CALL is now used in my university. For listening class, most of the tasks are very flexible ahd students are learning in an open system.
Many students attend listening class through computers. Because tasks and activities are already installed, students have greater flexibility when choosing the items they want to do and the organize the content-learning order in the way they prefer. Students and teachers interact mainly through BBS or email, and students may start discussion among themsevles through setting up discussion board for the whole class.
For example, when donig listening task of cloze, students may go to internet resources for the words they don't understand, and may seek background information by searching related materials, and may listen to the record as many times as necessary. Negotiation however is not allowed, because most of the questions have definite answers, but interaction between students and teachers are quite common during task completion process.
These flexible tasks, as aforementioned, is pervasive in listening class. However, for intensive reading class, they are hard to be incorporated into teaching process. It is mainly because the constraint of time, resources, and teaching syllabus.
1 comment:
I think most universities and colleges in China have installed online English learning systems that are designed by the textbook publishers. Some tasks in those systems are interesting as you have mentioned.
However, most tasks are just the replication of those on the textbooks. Language teachers are really in dilemma because they have little confidence in designing e-tasks themselves sinece few of them have enough IT knowledge. And I find it is very difficult for me to monitor students' online learning activities.
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