Rex C. Dahl
Paul F. Luckau
Abstract:
The integration of culture into the language learning experience has always been tenuous either because teachers feel inadequate in their knowledge of the foreign culture or because they have not been adequately trained for the teaching of that culture.
This paper characterizes an interactive video project, VIDEODEUTSCH, which facilitates the controlled access of video material and the presentation of other language and cultural materials in a pre-programmed manner. This text can be used by the learner in the laboratory or it can be teacher-controlled in the classroom. The organization of the program allows the student to participate with verbal and nonverbal linguistic and cultural phenomena in a realistic way which begins to approach actual experience in the culture.
This paper describes VIDEODEUTSCH in terms of its hardware, its authoring system, the types of visual reference materials used, the organization of the phases which make up each of its units, what it teaches, and gives a sample of its computer programs.
VIDEODEUTSCH is a program designed to facilitate the teaching of culture in an integrated manner with language.
Dr. Dahl and Mr. Luckau created the computer-controlled language and culture program, VIDEODEUTSCH while Dr. Dahl was on sabbatical at BYU in 1983-84.
KEYWORDS: computer-controlled videotape, videocassette, interactive video, culture, cultural literacy, teaching culture, mastery, teacher-directed study, self-study, VIDEODEUTSCH.
Culture is a basic and necessary part of language teaching and learning as characterized by the following:
To interact is to be alive; to fail to do so is to be dead To study language without studying the culture of the native speakers of language is a lifeless endeavor.
Obviously, language teachers and textbook authors have had difficulty subscribing to the foregoing maxims. As often as not, only a single class period—less than an hour—is devoted to cultural involvement in a language teaching week, and this extra activity is superimposed on, rather than integrated into, the language learning process. This self-contained, detached day of the week often connotes as a holiday for teacher and student alike: Friday is culture day!
Why does culture remain peripheral in the foreign language classroom even when teachers recognize its importance in relation to language? Two explanations may account for this second-class status. First, teachers feel inadequate in their knowledge
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of the foreign culture. They sense a pressure to dispense culturally accurate information, but they have only limited and time-bound experiences in the foreign culture. Second, teachers may not have been adequately trained in the teaching of culture. They are familiar with a variety of culture teaching strategies, such as culture capsules, culture clusters, culture assimilators, and cultural minidramas, but they do not know how to integrate the strategies into a systematic study of culture, nor how to integrate culture study with language learning.
The present transition from an industry-oriented society to an information-oriented society helps to provide solutions to the language/culture dilemma. The high technology revolution is now beginning to create programs in which systematic approaches to an integrated language/culture program are incorporated. With each new machine to be used in the classroom, the fear again arises that the computer will replace the teacher, or protests emerge that the computer can never provide the student the personal, human touch that only a human being has the capabilities to generate. To the concern and the protestation we offer the rejoinder that if technology ever replaces the teacher, the teacher, alas, never had the personal, human touch. If the teacher doesn't have the qualities beyond the mechanics of high technology, she/he ought to be replaced, not by a computer, but by a real teacher.
Lest we miss the point here, we must make a firm statement that in this age of informational technology, a computer must be given the opportunity to perform functions that it can do as well as a teacher and perhaps more consistently. The teacher must assume a more dynamic role in using the time available in the classroom which was previously allotted to mechanical presentations that a computer can do as well and perhaps better. The teacher can then concentrate on dynamic class activities which give the learner direct experience in communication involving language and culture in a vibrant, enlivened, morphological context. What, for example, would the advantages be to the learner, if grammar were taken from the classroom and consigned to a learning center? How much more time would then be available for the teacher and the learner to actively use the language and to allow for vital communicative interaction?
We believe that VIDEODEUTSCH represents a major step in the right direction. Not only does it make it possible to move some of the mechanical aspects of language learning from the classroom to the laboratory, or even to the home, but it also employs visual cultural materials for interactive learning in the laboratory and the home.
VIDEODEUTSCH can also be teacher-controlled in the classroom and treated as a means to language/cultural literacy to an extent no textbook has ever been able to reach. The visual reference material coupled with the random access capabilities of the computer allows the student to experience verbal and nonverbal linguistic and cultural phenomena in such a realistic way that the experience can be bettered only by the learner being in the target environment. Even firsthand experience in the foreign culture isn't usually or necessarily a solution to the problem of acquiring cultural literacy. A teacher or a guide who has cultural expertise can help immensely. However, in lieu of this possibility, a program such as VIDEODEUTSCH, which we now describe, is the learner's best resource.
THE HARDWARE
It is the hardware that enables and facilitates the controlled random access of video material and the presentation of other language and cultural materials in a pre-programmed systematic manner. As such, the hardware is absolutely indispensable for the presentation of the material so as to get maximum benefit in or out of the classroom.
For accurate presentation of selected visual reference material, the teacher-programmer must have a way to begin a video segment at precisely the moment desired and end the material with the same accuracy. At first we thought that this precision would be impossible to achieve using a VCR. The literature suggested that due to repeated playings and the expansion of videotape, that only relative, short-lived accuracy could be attained. Our experimentation over several months has shown this to be fallacious. At the core of our relatively small inventory of hardware, is an interactive device which links the microcomputer and the color video recorder. This interface is known as the BCS 450 and is available from BCD Associates in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The commands moving from the computer to the recorder cause the VCR to begin to show a segment of tape at a specific, selected point and play until a further command compels it to stop where desired. This is possible because the videotape itself is encoded with address locations. BCD supplies a program with the interface known as Logger I. It comes complete with instructions and enables the encoding of the videotape on the second sound track of the tape. The first sound track is reserved for the audio which accompanies the visual aspects of the tape.
Because of the necessity of a VCR recorder which requires two sound tracks, only industrial models are useful in projects of this type. We used a Panasonic NV 8200 VHS videocassette recorder which employs the American NTSC system. If tapes are acquired from outside the U.S. for such use, they must be played on the same system on which they were originally recorded (PAL, SECAM, Japanese NTSC) or transcoded for use on a domestic machine. Because of the availability of foreign tapes, other recorders might be desirable to consider for those times when such tapes are required for a specific program.
The BCD interface card is connected from the computer directly to the VCR. This enables the commands to move to the VCR when stimulated to do so by the computer program.
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0x01 graphic
We could have used an Apple II Plus or an Apple IIe for our central nerve system. However, the Apple IIe has some features that make life with foreign language characters much easier. Because we had access to the Apple IIe, we were able to deal with special language characters—letters such as umlauts and the sharp s—without difficulty. But the chief decision to work with the Apple computer was made because the BCD interface was designed for compatibility with Apple products from early on. Just recently other hardware configurations have become possible because of the emergence of other BCD products.
In our experimentation we decided that we needed to have the use of two video monitors. The first was a small, green-screened monitor which is usually supplied with the computer. The second was a large color video monitor. We used the Panasonic Tristandard, model CT 2000 M, because of its compatibility with the VCR. It has the direct 16 pin connector cable which carries both picture and sound from the recorder to monitor. Both screens show the computer programs until a command is sent to the VCR to play. At this time the computer messages to the large color monitor are pre-empted in favor of the video portrayal. As soon as the video segment ends, the large monitor returns to computer control. This arrangement allows the programmer some interesting capabilities. For example, a segment of videologue (video dialoque) can be shown and heard on the large monitor while the text is yet visible on the smaller screen. In this way, the learner can either see the pictorial representation directly or listen to the audio portions of the video while reading the dialogue on the other screen.
To complete the hardware inventory, the teacher-programmer needs two disc drives and access to a printer so that the programs can be seen on hard copy for eventual corrections. However, the learner using a program created in the style of VIDEODEUTSCH needs only one disc drive. The second drive is necessary only in the creation of the computer programs.
PROGRAMMING
It is possible that if the teacher is in possession of fundamental programming capabilities, she/he will not need the assistance of an authoring package. This simplifies the task at hand considerably. For our part, we used Apple's Super Pilot authoring system. It is based on the Pascal language, but one need not know Pascal to manage it comfortably, if not relatively easily. A recommendation worthy of mention here is that the teacher-programmer should always maintain contact with an expert programmer. We practiced this admonition, and it saved us enormous amounts of time. We probably could have accomplished almost anything we did in the project on our own, but we soon learned that valid shortcuts were available which paid off not only because of the conservation of valuable time, but because computer memory space could often be preserved by those more knowledgeable in programming.
With Super Pilot we not only had an interactive connection with the video recorder, but we were also able to work the language and culture away from the visual reference material in many excellent ways thus benefiting the student even more.
THE PROGRAM VIDEODEUTSCH
The video reference material involved in this project is of two types. First, because of its availability to our project, we have an inventory of Deutschlandspiegel films which have been dubbed over from 16mm film to videotape. We did this with permission of the appropriate German agencies. The disadvantage of this type of narrative-oriented video material is that the learner has little or no opportunity to see the actual physiognomy of the narrator, and much nonverbal culture which might be expressed by the narrator and otherwise discussed is lost. This leaves only a small amount of nonverbal culture which is expressed by others in the films. As a result, we created our own dramatic scripts which are of graduated difficulty levels. We call these videologues because they have dialogue content and also much visual, nonverbal information which is pointed out and explained by the program. Al the characters who acted for us in these homemade episodes are either native or have native capabilities.
Our first videologue, for example, has a setting in the United States. Paul Jackson, an American, has just arrived home from Germany where his freelance photography has taken him to collect materials for a movie on German culture. He knows how to shoot the scenes, but he isn't sure just how to best focus on the cultural content in some of his material. So, he invites Hannelore Ebbighausen, an acquaintance of his from Munich, to come over to help him with his work. The episode begins as she arrives. We entitle the videologue, Ein Besuch (A Visit), because we want to concentrate on meaningful cultural phenomena arising during greetings and visits. But our efforts don't stop there. We go on to concentrate on the nonverbal cultural behavior demonstrated by our characters in our videologues. We also used the Deutschlandspeigel films to teach nonverbal cultural behavior when appropriate.
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The central visual feature of the first part of a unit is the homemade dramatic video. The narrative Deutschlandspeigel occupies a prominent position in the second part. By and large the mechanics of the first and the second parts are the same, so we will give a representation of just the first half of a unit here.
The half unit is divided into several segments. In each of these we concentrate on some different aspect of the language, the culture, or a combination of both, including the nonverbal. Along the way we insert programming commands which are designed to help maintain the interest of the learner. Some of these include positive reinforcement by means of little audio melodies when the correct action is taken or the right answer is given; sometimes a restraining reinforcement is given by a noise or a negative sound when something needs to be repeated or wasn't correct. In some of the segments we keep score, and the learner must achieve a certain rate in order to go on. We have tried to maintain as a main feature of the project the concept of mastery. One is not allowed to advance until a certain literacy level has been achieved. This is accomplished by looping statements in the program.
We associate each half unit of the VIDEODEUTSCH program with specific grammar and syntax which must be studied and internalized before the computer-controlled videotape containing the VIDEODEUTSCH unit is encountered. These specified background skills can be developed from any of a number of good texts or from some computerized grammar programs.
Upon beginning the VIDEODEUTSCH program the learner is shown some graphics introducing the program and then moves into phase I where instructions are given for the work at hand. The learner will have to interact with the videologue in a number of ways. First, the learner will see the episode on the large screen from beginning to end, then the text of the videologue appears before the learner on the computer screen as well as the color monitor. Next the episode plays again. The student concentrates not only on the visual, but she/he attempts to associate the sounds of the videologue with the text directly in front of her/him. Finally small segments of the videologue are shown—as single utterances—and the learner sees these individually on the computer screen. After hearing the original, the learner repeats the utterances in an attempt to replicate the sounds just heard. Then the entire episode is presented again, this time uninterrupted.
In phase II we begin to stimulate the building of vocabulary which is a part of the videologue. The learner is first shown an English word or phrase, then the German equivalent. The task of the learner is to see each new English word or phrase, associate it with the accompanying German equivalent, and then type the German equivalent. If the learner makes a mistake, the opportunity arises immediately for her/him to correct the problem. All vocabulary items are practiced in this manner. Along the way, significant grammatical reminders are infused into the program as a support and guide to the learner.
0x01 graphic
As the student enters phase III, the tables are turned. The learner must now, based on a random representation of the vocabulary seen in German, give an English equivalent. Here a score is kept, and the learner must achieve a mastery level to go on.
In phase IV vocabulary training is continued. The learner is advised that the activity gets a little more challenging here. Now the learner must supply the correct German equivalent of an English word or expression. This might require correct conjugation of verbs or the provision of correct noun forms as well as the representation of idiomatic expressions in German. At the end of the phase, we have provided a nice feature for the review of those items that remain incorrect after the mastery level is achieved.
In phase V we are still dealing with vocabulary but now in a sort of game. The learner is given a clue in German or English which elicits a vocabulary item in a specific form, i.e. plural, conjugated in a certain way, etc. The clue stimulates the form required. For example, when the program displays Opposite of 'not much,' the learner types viel for a correct response. Any time more than one form of a word or phrase is possible, the computer program takes this into consideration. In its memory are matches for all correct
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alternatives. The learner is aware that the parameters of the vocabulary exercise are limited to those items in the videologue.
The final vocabulary segment of the first half unit is phase VI. It is sort of a cloze quiz. The instructions to the learner are as follows:
Here is your final vocabulary section. This will help you make correct word selections in a context. You will be provided with a paragraph with blanks in place of some words. When a blank turns white, type the word you think should go there and press RETURN. If you used the wrong word, it will turn red. You must fill in 13 or more of the blanks with the correct vocabulary items. If you don't get 13 or more correct the first time, you will be allowed to try again on the ones you missed.
