and therefore they are not entitled to the same financial subsidy as mainstream courses

Unfortunately subject subsidies are determined by a rigid South African higher education funding model: Classification of Educational Subject Matter (CESM) This model places universities of technology mainstream courses and academic development courses in different funding clusters This implies that although language and communication skills courses would attract the same subsidies like Sociology and Linguistics in comprehensive universities, they would however attract far less in a university of technology (Badat,

2009 & 2010) Consequently, the delivery of the courses has tended to suffer from lack

of adequate human and material resources as well as contact hours (Ng’ambi & Johnston, 2006) Secondly, the course contents and teaching methods have also contributed significantly to the lackluster performance of students For example, many Language and Communication Lecturers still use very traditional methods in an age of increasing technological presence in higher education (Ghasemi, Hashemi & Bardine, 2011; Pineteh, 2012; Nkhoma; 2002; )

Mindful of these challenges, lecturers need to think imaginatively in order to transform the teaching of language and communication skills into an invigorating and memorable experience for both the lecturer and the students (Thomas and De Villiers n.d.) At CPUT, this does not happen because of the pressure to cover a substantial amount of communication concepts and administer an equally substantial amount of assessments within one academic year Because of insufficient contact hours, lecturers tend to pay more attention to work-related or vocational skills such as business correspondence, teamwork, time management and conflict management (Lansberg, 2005) They tend to neglect equally essential cognitive concepts such as language skills, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and other academic literacies (Pineteh, 2012 & 2014) They also tend neglect the “use of technologies not only as part of their subject matter but also very importantly, as part of their pedagogy and teacher training approaches” (Papadima-Sophocleous, 2012) Interesting, the practical and pedagogical challenges encountered by Language and Communication lecturers provide a unique opportunity to promote self-directed computer-assisted language learning as an alternative learning

platform

Learning 100

The computer-assisted language programme discussed here is an American programme called Learning 100 System It is an integrated instructional and management system that diagnoses, instructs and provides practice as well as reinforces reading and language competencies The programme starts with a placement test (Locator Test) which assesses the vocabulary of learners across all levels The results of this test are used to determine the entry level of each learner Learning 100 uses the Steck-Vaugh Instructional Systems Manager (SVISM), which manages the complex delivery of instructions in a user-friendly manner for both the instructor and learner SVISM provides individualised prescriptions based on the diagnostic test and on the learner’s language needs and assigns appropriate lessons automatically It also builds a profile of each student, which contains the number exercises that a student has completed and the time he/she spent on each exercise as well as the learner’s reading speed in words per minute This system also records data on the learner’s progress at each instructional step At selected points, the data may allow the system to move the learner to a more complex lesson or recycle the learner to a lower reading level Essentially, the system is able to track learner progress, provide specific prescribed instructions on an individual basis and generate reports for learners, instructors and administrators (culled from the manual)

Research Methodology

In 2013, Learning 100 was piloted on approximately 280 first students in the IT

department for one semester To easily manage the programme, the pilot was integrated into the Communication course year programme and it was coordinated by two Communication lecturers and two IT technicians

Essentially, all Learning 100 activities were timetabled as Communication tutorials and

the students were therefore obliged to attend They were also allowed use the programme after normal lecture times, from home or on campus if they had access to the internet In the first session, students completed the locator test (diagnostic test) but because the main objective of the pilot was to ascertain broadly whether the programme would be useful to CPUT students, it was not necessary to prescribe lessons based on individual performance in the test Therefore the results were not used to determine the entry level of each learner, as required by the system After the locator test, all the students were placed at a median level: G Like all the levels in the programme, Level G tested language cues, reading, writing, reflective and listening strategies but at a slightly higher level Because the programme is actually designed for high school learners, the overall minimum pass mark was set at 70%

After the pilot, a mini online survey was conducted to ascertain the efficacy of the programme in promoting independent learning and for enhancing the language skills of students Quantitative data collected from the survey were coded, analysed and interpreted in tables and graphs using SPSS (Cresswell, 2008) In addidtion to the online survey, an open-ended questionnaire was administered to 40 students and short interviews were conducted with the 2 technicians who provided technical support and 2 Communication lecturers who coordinated the programme The questionnaire was used

to access students and lecturers’ perceptions about a computer-assisted language

programme such as Learning 100 The researcher used a thematic content analysis

approach to identify and interpret themes from the qualitative data (Henning, Van Rensburg & Smit, 2004)

