Catering for less widely used, taught and endangered languages in Call
  Det første parallelforedrag jeg valgte var med Monica Ward (der var hver gang syv at vælge mellem). Hun fortalte om mulighederne for at hjælpe med at bevare truede/døende sprog ved hjælp af multimedia. Hun havde arbejdet med et sprog i Mellemamerika, som ikke var et skriftsprog, men hvor der stadig var enkelte som beherskede sproget.

Jeg havde valgt netop Monicas foredrag på grund af min egen interesse i de mindre udbredte sprogområder og jeg fandt hendes indlæg meget inspirerende.

 
 

 
  Monica Ward's abstract:

Catering for Less Widely Used, Taught and Endangered Languages in CALL - a working example
 

The development of CALL materials is non-trivial given its inherent multidisciplinary nature. If CALL development is challenging for the world's Most Commonly Taught Languages (MCLTs), it is even more so for its Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs) and Endangered Languages (ELs).


This paper outlines the extra challenges, constraints and rewards when working outside mainstream CALL. It presents a software template and syllabus developed by the author for the production of CALL courseware for ELs. The template was used to develop CALL materials for Nawat, an Endangered Language of El Salvador. In keeping with the theme of this year's conference, this paper explains how CALL for LCTLs and ELs involves more than just technology.
 

The challenges of CALL for LCTLs include lack of online languages resources and lack of pedagogical expertise on teaching the language. The challenges for ELs are more acute. There may be a very limited number of remaining speakers, no agreed alphabet or writing system, no "standard" dialect, no literate speakers, no one with linguistic knowledge of the language and lack of financial resources. There may also be cultural obstacles to be overcome.
 

The constraints for LCTLs include financial limitations and sometimes lack of technical expertise. For ELs, the financial constraints certainly prevail but perhaps even more limiting are the time constraints. Most speakers of ELs are elderly and the language may disappear with the deaths of its last few remaining speakers.
 

The rewards of CALL for LCTLs and ELs include raising the social perception of the language and the provision of linguistics resources for the research community.
 

With MCLTs, there is a plethora of information and resources available to CALL researchers and practitioners. However, in the case of LCTLs and ELs, many different and important issues need to be addressed. Non-mainstream

CALL practitioners may not have access to a multidisciplinary team and yet must also draw on the fields of anthropology, sociology and perhaps law. In addition, they may even need to define the grammar of the language from scratch - not an easy task.
 

There are many difficulties to be overcome with CALL for LCTLs and ELs. However, the author will demonstrate with a case study for Nawat, an Endangered indigenous language of El Salvador, that it is possible to develop CALL materials for these languages, using the template approach and with limited resources.