Computer Assisted Language Teaching put into a Task Based context

Participants

• Öznur Oklar
• Chelo de Andres Martinez
• Bodil Svitzer

Öznur Oklar

I am a teacher in a university in the English preparatory school in turkey

I taught primary and secondary school students before but now I am teaching adults ages between 19 a teaching adults ages between 19 and 30

In my classes there are  25 or 30 students and they do not have computers in their  classes but they have a special computer laboratory for CALL LESSONS.

I sometimes prepare exercises on computer or get some videos to get them watch.

I do no have much experience on task based teaching but I noticed that I had used some activities of it in my classes. So I want to learn much more about it and use properly.

Submitted solution to task three

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Chelo de Andres Martinez

My name is Chelo de Andres Martinez. I am Spanish currently living and working in Plymouth, England. I am passionate about enabling others to communicate in a second language and that remains the joy and pride of what I do.

I joined The University of Plymouth Business School in 1996 as a research-active lecturer in Spanish Language and Culture, having taught at The University of Sheffield.

I completed my First Degree at Universidad Complutense de Madrid and gained my PhD at The University of Sheffield. Currently, I am studying for a Master on Learning Technologies at Plymouth University.
I teach Spanish to students that have an interest in the language but it is not part of their University degree and also to undergraduates doing a Major or Minor in Spanish. The groups size varies from 6 to 22 depending on the level (beginners tend to be larger than more advanced levels).

There are some classrooms with a Lecturer’s/ Teacher’s desk. A digital lab is being implemented shortly. We also have computer labs we can book for specific sessions.

I have designed and used several CALL exercises packages and currently developing a community website.

I would like to know more about what other lecturers/teachers/educators are doing and make some exchange of ideas and contacts.

I have limited experience with Task Based Learning applied to computers, and would like to learn more about it.

Submitted solution to task 3

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Bodil Svitzer

I am an English teacher at a Technical College in Denmark. I am also educated as a German and Danish teacher, but at the moment I’m not teaching any German, unfortunately.

My teams are rather small, from 8 to 15 persons. My students are adults, from youngsters at the age 17 to 25 years to mature adults in the age from 30 to 50 years, and they all have English at their main course. They have finished their vocational basic education (which takes two years) as ship builders, refuse collection drivers, drivers, metal workers, store men and industrial technicians.

I have access to computers, and we use them very often in the classroom. My students are making about 3 assignments, two minor and one major. The major assignment is an individual assignment which is being used for the final examination. In the process of making this essay, the students are supposed to find suitable texts on the internet themselves.

We are also working with grammar exercises and puzzle works, and I have made several exercises to them e.g. job quizzes, and tasks after seeing a film or reading a text. They are always making job related assignments like manuals, word books, translations and job applications.

I use films, tapes and songs as well as written texts in my education.

My personal interest in Task Based Learning by Computer Assisted Language is to learn more about this exciting and interesting method. The development at this issue is running very fast, and I think I need to keep up with this development. I find it also very suitable for teaching in different levels to different pupils. There are enormous big differences between the pupils at those courses at our school.

Submitted solution to task 3

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Tasks

Below you can read the tasks that are needed to get to the next step of the course

1. Personal introductions
2. Theory
3. Prepare a task based activity
4. Feed-back and peer review
5. Practice and test period
6. Student and teacher evaluations
7. Peer review
8. Meta cognition

First task - personal introductions

Your first task is to prepare and submit the information below, deadline is June 24th:

A short presentation of yourself, e.g. your nationality, are you a teacher or a student (studying what), etc.

Language(s) that you teach or want to teach.

Which kind of students do you teach or plan to teach?

If you are a teacher the please describe:

-         the teaching facilities etc. e.g. number of students in your class,

-         do you have access to computers in the class,

-         have you used computers or materials produced by you with computers in your present class?

-         Etc.

What is your personal interest in the chosen module?

Do you have experience with Task Based Learning?

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2nd Task - theory

Please read the unit on Task Based Learning found in the course book on page 19 and from page 52 (in the English version). You can download the course book in five languages from this address: http://www.languages.dk/materials.html#Course_Book

Suggested supplementary reading: http://www.languages.dk/methods/documents/tbl-basque_02.pdf

Please also watch the following video which shows how to work with computer assisted language teaching in a task based context: http://www.languages.dk/methods/call-en.html

Deadline for the above introduction is June 26th

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3rd Task Prepare a task based activity

Develop your own task based activity with a pre-task, the main task and language consciousness raising activities. It must be one that you can use with one of your classes. Send in your task activity.

Deadline: 3. July 2007

Submitted solutions to task 3

Read the hand-in submitted by Chelo

Read the hand-in submitted by Bodil

Read the hand-in submitted by Öznur

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4th Task Feedback and peer review

Read and comment on the input from the other participants in the course. Give them feed back on their task activity.

Feed-back from Kent Andersen to Chelo
Feed-back from Bodil to Chelo

Feed-back from Kent to Bodil
Feed-back from Chelo to Bodil
Feed-back from Lone to Bodil

Feed-back from Lone to Öznur
Feed-back from Bodil to Öznur

Timeframe: 3. to 16. July 2007

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Task 5 Practice and test period

Try out the task activity in one of your classes.

Read a sample student hand-in from Öznur

Task 6 Student and teacher evaluations

Send in a description of the students’ reactions and evaluation of the task activity. Include also your own evaluation of the task.

Deadline: maximum two days after the task activity with a class.

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Task 7 Peer Reviews

Read the evaluations of the other course participant and give feed back.

Deadline: Feed back must be given to each participant no later than a week after the respective evaluations have been submitted.

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Task 8 Meta cognition period

Final evaluation and reflection.

How did you find the process of working with a new task activity?

Has it changed anything for you as a language teacher?

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Submit messages

Some of the course participants have had problems with e-mail fonts so I have decided to include a form for submitting your texts:

Please prepare your messages in Word or similar text processors before submitting them

Submit your text here

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Last edit: 12-11-2007

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