The context is the language of the videologue, so the student is working with familiar material.
A word now about classroom work. After the vocabulary and the videologue have been practiced outside class in the way described here, requiring mastery, the learner, prompted by the teacher and/or the videologue or both, should be capable of meaningful communicative work in the classroom.
0x01 graphic Phase VII probes into the understanding of the Berbal content of the videologue. The learner is presented with a set of content queries in the form of multiple choice and true/false statements. Again we have a game atmosphere since score is kept. Scoring is the same as before and relates to the mastery level. In the videologue, Hannelore arrives at Paul's at exactly eight o'clock. A true/false statement from this phase is: Es ist genau acht Uhr, und Lore ist punktlich. The statement is obviously true, and if the learner presses the t on the keyboard, she/he will be given appropriate credit. The statements are presented in a random fashion, and if the student is not successful with some of the statements, she/he will have the opportunity to see them again until mastery is achieved. The correctly treated statements do not reappear.
The last part of the first half of the unit is divided into phases VIII and IX. This is done because of programming necessities and the use of memory as dictated by Super Pilot. The information is simply too long to put into one phase. For our purposes here, we will treat the two phases as one cohesive segment. In terms of language training and culture, this segment has significance far beyond any other approach that we know of. We call this segment The Fifth Dimension. Although textbooks and teachers have been bound to the four skills approach to language learning, this project goes beyond the concepts of listening, reading, speaking and writing. In the broad confines of this project, we provide for practice in these four traditional areas, but this program brings culture to the foreground in significantly different ways. It does so not only on a systematic bases, which is so often lacking in the classroom, but it treats nonverbal culture and enhances the chances for nonverbal cultural literacy in our learners. Thus our designation: The Fifth Dimension.
In the videologue under discussion, we delve into physical behavior, greetings, stereotyping, the physical appearance of the characters, dress, the handshake, forms of address and other verbal and nonverbal cultural signs. The learner is sometimes guided by questions which lead to conclusions and understanding about the culture. One portion of The Fifth Dimension begins like this: This segment presents a nonverbal aspect of culture which is very common in Germany. This form of communication relates to a concept called 'kinesics' which has to do with how we use our bodies to interact with each other.
At this point we give a hint. We ask the learner to look at a specific, limited segment of the videologue and concentrate on kinesic behavior. After the scene has unfolded, we offer a multiple choice option which serves to help the learner isolate the behavior. To get at the desired goal, we say the following:
The significant action in this section of videologue is:
a - Paul's way of looking at Lore.
b - Lore's way of looking at Paul.
c - Their handshake.
d - How Paul looks at his watch.
The video segment would only allow the learner to think of the handshake. If, however, the learner doesn't choose the right concept, she/he is able to watch the scene again. If the learner has difficulty (which shouldn't be the case), we simply continue by pointing out that we are going to concentrate on the handshake. Then we ask why the handshake is significant. Again we provide a multiple choice orientation:
a - When Germans meet, they just have to touch each other.
b - They shake hands to define their space. They need to adjust the distance between them for a comfortable position.
c - This is an acceptable and common greeting in German.
d - None of the above.
If d is given for the answer, we indicate that the student has blown the situation and must try again. All of the other answers are correct, and we finally tell them that. One correct answer will bring them to that reality.
Along the way we try to ask questions which transmute the comprehension of culture from that of the physical sign(s) to that of the underlying necessity(ies) which gives rise to the physical
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sign(s). As a result, a question like this is offered:
What is the underlying necessity that prompts a handshake, rubbing noses or any form of touching? We then give explanations
It appears that in every society there is a need to touch, but at times is absolutely taboo to do so. However, despite the fact that a need to touch is common to all cultures, physical contact can convey very different meanings. Haptics is a term used to describe communication by touching.
The explanation continues:
Back to Lore's and Paul's handshake. Although matters have changed a lot in recent years, Germans still shake hands a lot more than Americans. In addition to shaking hands when being introduced, many Germans consider a handshake part of the everyday greeting. Germans shake hands on the street, in stores and in other public places. And don't be surprised if someone extends an elbow or a little finger to touch if arms are full or hands are dirty and wet. To be proper you should shake a woman's hand before a man's or a child's; an older person's hand before a younger person's. You should take care to shake hands with everyone in the group. If there are more than two people shaking hands, they should take turns, as four people forming a cross by shaking hands at the same time is superstitiously avoided.6 You'll learn more about haptics (touching remember?) later.
While the learner is guided methodically through the final explanation, the project design takes into account that the learner must be tested along the way to probe into her/his cultural literacy bank. For this reason, tests are given after every two units. These tests originate by showing a video segment never seen before by the learner. However, the segments contain verbal and nonverbal culture analogous to those types presented in earlier phases. Probing questions determine whether the learner has indeed garnered the concepts and understood culture as it has been treated. If it is found that any learner is delinquent, that individual is returned to previous work for a review.
As The Fifth Dimension ends, so ends the first half of the unit. Except for the substitution of the narrative Deutschlandspiegel episodes for the dramatic homemade video material, the programming approach to the second half of each unit is the same, including The Fifth Dimension.
A Sample of the Programming
In order to give a sense of the programming of this project, we offer the following. This particular example comes from The Fifth Dimension. Its focus is naturally different than the vocabulary building segments or those devoted to understanding the verbal content, but it does illustrate how video segments are brought up. In this case the video command is used in conjunction with cultural explanations. Those commands beginning with v activate and deactivate the videotape. A full explanation of all the commands is given with the literature accompanying the Super Pilot authoring system and the BCD Logger I program.
The program sample:
ts:v;es;g6,0;t2
t:Cultural Concept 2
g:c5;o0,486;d560,0
ts:t1;v0,39,2,23
t:
t:Stereotyping: viewing people or
t:cultures according to popular
t:(usually incorrect) conceptions,
t:thereby ignoring individuality.
t:
t:Stereotyping can be dangerous. We
:want to break down some of your
:misconceptions about Germans.
t:
t:
t:Hint: Pay particular attention to
:Lore's physical appearance in this
:segment of the videologue...
v:find800
c:
u:pause
v:plyv1000
ts:es;g0,6
t: True or false?
t:
t: The physical appearance of
:people within a society characterizes
:the society as a whole.
u:tfin
m:t
sn:6,60;4,60;2,90
sy:46,8;48,8;46,8;48,8;46,8;48,8;46,8
ts:es
thn:Nein!
thy:Correct!
*2.1
t:People's appearance is
:very important in assessing their culture.
t:Many times, however, we make the mistake of overlooking the details by substituting stereotypes.
t:These are common misconceptions about Germans:
t: Germans are militaristic.
t:Germans are blonde and fat.
t: Germans are formal and domineering.
The *intro is placed at the end of the program segment so that memory locations at the beginning are made available to those portions of the program which must repeatedly be sought out on a random basis. The nature of Super Pilot is to go to the beginning of a program to make a search. Placing the *intro at the end saves valuable time which would otherwise be lost would each search have to find its way through the *intro because it was at the beginning.
Editor's Note: The text of the program sample has been greatly shortened by the Editor due to space requirements.
CONCLUSION
For years we have been concerned with the problem of teaching culture and language simultaneously. It is very obvious that teaching language essentially
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by itself has been the major emphasis of textbook writers and language teachers. The addition of film and video provide an extra dimension and opportunity for learning especially in the area of culture and are the next best experience to actually being in the country. The best experience, of course, would seem to be that of participating in programs such as study abroad or live-in opportunities. However, the visual media, coupled with the microcomputer's interactive capabilities, set up language/culture learning circumstances that are quite exciting and go beyond what is commonly available today. The text of VIDEODEUTSCH as described here communicates to the student and involves the learner in the native invironment to an extent few, if any pedagogical projects ever before conceived. The whole area of nonverbal culture can now be added to verbal culture and language learning and can be presented in the laboratory or the classroom for the greater edification of the learner.
We conclude with a summary of some of the important thoughts:
1. Interactive video, especially with a VCR, is a natural to facilitate acquisition of culture and language.
2. The interactive nature of this project has application in the laboratory where mastery learning takes place. This provides valuable time in the classroom where the teacher facilitates dynamic communication based on the laboratory experience. Furthermore, the hardware and visual reference material can be introduced into the classroom, but only after the mastery learning has been accomplished. Then and there the teacher can use the program to enhance the communicative process.
3. The visual reference material is cultural reality. It comes from authentic sources. This is not a picture in a book, but involvement and experience.
4. Almost all videotapes can be adapted for use at all levels of the academic structure. Universities and public schools can afford this sort of approach to interactive video, whereas interactive videodisc is presently prohibitive in price for such institutions.
5. There are numerous sources for the procurement of inexpensive video materials. From Germany, for example, the following offices have materials available for loan, reasonable purchase, and often, as gifts: The German Information Office, The Goethe Institutes, the information centers of the major cities in Germany, the embassy and the consulates of the Federal Republic, and more. Don't forget your own creativity. Produce your own flicks.
E.T. Hall, The Silent Language (Garden City, New York: Anchor Press/Double Day, 1973), p. 39.
Linda Crawford-Lange and Dale L. Lange, "Doing the Unthinkable in the Foreign Language Classroom: A Process for the Integration of Language and Culture," Teaching for Proficiency. The Organizing Principle, ed. Theodore V. Higgs (Lincoln-wood, Illinois: National Textbook Co, 1984) p. 140.
Ibid, p. 141.
For one such approach, see: Rex C. Dahl, "High Technology, Language Learning and Nonverbal Cultural Literacy," De Unterrichtspraxis, Spring 1984, pp. 66-75.
Ibid.
6 We found that there are two good publications which provide information that synchronize amazingly well with our systematized approach to nonverbal culture. Some of our explanations are conditioned by the language used in these books. For example, a segment on "Shaking Hands" appears in Culture for Missionaries, (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Publications, 1980) 2nd edition, p. 40. The second work we find very useful is: These strange German Ways, ed. Irmgard Burmeister (Hamburg, Germany: Atlantik-Brücke, 1979) 13 edition.
Retrieved on December 20, 2010 from https://www.calico.org/memberBrowse.php?action=article&id=256
Senin, 20 Desember 2010
Literature: Transition From Multimedia Materials To Interactive Videotape In Teaching Russian Culture And Language
Casimir J. Norkeliunas, Ph.D.
Abstract:
This article describes some of the benefits that can be found by using high technology materials in difficult teaching situations. Marist College is developing several CALI programs. The author describes a slightly different use of technology where multimedia and CAI are used to teach Russian culture. Increased student motivation is a major benefit. The author also discusses how this approach allows for meeting individual needs.
KEYWORDS: Marist College, Russian, culture, multimedia, student motivation, interactive video and audio, videotape
At Marist College we have a CORE Program from which all students are required to take 26 credits. One of the required categories in the CORE is a grouping of disciplines under the heading of World Literature—Foreign Language—Foreign Culture. The student has the option of electing one of the three areas towards the fulfillment of the CORE requirements. I teach a CORE course entitled Soviet Union Today: Land, People, and Culture. In the presentation of the content we have relied heavily on multimedia materials. Forty percent of the content is delivered by way of audio-visuals; sixty percent via the lecture method, guest speakers and group discussions.
The use of multimedia has been extremely successful. The course is consistently over-enrolled and very popular on campus—so much so that the one section that was scheduled for the spring semester had an over subscription of 97 students. The maximum for the course is 30. My hope was that this course could be taught through independent study by way of interactive videotape. The major topics of Russian culture could be viewed and mastered outside the classroom in the college's learning center, thereby releasing my time to work with students in tutorials, consultation and the writing of serious research papers.
I have recently turned to the new computer technology to develop my own software materials since there is very little commercial software appropriate for the teaching of Russian culture.
SUCCESS IN TEACHING
Whether we succeed or fail as teachers is entirely an attitudinal matter. It is not a question of intelligence or stupidity on the part of our students, but first, and most importantly, the attitude we hold toward them and how we regard our subject matter and our delivery systems. As I see it, there are, in smaller colleges, two all too common attitudes toward the teaching profession: (1) There is the teacher who has three or four classes of 40 to 50 students each whose perception of such large student number may be: There are too many in this class; they cannot possibly all pass my course. And with my heavy load, I certainly will not have much extra time to give outside-the-class assistance to them. Besides, my commitments to committee and departmental work are heavy, and I cannot worry whether or not every individual in my class learns or has the opportunity to master the subject matter. (2) The other attitude is very similar to the one above: In the past few years, the incoming students have been rather inferior to what I had in the past. They can hardly read or write, and their motivation level is so low that they fall asleep during my lectures. Why, then, should I go out of my way to ensure their passing the course or comprehending the covered material.
From my personal experience, I know that these two attitudes do exist on campus. Fortunately, there is a third attitude: the teacher thinks, Yes (1) the student
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numbers in my course are excessive; and (2) their abilities in English skills are not what they generally were in the past. But my job is to teach. Given this situation, how do I impart my subject matter to these students and, most importantly, how do I deal with the problem of student motivation; i.e., how do I go about increasing his interest in learning? This paper suggests some things we have done at Marist College to generate motivation, and how we are now implementing these with the aid of the computer and videotape.
THE CASE FOR MULTIMEDIA APPROACH IN TEACHING
The Multimedia approach, as I have found over the past six years in teaching Russian culture, is an obvious solution to the problem of teaching large classes of students with varied abilities and degrees of interest. My course in Russian culture is dual listed: students take it in fulfillment of the CORE requirement in the foreign language/culture component or as an elective. As a result, I have students in my class that range from seniors to freshmen, from completely literate to the semi-illiterate student.
