CALLing Asia

[ Conference Reports ]

International Conference on Computers and Language Learning

Kyoto Sangyo University, Japan

23-24 May 1999

The CALLing Asia conference of the Japan Association of Language Teachers' Computer Assisted Language Learning Special Interest Group took place at the Joho Media Center at Kyoto Sangyo University. There were about 350 participants from five continents over a two day period, an almost six-fold increase on the size of the conference in 1998, demonstrating the increasing interest in CALL of all types.

More than 100 papers were presented and demonstrations given The content of these sessions could be roughly divided into six major strands: 'traditional' CALL and CD-ROM programs, technical aspects (using authoring programs, cgi, javascript and java), exploiting existing web-based materials for language learning, developing new web-based language learning materials, practical hints on using the web for personal development, and intercultural aspects of language learning and computer mediated communication (CMC).

The breadth of topics covered bears witness both to the degree of interest in CALL and to the desire among teachers to learn how to use computers effectively in their classes. Unlike many conferences, where there is a tendency to concentrate on the technology rather than the pedagogy, there was a particular emphasis at CALLing Asia on the meaningful and purposeful employment of computer-based materials and programs.

Despite the wide spread of topics, my primary interest lay in the CMC strand of the conference. Unfortunately, my involvement in presentations on both days of the conference meant that I was able to attend fewer CMC sessions than I would have liked.

In ‘Chatting in Silence: All learners welcome’, Mark Freiermuth demonstrated using Internet Relay Chat (IRC) for groupwork. In this hands-on session, participants were given the opportunity to use a web-based chat client. After a short practice session to get used to the technology, delegates participated in learning activity which required them to 'chat' with each other via the keyboard in order to collaborate on the assigned task. The session offered experience of using a client many of the participants were unfamiliar with, thus providing them with a valuable illustration of the importance of understanding how the technology works before using it with a class. The software was not entirely intuitive and several participants, therefore, became acutely aware of how learning can be inhibited by the technology if sufficient practice has not been provided before an activity commences.

Scott Rule of Kent State University, USA and Lawrence Davies of Nanzan University, Japan asked the question "How can teachers... create an interactive, multimedia, conversational environment?" in their paper, ‘Beyond the listserv: Choosing appropriate groupware for collaboration in EFL’. The idea underlying this presentation was that Davies would present in person, while Rule would be a 'virtual' presenter. Unfortunately, technical hitches prevented the virtual part of the presentation from occurring but the presenters had sensibly employed the backup strategy of having an offline presentation available in case of technical hitches of this sort. With the emphasis on synchronous aspects of communication and language learning, Davies provided an overview of the types of tools available to the learner and tutor, underlining an approach to language learning in which the learner takes responsibility for his/her own learning. The presentation ended with the one technology which was working effectively at the time - a demonstration of MOO (multi-user domain, object oriented). This activity generated a large number of questions from the audience, ranging from the technical to the social/psychological aspects of synchronous CMC, and illustrated the importance of a live demonstration of such technologies to the impact of a presentation on this topic. Unfortunately, as this sessions showed, live connections are not always possible, and it is a wise presenter who has other material prepared!

‘A rich, synchronous learning environment supporting distance language learners’, presented by Craig Rodine and Lesley Shield provided a synopsis of the work carried out by the Centre for Modern Languages at the Open University using telephone conferencing. They described two projects which have led up to the development of an integrated audiographics virtual learning environment; the first involved tutors and students from the first German and final French courses in using voice-over-Internet conferencing in conjunction with email, a website and an electronic newsletter. In the second, students and tutors for the second French course used a hybrid virtual learning environment employing the same voice-over-Internet conferencing client in conjunction with a freeware package with shared whiteboard facilities. In conclusion, the presenters described the current, in-house development of an integrated audiographics client. The presenters also offered a workshop which allowed participants hands-on experience with the new client. Delegates were then able to feed back their impressions of the client to the presenters.

CMC of all types was notable by its presence on the program at CALLing Asia. Kathleen and Kenji Kitao talked about the use of various sorts of chat program for language learning purposes. These ranged from Chat Central at Dave's ESL Caf� (1)to SaMOOrai (2) and Schmooze University (3) MOO, while Gordon Wilson offered ‘An Introduction to multi-user virtual reality for language education’. The uses of email to support collaborative and autonomous learning were also widely discussed, and presentations ranged from the practical, such as Frank Berberich's ‘An email based writing course: How to do it’ to Cora Dickson's examination of the use of email by virtual teams ‘Beyond netiquette: US-Japan virtual teams and intercultural communication’ and Michael Formanovsky's ‘Keypals for intercultural communication’ in which the presenter described action research where a teacher applies materials which have been tested by others in different contexts.

The purpose of CALLing Asia was stated as follows:

".. to provide hands-on learning and demonstrations of information technology and computer-assisted language learning tools for language teachers, especially those who were not familiar with computers or CALL. Furthermore, it aimed to provide a forum for discussing and sharing information about methods, programs, and issues in teacher training and professional development in CALL for teachers currently using CALL. Finally, CALLing Asia offered an opportunity for presentation of research studies and academic papers on all aspects of computer-assisted language learning." (http://jaltcall.org/cjo/10_98/calling_asia99.htm)

In these aims, the conference was entirely successful. Furthermore, it provided an excellent forum at which to raise the profile of CALL.

Lesley Shield
Open University

1 http://www.pacificnet.net/~sperling/eslcafe.html

2 Telnet samoorai.hyper.chubu.ac.jp Port 8888

3 Telnet schmooze.hunter.cuny.edu Port 8888.
Web interface http://schmooze.hunter.cuny.edu/test.html
Homepage: http://schmooze.hunter.cuny.edu:8888