Педагогические науки/5.Современные методы преподавания.
Kobzeva N. A.
National research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Russia
Computer
Assisted Language Learning as an effective teaching approach
Nowadays,
English Foreign Language (EFL) is among of the top priorities in engineering
education and future professional activity of engineers. Most of specialists
recognized EFL as the passport for better professional career, better pay,
advanced knowledge and cultural awareness because most of resource books, Internet
resources, business correspondence, documents are written and printed in
English.
Thus,
the higher education environment urgently requires developing new strategies
that are supported by Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The ICT
usage as an effective teaching tool has contributed to raise the quality and
efficiency of academic EFL Classes in technical university. As a result, the
university must not only provide forming EFL competences in the educational
process but at the same time must encompass the continuous EFL competences in
the educational development with help of
ICT usage as a teaching /learning device.
So as to prepare high technology
engineers, Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) defines up-to-date innovations in
the field of the content of engineering education, chooses ICT technologies of
educational activities, providing international cooperation with help of
Intensive EFL programs [1].
Realizing the mentioned objectives
concerning EFL training, the Chair of Department of Foreign Languages of the
Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (TPU) tends to implement those
contemporary and practically significant skills, namely, providing English
language praxis closely related to future professional activities which,
undoubtedly, assist professional EFL communicative forming during the process
of getting higher engineering education.
One the
helpful strategy to encourage EFL acquisition may be using Computer Assisted
Language Learning (CALL) as an effective approach. Teachers should also
consider the advantages of CALL: the ability to capture students' attention;
lower students' stress; “a powerful self-access facility [2].
Therefore,
it may be challenging for teachers to add ICT in class activities in order to
develop students' target language proficiency and provide motivation. These are
the most significant issues that are forcing the higher education sector to
develop new strategies supported by ICT, which can contribute in several ways
to the EFL learning process: it can provide instructional content in ways that
better stimulate students’ motivation; it can ensure the independence of
education from time and place; and it can be used to assure collaborative
learning; it can contribute to better prepare students to the new needs and
challenges of the knowledge society [3]. Behavioristic, communicative,
integrative CALL represent computer as a tutor to form linguistic competence:
Grammar. CALL programmes designed for
teaching grammar include drill and practice on a single topic and programmes
for test preparation. Pronunciation.
Pronunciation programmers generally allow students to record and playback their
own voice and compare it to a model. Vocabulary.
This category includes drill and practice programs, multimedia tutorials, and
games. Listening. This category
includes programmers which are specifically designed to promote second-language
listening. Reading. This category includes reading programmers designed for
English learners. Text reconstruction programmers allow students to manipulate
letters, words, sentences, or paragraphs in order to put texts together. They
can be used to support reading, writing, or discussion activities. Popular
examples include, Gapmaster, Super Cloze, Eclipse Text Tanglers, and Double Up.Writing. Most software for supporting
writing falls under the Computer as Tool category. Exceptions include tutorials
such as Sentence Combining, Sentence Maker, and Typing Tutor [5].
The
computer as strong incentive category includes software which is used not so much
as a tutorial in itself, but to generate analysis, critical thinking,
discussion and writing. The perspectives of CALL development are in creating
technologies for the educational environment. But those who apply computer
technology to pedagogy will undoubtedly find ways to enrich their educational
programmer and the learning opportunities of their students.
References
1.
URL: http://www.tpu.ru/eng/mission.htm
2.
Philip, M. (1986) CALL in its Educational Context, in LEECH, G. and
CANDLIN, N.L. Computers in English Language Teaching and Research. London:
Longman, p 7
3.
Maria Helena Lima Baptista Braz, Sean Wolfgand Matsui Siqueira, Rubens
Nascimento Melo Information and Communication Technology for Supporting Civil
Engineering Education // URL: http://www.ineer.org/events/icee2003/proceedings/pdf/3357.pdf
4.
Krashen, Stephen D. Second
Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning. Prentice-Hall International, 1988.
5.
C.С. Kaлініна. The Functions of Computer Assisted Language Learning in
Formation of Linguistic and Communicative Competences // URL:
http://eprints.zu.edu.ua/785/1/04ksslcc.pdf