While it is difficult to find one medium that will be best for everyone, use of a variety of media helps the teacher to reach most individuals eventually. Some students will be able to grasp the concepts from just the lectures and reading their text (Hedrick Smith's The Russians and Suzanne Massie's Land of the Firebird), others only after the ideas are presented and discussed in class, and still others only after the concepts have been illustrated in a multimedia program. Within the bounds of time and practicality, the teacher should try several methodological approaches before leaving the topic. His goal is to reach the whole class. This is one important justification for the use of AV materials. Many of the multimedia materials used in class are available at the Beirne Media Center, our resource center; thus the resource center becomes a laboratory experience for review and reinforcement of what was covered in class. Students who find that they need extra help can go over the AV materials as many times as they need to. If suitable AV materials are found, both the student's need for lengthy individual sessions and the teacher's need to utilize time to the best advantage for meeting needs of entire classes can b e at least partially satisfied. Also, students who have missed the class (for legitimate reasons) can go over the material they missed on their own.
TYPES OF MULTIMEDIA MATERIALS USED IN TEACHING RUSSIAN CULTURE
I have been using a tremendous variety of multimedia materials.
A. 16MM Films:
1. owned by the college;
2. bought by me through a grant award;
3. those borrowed from the Mid-Hudson Library System.
B. Super 8 Films—taken and produced by me while on my two trips to the Soviet Union.
C. Filmstrips (numerous ones):
1. Soviet Union Today;
2. Tolstoy's Yasnaya Polyana;
3. Russian Fairy Tales;
4. And many more
D. Slides—on every major topic covered by the course, most of them prepared by me with grant funds;
E. Video Cassettes—BBC Production of Leo Tolstoy;
F. Audio Cassettes—Russian music: excerpts from most famous works of Russian composers.
G. Realia—objects of Russian folk art, icons, Easter eggs, amber, etc. (a collection of about 30 objects).
H. Maps, Posters, Tourist Guide Books, Postcards, etc.
I. Guest Speakers—invited guests, experts in their field, address the class on various topics of Russian culture.
J. Russian Cuisine—Russian dinner for the entire class (each student prepares a Russian dish from Time-Life Cookbook Series).
THE USE OF MULTIMEDIA IN TEACHING A FOREIGN CULTURE
Student travel to the country being studied would be most ideal. However, the majority of our Marist students do not have the funds to go abroad. Both travel costs and living expenses in a foreign country are prohibitive for most students.
Travel to the Soviet Union has other obstacles in addition to financial considerations. The Soviet Union is a police-controlled state and, as a result, a closed society where interaction between foreign tourists and the general native population is very limited. Official Soviet guides, representing In Tourist, the state tourist agency and a state monopoly, shepherd, monitor and accompany all the foreign groups traveling in the Soviet Union. In addition, the itinerary and the actual t ravel inside Russia are heavily restricted. For example, the average tourist can visit only a handful of major cities, primarily Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev, and will only be allowed to travel the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivastole.
The only inexpensive way to learn about Russia, the rest of the Soviet Union, its people, and their way of life is through a vicarious experience of multimedia. The various audio-visual materials become the main vehicle of transmitting information on the study of Russian culture. The Russian instructor's job is perhaps the most difficult for he has to focus on the main concepts of culture, the ideas and salient traits found in the psyche and spirit of a particular nation. The problem before the teacher is to decide the strategy, the methodology of how best to concretize the theoretical aspects of the course. It has been our contention all along that the vicarious experience can be best achieved by using multimedia. Now we are expanding into a new dimension made possible by technology: the interactive videodisc and the videotape which we are currently setting in place.
20
THE MAJOR CONCEPTS AND PROBLEMS IN RUSSIAN CULTURE: AN OUTLINE
The following underscores only some of the basic concepts and issues found in Russian culture and the difficulty for American students to understand them and the methods of teaching them in my classes.
A. A Russian's Closeness to Nature and the Soil (Pochva)
—The mystique of organic earth and the Russian man's spiritual and mystical (mythical as well) ties to it; i.e. to the virgin soil, rich black earth, the pochva, of the Western Russian plain. (The fertility of the Russian earth and all its life-generating forces);
—The Russian psyche is mystically attuned to the universe through man's closeness to nature; How do you get this idea across to urbanized Americans?
B. Man and the Concept of Limitless Space
—As this is found in the vastness of the Russian plain call the steppe;
—Man feels lost in a sea of flat terrain and the looming vault of the skies;
—The reality of Russia's physical geography, the horizon meeting with the level endless plain, producing the feeling of boundlessness and immensity and man's insignificance, smallness, and vulnerability before nature.
C. Subjugation and Oppression as a Historical-Cultural Heritage of the People. This is the most difficult concept: lack of freedom. The notion of FREEDOM as we understand it in the context of American history, both past and present, is incomprehensible to a Russian. The yoke of semi- or total slavery has been borne by Russians since 1242, from the traumatic invasion by the Tartars to the present. The centuries-long curtailment of freedom has been brutally imposed on the Russian masses by the state, whether the state expressed itself in the form of Mongol absolutism, the centralism of the Moscow Princes of the medieval Russia, the autocratic despotism of the Romanoff Dynasty, or today's totalitarianism of Soviet rulers. The docile acceptance of this historical condition has become one of the inner traits, and paradoxically an inner strength, of the Russian psyche. A Russian views life not in terms of freedom, but in the degree of servility and brutality imposed on him by his despotic governments. As a result of this, you have produced one of the salient and key features, both psychological and ethical, of a Russian's nature. And this is that man quietly resigns himself to suffering and passively accepts the imposed controls from above. This one cultural feature, the people's acceptance of slavish conditions, produces two perplexing questions in the minds of freedom-oriented Americans. One is: If a Russian's existence has been and still is so harsh and repressive, why does the Russian not leave his land for countries that are free and democratic (supposing the Soviet State did allow its citizens to emigrate)? The second question is: Why do the dissenters or critics of Soviet Communist Regime, such as Boris Pasternak, Andrew Sakharov and Alexander Solzhenitsny dread and always have dreaded the physical separation from their homeland (i.e., for example, through permission to emigrate or forced to exile to the West)? The answer to these two questions can be found only if one understands my first two earlier-mentioned traits of Russian culture, namely: (a) man's closeness to nature and to the soil (pochva) and (b) man and the concept of limitless Russia. The answer does exist, and is dualistic. The common people, the masses, do feel a mystical bond to their homeland, the spiritual attachment to the land and the love for Mother Russia, victimized and brutalized (the image of the historical rape of a land and a people) by foreign invaders such as Tartars, Poles, Swedes, Lithuanians, Frenchmen, Germans and native Russian despots. But the moral strength and spirit of Russia and its people survives. And it is this moral spirit that sooner or later will change the political conditions in Russia and create freedom for all.
As a teacher, how does one communicate these and other hard-to-understand concepts to an American student whose way of life is grounded in (a) almost excessive freedom and early rebellion against authority, and (b) the idea of uniqueness and significance of individuality and the individual as opposed to the concept of the individual functioning only as a part of a group, collective or mass. Or still, another point, how does one explain the attitude of submission and docility as it is found in Soviet Russian society today? Other themes in the Russian culture course that are particularly difficult to explain are these:
1. Tolerance for the Soviet Regime by the present generation of Russians;
2. Duality and contradiction in the Russian character (violent, authoritarian nature versus sensitive, spiritual man);
3. Religious culture: Christian meekness and altruism;
4. Church art: the icon;
5. The Russian soul: what is it and what does it mean?
6. The Russian fine arts: originality and uniqueness; (ballet, theater, music literature);
7. Plight of women in Russian culture;
8. Role of women in Russian culture;
9. Censorship and propaganda;
10. Police state: use of terror on and surveillance of the populace;
11. Russian cuisine: foods;
12. Education;
13. And others.
Such sharp differences in Russian culture, so alien to an American mind and his view of the world, can best be illustrated and brought home to students using various multimedia approaches in the classroom and for viewing in the AV Center (and especially the interactive videodisc and videotape).
In bringing across the idea of a Russian's closeness to nature and his mystical attraction to the soil, I introduce the topic by showing the class a twenty minute 16mm film
21
entitled Pysanka—the Ukranian Easter Egg and a video-cassette produced by the British Broadcasting Company entitled Leo Tolstoy. These two visual aids graphically bring out some of the major ideas that are so difficult to communicate to students simply in the traditional lecture approach. Another example would be the concept of a Russian's acceptance of oppression and dumb docility. I make use of my own set of slides (my own production) to illustrate the long history of terror imposed on the people by the State; the slides are entitled Exile to Siberia. Also for that same topic, I use my own set of slides entitled Russian Serfdom and the Peasant Way of Life and a video-cassette entitled The World Turned Upside Down. For every topic that I cover in the course, there is an accompanying set of slide or films or some other appropriate multimedia aid.
STUDENT RESPONSE TO MULTIMEDIA APPROACH
AV materials in the teaching of foreign culture are of inestimable value. I have discovered that these aids are extremely effective; especially at a time when the visual media seems to dominate all our lives and, as such, that this visual conditioning communicates to us with greater sharpness and impression. It must be kept in mind that multimedia materials serve the teacher only as supports to his lectures and the assigned required readings; nevertheless, they are essential graphic portrayals of the Russian life which could not be otherwise experienced by students other than through travel to the Soviet Union. Student evaluations, both essay and objective, of the multimedia used in the course attest to the effectiveness of their use in the classroom.
Students report their perceptions of the various forms of teaching using high technology as follows:
1. It is a source of increased motivation.
2. It supplements and enhances course content.
3. In general, it is a valuable component of course instruction.
4. It allows independent study.
5. It allows self-paced instruction.
6. Interactive videotape may accelerate learning.
The rewards are considerable. Once a technique is mastered, its use can free a teacher for many instructional activities in which human interaction is always vital. It can free a teacher to:
1. Monitor a student's research project via tutorials.
2. Utilize what would have been lecture time for academic research and other curriculum development projects.
CONCLUSIONS
Student course evaluations have indicated positive aspects of technological support on instruction...students perceive the use of technology in various forms as a source of interest, enhancement of content and a positive component of course instruction. Most teacher advocates of audiovisual aids have made similar observations on the primary and secondary level as well. An effective teacher knows the secret of AV instruction is to utilize the unique capability of each medium. This can only be accomplished if the teacher is willing to put in the necessary planning and effort. The rewards can be considerable. Once a technique is mastered, its use can free the teacher for the many classroom activities in which human interaction is still, and always will be, vital.
Author's Address
Marist College
Poughkeepsie, NY
Retrieved on December 20, 2010 from https://www.calico.org/memberBrowse.php?action=article&id=248
Abstract:
This article describes some of the benefits that can be found by using high technology materials in difficult teaching situations. Marist College is developing several CALI programs. The author describes a slightly different use of technology where multimedia and CAI are used to teach Russian culture. Increased student motivation is a major benefit. The author also discusses how this approach allows for meeting individual needs.
KEYWORDS: Marist College, Russian, culture, multimedia, student motivation, interactive video and audio, videotape
At Marist College we have a CORE Program from which all students are required to take 26 credits. One of the required categories in the CORE is a grouping of disciplines under the heading of World Literature—Foreign Language—Foreign Culture. The student has the option of electing one of the three areas towards the fulfillment of the CORE requirements. I teach a CORE course entitled Soviet Union Today: Land, People, and Culture. In the presentation of the content we have relied heavily on multimedia materials. Forty percent of the content is delivered by way of audio-visuals; sixty percent via the lecture method, guest speakers and group discussions.
The use of multimedia has been extremely successful. The course is consistently over-enrolled and very popular on campus—so much so that the one section that was scheduled for the spring semester had an over subscription of 97 students. The maximum for the course is 30. My hope was that this course could be taught through independent study by way of interactive videotape. The major topics of Russian culture could be viewed and mastered outside the classroom in the college's learning center, thereby releasing my time to work with students in tutorials, consultation and the writing of serious research papers.
I have recently turned to the new computer technology to develop my own software materials since there is very little commercial software appropriate for the teaching of Russian culture.
SUCCESS IN TEACHING
Whether we succeed or fail as teachers is entirely an attitudinal matter. It is not a question of intelligence or stupidity on the part of our students, but first, and most importantly, the attitude we hold toward them and how we regard our subject matter and our delivery systems. As I see it, there are, in smaller colleges, two all too common attitudes toward the teaching profession: (1) There is the teacher who has three or four classes of 40 to 50 students each whose perception of such large student number may be: There are too many in this class; they cannot possibly all pass my course. And with my heavy load, I certainly will not have much extra time to give outside-the-class assistance to them. Besides, my commitments to committee and departmental work are heavy, and I cannot worry whether or not every individual in my class learns or has the opportunity to master the subject matter. (2) The other attitude is very similar to the one above: In the past few years, the incoming students have been rather inferior to what I had in the past. They can hardly read or write, and their motivation level is so low that they fall asleep during my lectures. Why, then, should I go out of my way to ensure their passing the course or comprehending the covered material.
From my personal experience, I know that these two attitudes do exist on campus. Fortunately, there is a third attitude: the teacher thinks, Yes (1) the student
19
numbers in my course are excessive; and (2) their abilities in English skills are not what they generally were in the past. But my job is to teach. Given this situation, how do I impart my subject matter to these students and, most importantly, how do I deal with the problem of student motivation; i.e., how do I go about increasing his interest in learning? This paper suggests some things we have done at Marist College to generate motivation, and how we are now implementing these with the aid of the computer and videotape.