Summary of key findings

Responses from the survey, open-ended questionnaires and interviews revealed that by completing multiple activities, students were able to hone their language, reading and writing as well as general cognitive skills Moreover, students were able to engage more independently and interactively with very technologically diverse peers Here, traditional face-to-face instruction was complemented “by autonomous computer-based or online learning activities” (Tal & Yelenevskaya, 2012, p.263) Although participants commended the usefulness of the programme, they stressed that there were several challenges that hindered the overall effectiveness of the pilot and the ensuing online pilot Firstly, because CPUT is still a resource-constraint university, there was inadequate technical support to deal with recurrent computer glitches Consequently, the pilot and the data collection process were repeatedly interrupted because of malfunctioning computers and/or limited internet connectivity (Papadima-Sophocleous, 2012; Ghasemi, Hashemi & Bardine, 2011) For example, the online survey was not easily accessible to students Secondly, the programme is designed for an American context, so many students grappled with the set of phraseology and accent in both visual and auditory exercises Finally, the students were not fully committed to the programme because of their perceptions about the inclusion of a communication skills course in an IT programme This affected the quality of empirical data because students did not apply their minds on the questions

Conclusion

The use of Learning 100 to provide language support to first year IT students at CPUT

was an exciting experience for both the students and lecturers Despite the challenges encountered during the pilot, it was evident that “CALL is more beneficial and helpful than using the traditional methods” (Naba’h, Hussain, Al-Omari & Shdeifat, 2009, p 433) In fact, the programme provided a unique space for diverse students to develop their writing, reading and general language skills The students were able to share computer-related knowledge and experiences ( Papadima-Sophocleous, 2012; Tal & Yelenevaskaya, 2012; Levy 2002 &1997; Levy & Stockwell 2006) For the lecturers, it was an opportunity to expriment with new technology in a course which has been taught using mainly traditional methods for several years

However, for a university like CPUT to fully embrace computer-assisted language learning, it should upgrade its technological facilities and provide requisite training to staff members

References

Creswell J (2008) Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods

approaches Washington DC: SAGE

Ghasemi, B., Hashemi, M & Bardine, S.H (2011): The Capabilities of computer for

language learning Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 28, 58-62

Henning, E., Van Rensburg, W & Smit, B (2004) Finding your way in qualitative

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Jaffer, S., Ng’ambi, D & Czerniewicz, L (n.d.) The Role of ICTs in Higher Education in South Africa: One Strategy for Addressing Teaching and Learning Challenges

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increasing academic support and teaching critical thinking skills Educational Technology

& Society 9, 244–253

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of their success Educational Studies in Mathematics 50, 103-113

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Ghada Awada, Abir Abdallah

American University of Beirut and Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon

ghadawada@gmail.com, abirabdallah@gmail.com

English for Lawyers Weblog: Using Weblogs to Promote Legal English in the Classroom

Bio data

Ghada Awada : I hold Ph.D in International Relations with the highest distinction from

HEP –CEDS ,Paris I’m a Ph.D Candidate in the Department of English and German Studies in Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Spain I taught and gave many workshops and different courses at many universities I acted as AUB Consultant in 2012 and 2013 I have an extensive experience in teaching and coordination at Public Secondary Schools I have authored 10 law and English books so far I was awarded many appreciation certificates by the Ministry of Education (2004 ), Lebanese university (2005)and Teaching Excellence trophy by LAU (2013)

Abir Abdallah :I’m currently a PHD student in the Department of English and German

Studies in Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Spain I have been teaching English as a first foreign language for thirteen years I’m presently a teacher and a coordinator in a secondary public school in Beirut Moreover, I’m an instructor in the language center of the faculty of Sciences in the Lebanese University I also teach ESP to MA students there

I have a teaching diploma in intermediate classes, a teaching diploma in secondary classes and a master’s degree in English language and literature

Abstract

This study aims at investigating the efficiency of blogs in enhancing the writing skills of lawyers and in raising the lawyers' motivation The participants of the study are Lebanese lawyers receiving twelve 4-hour- legal -English sessions.Lawyers, in Lebanon, are not usually good at legal English since the majority of the law courses in Lebanon are

in Arabic However, due to globalization, the Lebanese lawyers started to receive a lot of cases and contracts that demand mastery of the legal English needed to negotiate in writing using legal English The participants of the study are 16 lawyers whose ages range from 26 to 48 years old and are randomly assigned to a control group and an experimental one The participants receive legal English instruction for twelve weeks The instruction covers the listening, speaking, reading and writing skills The only difference

is that the control group doesn't employ the blog to communicate with each other and with the instructor, whereas the experimental group receives the feedback, announcements and comments from the instructor via blog, and the instructor publishes all their good written assignments on the blog ,and in turn they comment and share the posts which are mainly their own writings with friends The instruments employed in the study are a pretest that inspects the participants’ written performance and the use of legal terms and structure in both the control and experimental groups before carrying out any instruction, and a posttest that examines any significant difference in the participants’ written performance and acquisition of legal English in both groups after twelve weeks of instruction Moreover, a questionnaire that investigates the participants’ motivation is administered to the participants in both groups before the instructional period and another questionnaire is administered at the end of the instructional period The SPSS is used in data analysis