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C&IT Centre

No 14, June 98

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Case Studies

Case Study: University of Surrey

Multimedia Teaching Lab and Self Access Computing Lab

In the summer of 1997 three language departments at the University of Surrey combined to form the School of Languages and moved into brand new premises. This allowed us to re-evaluate our teaching methods and alongside the traditional language laboratories, a multimedia-teaching laboratory and a self-access computing lab were added. The multimedia lab is a room full of computers in rows (20 machines) with the teacher’s machine at the front. The self-access computing lab is situated next door to the self-access room, just along the corridor from the multimedia teaching lab.

Here are some of the ways in which we have been using the facilities:

• Practice after presentation of new language:
  After a new language has been presented in a traditional classroom context, teachers have found that students can work independently and at their own pace using software that recycles and reinforces skills, structures, grammar etc. They get immediate feedback from the computer and individual attention from the teacher through the “Call” button.
• Training new students with language software:
  Many new students are nervous about using computers, particularly those on the “adult” evening classes. Staff have found it useful to spend a lesson running through the programmes available with the whole class in the multimedia lab. Staff find it useful to see who will need extra support and students are able to gain confidence and get a taste for the full range of materials available.
• Repetition of work to reinforce / revise structures:
  All the programmes in the multimedia lab are also readily available in a self-access computing centre. Many students like having the opportunity of repeating an exercise after the lesson in their own time.
• Linking to the Internet:
  It was found that many students were having problems finding what they needed on the Internet, if they used it at all. For the self-access centre, we have begun to build a series of web pages for students. These appear as the default pages when students open Netscape and from that page they can choose a variety of language options and special pages on teaching and learning languages and careers with languages. We are also building a web-based database of all the other materials available in the self-access centre, so students will be able to select a language, a level, and a key word and a list of resources meeting these criteria will be given.

In the multimedia lab we have also installed the most recent version of Word, which gives the opportunity to introduce hyperlinks. This means that a teacher can write a work sheet in Word, linking certain words in the sheet to web pages. Students begin working and can write all their answers straight into the word document, which can be saved to disk and handed in at the end of the lesson. If anyone finds a particularly useful web page, it is possible to make their screen the master screen and switch all the computers to view that screen. The lab has also been used for a translation class where students can view each other’s work on screen at the end of the class! We are steadily building up a bank of web resources for all languages taught at the University and a few that are not!

Initially serious problems were encountered with networking CD-ROMs as soon as more than 2 users tried to access the same CD with video or audio content, the whole system would grind to a halt and crash. After 6 months of trying various solutions, we have finally managed to solve the problem and can now run 55 PC's off a single CD-ROM over the network. This has enabled us to maximise our use of both PC rooms and has proved to be tremendously popular with staff and students.

It is very much an on-going process but we are all keen to experiment and constantly on the lookout for new software and web-sites. If you would like to know more about the work we are doing please contact us. You can see a short video presentation about the multimedia lab online.

Ros Potapov, Self-Access Centre Resource Officer for Languages,
C Wright, English Language Institute,

Case Studies

CTICML published the first Case Studies a year ago and they have proved a very popular element of the ReCALL Newsletter.

If you wish to share your experiences of integration of technology into teaching and learning support, either on a departmental or campus-wide level, please submit your articles of no more than 1,000 words electronically to Jenny Parsons at CTICML.

 

 

 

FDTL News . . . .

Languages - get it together!
Collaboration and co-operation in the FDTL Languages programme

The purpose of the Fund for the Development of Teaching and Learning (FDTL) initiative is to disseminate examples of good practice found in HE institutions. There are a total of 63 FDTL projects funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Department of Education for Northern Ireland (DENI). 19 projects were funded in Phase 2 of the initiative (which runs for 3 years from autumn 1997) of which 10 are in the field of Modern Languages. Between them, the FDTL languages projects have been awarded a total of 2.5 million pounds.

The languages projects fall into 5 distinct themes: Residence Abroad; Independent Learning; Staff Development; Transferable Skills; Assessment.

All 10 projects have agreed to collaborate on a Common Dissemination Strategy (CDS) in order to:

• raise the profile of the FDTL languages projects by providing accurate, up-to-date information in a variety of formats;
• avoid duplication and make the most effective use of the funds available.