THE CASE FOR MULTIMEDIA APPROACH IN TEACHING
The Multimedia approach, as I have found over the past six years in teaching Russian culture, is an obvious solution to the problem of teaching large classes of students with varied abilities and degrees of interest. My course in Russian culture is dual listed: students take it in fulfillment of the CORE requirement in the foreign language/culture component or as an elective. As a result, I have students in my class that range from seniors to freshmen, from completely literate to the semi-illiterate student.
While it is difficult to find one medium that will be best for everyone, use of a variety of media helps the teacher to reach most individuals eventually. Some students will be able to grasp the concepts from just the lectures and reading their text (Hedrick Smith's The Russians and Suzanne Massie's Land of the Firebird), others only after the ideas are presented and discussed in class, and still others only after the concepts have been illustrated in a multimedia program. Within the bounds of time and practicality, the teacher should try several methodological approaches before leaving the topic. His goal is to reach the whole class. This is one important justification for the use of AV materials. Many of the multimedia materials used in class are available at the Beirne Media Center, our resource center; thus the resource center becomes a laboratory experience for review and reinforcement of what was covered in class. Students who find that they need extra help can go over the AV materials as many times as they need to. If suitable AV materials are found, both the student's need for lengthy individual sessions and the teacher's need to utilize time to the best advantage for meeting needs of entire classes can b e at least partially satisfied. Also, students who have missed the class (for legitimate reasons) can go over the material they missed on their own.
TYPES OF MULTIMEDIA MATERIALS USED IN TEACHING RUSSIAN CULTURE
I have been using a tremendous variety of multimedia materials.
A. 16MM Films:
1. owned by the college;
2. bought by me through a grant award;
3. those borrowed from the Mid-Hudson Library System.
B. Super 8 Films—taken and produced by me while on my two trips to the Soviet Union.
C. Filmstrips (numerous ones):
1. Soviet Union Today;
2. Tolstoy's Yasnaya Polyana;
3. Russian Fairy Tales;
4. And many more
D. Slides—on every major topic covered by the course, most of them prepared by me with grant funds;
E. Video Cassettes—BBC Production of Leo Tolstoy;
F. Audio Cassettes—Russian music: excerpts from most famous works of Russian composers.
G. Realia—objects of Russian folk art, icons, Easter eggs, amber, etc. (a collection of about 30 objects).
H. Maps, Posters, Tourist Guide Books, Postcards, etc.
I. Guest Speakers—invited guests, experts in their field, address the class on various topics of Russian culture.
J. Russian Cuisine—Russian dinner for the entire class (each student prepares a Russian dish from Time-Life Cookbook Series).
THE USE OF MULTIMEDIA IN TEACHING A FOREIGN CULTURE
Student travel to the country being studied would be most ideal. However, the majority of our Marist students do not have the funds to go abroad. Both travel costs and living expenses in a foreign country are prohibitive for most students.
Travel to the Soviet Union has other obstacles in addition to financial considerations. The Soviet Union is a police-controlled state and, as a result, a closed society where interaction between foreign tourists and the general native population is very limited. Official Soviet guides, representing In Tourist, the state tourist agency and a state monopoly, shepherd, monitor and accompany all the foreign groups traveling in the Soviet Union. In addition, the itinerary and the actual t ravel inside Russia are heavily restricted. For example, the average tourist can visit only a handful of major cities, primarily Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev, and will only be allowed to travel the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivastole.
The only inexpensive way to learn about Russia, the rest of the Soviet Union, its people, and their way of life is through a vicarious experience of multimedia. The various audio-visual materials become the main vehicle of transmitting information on the study of Russian culture. The Russian instructor's job is perhaps the most difficult for he has to focus on the main concepts of culture, the ideas and salient traits found in the psyche and spirit of a particular nation. The problem before the teacher is to decide the strategy, the methodology of how best to concretize the theoretical aspects of the course. It has been our contention all along that the vicarious experience can be best achieved by using multimedia. Now we are expanding into a new dimension made possible by technology: the interactive videodisc and the videotape which we are currently setting in place.
20
THE MAJOR CONCEPTS AND PROBLEMS IN RUSSIAN CULTURE: AN OUTLINE
The following underscores only some of the basic concepts and issues found in Russian culture and the difficulty for American students to understand them and the methods of teaching them in my classes.
A. A Russian's Closeness to Nature and the Soil (Pochva)
—The mystique of organic earth and the Russian man's spiritual and mystical (mythical as well) ties to it; i.e. to the virgin soil, rich black earth, the pochva, of the Western Russian plain. (The fertility of the Russian earth and all its life-generating forces);
—The Russian psyche is mystically attuned to the universe through man's closeness to nature; How do you get this idea across to urbanized Americans?
B. Man and the Concept of Limitless Space
—As this is found in the vastness of the Russian plain call the steppe;
—Man feels lost in a sea of flat terrain and the looming vault of the skies;
—The reality of Russia's physical geography, the horizon meeting with the level endless plain, producing the feeling of boundlessness and immensity and man's insignificance, smallness, and vulnerability before nature.
C. Subjugation and Oppression as a Historical-Cultural Heritage of the People. This is the most difficult concept: lack of freedom. The notion of FREEDOM as we understand it in the context of American history, both past and present, is incomprehensible to a Russian. The yoke of semi- or total slavery has been borne by Russians since 1242, from the traumatic invasion by the Tartars to the present. The centuries-long curtailment of freedom has been brutally imposed on the Russian masses by the state, whether the state expressed itself in the form of Mongol absolutism, the centralism of the Moscow Princes of the medieval Russia, the autocratic despotism of the Romanoff Dynasty, or today's totalitarianism of Soviet rulers. The docile acceptance of this historical condition has become one of the inner traits, and paradoxically an inner strength, of the Russian psyche. A Russian views life not in terms of freedom, but in the degree of servility and brutality imposed on him by his despotic governments. As a result of this, you have produced one of the salient and key features, both psychological and ethical, of a Russian's nature. And this is that man quietly resigns himself to suffering and passively accepts the imposed controls from above. This one cultural feature, the people's acceptance of slavish conditions, produces two perplexing questions in the minds of freedom-oriented Americans. One is: If a Russian's existence has been and still is so harsh and repressive, why does the Russian not leave his land for countries that are free and democratic (supposing the Soviet State did allow its citizens to emigrate)? The second question is: Why do the dissenters or critics of Soviet Communist Regime, such as Boris Pasternak, Andrew Sakharov and Alexander Solzhenitsny dread and always have dreaded the physical separation from their homeland (i.e., for example, through permission to emigrate or forced to exile to the West)? The answer to these two questions can be found only if one understands my first two earlier-mentioned traits of Russian culture, namely: (a) man's closeness to nature and to the soil (pochva) and (b) man and the concept of limitless Russia. The answer does exist, and is dualistic. The common people, the masses, do feel a mystical bond to their homeland, the spiritual attachment to the land and the love for Mother Russia, victimized and brutalized (the image of the historical rape of a land and a people) by foreign invaders such as Tartars, Poles, Swedes, Lithuanians, Frenchmen, Germans and native Russian despots. But the moral strength and spirit of Russia and its people survives. And it is this moral spirit that sooner or later will change the political conditions in Russia and create freedom for all.
As a teacher, how does one communicate these and other hard-to-understand concepts to an American student whose way of life is grounded in (a) almost excessive freedom and early rebellion against authority, and (b) the idea of uniqueness and significance of individuality and the individual as opposed to the concept of the individual functioning only as a part of a group, collective or mass. Or still, another point, how does one explain the attitude of submission and docility as it is found in Soviet Russian society today? Other themes in the Russian culture course that are particularly difficult to explain are these:
1. Tolerance for the Soviet Regime by the present generation of Russians;
2. Duality and contradiction in the Russian character (violent, authoritarian nature versus sensitive, spiritual man);
3. Religious culture: Christian meekness and altruism;
4. Church art: the icon;
5. The Russian soul: what is it and what does it mean?
6. The Russian fine arts: originality and uniqueness; (ballet, theater, music literature);
7. Plight of women in Russian culture;
8. Role of women in Russian culture;
9. Censorship and propaganda;
10. Police state: use of terror on and surveillance of the populace;
11. Russian cuisine: foods;
12. Education;
13. And others.
Such sharp differences in Russian culture, so alien to an American mind and his view of the world, can best be illustrated and brought home to students using various multimedia approaches in the classroom and for viewing in the AV Center (and especially the interactive videodisc and videotape).
In bringing across the idea of a Russian's closeness to nature and his mystical attraction to the soil, I introduce the topic by showing the class a twenty minute 16mm film
21
entitled Pysanka—the Ukranian Easter Egg and a video-cassette produced by the British Broadcasting Company entitled Leo Tolstoy. These two visual aids graphically bring out some of the major ideas that are so difficult to communicate to students simply in the traditional lecture approach. Another example would be the concept of a Russian's acceptance of oppression and dumb docility. I make use of my own set of slides (my own production) to illustrate the long history of terror imposed on the people by the State; the slides are entitled Exile to Siberia. Also for that same topic, I use my own set of slides entitled Russian Serfdom and the Peasant Way of Life and a video-cassette entitled The World Turned Upside Down. For every topic that I cover in the course, there is an accompanying set of slide or films or some other appropriate multimedia aid.
STUDENT RESPONSE TO MULTIMEDIA APPROACH
AV materials in the teaching of foreign culture are of inestimable value. I have discovered that these aids are extremely effective; especially at a time when the visual media seems to dominate all our lives and, as such, that this visual conditioning communicates to us with greater sharpness and impression. It must be kept in mind that multimedia materials serve the teacher only as supports to his lectures and the assigned required readings; nevertheless, they are essential graphic portrayals of the Russian life which could not be otherwise experienced by students other than through travel to the Soviet Union. Student evaluations, both essay and objective, of the multimedia used in the course attest to the effectiveness of their use in the classroom.
Students report their perceptions of the various forms of teaching using high technology as follows:
1. It is a source of increased motivation.
2. It supplements and enhances course content.
3. In general, it is a valuable component of course instruction.
4. It allows independent study.
5. It allows self-paced instruction.
6. Interactive videotape may accelerate learning.
The rewards are considerable. Once a technique is mastered, its use can free a teacher for many instructional activities in which human interaction is always vital. It can free a teacher to:
1. Monitor a student's research project via tutorials.
2. Utilize what would have been lecture time for academic research and other curriculum development projects.
CONCLUSIONS
Student course evaluations have indicated positive aspects of technological support on instruction...students perceive the use of technology in various forms as a source of interest, enhancement of content and a positive component of course instruction. Most teacher advocates of audiovisual aids have made similar observations on the primary and secondary level as well. An effective teacher knows the secret of AV instruction is to utilize the unique capability of each medium. This can only be accomplished if the teacher is willing to put in the necessary planning and effort. The rewards can be considerable. Once a technique is mastered, its use can free the teacher for the many classroom activities in which human interaction is still, and always will be, vital.
Author's Address
Marist College
Poughkeepsie, NY
Retrieved on December 20, 2010 from https://www.calico.org/memberBrowse.php?action=article&id=248
Literature: Going Beyond Classroom Learning: Acquiring Cultural Knowledge via On-Line Newspapers and Intercultural Exchanges via On-Line Chatrooms
Lina Lee
University of New Hampshire
Abstract:
The Internet is increasingly considered as an instructional tool for foreign language learning both within and beyond classroom learning. This article reports a pilot study on the use of a combination of Internet technologies--on-line newspapers and on-line chatrooms--to enhance the learning of advanced Spanish students. The goal of the project was (a) to create opportunities for students to read authentic materials and gain cultural knowledge via on-line newspapers, (b) to enhance intercultural exchanges via on-line chatrooms, and (c) to improve students' writing and speaking skills as well as promote collaborative learning among students. The positive results of the study indicate that foreign language teachers could well explore and experiment with the application of combined Internet resources for advanced language students.
KEYWORDS
On-line Newspapers, On-line Chatrooms, Culture, Advanced Spanish Learners, Collaborative Learning
INTRODUCTION Using the Internet as a teaching tool to facilitate and enhance foreign language teaching and learning is no longer new. Yet, the Internet still presents challenges to many of us in the teaching profession. The rapid
101
growth of Internet technologies has prompted many foreign language professionals to explore the possibilities offered by this electronic networking tool. Foreign language educators are most interested in learning how best to incorporate the Internet into their teaching. Research studies on the application of technology provide foreign language teachers with anecdotal accounts and valuable insights into pursuing practical ways to use the Internet. In addition, professional conferences and workshops allow teachers to gain both pedagogical knowledge and technological training in order to assist students more effectively in the use of the expanding resources of the Internet.
Clearly, the use of the target language is crucial to the development of foreign language proficiency, but the amount of time students have in the classroom to practice their language skills and to understand the target culture is very limited. One of the main reasons for employing the Internet is to provide increased opportunities to practice and to use the target language in communicative situations outside the classroom. Previous studies have shown the impact of the Internet on foreign language (e.g., Kern, 1995; Kuttenberg & Zeller, 1997; Lee, 1997b; Oliva & Pollastrini, 1995), but these studies have mainly focused on the asynchronous communication provided via E-Mail rather than on the synchronous interaction created through chatrooms (e.g., Chun, 1994; Kelm, 1992; Warschauer, 1996). Little research exists on the use of a combination of Internet tools for advanced foreign language students. Research on using on-line newspapers to develop cultural understandings and on-line chatrooms to increase intercultural exchanges is particularly needed. The combination of tools may maximize the effectiveness of Internet-based instruction in foreign language learning.
