Ans: CALL: (computer assisted language learning):
Computer-assisted language learning (CALL), British, or Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI)/Computer-Aided Language Instruction (CALI), American is briefly defined in a seminal work by Levy as “the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning”. CALL embraces a wide range of information and communications technology applications and approaches to teaching and learning foreign languages, from the “traditional” drill-and-practice programs that characterized CALL in the 1960s and 1970s to more recent manifestations of CALL, e.g. as used in a virtual learning environment and Web-based distance learning. It also extends to the use of corpora and concordances, interactive whiteboards, Computer-mediated communication (CMC), language learning in virtual worlds, and mobile-assisted language learning (MALL).
The term CALI (computer-assisted language instruction) was in use before CALL, reflecting its origins as a subset of the general term CAI (computer-assisted instruction). CALI fell out of favor among language teachers, however, as it appeared to imply a teacher-centered approach (instructional), whereas language teachers are more inclined to prefer a student-centered approach, focusing on learning rather than instruction. CALL began to replace CALI in the early 1980s and it is now incorporated into the names of the growing number of professional associations worldwide.
In Pakistan, where English is the second official language of all the population but first language of relatively few, only 10% of the population uses the internet (United Nations e-Government Knowledge Database, 2017); of this 10%, the majority is 20- to 24-year-olds studying at various institutions in Pakistan. These students come from two major streams of education; Urdu-medium schools where Urdu is the language of instruction, and English-medium schools where English is the language of instruction. The Ministry of Education and Training and Standards in Higher Education (2014) recognizes two major types of schools in Pakistan; public schools and private schools.
The majorities of the public schools is Urdu medium schools and cater for rural or semi-urban localities and low income families. On the other hand, private schools are preferred by upper-middle and elite class families. Most private schools are English medium schools and have qualified and trained teachers, higher quality classroom facilities, and more imported educational materials compared to public schools. Many researchers have described English medium schools being well equipped with digital tools such as computers, projectors and access to digital libraries as compared to Urdu medium schools
Access and exposure to these digital facilities influence English medium schools’ students’ skills and digital practices positively (Shabbir, Wei, Chong, Marwat, Nabi & Ahmed, 2014). On the other hand, Urdu medium school students’ use of digital tools relies on their personal access to these tools at home (Salam, Jianqiu, Pathan & Lei, 2017).
Of all digital devices, there has been immense growth in popularity of smartphones in particular, in Pakistan in recent years. A news report published in The Nation (2016) claimed that the estimated smartphone user count in Pakistan would reach 40 million by the end of 2016. A number of researchers have investigated the effect of mobile technologies on the digital divide in developed countries (e.g. Lee, Park & Hwang, 2015; Mascheroni & Olafsson, 2015) and have argued that mobile technologies can help with ‘leapfrogging’ the digital divide in developing countries (Puspitasari & Ishii, 2016). The benefits of mobile devices in teaching and learning, especially teaching and learning of English language, have also been documented by many researchers (Kukulska-Hulme & Shield, 2008; ElHussein & Cronje, 2010; Franklin, 2011; Mueller, Wood & Archer, 2011; Chen & Denoyelles, 2013;Oz, 2015). However, in Pakistan no research has been carried out yet to explore the use of smartphones in English language learning.
The Digital Practices Survey in Pakistan was developed by the first author to identify
• Technologies currently being used for educational and non-educational purposes;
• Technologies being used to communicate with teachers and other students;
• use of smartphones to enhance English language skills;
• Future preferences of students related to the use of technologies for educational, non-educational and English language learning purposes; and
• The extent to which gender, study major and medium of education impact on students’ current use and future preferences of technology.
Use of modern technologies in Pakistani classrooms:
Nowadays, use of modern technologies is very much common in Pakistani classrooms which is very much helping students in learning English as second language. Multimedia, web browsers, computers, smart board, projectors are main part of technologies being use as medium for teaching language in most of the schools in Pakistan. Students are also using Tabs and smart phones as a medium of learning Language.
Use Of Web-based Tools In Class:
Olden day classrooms that only employed a chalk and a blackboard could only offer passive learning. With advances in technology, more and more classrooms are becoming equipped with new learning programs, web-based tools and highly effective software systems. This includes ClassDojo, eduClipper, Kahoot etc. There are numerous other web-tools that assist the teachers in drawing more attention from the students. Moreover, these tools ask for student involvement and engagement. Thanks to such aides, students are no longer passive learners. Modern educational tools have made students greatly involved in the teaching activity and helped improve learning.
The Introduction Of E-books:
There was a time when students had to carry big, bulky bags around those often exhausted students before studies could even begin. With the advancement in technology, the need to carry these heavy bags has been replaced with a mere tablet, computer or phone. The concept of e-books has revolutionized the modern education system. Today, a book having hundreds of pages can be downloaded or read online. Moreover, this also provides an enormous relief to the students monetarily. It is often difficult for many households to meet financial expenditures of education and electronic books have reduced that cost significantly.
