Some Subject, Treatment, and
Data Collection Trends in Current CALL Research [handout & PowerPoint slides from
the 11th International CALL Conference, September,
2004]
Using Google as a Tool for
Writing Instruction [handout & PowerPoint slides from EuroCALL, September,
2004]
The Challenge of Learner Training for CALL [Powerpoint
slides from CALICO, March, 2002]
Addressing both disk and web-based
applications, this presentation argues for going beyond teaching students how to
simply use technology to helping them understand why and when to use it for
meeting specific language learning objectives. It identifies areas in which
learners can acquire relevant skills and knowledge, including second language
learning theory and practice, so that they can make informed decisions about how
best to exploit language learning applications. Emphasizing pervasive and
repeated learner training in place of one-time tutorials, it discusses problems
with putting these principles into practice in the presenter's own language
courses and lessons learned from trying.
Understanding Interactional Sequences in
Tutorial CALL [Powerpoint slides from TESOL, March, 2001]
The speaker presents a review of over
forty published computer programs for language learning, focusing on the
interactional sequences within them. Within the interactional sequences, he
identifies types of material presentations, prompts, learner responses, and
feedback. An understanding of these elements aids language professionals in CALL
development, evaluation, and implementation.
Extending and Enhancing Interactional Sequences in Tutorial CALL [Powerpoint slides from CALICO, March, 2001]
Taming Teaching Agents, Meaning Technologies, and Participatory Dramas
[Powerpoint slides from CALICO, June, 2000]
It is argued that the use of teaching agents,
meaning technologies, and participatory dramas in CALL will grow dramatically in
the near future due to both technological advances and their increasing
acceptance in non-CALL domains. Teaching agents are software characters that act
as a teacher. Meaning technologies include hyperlinked dictionaries, automatic
translation modules, speech to text encoders, etc. Computer-based participatory
dramas provide a direct language experience for the learner as a character in a
developing story. This presentation discusses the obvious promises and less
obvious pitfalls of all three and proposes directions for short and long-term
research and development.
Teaching Agents in Tutorial CALL [Powerpoint
slides from CALICO,
June, 1999]
Recent research in social psychology has
demonstrated that we interact with computers in many ways as if they were fellow
humans. Teaching agents, like the helpful paper clip in Microsoft Office,
are already playing a role in human-computer interaction. That role will expand
as agent programming becomes more sophisticated. In this presentation I begin by
exploring the status of teaching agents in current software, especially CALL
tutorials. I then suggest ways in which future CALL applications, both CD and
web-based, can make use of teaching agents to lead to effective teacher-learner
interaction when the teacher is not physically present.
The Use and Abuse of Meaning Technologies [pdf]
Review of Hal's Legacy [LLTJ 1.1 (1997)]
Updated December 24, 2007