This article reports observations and conclusions drawn from a pilot project that used two Internet tools—on-line newspapers and on-line chatrooms—to enhance the learning of advanced students studying Spanish as a foreign language. The first section below provides an overview of the Internet for foreign language teaching and learning. The second section describes in detail an integrated method of using Internet-based activities to develop student language skills in advanced Spanish courses at the university level. The final section presents a summary of observations from the pilot study and gives suggestions for future directions.
THE INTERNET AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING
One of the important elements for success in learning a foreign language is the need for students to get more involved in the learning process (Lee & VanPatten, 1995; Nunan, 1988; Lee, 1997b; Scarcella & Oxford, 1992).
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The use of instructional materials based on on-line based technologies offers many innovative ways of engaging students in language acquisition. Students not only can explore target cultural resources using browsers such as Netscape or Internet Explorer but can also interact with native speakers around the world via on-line communication such as E- Mail exchanges, newsgroups, and chatrooms. These tools, both non-interactive and interactive, create opportunities for students to acquire knowledge about the target culture. More important, the Internet also provides a student-centered learning environment in which students receive input through on-line readings and produce output via the Computer Mediated Communication in the target language (Lafford & Lafford, 1997).
Understanding the diversity of the target culture is necessary for successful communication with native speakers (Savignon, 1983; Canale & Swain, 1980). On-line resources such as newspapers and magazines are, therefore, invaluable because they provide students with up-to-date cultural information that can lead to enhanced cultural awareness, understanding, and knowledge. Lee (1997b) has reported that students who accessed Spanish Web sites were able to relate what they had learned about foreign cultures to their own culture. Electronic communication via E-Mail exchanges offers opportunities for authentic communication and immediate sharing of cross-cultural information among users (Bernhardt & Kamil, 1998). Research projects on Internet technologies have shown that on-line based activities enhanced and improved students' language skills, especially in written communication (e.g., Cononelos & Oliva, 1993; Van Handle & Corl, 1998; Kern, 1995; Lee, 1997b; Wang, 1994). In addition, on-line activities seem to provide a stimulating learning environment which increases student motivation for further foreign language learning (Lee, 1997b).
Studies on CMC have reported improvements in students' language skills as well as a change in their attitude toward language learning in the classroom. (See Barson, Frommer & Schwartz, 1993; Beauvois, 1992 & 1997; Cononelos & Oliva, 1993; Lee, 1997b; Lunde, 1990; Sanaoui & Lapkin, 1992). Oliva and Pollastrini (1995, p. 552) have declared, for example, that "Computer network resources help students improve their language skills in a manner similar to full immersion or study abroad, but are based more heavily on written communication." Beauvois (1997, p. 180) has asserted that "students do communicate better as a general rule in the computer lab, if better means using longer, more complete utterances, expressing less superficial ideas, and communicating generally more openly about any given subject." Beauvois has also pointed out that the CMC allowed all students to participate in discussions, rather than only some students as is usually the case in traditional classrooms. Among Internet resources, on-line newspapers and on-line chatrooms are particularly beneficial to students at the advanced level because they
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require a high level of language proficiency to read, comprehend, and respond to cultural readings. Advanced students who use these kinds of resources can enhance their language skills as well as develop a sense of target language communities, together with a concomitant feeling of personal enjoyment and enrichment.
On-Line Newspapers
Electronic newspapers can be easily viewed in an Internet browser. A variety of on-line Hispanic newspapers is accessible to readers, ranging from Clarín Digital published in Buenos Aires to La Jornada in Mexico City and ABC in Madrid. These on-line newspapers allow students to read "input-rich" authentic materials of their choice as "Free Voluntary Reading," a crucial component in the acquisition of a foreign language (Krashen, 1993, 1995). In addition, access to daily newspapers makes it easier for students to acquire current lexical items, grammatical structures, and idiomatic expressions of the target language.
One of the five goals expressed in the Standards for Foreign Language Learning (1996, p. 56) is that students should be able to "demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own." Reading on-line newspapers makes students aware of current social phenomena. Different sections of newspapers such as Sports, Economics, Arts, and Entertainment provide considerable opportunities for students to compare and contrast the target and the native culture. Reading on-line newspapers also helps students understand the target culture so that they feel more comfortable when communicating with native speakers. Finally, because the process of interpreting, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating newspaper articles goes beyond the presentations of simple facts, reading on-line newspapers helps students to improve their reading skills and comprehension strategies in the target language.
On-Line Chatrooms
Electronic chatrooms have become popular places for communication and exchanges of ideas with native and nonnative speakers. Like other real-time communication tools such as MOOs which allow synchronous communication, on-line chatrooms provide environments in which real people use real language for real communicative purposes. Unlike the asynchronous communication among users via E-Mail exchanges, on-line chatrooms engage users in conversations in which they receive immediate responses and feedback.
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Various chatrooms can be found on the Internet, such as the Spanish on-line chatroom originating in Mexico (see http://foros.planet.com.mx/ chattiempolibre/). Another easy and user-friendly chatroom is ParaChat which allows Webmasters to set up a free chatroom for their own use (see http://www.parachat.com/faq/Webmasters.htm). By means of ParaChat, regular users can construct within-class interactions. Participants become familiar with each other through a private ParaChat room in which they can build a strong sense of community and collaboration.
The need for more opportunities to use the target language beyond classroom settings has been stressed by several researchers (e.g., Ellis, 1988; Swain & Lapkin, 1986; Swain & Wong Fillmore, 1984). The use of online chatrooms provides these communicative opportunities in a collaborative learning environment. Of great importance is the observation that electronic communication creates a relatively non-threatening atmosphere in which students can express, negotiate, and interpret meaning within a meaningful context (Beauvois, 1992, 1994). Indeed, the use of on-line chatrooms as a medium for communication provides an individualized, interpersonal, and interactive environment which allows students to gain active learning experiences beyond those of the traditional classroom.
Overall, both on-line newspapers and on-line chatrooms open innovative avenues for foreign language learning outside the classroom. On-line language learning activities based on on-line newspapers and on-line chatrooms allow users to access cultural information found at a great distance from the physical classroom. On-line newspapers provide students with valuable up-to-date information in authentic foreign language texts which facilitates their understanding of cultural phenomena including both products and perspectives of the target culture. (See the Cultural Goal area of the Standards for Foreign Language Learning, 1996; Knight, 1994.)
THE CURRENT STUDY
Survey of Your Experience with Internet Technology
Prior to the study described here, the researcher had designed a questionnaire, "Survey of Your Experience with Internet Technology," to examine students' attitudes toward using Internet technology and Internet tools. She distributed the questionnaire to 62 students enrolled in advanced Spanish courses at the beginning of the 1997 fall semester. The survey consisted of three parts: (a) background information, (b) attitude toward technology, and (c) experience with the Internet. Students were asked to respond to the survey's statements, listed below, by ranking their level of satisfaction on a scale from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree).
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1. I think people should know how to use the Internet.
2. I believe the use of the Internet can enhance foreign language learning.
3. It is important for me to be able to use the Internet.
4. I believe the use of E-Mail/on-line chatrooms is an effective way of communicating with others.
5. My experience of using the Internet is positive and encouraging.
6. I feel comfortable using the Internet technology.
7. I would like to use Internet technology for my language classes. Table 1 summarizes the results of students' responses to the survey.
Table 1
Students' Attitudes toward Internet Technology (N = 62)
0x01 graphic
For the most part, students reacted positively to using the Internet. More than 50% of students agreed that it was important to be able to use the Internet (questions 1 and 3), but a significant number of students indicated that they did not feel comfortable using the Internet (questions 5 and 6).
Design of the Study
The results of the "Survey of Your Experience with Internet Technology" showed that the students had a positive attitude toward the Internet and were interested in using it to learn the target language. Based on these
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results, the researcher decided to use on-line activities in two advanced courses—two fifth-semester Spanish courses. The goal of this project was to use on-line activities (a) to create opportunities for students to read authentic materials and gain cultural knowledge via on-line newspapers, (b) to enhance intercultural exchanges via on-line chatrooms, and (c) to improve students' writing and speaking skills as well as promote collaborative learning among students.
The most distinguishing feature of this study was the use of a combination of two tools to encourage on-line discussions. The first tool was a browser tool to access on-line newspapers. The second tool was an on-line chatroom connected to a Web site created by the researcher to promote communication and exchanges of ideas among the students in the class.
It was hypothesized that the integrated use of Internet tools would create a dynamic learning atmosphere in which students could improve their language skills both individually and collaboratively. Reading on-line newspapers requires students to process information using reading strategies and cognitive skills in order to understand and interpret what they are reading. Electronic communication via the chatroom provides students with a rich sociocultural context which encompasses interpersonal interaction, negotiation, and collaboration among learners (Warschauer, 1997). Collaborative learning is essential to help students maximize their own "Zone of Proximal Development" (Vygotsky, 1978), and collaborative learning strategies have been shown to enhance motivation and facilitate foreign language achievement (Johnson & Johnson, 1985; Nunan, 1992).
Method
The data for this study were collected through two surveys written by the researcher. The first was the "Survey of Your Experience with Internet Technology" distributed to students before the study, and the second was the "Survey of Your Experience with On-line Activities" distributed after the students completed the on-line activities. A final exit oral exam was also given to all students. The purpose of the final oral exam was to determine whether students' oral skills had improved from using on-line activities. Finally, the researcher conducted a final interview with the students to collect additional data on their attitudes and reactions toward using the on-line activities.
Subjects
The subjects of the study were 31 students enrolled in the two fifth-semester Spanish classes mentioned above, most of whom intended to major or
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minor in Spanish. The majority of the students were rated between Intermediate-Low and Intermediate-Mid oral proficiency based on a Spanish Oral Proficiency Test (SOPT) developed by the researcher. In general, the students were motivated and had a good attitude toward foreign language learning. Although most students had at least some experience using the Internet, some had never used it at all.
Survey Instrument
The second survey, the "Survey of Your Experience with On-line Activities," contained six Likert-type questions and solicited information on students' reactions to the use of on-line newspapers and on-line chatrooms for language learning. One of the questions focused on students' views on the overall project, and three other questions focused on the most useful and least useful parts of the project as well as suggestions for improvement. The SOPT served as the exit oral exam for the course. Seven questions (three at the intermediate level, two at the advanced level, and one at the superior level) were included in the test. Students were given 25 minutes to read the prompts in Spanish in the test booklet and to record their responses on an audiocassette.
Web Site
In order to facilitate students' access to Internet resources and tools used in the course, the researcher created a Web site. The Web site provided students with search engines to pursue topics of interest, to select on-line newspapers from Hispanic countries, and to access two chatrooms for weekly on-line discussions (see http://www.unh.edu/spanish/lina/ spanish631.html). One of the two on-line chatrooms found at this Web site was created using ParaChat. The advantage of using a ParaChat connected to the Web site was that it offered a designated place for chatroom sessions in which students could participate on a fixed schedule. Without this kind of preparation, students could easily encounter empty or inappropriate chatrooms on the Internet. A further distinguishing feature of ParaChat is that it supports the use of foreign characters, including accent marks, thereby obviating the need to learn special commands or functional keys to type messages in Spanish. Another chatroom, one in which students could interact with native Spanish speakers, was the Tiempo Libre chatroom originating in Mexico. Students could explore topics of interest in daily Mexican life, discuss current cultural issues with native speakers, and participate in intercultural exchanges.
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In sum, three Internet tools were used in conjunction with the homepage. First, search engines allowed students to explore sources for final term projects (see below). Second, a variety of on-line Hispanic newspapers were made available for weekly discussions in the target language. Third, chatrooms allowed students to exchange ideas, express opinions, and discuss selected cultural topics with their peers, their instructor, and native speakers.
Procedures
The researcher incorporated on-line activities as regular class assignments in the course. At the beginning of the semester, she explained to all students the purpose, content, and procedures for completing the activities. Students were required to read on-line newspapers and discuss the major events of the week with their peers via the ParaChat room once a week. Students were also required to write a five-page research project on a specific area of Hispanic culture of interest to them. They were encouraged to base their report on the on-line discussions so that they could develop their cultural project in depth.
At the beginning of the semester, the instructor provided students with three hours of training on how to access and use the Internet resources from the local Web site. Since most students were not very familiar with Internet tools, they were taught how to access, explore, download, and upload information with Netscape Navigator. The instructor also taught students strategies for using search engines to gather the information they needed for their final project. Finally, she gave the students a list of the schedules for the computer clusters available on campus so that they could reserve a computer station when desired.
After the initial training sessions, the instructor created a distribution list of students in the course in order to post news and topics for on-line discussion via E-Mail and distributed a list of students' individual E-Mail addresses to all students in the course. Although students could use E- Mail to send messages to each other, the chatrooms constituted the main tool for on-line discussions. Students were required to interact with each other once a week via the ParaChat room and were encouraged to use the Tiempo Libre chatroom for intercultural exchanges with native speakers. Specific topics dealing with current events such as la muerte de la princesa Di 'the death of Princess Di,' los problemas del narcotroficante en Colombia 'the problems with drug trafficking in Columbia, and El Niño as well as more general topics on deportes 'sports,' economía 'economics,' and política 'politics' were organized to provide students with contextualized tasks.
Students wrote one-page journal entries each week in which they
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expressed their opinions, asked questions, and voiced concerns regarding the on-line discussions. Students included these journals in their class portfolios at the end of the semester. In each class meeting, two students were asked to briefly report on what they found interesting in the on-line newspapers to reinforce their oral language skills.
After students had been reading the on-line newspapers for seven weeks, the instructor asked them to select a topic for their final research project. Students mostly chose topics which were related to topics they had discussed in the chatroom. To avoid repetition, students who proposed similar topics met with the instructor to discuss and select different aspects of those topics. Students also made ten-minute oral presentations in class to share their findings with other students and the instructor. A five-minute discussion among students after each presentation reinforced both their listening and speaking skills.