Virtual or Interactive Classrooms:
Student-teacher discussions were once previously limited to classrooms. All queries regarding a test, homework or a project were to be discussed in class. However, students today can discuss and interact with their instructor online from anywhere. This has given rise to the idea of virtual classrooms that provide interactive sessions among classmates and teachers without all of them being at a single place. Teachers and students can exchange views, assign tasks and ask for help via this communication channel. There are various platforms which provide us with virtual classrooms.
Interaction With Learners Around The Globe:
Social interactions are very common today around the globe. However, these social interactions are more positive and impacting when utilized effectively. Today, there are web portals that allow more and more learners to interact and communicate with each other, thus providing a valuable opportunity to share and increase each other’s knowledge. There are web portals and online live chat options that aids interactions with scholars, professors, teachers and academics around the globe.
Online Assessment Techniques:
With the increase in technology, the normal assessment and grading criterion has also changed. Traditionally, assessments were conducted in class and teacher later graded them after evaluation. With the involvement of technology in the modern education system, more and more teachers use online assessment techniques. These tools include ProProfs, Online Quiz Creator, Classmarker, TopGrade Quiz Maker etc. All these tools can effectively be used to conduct online quizzes and assessments with easy grading and evaluation systems.
Conclusion:
Thus, we can see that by using modern technologies we can teach English in Pakistani classroom in a very effective and a different way. That’s not like just reading some lines and let children repeat like boring old teaching method but it’s full of fun activities, quizzes and language learning videos and smart board presentations. Through Modern technology children are learning language more quickly and effectively. But in some schools that are situated in the backward or undeveloped areas of Pakistan lack from such technologies due to which children are lacking in learning English as second language. Other than that most of the school have these modern technologies and within few years all the schools of Pakistan will be provided with these modern mediums of education to raise standard of learning language hopefully.
Question NO: 1
A teacher might employ digitalized materials and ICT-based support inside and outside the classroom, in order to enhance the teaching of a language. Although many technology-based teaching methods and resources effectively engage students and build their skills, many educators encounter difficulties when using technology in the classroom. Maybe a specific platform is too hard to introduce. Or maybe it won’t run on your devices. Despite the challenges, you likely want to enjoy the benefits that education technology can deliver.
Types of activities:
1-Quiet a Noisy Classroom:
To make it easier to give lessons and presentations, use a tool that tracks and displays classroom noise.
For example, Too Noisy is an accurate noise meter. You’ll likely find that — without having to tell them — students will become quiet when the meter spikes. This means most of them won’t be as disruptive when you give a lesson or run an independent work activity. They may even shush each other. In turn, you’ll have an easier time presenting content.
2-Use Videos for Mini-Lessons:
You can bolster your lesson plans by using videos as stand-alone overviews for some topics. Also available as skill reviews and previews, there are many websites that host teacher-made video content. Teacher Tube is an example of an education-only version of YouTube, covering core school subjects. You can search for a specific topic or browse by category, quickly finding relevant videos. For example, searching for “middle school algebra” will load a results page containing study guides, specific lessons and exam reviews. This easy way to use technology in the classroom adds a multimedia element to your lessons, which can effectively resonate with visual learners. Research has shown that the use of animated videos can positively impact a child’s development in several competence areas including memory, creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving.
3-Co-ordinate Live Video:
You don’t have to limit yourself to pre-recorded videos, as conferencing technology can allow subject matter experts to deliver lessons. Whether it’s a contact from another school or a seasoned lecturer you reach out to, bringing an expert into your classroom will expose your students to new ideas and can lighten your workload. You can add the person as a contact on Skype or Google Hangouts, delivering the lesson through the program. Skype even has a list of guest speakers who will voluntarily speak about their topics of expertise. Ask your students to prepare questions, helping them enjoy — and falling participate in — this modern take on traditional lessons.
4-Play Podcasts:
Playing relevant podcasts can not only supplement your lessons, but engage auditory learners and act as a learning station. Made by groups ranging from media giants to ordinary people passionate about a particular subject, you can find podcasts that are:
• Interviews with the author of a book your students are reading
• Lessons about studying techniques and strategies
• Explorations of a curriculum-related topic
• Lectures from professors
For a high school course, you may want to design a project that allows students to create and play their own podcasts. This is one of the easiest ways to use technology in your classroom — you just need a device with strong speakers.
5-Add Multimedia Elements to Presentations
Whereas slideshow presentations entirely made up of text can disengage students, ones with multimedia elements can effectively hold their attention by varying content delivery.
When applicable, try to include:
• Images
• Graphs
• Pictographs
• Podcast clips
• Sound effects
• Short video lessons
• News, movie and television show clips
You don’t have to scour the Internet to find relevant graphs and pictographs — you can make them yourself. There are free online tools that take you through steps to input data, adjust labels and modify your design. It’s likely that slideshow presentations already play a part in your lessons, and adding different kinds of media can make them more engaging.