It is important that the CDS is well planned and co-ordinated as there are around 40 separate institutions involved in the 10 projects, many of which are consortia of several universities. The total number of institutions indirectly involved with the FDTL Languages programme is far higher - offering enormous potential for networking amongst not only HE institutions but also beyond. Professor Brian Fender, Chief Executive of HEFCE said at the official launch of the languages projects on March 23rd in London:

The partnership between the ten FDTL Languages projects provides a very interesting model for collaborative working and sharing experience between institutions to effect change in teaching and learning.

This collaboration may therefore be of interest not only to HE practitioners working within the field of languages, but also to those within FE and indeed beyond the languages constituency. What follows is a snapshot view of how the collaborative process works on a practical level within the FDTL Languages programme.

The CGL and implementation of the CDS

The CDS is formally monitored and controlled by the Co-ordinating Group for Languages (CGL), which meets every 4 months at the Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research (CILT). The CGL works closely with CILT, and is comprised of project directors and/or co-ordinators, representatives from HEFCE and the FDTL's National Co-ordinating Team (NCT). The purpose of the CGL meeting is to revise, plan and determine the CDS. The action points decided at the meetings are executed by the FDTL Languages Information Unit, based within the Resources Library at CILT. The Information Unit:

• maintains, in conjunction with the CTICML who supply technical support and advice, the FDTL central languages Web pages which provide up-to-date project news and information as well as offering hypertext links to Web sites maintained by the individual projects and other related sites;
• edits and distributes the bi-annual newsletter 'FDTL Languages News' (also available on-line);
• maintains a database of contacts in each university in the UK as well as professional networks and associations
• answers enquiries by e-mail, post, fax, or in person;
• co-ordinates conferences and the dates of project workshops;
• informs the press, including professional journals, of FDTL activities.

The CGL meetings also provide the opportunity for projects to meet and network informally.

Inter-project collaboration

Each project has its own means and methods of collaboration and co-ordination. To utilise expertise within particular fields, some projects are working closely in partnerships with other projects which share the same distinct theme. Using the same rationale, the WELL (Web Enhanced Language Learning) project utilises the mailing services of CTI Modern Languages for much of its dissemination activity. The project is also closely associated with EUROCALL and plans to present its findings at EUROCALL conferences.

All three residence abroad projects run workshops focusing on various aspects of their work. Two of the three Residence Abroad projects - The Learning and Residence Abroad (LARA) project and the National Residence Abroad Project (NRAP) have established the National Residence Abroad Database (NRAD). The SMILE and CIEL projects (two of the three Independent Learning projects) are also working closely together (as reported in ReCALL Newsletter Number 13, March 1998).

Most of the projects are establishing a Web presence with on-line details of their activities and progress. Other Internet-enabled means for communication are e-mail and the FDTL-Languages Mailbase discussion list. The list allows its subscribers to discuss ideas, keep in touch, and plan the practical aspects of conferences, meetings and workshops in which more than one project will be participating.

Structures and communication within projects

While not all projects are working with others inter-thematically, each works to ensure that internal and external communication channels are kept open.

The working structure varies from project to project, but steering or focus groups are common to most of them. These groups include peers working in other universities, experts from other FDTL projects and professional bodies or organisations working in the field, and in some cases, a student representative. The Effective Practices in Assessment in Modern Languages: A German Perspective (University of Ulster), does not have a consortium group. It does, however, organise workshops at 11 different institutions, each of which has an appointed representative - the regional co-ordinator. This person does not only help run the workshops, but also helps with issues of quality assurance and effective dissemination of the project's progress and findings.

Other projects, such as the DEVELOP project, the DOPLA project (both Staff Development), the TransLang project (Transferable Skills) and the WELL project (Independent Learning), are consortia of several institutions. They have also established contacts with other organisations, including professional bodies and networks, and involve undergraduates and postgraduates within their official internal structures. Some examples of collaboration:

• the DEVELOP project, which is creating a video package focusing on Peer Observation for language teachers, established a focus group, comprising organisations external to their consortium, to trial the outcomes of their labours;
• the DOPLA project's consortium contacts include a representative from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST);
• the Translang project includes students at the University of Central Lancashire on its Steering Committee; the Inter-culture project invites undergraduates to report on its workshops;
• The WELL project has established a Mailbase discussion list which invites subscribers from all backgrounds to discuss issues central to the project - learning and teaching languages on the web.

For the FDTL languages projects, the success of disseminating good practice depends upon collaboration, co-operation and coordination at many levels both within and beyond the project boundaries. This is not without its challenges, but we hope that the model which we have developed, described above, may prove a useful example for other discipline-based educational and research projects.