Evaluation
The researcher integrated holistic portfolio assessment into the Internet- based activities. (For details, see Lee 1997a.) Students' final portfolios contained writing samples from on-line chatroom sessions, one-page journal entries, and a final written report. Each component was scored separately based on five categories: content, organization, language, style, and appropriateness. In addition to holistic assessment, the researcher used the "Survey of Your Experience with On-line Activities" to ascertain students' reactions to the Internet activities. Students' comments and suggestions from the survey instrument were expected to provide useful information for future improvements. Finally, the researcher interviewed students individually or in small groups (two to three students). She interviewed students who had researched similar topics together so that they could discuss their topics while the instructor observed their reactions and noted their opinions about the project. During the interviews, she guided students to explain the most valuable, interesting, and difficult aspects of the project; asked them to describe their experiences with the Internet activities; and encouraged them to express their reactions and concerns about using Internet technologies.
Results and Discussion
The results of the study were drawn from the "Survey of Your Experience with On-line Activities" and the final course interview. In the survey, students indicated their level of agreement with the statements below by
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ranking their responses on a scale from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree).
1. On-line activities helped me improve my language skills in general.
2. I enjoyed reading on-line newspapers.
3. On-line newspapers helped my reading skills in Spanish.
4. Reading on-line newspapers increased my knowledge of Spanish vocabulary.
5. On-line newspapers helped me better understand Hispanic people and culture.
6. On-line chats helped me write better in Spanish.
7. I enjoyed using the chatroom weekly.
8. I felt comfortable discussing topics via on-line chatroom.
9. I would like to use the Internet technology for my other Spanish courses in the future.
Table 2 presents a summary of students' responses to the survey items.
Table 2
Results of the "Survey of Your Experience with On-line Activities" (N = 31)
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Students' responses show that most found the on-line activities to be helpful in enhancing their development of language skills and their understanding of Hispanic culture and people (questions 1, 3, 4, and 5). More than half of the students agreed that on-line chatrooms helped them improve their writing in Spanish (question 6) and that they would like to continue using the Internet in the future (question 9). Although they needed guidance and assistance at first, students stated that they liked reading online newspapers (question 2) and especially enjoyed the on-line chatroom sessions (questions 7 and 8).
Some students indicated that three hours of training before the project was not enough and complained about the amount of time and energy needed for using the Internet in the project. Other students protested that they were not able to obtain printouts due to technical problems and the limited number of printers available in the laboratory. Finally, they suggested that both teachers and students should receive the appropriate training on how to access the Internet effectively. These results confirm the substantial need for technical instruction to achieve the best use of the new technologies (see Schneider, 1982).
On-Line Newspapers: Increase in Cultural Knowledge and Reading Skills
Most students agreed that the on-line newspapers provided an important means for obtaining up-to-date knowledge of the world and facilitating their cultural learning. The newspapers allowed them to explore and examine a variety of different kinds of information as well as read authentic materials. Students also stated that the topics and questions for on-line discussions proposed by the instructor via E-Mail the day before the actual discussion sessions also helped them focus and reflect on specific readings in the newspapers. Students found most of the topics interesting and challenging. Some students reported that individual topics required them to learn specific types of vocabulary items (e.g., items describing nature, the environment, and geographical phenomena for El Niño).
Perhaps most important, on-line newspapers provided students with texts at the advanced level which included "descriptions and narrations such as simple short stories, news items, bibliographical information, social notices, ... and simple technical material written for general reader." (ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, 1986). The exploration of these content areas is crucial for students to achieve a high level of reading proficiency. Most of the students indicated in their final interviews that their reading skills had improved, although some students objected that they found some of the articles difficult to understand. Several students stated that on-line dictionaries and photos helped them understand the texts and indicated that they learned a large number of practical words and expressions from the
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newspapers, especially terminology used in professional areas such as business and law.
I didn't really like to read newspapers on-line at first. But since it was part of the requirement of this course, I had no choice, but got myself accustomed to reading daily at most half hour at the beginning. Then, I found myself not able to discuss topics on-line with my peers. I realized that I needed to pay more attention to the details when I read. I took notes for new words and expressions. Now I can read more and faster and I love it, especially CNN is my favorite site.1
On-Line Chatrooms: Effectiveness of Communication
More than 50% of students enjoyed using both the ParaChat and Tiempo Libre chatrooms to interact and communicate with their peers, their instructor, and native speakers. Students believed that communicating with their peers via ParaChat was more private than communicating with native speakers via Tiempo Libre. They felt less anxious about using the target language and less uncomfortable expressing their ideas and opinions to their peers. On the other hand, some students commented that they gained a better understanding of cultural phenomena and a sharper perspective of the target culture by interacting with native speakers via Tiempo Libre.
Students liked the immediate feedback and collaborative responses in the on-line discussions. Students' comments during the final interviews showed that they appreciated the extra opportunities for using the target language outside the classroom. The fact that on-line communication encouraged everyone, rather than some, to participate in the discussions demonstrates that students can indeed benefit more from on-line chatroom sessions than from the limited communicative opportunities in the conventional classroom (Kern, 1995; Warschauer, 1996).
On-line interactions helped students become "individual knowledge constructors" because the electronic tools allowed them to monitor, reflect, and compose ideas at their own pace (Beauvois, 1997). During the final interviews, one student said
While using my linguistic skills as a means of communication with my peers via on-line chat, I realized that how important is for me to understand others' ideas and to express myself effectively. At the beginning, I often felt frustrated at not being able to come up with what I wanted to say. I then had to slow down and found strategies for expressing my ideas coherently. The best thing about chatting on-line was that I learned to become actively involved in the discussions.
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The process of composing messages also required students to use different learning strategies and styles for communication (see Oxford, 1990; Oxford & Ehrman, 1989; O'Malley & Chamot, 1990). For instance, students reported that they often asked questions for clarification (a recognized communicative strategy) when they had difficulty understanding messages from their peers. The instructor at times played a central role in guiding the discussion. When the students misinterpreted a text or strayed from the target discussion, the instructor led them back to the original topic.
Interviews with students also suggested that the use of synchronous online chatroom sessions created a less stressful environment for foreign language learning than in-class discussions. Lowering the students' anxiety had the effect of improving the quality of their communication as well as their degree of motivation (Beauvois, 1993; Horwitz & Young, 1991). Students were very much involved in the interactive activities, stating that they expressed their ideas and opinions to others more willingly outside the classroom than inside the classroom (Coleman, Crookall & Oxford, 1992; Kelm, 1992; Pennington, 1996). Overall, on-line chatroom sessions with native speakers provided students with authentic written input, although those who read poorly had difficulty understanding some of the words and expressions used by their communicative partners.
On-Line Writing: Improvements in Speaking Performance
Studies on Computer Mediated Communication have revealed improvements in students' oral and written communication (see, for example, Beauvois,1997; Kern, 1995, 1996; St. John & Cash, 1995). Students reported that weekly on-line chatroom sessions offered them seemingly real face-to-face interactions and that they felt as though they were engaged in real-time communicative situations with their peers. The interactive online chatroom sessions also allowed them to express themselves freely, to clarify ideas, and to ask and answer questions.
According to Canale and Swain (1980), students need to know how to use cohesive devices such as grammatical connectors in order to achieve communicative competence. Students' on-line writings showed that they used a variety of strategies and discourse makers such as "by the way," "anyway," "however," and "on the other hand" to express their ideas and support their opinions. As a result of semester-long practice in writing the target language in the electronic chatrooms, students' writing and speaking skills both improved, thereby confirming Pennington's (1996) assumption that those who write more frequently in the second language write better.
The results of the SOPT given at the beginning and the end of the
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semester demonstrated that students' oral skills did in fact improve after using on-line chatrooms. Although subjectiveness is always a factor in scoring oral performance, most of the students attained a higher level of oral proficiency progressing from Intermediate-Mid to Intermediate-High. Communicating in the target language via the on-line chatrooms not only helped students write better but also enabled them to speak more fluently, which seems to confirm the hypothesis of transferring writing skills to oral skills through the use of electronic written communication (Beauvois, 1997).
Constraints on the Use of Technology
Using the Internet can be very frustrating and troublesome because of an inadequate number of computers available for student use and slow access time to Web sites. Because the paucity of computer stations had an impact on students' free time, some students were unwilling to wait (sometimes as long as an hour) to use a computer. Other students became discouraged; they spent less time writing on-line and produced only short messages. Students who had their own computers tended to elaborate their ideas more fully and to extend their writing tasks (see González- Bueno, 1998). One student complained that it was very difficult to use the computer clusters on campus, especially because there was no computer laboratory designated for use by students in foreign language courses. The student then commented that until sufficient computers and reliable Internet access are available, students should not be required to use the Internet. To have a lasting impact on foreign language education, computer accessibility must be improved (Bush, 1997). Clearly, the availability of an adequate number of computers and sufficient training are essential prerequisites to successfully integrating instructional technology into foreign language learning.
OBSERVATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
Instructor's Observations
The instructor of the course observed several factors that affect student's use of on-line communication. Students who did not have enough language skills to express their ideas were often able to use facial expressions and body language to clarify their statements in class. In the absence of visual cues in on-line discussions, these students tended to become either passive observers who hardly participated in discussions or risk takers,
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who tried to communicate in the language. To solve the former problem, the instructor consulted individually with diffident students and encouraged them to engage in on-line discussions.
Sometimes, students lost the focus of the discussion when the instructor was not present. In these occasions, students wrote shorter messages and discussed personal interests rather than topical issues. The presence of the instructor is important to keep students focused on the task at hand. The instructor also discovered that the students wrote more informally in the on-line chatroom sessions than in the pencil-and-paper formats. Students wrote conversation-like messages with discourse markers such as "guess what" "well," "and what," and "OK." Consequently, their writings sometimes were less complete, coherent, or grammatically correct (González-Bueno, 1998). This phenomenon may derive from the informal E-Mail messages students send to their friends.
Conclusion and Future Implications
The most important aspect of this study is that students used synchronous interaction via on-line chatrooms instead of asynchronous communication via E-Mail. In spite of the limitations that must be imposed on the study because of the relatively small number of subjects (N = 31), the researcher was able to draw a number of conclusions. The use of the combined on-line resources—on-line newspapers and on-line chatrooms—offered many advantages to the students. First, on-line activities generally provided a meaningful way for the students at the advanced level to develop their language skills and their cultural knowledge, contextually and systematically. Second, reading on-line newspapers not only increased students' cultural knowledge but also improved their reading skills. Third, composing messages via on-line chatroom sessions involved higher order thinking skills and created a community in which students used the target language beyond the classroom. Fourth, electronic communication led to better overall oral skills for the students. Finally, the use of on-line newspapers and on-line chatrooms heightened students' interest and motivation for learning the foreign language and the foreign culture in a dynamic rather than passive way.
This study also emphasized the importance of making computers accessible to students in order for on-line activities to become an integral part of foreign language learning. Both teachers and students need to be trained in the appropriate use of the Internet resources so that they can achieve maximum results. In addition, more discussion on appropriate pedagogical frameworks and instructional designs for the use of Internet technologies are needed to establish standardized procedures. Given the positive results described here, foreign language teachers
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should be encouraged to explore and experiment with integrated Internet resources for use by advanced language students. The Internet not only provides a powerful pedagogical tool but also supports an interactive methodology that truly engages students' imagination and ingenuity as they communicate with others in the real world.
NOTE
1 See the CNN web site at http://cnnenespanol.com/.
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Warschauer, M. (1997). Computer mediated collaborative learning: Theory and practice. The Modern Language Journal, 81, 470-481.
AUTHOR'S BIODATA
Lina Lee is Assistant Professor of Spanish at the University of New Hampshire where she coordinates the Basic Language Program, trains teaching assistants, teaches foreign language teaching methods, and supervises foreign language interns. She has published articles in the areas of portfolio assessment and Internet technology for teaching foreign language and culture in Hispania, Foreign Language Annals, and the Northeast Newsletter. She is the author of Web sites for the Spanish textbooks Mosaicos and Puentes.
AUTHOR'S ADDRESS
Department of Spanish
Murkland 209
University of New Hampshire
15 Library Way
Durham, NH 03824
Phone: 603/862-3123
Fax: 603/862-0104
E-Mail: llee@hopper.unh.edu
Retrieved on December 20, 2010 from https://www.calico.org/memberBrowse.php?action=article&id=611
University of New Hampshire
Abstract:
The Internet is increasingly considered as an instructional tool for foreign language learning both within and beyond classroom learning. This article reports a pilot study on the use of a combination of Internet technologies--on-line newspapers and on-line chatrooms--to enhance the learning of advanced Spanish students. The goal of the project was (a) to create opportunities for students to read authentic materials and gain cultural knowledge via on-line newspapers, (b) to enhance intercultural exchanges via on-line chatrooms, and (c) to improve students' writing and speaking skills as well as promote collaborative learning among students. The positive results of the study indicate that foreign language teachers could well explore and experiment with the application of combined Internet resources for advanced language students.
KEYWORDS
On-line Newspapers, On-line Chatrooms, Culture, Advanced Spanish Learners, Collaborative Learning
INTRODUCTION Using the Internet as a teaching tool to facilitate and enhance foreign language teaching and learning is no longer new. Yet, the Internet still presents challenges to many of us in the teaching profession. The rapid
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growth of Internet technologies has prompted many foreign language professionals to explore the possibilities offered by this electronic networking tool. Foreign language educators are most interested in learning how best to incorporate the Internet into their teaching. Research studies on the application of technology provide foreign language teachers with anecdotal accounts and valuable insights into pursuing practical ways to use the Internet. In addition, professional conferences and workshops allow teachers to gain both pedagogical knowledge and technological training in order to assist students more effectively in the use of the expanding resources of the Internet.