Q2. The online knowledge-based computer games are often in the form of quizzes. Like games, quizzes are very motivating for learners as they tend to illustrate a learner’s progress and give some security against their fear of more formal exams.
Research and enlist the names and web links of 5 different websites which offer the English language (grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing etc.) quiz like sample exercise tests. Then take any TWO quizzes from your mentioned list and explain how you would use them in your classroom.
Ans: These are the 5 different websites I came across for English Language Quiz:
https://www.sporcle.com/games/mr_jonathon/4letters?t=english
https://www.edubuzzkids.com/content/grade-2/worksheets/english/nouns/Recall-nouns/4616
https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/parts-of-speech-quiz.htm
https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/games/story-maker-1
https://www.englishclub.com/esl-quizzes/vocabulary/
b. Then take any TWO quizzes from your mentioned list and explain how you would use them in your classroom.
Ans: Now as I am teaching class 2. So the Quizzes I found useful for teaching English Language to my class from the above list are these:
https://www.sporcle.com/games/mr_jonathon/4letters?t=english
It very interesting quiz as children will have to guess the four letter word from the given clue for example if it’s said that what is opposite of false? They will write True.
SO I am going to give some clues to my children in form of colorful paper chits then I will distribute them among my class and they will write four word answers under the given clue or hint.
This will help my students in enhancing their vocabulary in a fun way they will get excited in guessing the word and this quiz will also improve their grammar as they will also learn spellings of words with help of this quiz. So, I find it really interesting for my English classroom.
https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/parts-of-speech-quiz.htm
On second number I would like to play this quiz game with my students. As I found it really much interesting for my class it will not just improve their grammatical skills but it will help them in reading and writing also. And at this grade students need to know very well about parts of speech because in English + Science and social studies they need to use parts of speech. This can help students in Sentence construction, story writing, picture comprehension and Creative writing. So I will provide my students with a worksheet of parts of speech quiz and tell to select and circle the correct option and I will give them a time limit under which they have to complete this quiz. A sample I have given below:
Answer: Most educational games, or games used for pedagogical purposes, make use of a form of subversive teaching; learners are unaware of the objectives or, rather, do not share the same objectives as the teacher. Instead, learning takes place as an activity peripheral to play. Learners are increasingly developers of digital content as online applications allow them to create and manipulate their own and others’ media into videos, animations and games. Particularly online, computer-based games are often in the form of quizzes which test knowledge more than they teach it. Like games, quizzes are very motivating for learners as they appear to illustrate a learner’s progress and give some security against fear of more formal exams.
Enlist the names and web links of 5 different websites which offer the English language (grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing etc.) quiz like sample exercise tests.
Google word coach vocabulary game:
In Google word coach game some questions ask for synonyms, others antonyms, and some use images. There are always 2 choices to pick from and at the end of the 5 questions, you get a little score card with explanations for each of the answers. There’s also a “Next round” button to continue with another test.
Multiple choice questions in English grammar;
https://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/grammar-quizzes.html
Quiz questions reading and games English;
https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/grammar-practice
Read about the grammar rule.Play the two grammar games to help you practice. Print the reference card, activity sheet and test for more practice.
Adverb Games
The games on this page will help you learn more about adverbs, how and when to use them, what order to put them in, and new adverb vocabulary.
https://www.englishclub.com/esl-games/grammar/adverbs-matching.htm
Reading Quizzes
https://www.englishclub.com/reading/test.htm
For each question, choose the answer that is closest in meaning to the original sentence.
Then take any TWO quizzes from your mentioned list and explain how you would use them in your classroom.
Multiple choice questions in English grammar;
Here are a few tips for teaching grammar:
Create opportunities for your students to practice, practice, and practice.
Make sure that you use real-world contexts. Look at the grammar on restaurant menus, billboards, in magazines and newspaper. When your students can realize that grammar is used in the outside world, not just the classroom, they will understand how important it is.
Make multiple choices for one real word and show the real word picture to students and ask to match with exact answer.
2) Google word coach vocabulary game:
In Google word coach game some questions ask for synonyms, others antonyms, and some use images. There are always 2 choices to pick from and at the end of the 5 questions, you get a little score card with explanations for each of the answers. There’s also a “Next round” button to continue with another test.
The teacher has an essential role in helping students to improve their vocabulary. Unfortunately, vocabulary teaching has not been enough responsive to such problems, and teachers have not recognized the tremendous importance of helping their students to develop an extensive vocabulary.
A robust vocabulary improves all areas of communication listening, speaking, reading and writing. Vocabulary helps children to think and learn about the world. Expanding a child’s or adult knowledge of words provides unlimited access to new information.
Note: These can be the possible sample answers of both the questions.