Paul Davey
FDTL Languages Project Officer

DOPLA
Development of Postgraduate and Foreign Language Assistants

Following the 1995-96 Teaching and Quality Assessment of modern language departments, five Subject Overview Reports for modern languages were published. These documents show remarkable uniformity in drawing attention to the inadequate provision for training and induction of Postgraduate Teaching Assistants (PGTAs) and Foreign Language Assistants (FLAs).

If PGTAs and FLAs are to carry out their teaching commitments satisfactorily, appropriate training needs to be provided. This has to be both generic and subject-specific training, since language teaching and learning poses particular problems not covered in the ‘standard’ short training courses offered by Universities and their Staff Development Units.

This issue was addressed at a national conference held at UMIST in 1996. A working party looking particularly at FLAs was set up in response, consisting of representatives from UCoSDA, UMIST, University of Birmingham and the Central Bureau. DOPLA is following on from this work by introducing a more active programme of dissemination through the formation of a national consortium and a programme of ‘cascade’ training.

A training course for PGTAs and FLAs has been developed at Birmingham by a team of tutors from Languages, Education and Staff Development. This five-day course comprises initial training and related activities, a period of teaching practice and a further taught element combining reflection and additional training. Novice teachers leave each element of the programme with a dossier of practical strategies for language teaching. The course covers:

• how students learn
• small-group teaching techniques
• teaching grammar
• use of the target language
• the role of translation
• exploiting authentic materials
• communicative methodology
• marking and assessment
• techniques for classroom management

This coherent, focused course forms the basis of the DOPLA project and is the outcome of a number of years’ trialling. At every stage it has been evaluated through questionnaire and discussion: the commendations that the course itself has received from PGTAs and FLAs, and subsequent positive evaluations of their teaching, indicate that it is making a significant contribution to high quality teaching. A three-year grant has been received from HEFCE in the second phase of the FDTL initiative to disseminate this training model to other higher education institutions. To do this a six-member consortium has been formed, including the University of Birmingham, University of Bristol, Coventry University, University of Leeds, University of Sheffield and UMIST/University of Salford. The members of the consortium are developing and adapting the course to meet the requirements of their own institutions. They will be looking to work with so-called ‘second-tier’ institutions to help them develop their own courses over the next two years. By disseminating the programme to other institutions of higher education, the DOPLA consortium is ensuring that the training needs of PGTAs and FLAs are met on a national scale.

Although these new training programmes will have been modified, they will all follow the basic principles of the original Birmingham course. These are:

• initial training followed by practice and reflection
• a combination of generic and subject-specific training
• short-focus input linked to group-generated output
• the provision of opportunities for trainee teachers to produce sample materials.

A modular training pack will be produced containing video clips and overhead transparencies enabling any modern language department to run their own course. Further modules will be produced as the project progresses, including "Using IT in Language Teaching" and "Teaching Literature". This will allow institutions to select a training programme appropriate to their needs.

It is envisaged that a set of core modules and selection from a set of supplementary sessions will provide a basic accredited course. The modular system is flexible enough to fit into established, institutional programmes, but it will also meet the requirements for accreditation by the new Institute for Learning and Teaching.

A conference is being held in June at the University of Birmingham. This is open to representatives of all UK institutions of higher education and will give the opportunity to hear how the original course has been adapted and how new institutions could incorporate it into their staff development culture.

Penny King HEFCE-FDTL Project Office
Modern Languages Unit
The University of Birmingham

Forthcoming ReCALL Newsletter

The next issue of the ReCALL Newsletter, October 1998 will include:

FDTL Project News: Translang: Incorporating Transferable Skills into non-specialist language learning

Contact Kylie Baxter if you wish to be removed from the hard copy mailing list. This helps to keep our mailing costs down.

On 31 March 1998 the National Council for Educational Technology (NCET) became the British Educational Communications and Technology agency (BECTa), with a new remit to ensure that technology supports the DfEE's objectives to drive up standards, in particular to provide the professional expertise the DfEE needs to support the future development of the National Grid for Learning. BECTA will also have a role in the further education sector's developing use of ICT, in the identification of ICT opportunities for special educational needs, and in the evaluation of new technologies as they come on stream.

BECTa provides resources on-line which include a bookshop of IT-focused publications, CD-ROM reviews and Lingu@NET, a virtual language centre.