Clearly, the use of the target language is crucial to the development of foreign language proficiency, but the amount of time students have in the classroom to practice their language skills and to understand the target culture is very limited. One of the main reasons for employing the Internet is to provide increased opportunities to practice and to use the target language in communicative situations outside the classroom. Previous studies have shown the impact of the Internet on foreign language (e.g., Kern, 1995; Kuttenberg & Zeller, 1997; Lee, 1997b; Oliva & Pollastrini, 1995), but these studies have mainly focused on the asynchronous communication provided via E-Mail rather than on the synchronous interaction created through chatrooms (e.g., Chun, 1994; Kelm, 1992; Warschauer, 1996). Little research exists on the use of a combination of Internet tools for advanced foreign language students. Research on using on-line newspapers to develop cultural understandings and on-line chatrooms to increase intercultural exchanges is particularly needed. The combination of tools may maximize the effectiveness of Internet-based instruction in foreign language learning.
This article reports observations and conclusions drawn from a pilot project that used two Internet tools—on-line newspapers and on-line chatrooms—to enhance the learning of advanced students studying Spanish as a foreign language. The first section below provides an overview of the Internet for foreign language teaching and learning. The second section describes in detail an integrated method of using Internet-based activities to develop student language skills in advanced Spanish courses at the university level. The final section presents a summary of observations from the pilot study and gives suggestions for future directions.
THE INTERNET AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING
One of the important elements for success in learning a foreign language is the need for students to get more involved in the learning process (Lee & VanPatten, 1995; Nunan, 1988; Lee, 1997b; Scarcella & Oxford, 1992).
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The use of instructional materials based on on-line based technologies offers many innovative ways of engaging students in language acquisition. Students not only can explore target cultural resources using browsers such as Netscape or Internet Explorer but can also interact with native speakers around the world via on-line communication such as E- Mail exchanges, newsgroups, and chatrooms. These tools, both non-interactive and interactive, create opportunities for students to acquire knowledge about the target culture. More important, the Internet also provides a student-centered learning environment in which students receive input through on-line readings and produce output via the Computer Mediated Communication in the target language (Lafford & Lafford, 1997).
Understanding the diversity of the target culture is necessary for successful communication with native speakers (Savignon, 1983; Canale & Swain, 1980). On-line resources such as newspapers and magazines are, therefore, invaluable because they provide students with up-to-date cultural information that can lead to enhanced cultural awareness, understanding, and knowledge. Lee (1997b) has reported that students who accessed Spanish Web sites were able to relate what they had learned about foreign cultures to their own culture. Electronic communication via E-Mail exchanges offers opportunities for authentic communication and immediate sharing of cross-cultural information among users (Bernhardt & Kamil, 1998). Research projects on Internet technologies have shown that on-line based activities enhanced and improved students' language skills, especially in written communication (e.g., Cononelos & Oliva, 1993; Van Handle & Corl, 1998; Kern, 1995; Lee, 1997b; Wang, 1994). In addition, on-line activities seem to provide a stimulating learning environment which increases student motivation for further foreign language learning (Lee, 1997b).
Studies on CMC have reported improvements in students' language skills as well as a change in their attitude toward language learning in the classroom. (See Barson, Frommer & Schwartz, 1993; Beauvois, 1992 & 1997; Cononelos & Oliva, 1993; Lee, 1997b; Lunde, 1990; Sanaoui & Lapkin, 1992). Oliva and Pollastrini (1995, p. 552) have declared, for example, that "Computer network resources help students improve their language skills in a manner similar to full immersion or study abroad, but are based more heavily on written communication." Beauvois (1997, p. 180) has asserted that "students do communicate better as a general rule in the computer lab, if better means using longer, more complete utterances, expressing less superficial ideas, and communicating generally more openly about any given subject." Beauvois has also pointed out that the CMC allowed all students to participate in discussions, rather than only some students as is usually the case in traditional classrooms. Among Internet resources, on-line newspapers and on-line chatrooms are particularly beneficial to students at the advanced level because they
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require a high level of language proficiency to read, comprehend, and respond to cultural readings. Advanced students who use these kinds of resources can enhance their language skills as well as develop a sense of target language communities, together with a concomitant feeling of personal enjoyment and enrichment.
On-Line Newspapers
Electronic newspapers can be easily viewed in an Internet browser. A variety of on-line Hispanic newspapers is accessible to readers, ranging from Clarín Digital published in Buenos Aires to La Jornada in Mexico City and ABC in Madrid. These on-line newspapers allow students to read "input-rich" authentic materials of their choice as "Free Voluntary Reading," a crucial component in the acquisition of a foreign language (Krashen, 1993, 1995). In addition, access to daily newspapers makes it easier for students to acquire current lexical items, grammatical structures, and idiomatic expressions of the target language.
One of the five goals expressed in the Standards for Foreign Language Learning (1996, p. 56) is that students should be able to "demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own." Reading on-line newspapers makes students aware of current social phenomena. Different sections of newspapers such as Sports, Economics, Arts, and Entertainment provide considerable opportunities for students to compare and contrast the target and the native culture. Reading on-line newspapers also helps students understand the target culture so that they feel more comfortable when communicating with native speakers. Finally, because the process of interpreting, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating newspaper articles goes beyond the presentations of simple facts, reading on-line newspapers helps students to improve their reading skills and comprehension strategies in the target language.
On-Line Chatrooms
Electronic chatrooms have become popular places for communication and exchanges of ideas with native and nonnative speakers. Like other real-time communication tools such as MOOs which allow synchronous communication, on-line chatrooms provide environments in which real people use real language for real communicative purposes. Unlike the asynchronous communication among users via E-Mail exchanges, on-line chatrooms engage users in conversations in which they receive immediate responses and feedback.
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Various chatrooms can be found on the Internet, such as the Spanish on-line chatroom originating in Mexico (see http://foros.planet.com.mx/ chattiempolibre/). Another easy and user-friendly chatroom is ParaChat which allows Webmasters to set up a free chatroom for their own use (see http://www.parachat.com/faq/Webmasters.htm). By means of ParaChat, regular users can construct within-class interactions. Participants become familiar with each other through a private ParaChat room in which they can build a strong sense of community and collaboration.
The need for more opportunities to use the target language beyond classroom settings has been stressed by several researchers (e.g., Ellis, 1988; Swain & Lapkin, 1986; Swain & Wong Fillmore, 1984). The use of online chatrooms provides these communicative opportunities in a collaborative learning environment. Of great importance is the observation that electronic communication creates a relatively non-threatening atmosphere in which students can express, negotiate, and interpret meaning within a meaningful context (Beauvois, 1992, 1994). Indeed, the use of on-line chatrooms as a medium for communication provides an individualized, interpersonal, and interactive environment which allows students to gain active learning experiences beyond those of the traditional classroom.
Overall, both on-line newspapers and on-line chatrooms open innovative avenues for foreign language learning outside the classroom. On-line language learning activities based on on-line newspapers and on-line chatrooms allow users to access cultural information found at a great distance from the physical classroom. On-line newspapers provide students with valuable up-to-date information in authentic foreign language texts which facilitates their understanding of cultural phenomena including both products and perspectives of the target culture. (See the Cultural Goal area of the Standards for Foreign Language Learning, 1996; Knight, 1994.)
THE CURRENT STUDY
Survey of Your Experience with Internet Technology
Prior to the study described here, the researcher had designed a questionnaire, "Survey of Your Experience with Internet Technology," to examine students' attitudes toward using Internet technology and Internet tools. She distributed the questionnaire to 62 students enrolled in advanced Spanish courses at the beginning of the 1997 fall semester. The survey consisted of three parts: (a) background information, (b) attitude toward technology, and (c) experience with the Internet. Students were asked to respond to the survey's statements, listed below, by ranking their level of satisfaction on a scale from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree).
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1. I think people should know how to use the Internet.
2. I believe the use of the Internet can enhance foreign language learning.
3. It is important for me to be able to use the Internet.
4. I believe the use of E-Mail/on-line chatrooms is an effective way of communicating with others.
5. My experience of using the Internet is positive and encouraging.
6. I feel comfortable using the Internet technology.
7. I would like to use Internet technology for my language classes. Table 1 summarizes the results of students' responses to the survey.
Table 1
Students' Attitudes toward Internet Technology (N = 62)
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For the most part, students reacted positively to using the Internet. More than 50% of students agreed that it was important to be able to use the Internet (questions 1 and 3), but a significant number of students indicated that they did not feel comfortable using the Internet (questions 5 and 6).
Design of the Study
The results of the "Survey of Your Experience with Internet Technology" showed that the students had a positive attitude toward the Internet and were interested in using it to learn the target language. Based on these
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results, the researcher decided to use on-line activities in two advanced courses—two fifth-semester Spanish courses. The goal of this project was to use on-line activities (a) to create opportunities for students to read authentic materials and gain cultural knowledge via on-line newspapers, (b) to enhance intercultural exchanges via on-line chatrooms, and (c) to improve students' writing and speaking skills as well as promote collaborative learning among students.
The most distinguishing feature of this study was the use of a combination of two tools to encourage on-line discussions. The first tool was a browser tool to access on-line newspapers. The second tool was an on-line chatroom connected to a Web site created by the researcher to promote communication and exchanges of ideas among the students in the class.
It was hypothesized that the integrated use of Internet tools would create a dynamic learning atmosphere in which students could improve their language skills both individually and collaboratively. Reading on-line newspapers requires students to process information using reading strategies and cognitive skills in order to understand and interpret what they are reading. Electronic communication via the chatroom provides students with a rich sociocultural context which encompasses interpersonal interaction, negotiation, and collaboration among learners (Warschauer, 1997). Collaborative learning is essential to help students maximize their own "Zone of Proximal Development" (Vygotsky, 1978), and collaborative learning strategies have been shown to enhance motivation and facilitate foreign language achievement (Johnson & Johnson, 1985; Nunan, 1992).
Method
The data for this study were collected through two surveys written by the researcher. The first was the "Survey of Your Experience with Internet Technology" distributed to students before the study, and the second was the "Survey of Your Experience with On-line Activities" distributed after the students completed the on-line activities. A final exit oral exam was also given to all students. The purpose of the final oral exam was to determine whether students' oral skills had improved from using on-line activities. Finally, the researcher conducted a final interview with the students to collect additional data on their attitudes and reactions toward using the on-line activities.
Subjects
The subjects of the study were 31 students enrolled in the two fifth-semester Spanish classes mentioned above, most of whom intended to major or
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minor in Spanish. The majority of the students were rated between Intermediate-Low and Intermediate-Mid oral proficiency based on a Spanish Oral Proficiency Test (SOPT) developed by the researcher. In general, the students were motivated and had a good attitude toward foreign language learning. Although most students had at least some experience using the Internet, some had never used it at all.
Survey Instrument
The second survey, the "Survey of Your Experience with On-line Activities," contained six Likert-type questions and solicited information on students' reactions to the use of on-line newspapers and on-line chatrooms for language learning. One of the questions focused on students' views on the overall project, and three other questions focused on the most useful and least useful parts of the project as well as suggestions for improvement. The SOPT served as the exit oral exam for the course. Seven questions (three at the intermediate level, two at the advanced level, and one at the superior level) were included in the test. Students were given 25 minutes to read the prompts in Spanish in the test booklet and to record their responses on an audiocassette.
Web Site
In order to facilitate students' access to Internet resources and tools used in the course, the researcher created a Web site. The Web site provided students with search engines to pursue topics of interest, to select on-line newspapers from Hispanic countries, and to access two chatrooms for weekly on-line discussions (see http://www.unh.edu/spanish/lina/ spanish631.html). One of the two on-line chatrooms found at this Web site was created using ParaChat. The advantage of using a ParaChat connected to the Web site was that it offered a designated place for chatroom sessions in which students could participate on a fixed schedule. Without this kind of preparation, students could easily encounter empty or inappropriate chatrooms on the Internet. A further distinguishing feature of ParaChat is that it supports the use of foreign characters, including accent marks, thereby obviating the need to learn special commands or functional keys to type messages in Spanish. Another chatroom, one in which students could interact with native Spanish speakers, was the Tiempo Libre chatroom originating in Mexico. Students could explore topics of interest in daily Mexican life, discuss current cultural issues with native speakers, and participate in intercultural exchanges.
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In sum, three Internet tools were used in conjunction with the homepage. First, search engines allowed students to explore sources for final term projects (see below). Second, a variety of on-line Hispanic newspapers were made available for weekly discussions in the target language. Third, chatrooms allowed students to exchange ideas, express opinions, and discuss selected cultural topics with their peers, their instructor, and native speakers.
Procedures
The researcher incorporated on-line activities as regular class assignments in the course. At the beginning of the semester, she explained to all students the purpose, content, and procedures for completing the activities. Students were required to read on-line newspapers and discuss the major events of the week with their peers via the ParaChat room once a week. Students were also required to write a five-page research project on a specific area of Hispanic culture of interest to them. They were encouraged to base their report on the on-line discussions so that they could develop their cultural project in depth.
At the beginning of the semester, the instructor provided students with three hours of training on how to access and use the Internet resources from the local Web site. Since most students were not very familiar with Internet tools, they were taught how to access, explore, download, and upload information with Netscape Navigator. The instructor also taught students strategies for using search engines to gather the information they needed for their final project. Finally, she gave the students a list of the schedules for the computer clusters available on campus so that they could reserve a computer station when desired.
