Computer-Assisted Programs for
English Language Learning.
Olga Yu. Shilova
The idea of using PCs in English language learning has a great interest nowadays. Computers became an important tool for many educational purposes.
The using of computer technology by teachers of
second language has many benefits, one of which includes the increase in the
amount of exposure and potential interaction with the target language outside
the classroom.
Computer-assisted
activities can be introduced into standard teaching techniques to enhance
language learning.
These programs were designed to make interactive
exercises.
Paragraph Create is easy-to-use
writing improvement software that helps students develop their paragraph
writing skills. Students learn how to write an effective paragraph through
reason, detail, sequence, example, and cause and effects. Students develop an
idea, and write their own topic sentence, body, and conclusion. Program prompts
guide students step by step through pre-writing, writing, organizing, editing,
rewriting, and publishing. Students' completed paragraphs can be transferred to
their own disks or to a word processing program.
Multiple-choice quizzes.
Each question has up to four
answers. Specific feedback is given to the students in
respond to each
answer, and a percentage score is displayed after each correct answer chosen.
Gap-fill exercises.
Students are asked to enter the
words that are missing. The student can ask for a hint and see a letter of the
correct answer. Automatic scoring is also included.
Jumble-sentence exercises.
Jumble exercises are exercises of
scramble sentences, paragraphs, or stories. Students drug and drop the sentence
fragments to put them in order, or they can click on the fragments to put the
text together. A hint button prompts the student with the next correct word in
the sentence (or phrase) if needed.
Matching or ordering exercises.
A list of fixed items appears on
the left, and next to each one there is a drop-down list box containing a
jumbled set of pieces of text. This is used for matching vocabulary to animated
pictures, or ordering sentences to form a sequence or a conversation.
Computers
have the potential role in foreign language learning and instructions. With
computer-assisted teaching, there are changes in both a teacher and student
roles. Students are given more responsibility for their own learning, while the
teacher serves as a guide and resource expert who circulates among students,
working individually or in small groups with a technology-assisted lesson.
Teachers observe more of the learning process in action and serve as a guide in
that process.