CTI Modern Languages Open Days 1998

Wednesday 17 June 1998
Wednesday 15 July 1998
Wednesday 19 August 1998

This is the second series of Open Days offered by CTI Modern Languages. They are designed to enable you to visit the Centre and provide you with hands-on experience of relevant CALL software. Staff will be available for discussions and to offer advice.

There is no charge to teachers from the HE sector for attending the open days and visitors may attend at any time between 1000am and 1600pm.

Please note that the number of participants that we can accommodate at any one time is limited and that places MUST be reserved in advance.

For further details and bookings contact Jo Porritt at CTICML

Software Review: Wida's Authoring Suite

Supplier: WIDA Software Ltd., 2 Nicholas Gardens, London W5 5HY, Tel: +44 181 567 6941, Fax: +44 181 840 6534; Email: [email protected], http://www.wida.co.uk
System requirements: IBM compatible 486SX, 33MHz with 8MB RAM (16MB or 32MB preferable), 10MB hard disk space, and a screen resolution no higher than 800 x 600. Windows 3.1, 95 or NT.
Price: �75.00 per title; �150 site licence per title; �475.00 for 7 program bundle; �915.00 site licence bundle.

Authoring packages allow teachers with a basic level of computer literacy and a little imagination to produce materials tailored to the specific needs of their students. Control of the content, focus, and level of the exercises are in the hands of the teacher. Feedback and supplementary help materials are also teacher-generated in the form of hints, multiple accepted answers, and help screens. If the teacher is familiar with other electronic resources such as the Internet, and CD-ROM databases, material from these sources can easily be incorporated into an authoring package.

The Wida authoring programs have long been available as DOS programs, only dealing with text. The format of the new Authoring Suite is basically the same, although all exercise types can be accessed from the same menu system. There are significant changes, notably the facility to easily incorporate pictures, sound, video, and glossaries. Any exercises created with previous versions can be easily imported.

The Exercises

The Authoring Suite combines seven of Wida's authoring programs in an integrated package for Windows. These programs are Matchmaster, Choicemaster, Testmaster, Storyboard, Gapmaster, Pinpoint and Vocab. The programs can be bought individually, and further packages purchased at a later date.

Matchmaster - The MatchMaster program is based on matching pairs. Three types of activity are available: Matchit, Snap, and Memory. The main exercise Matchit is always available, the other two can be set as available or unavailable by the tutor. Snap is a timed activity, and can be played against another student, or against the computer. Memory is an on-line version of the popular card game.

TestMaster - The TestMaster program allows the tutor to create a series of question and answer exercises. An extensive selection of multiple possible answers can be included. Questions need to be very carefully written, and a list of possible answers planned in advance with subsequent expansion once the tests have been piloted. Preparation of this type of activity is rather labour intensive for these reasons. Exercises created in TestMaster can be approached in Exam and Exploratory mode. Given the constraints inherent in this exercise it is best approached as a learning rather than a testing activity.

ChoiceMaster - ChoiceMaster allows the creation of multiple choice exercises where feedback can be attached to correct and incorrect responses. Exercises can be made available in Examination, Browse, or Tutorial mode. As with TestMaster, Examination mode is not really suitable for formal examinations since there is no in-built security with respect to identifying candidates, and restricting the number of attempts at a test that can be made. More sophisticated assessment packages are available, notably Question Mark. The Authoring System is best suited for learning rather than testing, although informal self-assessment with the aid of immediate feedback is an important part of the process.

GapMaster - GapMaster allows the creation of gap-fill exercises. Again, multiple correct responses can be written into the exercise, particularly useful in Exploratory mode. As with the other programs, hints can be attached to any test item (in this case a gap to be filled) as well as to the exercise as a whole. For example, the core material may be a listening passage where the learners are required to fill in specific gaps in the text transcript. Smaller segments from the listening passage could be attached to individual gaps to give more directed help.

StoryBoard - StoryBoard is a total text reconstruction program where the student rebuilds a text from zero. Some words can be given away, for example, it may be appropriate to give away proper nouns. This exercise relies on students being able to use their knowledge of syntactic patterns, collocation, and topic-based vocabulary to build up a text. All of the Wida Authoring programs allow the tutor to write in an Introductory screen, and up to three help screens. These help screens can be used in StoryBoard to make parallel texts available. For example, a text such as an article written for an adult audience can be provided on one of the help screens. The text presented for reconstruction could be the same text rewritten for a teenage audience. Similarly, a letter could be provided as a stimulus with the text for reconstruction being a reply to that letter.