After the initial training sessions, the instructor created a distribution list of students in the course in order to post news and topics for on-line discussion via E-Mail and distributed a list of students' individual E-Mail addresses to all students in the course. Although students could use E- Mail to send messages to each other, the chatrooms constituted the main tool for on-line discussions. Students were required to interact with each other once a week via the ParaChat room and were encouraged to use the Tiempo Libre chatroom for intercultural exchanges with native speakers. Specific topics dealing with current events such as la muerte de la princesa Di 'the death of Princess Di,' los problemas del narcotroficante en Colombia 'the problems with drug trafficking in Columbia, and El Niño as well as more general topics on deportes 'sports,' economía 'economics,' and política 'politics' were organized to provide students with contextualized tasks.
Students wrote one-page journal entries each week in which they
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expressed their opinions, asked questions, and voiced concerns regarding the on-line discussions. Students included these journals in their class portfolios at the end of the semester. In each class meeting, two students were asked to briefly report on what they found interesting in the on-line newspapers to reinforce their oral language skills.
After students had been reading the on-line newspapers for seven weeks, the instructor asked them to select a topic for their final research project. Students mostly chose topics which were related to topics they had discussed in the chatroom. To avoid repetition, students who proposed similar topics met with the instructor to discuss and select different aspects of those topics. Students also made ten-minute oral presentations in class to share their findings with other students and the instructor. A five-minute discussion among students after each presentation reinforced both their listening and speaking skills.
Evaluation
The researcher integrated holistic portfolio assessment into the Internet- based activities. (For details, see Lee 1997a.) Students' final portfolios contained writing samples from on-line chatroom sessions, one-page journal entries, and a final written report. Each component was scored separately based on five categories: content, organization, language, style, and appropriateness. In addition to holistic assessment, the researcher used the "Survey of Your Experience with On-line Activities" to ascertain students' reactions to the Internet activities. Students' comments and suggestions from the survey instrument were expected to provide useful information for future improvements. Finally, the researcher interviewed students individually or in small groups (two to three students). She interviewed students who had researched similar topics together so that they could discuss their topics while the instructor observed their reactions and noted their opinions about the project. During the interviews, she guided students to explain the most valuable, interesting, and difficult aspects of the project; asked them to describe their experiences with the Internet activities; and encouraged them to express their reactions and concerns about using Internet technologies.
Results and Discussion
The results of the study were drawn from the "Survey of Your Experience with On-line Activities" and the final course interview. In the survey, students indicated their level of agreement with the statements below by
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ranking their responses on a scale from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree).
1. On-line activities helped me improve my language skills in general.
2. I enjoyed reading on-line newspapers.
3. On-line newspapers helped my reading skills in Spanish.
4. Reading on-line newspapers increased my knowledge of Spanish vocabulary.
5. On-line newspapers helped me better understand Hispanic people and culture.
6. On-line chats helped me write better in Spanish.
7. I enjoyed using the chatroom weekly.
8. I felt comfortable discussing topics via on-line chatroom.
9. I would like to use the Internet technology for my other Spanish courses in the future.
Table 2 presents a summary of students' responses to the survey items.
Table 2
Results of the "Survey of Your Experience with On-line Activities" (N = 31)
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Students' responses show that most found the on-line activities to be helpful in enhancing their development of language skills and their understanding of Hispanic culture and people (questions 1, 3, 4, and 5). More than half of the students agreed that on-line chatrooms helped them improve their writing in Spanish (question 6) and that they would like to continue using the Internet in the future (question 9). Although they needed guidance and assistance at first, students stated that they liked reading online newspapers (question 2) and especially enjoyed the on-line chatroom sessions (questions 7 and 8).
Some students indicated that three hours of training before the project was not enough and complained about the amount of time and energy needed for using the Internet in the project. Other students protested that they were not able to obtain printouts due to technical problems and the limited number of printers available in the laboratory. Finally, they suggested that both teachers and students should receive the appropriate training on how to access the Internet effectively. These results confirm the substantial need for technical instruction to achieve the best use of the new technologies (see Schneider, 1982).
On-Line Newspapers: Increase in Cultural Knowledge and Reading Skills
Most students agreed that the on-line newspapers provided an important means for obtaining up-to-date knowledge of the world and facilitating their cultural learning. The newspapers allowed them to explore and examine a variety of different kinds of information as well as read authentic materials. Students also stated that the topics and questions for on-line discussions proposed by the instructor via E-Mail the day before the actual discussion sessions also helped them focus and reflect on specific readings in the newspapers. Students found most of the topics interesting and challenging. Some students reported that individual topics required them to learn specific types of vocabulary items (e.g., items describing nature, the environment, and geographical phenomena for El Niño).
Perhaps most important, on-line newspapers provided students with texts at the advanced level which included "descriptions and narrations such as simple short stories, news items, bibliographical information, social notices, ... and simple technical material written for general reader." (ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, 1986). The exploration of these content areas is crucial for students to achieve a high level of reading proficiency. Most of the students indicated in their final interviews that their reading skills had improved, although some students objected that they found some of the articles difficult to understand. Several students stated that on-line dictionaries and photos helped them understand the texts and indicated that they learned a large number of practical words and expressions from the
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newspapers, especially terminology used in professional areas such as business and law.
I didn't really like to read newspapers on-line at first. But since it was part of the requirement of this course, I had no choice, but got myself accustomed to reading daily at most half hour at the beginning. Then, I found myself not able to discuss topics on-line with my peers. I realized that I needed to pay more attention to the details when I read. I took notes for new words and expressions. Now I can read more and faster and I love it, especially CNN is my favorite site.1
On-Line Chatrooms: Effectiveness of Communication
More than 50% of students enjoyed using both the ParaChat and Tiempo Libre chatrooms to interact and communicate with their peers, their instructor, and native speakers. Students believed that communicating with their peers via ParaChat was more private than communicating with native speakers via Tiempo Libre. They felt less anxious about using the target language and less uncomfortable expressing their ideas and opinions to their peers. On the other hand, some students commented that they gained a better understanding of cultural phenomena and a sharper perspective of the target culture by interacting with native speakers via Tiempo Libre.
Students liked the immediate feedback and collaborative responses in the on-line discussions. Students' comments during the final interviews showed that they appreciated the extra opportunities for using the target language outside the classroom. The fact that on-line communication encouraged everyone, rather than some, to participate in the discussions demonstrates that students can indeed benefit more from on-line chatroom sessions than from the limited communicative opportunities in the conventional classroom (Kern, 1995; Warschauer, 1996).
On-line interactions helped students become "individual knowledge constructors" because the electronic tools allowed them to monitor, reflect, and compose ideas at their own pace (Beauvois, 1997). During the final interviews, one student said
While using my linguistic skills as a means of communication with my peers via on-line chat, I realized that how important is for me to understand others' ideas and to express myself effectively. At the beginning, I often felt frustrated at not being able to come up with what I wanted to say. I then had to slow down and found strategies for expressing my ideas coherently. The best thing about chatting on-line was that I learned to become actively involved in the discussions.
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The process of composing messages also required students to use different learning strategies and styles for communication (see Oxford, 1990; Oxford & Ehrman, 1989; O'Malley & Chamot, 1990). For instance, students reported that they often asked questions for clarification (a recognized communicative strategy) when they had difficulty understanding messages from their peers. The instructor at times played a central role in guiding the discussion. When the students misinterpreted a text or strayed from the target discussion, the instructor led them back to the original topic.
Interviews with students also suggested that the use of synchronous online chatroom sessions created a less stressful environment for foreign language learning than in-class discussions. Lowering the students' anxiety had the effect of improving the quality of their communication as well as their degree of motivation (Beauvois, 1993; Horwitz & Young, 1991). Students were very much involved in the interactive activities, stating that they expressed their ideas and opinions to others more willingly outside the classroom than inside the classroom (Coleman, Crookall & Oxford, 1992; Kelm, 1992; Pennington, 1996). Overall, on-line chatroom sessions with native speakers provided students with authentic written input, although those who read poorly had difficulty understanding some of the words and expressions used by their communicative partners.
On-Line Writing: Improvements in Speaking Performance
Studies on Computer Mediated Communication have revealed improvements in students' oral and written communication (see, for example, Beauvois,1997; Kern, 1995, 1996; St. John & Cash, 1995). Students reported that weekly on-line chatroom sessions offered them seemingly real face-to-face interactions and that they felt as though they were engaged in real-time communicative situations with their peers. The interactive online chatroom sessions also allowed them to express themselves freely, to clarify ideas, and to ask and answer questions.
According to Canale and Swain (1980), students need to know how to use cohesive devices such as grammatical connectors in order to achieve communicative competence. Students' on-line writings showed that they used a variety of strategies and discourse makers such as "by the way," "anyway," "however," and "on the other hand" to express their ideas and support their opinions. As a result of semester-long practice in writing the target language in the electronic chatrooms, students' writing and speaking skills both improved, thereby confirming Pennington's (1996) assumption that those who write more frequently in the second language write better.
The results of the SOPT given at the beginning and the end of the
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semester demonstrated that students' oral skills did in fact improve after using on-line chatrooms. Although subjectiveness is always a factor in scoring oral performance, most of the students attained a higher level of oral proficiency progressing from Intermediate-Mid to Intermediate-High. Communicating in the target language via the on-line chatrooms not only helped students write better but also enabled them to speak more fluently, which seems to confirm the hypothesis of transferring writing skills to oral skills through the use of electronic written communication (Beauvois, 1997).
Constraints on the Use of Technology
Using the Internet can be very frustrating and troublesome because of an inadequate number of computers available for student use and slow access time to Web sites. Because the paucity of computer stations had an impact on students' free time, some students were unwilling to wait (sometimes as long as an hour) to use a computer. Other students became discouraged; they spent less time writing on-line and produced only short messages. Students who had their own computers tended to elaborate their ideas more fully and to extend their writing tasks (see González- Bueno, 1998). One student complained that it was very difficult to use the computer clusters on campus, especially because there was no computer laboratory designated for use by students in foreign language courses. The student then commented that until sufficient computers and reliable Internet access are available, students should not be required to use the Internet. To have a lasting impact on foreign language education, computer accessibility must be improved (Bush, 1997). Clearly, the availability of an adequate number of computers and sufficient training are essential prerequisites to successfully integrating instructional technology into foreign language learning.
OBSERVATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
Instructor's Observations
The instructor of the course observed several factors that affect student's use of on-line communication. Students who did not have enough language skills to express their ideas were often able to use facial expressions and body language to clarify their statements in class. In the absence of visual cues in on-line discussions, these students tended to become either passive observers who hardly participated in discussions or risk takers,
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who tried to communicate in the language. To solve the former problem, the instructor consulted individually with diffident students and encouraged them to engage in on-line discussions.
Sometimes, students lost the focus of the discussion when the instructor was not present. In these occasions, students wrote shorter messages and discussed personal interests rather than topical issues. The presence of the instructor is important to keep students focused on the task at hand. The instructor also discovered that the students wrote more informally in the on-line chatroom sessions than in the pencil-and-paper formats. Students wrote conversation-like messages with discourse markers such as "guess what" "well," "and what," and "OK." Consequently, their writings sometimes were less complete, coherent, or grammatically correct (González-Bueno, 1998). This phenomenon may derive from the informal E-Mail messages students send to their friends.
Conclusion and Future Implications
The most important aspect of this study is that students used synchronous interaction via on-line chatrooms instead of asynchronous communication via E-Mail. In spite of the limitations that must be imposed on the study because of the relatively small number of subjects (N = 31), the researcher was able to draw a number of conclusions. The use of the combined on-line resources—on-line newspapers and on-line chatrooms—offered many advantages to the students. First, on-line activities generally provided a meaningful way for the students at the advanced level to develop their language skills and their cultural knowledge, contextually and systematically. Second, reading on-line newspapers not only increased students' cultural knowledge but also improved their reading skills. Third, composing messages via on-line chatroom sessions involved higher order thinking skills and created a community in which students used the target language beyond the classroom. Fourth, electronic communication led to better overall oral skills for the students. Finally, the use of on-line newspapers and on-line chatrooms heightened students' interest and motivation for learning the foreign language and the foreign culture in a dynamic rather than passive way.
This study also emphasized the importance of making computers accessible to students in order for on-line activities to become an integral part of foreign language learning. Both teachers and students need to be trained in the appropriate use of the Internet resources so that they can achieve maximum results. In addition, more discussion on appropriate pedagogical frameworks and instructional designs for the use of Internet technologies are needed to establish standardized procedures. Given the positive results described here, foreign language teachers
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should be encouraged to explore and experiment with integrated Internet resources for use by advanced language students. The Internet not only provides a powerful pedagogical tool but also supports an interactive methodology that truly engages students' imagination and ingenuity as they communicate with others in the real world.
NOTE
1 See the CNN web site at http://cnnenespanol.com/.
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AUTHOR'S BIODATA
Lina Lee is Assistant Professor of Spanish at the University of New Hampshire where she coordinates the Basic Language Program, trains teaching assistants, teaches foreign language teaching methods, and supervises foreign language interns. She has published articles in the areas of portfolio assessment and Internet technology for teaching foreign language and culture in Hispania, Foreign Language Annals, and the Northeast Newsletter. She is the author of Web sites for the Spanish textbooks Mosaicos and Puentes.
AUTHOR'S ADDRESS
Department of Spanish
Murkland 209
University of New Hampshire
15 Library Way
Durham, NH 03824
Phone: 603/862-3123
Fax: 603/862-0104
E-Mail: llee@hopper.unh.edu
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