VOCAB - The VOCAB program concentrates solely on vocabulary learning. The program comprises a series of games: Which Word ? Alpahagame, Anagram, Mindword, Skullman and Word Order. Which Word ? requires that the student selects the appropriate word from a list to fit a given context. The context can also be called up as a clue in the other games. Individualised vocabulary databases can be built up using VOCAB.

Pinpoint - Pinpoint is designed for use with short texts with clear titles or keywords. More and more of the short text can be revealed as the student tries to link it with a keyword or title. Two further activities supplied with Pinpoint are Matchpoint and Jumble. Matchpoint is less demanding than Pinpoint in that the title is matched to the entire text. Jumble involves a simple reordering exercise using the text. The lines of each text are jumbled and need to be placed in the correct order. It is up to the tutor which of these activities are available for use with a given set of texts.

Common Features

The descriptions of the programs given so far have drawn out some of the common features across the Wida Authoring Programs. Features include:

• Ability to author an introductory screen and up to three help screens.
• Two modes of access: Exam and Exploratory mode.
• Ability to add text, sound, picture, or video clues at the level of the complete exercise, or for individual items
• Facility to append a glossary of key terms to an exercise. The same glossary can be used for a range of exercise types if the same material is being used for the exercise.

Ease of Use and Documentation

This similarity across programs means that it is easier for both students and teachers to master the programs. The programs are accessed in the same way, and the same graphical icons are used across the suite. The Student User Guide is both thorough and clear, including a large number of full colour screen dumps.

Screenshot of Testmaster Teacher Authoring Screen.(12KB)

For the benefit of the tutor, a CD is available containing a wide range of supplementary material, including a selection of sample exercises which demonstrate how the exercises might be exploited with audio, video, and graphical material. Authoring guides for each program are available for the tutor. Whilst authoring is slightly different depending on the exercise type, the initial authoring screen and production of a glossary remains consistent across programs.

The CD also includes a lengthy document written by Wida's Tony Williams, "Getting the Best from The Authoring Suite". This document is extremely thorough and deals with a wide range of issues surrounding the use of The Authoring Suite and similar packages. Topics dealt with include:

• Authoring tips with advice on piloting materials.
• Introducing students to materials and integrating materials into the curriculum.
• Advice on the use of particular packages within the suite.

Integration into Teaching

The Authoring Suite programs can be tailored for use both in and out of the classroom in a variety of ways:

Three main modes of use are outlined below:

• Revision materials for self-access
• Materials to supplement in-class activities
• Student generated materials

The focus of exercises can reflect the specific needs of students with respect to the development of key skills, or the revision of specific language points. A range of exercises could be made available for students to work on independently, with their tutor directing them towards exercises of personal relevance. If materials are produced by a team of teachers an extensive and varied resource will soon build up.

Materials can also be developed to supplement in-class activities. Bayliss (1995)₁ illustrates how materials generated using several of the Wida programs were built into a unit of study. The activities outlined below are designed to develop the following skills; reading a text for the main idea, self-expression, oral communication, and scanning a text for specific information.

Activity	Purpose
pre-computer: students read as much as possible of a text in 1 minute, a brainstorming activity follows to explain the main idea and predict the rest of the text. Students re-read the text in 2 mins and discuss their predictions.	speed reading for the main idea, group discussion, prediction.
groups write down keywords from memory then use this as a stimulus to write a pr�cis of the main ideas. The keyword list is kept for self-access work.	summarising
a student from each group reads the pr�cis aloud and the differences discussed and compared with those of other groups.	consolidate understanding of main idea
quick reading to answer general comprehension questions	skim reading for general understanding
computer: Choice master. Work in groups to answer a range of specific questions discussing possible answers in a group.	analyse content in depth and give thought to meaning in context
post-computer: groups discuss the issues raised comparing ideas with other groups.	discursive communicative activity building on understanding
computer: VOCAB or GapMaster vocabulary work used to practice expressions and meanings from the text.	contextual understanding
Storyboard: rebuild a summary of the text using their keyword lists	consolidating vocabulary and summary skills, structure of the text/

Another possible mode of use is "student as author". The StoryBoard program is the simplest program to use in authoring mode since an exercise can be created by simply copying and pasting a text into the program and saving it. The creation of a StoryBoard exercise could be a stimulating follow up activity to a writing exercise. Here students are motivated in that they are writing for a real audience who will be required to rebuild the texts. A more detailed activity might involve groups focusing in more detail on the text by deciding what form of help they would like to author in the form of hints, or in preparing a glossary.

Alternatively, students could be given a range of aural and visual stimuli and asked to prepare a text. This could be either recorded, or typed straight into the computer. A variety of completely different texts will result.

Conclusion

The incorporation of multimedia facilities into the new Authoring Suite greatly increases the scope of these familiar programs. The programs are easy to use and adaptable if used with a little imagination. The accompanying documentation is excellent for generating ideas on the use of all of the programs, as well as providing additional advice on the use of sound, video, and images.

Dawn Ebbrell
Learning Technology Adviser (Arts), University of Hull
June 1998

₁ Bayliss, Amanda "CALL materials integration in an academic English program", ON-CALL, 9 (2), 1995

Have you visited the CTICML web site lately?

As well as providing information on CTICML services, the CTICML Web site has a range of other resources useful for language teachers and students.

• Listing of selected CALL-related UK Postgraduate Courses
• Useful CALL reading - a CALL-related bibliography
• Events Calendar - a listing of CALL-related events regularly updated
• CTICML Software Database on-line - downloadable Access file, which will hopefully be replaced by an on-line searchable database by the end of summer 1998
• Software Reviews on-line
• Internet Resources General resources ie dictionaries, linguistics, newspapers, organisations etc; Language-specific and Multilingual sites; Search Engines; Commercial sites ie companies selling language products and services.

La neve nel bicchiere: a multimedia CD-ROM for students of Italian

CD-ROM Authors: Marina Orsini-Jones & Vic Tandy, Coventry University
Supplier: Camsoft, 10 Wheatfield Close, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 3PS, UK, Tel/Fax +44 1628 825206, Email: [email protected]
System requirements: IBM PC or compatible
Price: Single user licence: �69.00 + VAT, Unlimited site licence: �250.00 + VAT
Students in institutions with unlimited site licence: �20.00 + VAT

La neve nel bicchiere ('The snow in the glass') is a multimedia CD-ROM, designed for use by learners of Italian as a Foreign Language at higher-intermediate/advanced level. It was created between 1992-1997 by the Hypermedia Italian Team (HIT) at Coventry University with the help of students of Italian and has as its text base Nerino Rossi's novel La neve nel bicchiere1. The material contained in the CD-ROM is also suitable for teaching Italian to mother-tongue students.

The novel La neve nel bicchiere and the CD-ROM describe the historical and social conditions of an Italian family over a period of seventy years (1880-1950). The material on the CD-ROM is particularly suitable for the teaching of a variety of national and regional topics, such as:

• Anarchism and socialism
• State and Church
• Women in Italy
• Fascism
• Italy at War (Libyan War, First World War, Second World War)

A positive aspect of the integration of multimedia into the Italian curriculum is that learners develop independence and autonomous study skills. Students who do not have basic information technology skills will also improve their IT competence.

What do students think about La neve nel bicchiere?

These are the comments written by students at Coventry University about La neve nel bicchiere in their evaluation questionnaires at the end of the year (sample from the years 1992-1998):

• 'excellent, stimulating, thought-provoking'
• 'I learn more this way'
• 'videos, sounds and pictures helped me understand the context'
• 'I liked working with a computer'
• 'a stimulating way of delivering an Italian course'
• 'I was terrified of the computer to begin with, but I love it now'
• 'I am increasing my knowledge of Italian but also enhancing my computer skills'
• 'nice to learn language and content in this way'
• 'very interesting way of learning how to use the computer in a foreign language'

Training in the use of the package and its integration into the curriculum can be provided. Contact Marina Orsini-Jones at the University of Coventry for further details.

1 Coventry University would like to thank the Italian publishers of the novel La neve nel bicchiere - Marsilio Editori, Venezia - who have kindly given us permission to reproduce the whole of the text inside the multimedia package.

Conference Report . . . . . . . .

Teaching European Literature and Culture with C & IT

A group of approximately forty people came together in Oxford on 18th March to discuss resources and issues in the teaching of European Literature and Culture using Communication and Information Technologies (C&IT). The six papers came from a range of language areas and backgrounds, including a commercial publisher, but the emphasis throughout was upon resources which, whilst having a specific focus, nevertheless have resonance for many other subject areas.

Domenico Fiormonte, from the Department of Italian at the University of Edinburgh, started the presentations with a description and demonstration of the Digital Variants Project. Working with writers such as Antonio Mill�n, Roberto Vacca, and Francesca Sanvitale, the Project's web site makes available a number of drafts of each author's work, with the variants in the text highlighted and linked by hypertext, as well as sound recordings of interviews with the authors; we can also compare the text transcriptions with the manuscripts in digital format. The resources allow a user access to otherwise inaccessible materials, and we can follow the author's decisions made during the authoring process.

The second part of Domenico's paper discussed the use to which the resource has been put within the department of Italian with second language learners. First-year language learners were introduced to the materials with the explicit aim of developing their critical and writing skills; there were, however, also other positive outcomes in terms of increased IT literacy and increased close analysis of the texts. Examples of the exercises which the students completed and all the project materials are available from the Digital Variants web site.

Benito P�rez Gald�s is one of Spain's most celebrated realist authors and is thus widely studied at undergraduate level. Rhian Davies from the University of Sheffield described the P�rez Gald�s Editions Project as combining two complementary aims: to publish in traditional format a new scholarly edition of Gald�s's works complete with apparatus; and also to make available an electronic collection of scholarly materials which will complement the paper edition. The electronic package, to be published on CD-ROM, will include not only full, searchable editions of all of the texts (which in itself holds a huge advantage for the study of literary works) but also otherwise virtually inaccessible materials such as the manuscripts, galley proofs, serialised versions and first editions where they still exist, with other materials such as indexes and concordances. There will also be some multimedia background materials such as maps and other images.

The electronic package is openly aimed at an academic rather than popular use, which is reflected in its selection of serious, scholarly content. However, it is hoped that students may find that the use of digital search tools and editions can give them an easier route into the text, particularly where language may be something of a barrier.

Tony McNeill gave a different perspective to the use of digital resources in teaching with an overview of innovative work which he has been carrying out at the University of Sunderland, with the Communiqu� project. The resources in Communiqu� are largely centred around specific taught courses in literature, language and culture. Some of the more complex sections of the Communiqu� site include the Introduction to Contemporary France II, where frames and hyperlinks have been used to allow students guided access to poetry written in verlan or slang; poems are reproduced in full and additional frames are used to give access to an on-line glossary of terms, and Les chemins du savoir, a collection of over a hundred short texts or text�mes which have been selected to relate to the themes of the course. This encourages the students to perform word or phrase searches across a number of different texts, authors and genres and to then explore the results, without having made an initial decision on which text to explore; it will be interesting to discover the implications that this has for the literary and cultural analysis of texts.

The Department of German, University of Swansea maintains a detailed and comprehensive guide to study resources available on the Web; Duncan Large has been primarily responsible for the selection of resources on the site and during his presentation 'CDU on CD-ROM, Werther on the Web' he demonstrated a number of them to us, together with other digital resources useful for undergraduate German studies which are available in other formats, such as CD-ROMs and email discussion groups. He guided us through a range of different web sites with a multiplicity of uses for teaching and learning, including reference sites such as newspapers, news-services, dictionaries, grammar and spelling aids, such as the 'Internet Handbook of German Grammar'. Duncan also described a selection of the other free resources which are available, ranging from cultural sites such as political parties, a German film database and the German Election '98 site, to literary sites such as 'Ernst J�nger in Cyberspace' which contains a vast bibliography and excerpts from works which will shortly be published, and which is produced and maintained by a postgraduate student. Many of the sites which he described can be explored from the German department's home page.

Our next speakers came from outside the academic sphere; Arend Kuster and Caroline Volkmann spoke on behalf of Chadwyck-Healey publishers. Chadwyck-Healey are well-known within the sphere of digital text publication for their comprehensive but highly-priced collections of literary texts. They have recently set up two German literature web sites, namely Goethes Werke and Die Deutsche Lyrik, which give access to what are essentially two extensive full-text databases, fully searchable across genre, author and text and from which entire texts or extracts can easily be printed or downloaded. Whilst the resources described were clearly useful and of high-quality, the annual subscription price was raised during questions as a barrier to uptake.

Stuart Lee of the Centre for Humanities Computing, University of Oxford gave the final paper of the day, which described the Virtual Seminars for Teaching Literature Project. This externally-funded project has produced four on-line tutorials which can be used to teach the poetry of the First World War. Stuart demonstrated 'An Introduction to Manuscript Study' which uses digital versions of Wilfred Owen's manuscripts for Dulce et Decorum Est to introduce the student to the motivation behind the close study of manuscripts, to study the four different manuscripts for the poem, and then create their own edition of the poem. The project will soon also include a full digital archive of materials relating to WW1, including digital audio recordings of interviews with WW1 veterans and film clips dating from the period. The materials provide a fascinating resource for a teacher to draw upon and to use as they wish within their own curriculum, and this is central to the aims of the project.

Cross-discipline collaboration was one of the interesting issues which was raised during the discussion session; it was heartening to listen to the discussion of issues common to many of the range of areas covered. One would expect issues such as copyright, student responses to the use of technology, pedagogy, and cost to be raised and have common resonance. However, the discussions went beyond that with issues relating to areas such as translation studies and comparative literature, where the use of resources across standard discipline boundaries is essential to research. The discussion has already led to collaboration in practice in at least one area: Tony McNeill and Stuart Lee plan to provide virtual links between the works of French and British First World War poets.

Papers from the conference will be published by the CTI Centre for Textual Studies in autumn 1998.

Sarah Porter
CTI Centre for Textual Studies

Forthcoming Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25-27 June 1998, Church Point, Canada: CCALL3/CELAO3
Information: Ian M Richmond, Universit� Sainte-Anne, Church Point, NS, B0W 1M0, Canada, Fax: +1 (902) 769 3120,

26 June 1998, Nottingham, UK: ALFA Project Conference: The Uses of Information Technology and the New Media in Universities
Information: Theory, Culture & Society Centre, Room 175 Clifton Main Building, Faculty of Humanities, The Nottingham Trent University, Clifton Lane, Nottingham, NG11 8NS, UK, Tel: +44 115 948 6332 / 6330, Fax: +44 115 948 6331

26-27 June 1998, Leeds, UK: Moving IT forward in the Modern Languages Department
Information: CILT, 20 Bedfordbury, London WC2N 4LB, Tel: +44 171 379 5101, Fax: +44 171 379 5082

2-3 July 1998, Hull, UK: Workshop on Advising for Language Learning
Information: E Bradley, SMILE, Language Institute, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK, Tel: +44 1482 465862, Fax: +44 1482 466180

5-10 July 1998, Debrecen, Hungary: ALLC/ACH 98: Virtual Communities
Information: ALLC/ACH 98, Center for Applied Linguistics, Lajos Kossuth University, Debrecen POB 24, Hungary H-4010, Tel: +36 52 316 666 ext. 2116, Fax: +36 52 418 733,

6-10 July 1998, San Diego, USA: CALICO 98
Information: Robert Fischer, Executive Director, CALICO, 116 Centennial Hall, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, Fax: +1 512/245-8298

13-17 July 1998, Melbourne, Australia: WORLDCALL
Information: June Gassin, Horwood Language Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia,

15 July 1998, Hull, UK: CTICML Open Day
Information: CTI Modern Languages

24-27 July 1998, Oxford, UK: TALC 98: Teaching
and Language Corpora Information:

19 August 1998, Hull, UK: CTICML Open Day
Information: CTI Modern Languages

4-6 September 1998, Norwich, UK: AFLS 98
Information: Dr Marie-Madeleine Kenning, School of Modern Languages and European Studies, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK, Tel: +44 1603 592152

7 - 9 September 1998, Sheffield, UK: The Institution-Wide Language Programmes 7th National Conference
Information: Julie Smith, Conference 21, Sheffield Hallam University, City Campus, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK, Tel: +44 114 225 5336, Fax: +44 114 225 5337

10-12 September 1998, Leuven, Belgium: EUROCALL 98: From Classroom Teaching to Worldwide Learning
Information: EUROCALL 98 Conference Secretariat

17 - 19 September 1998, Bergamo, Italy: 5th CercleS Conference: Integration through Innovation
Information: Prof. Maurizzio Gotti, Centro Linguistico d'Ateneo, Universit� di Bergamo, Via Slavecchio 19, 24129 Bergamo, Italy, Fax: +39 35 27 72 27

21-22 September 1998, Oxford, UK: ALT-C 98
Information: ALT, Dept of Continuing Education, University of Oxford, 1 Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JA UK, Tel: +44 1865 270360

24 October 1998, Hull, UK: TELL Consortium Seminar: 'Integration of TELL materials into language learning programmes'
Information: CTI Modern Languages

9-11 September 1999, Exeter, UK: CALL '99 8th International Conference
Information: Keith Cameron, CALL '99, School of Modern Languages, Queen's Building, The University, Exeter EX4 4LE, UK

16-18 September 1999, Besan�on, France EUROCALL 99
Information: Thierry Chanier

Visit our full listing of CALL-related Conferences, Seminars and Workshops.

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