CALL Task 2: A Review of A CALL Website

Avast! Another session of thoughts will pass through so brace yourself. Before that, I'm going to share a bit of what's up with life so far. Slept at 3 last night and this morning it rained, I was about to walk to the faculty, we had Grammar at 8 so yeah morning rain was kind of a bad start out I guess for today (plus the Grammar pun). I'm glad I made it alive. That's about it I guess. Now back to today's task, we were assigned to make review of a Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) website, so we made a visit to http://www.neko.ca/ a website developed for speakers of other language (in this case, the Japs). The creator of this website are Canadian lecturers who are teaching Japanese students. MY FIRST IMPRESSION the template and designs are outdated, I'm sorry but I'm not in favor of them but I guess these people who made the website are amateur website designers.  But regardless, the content is quite interesting (teaching material wise - peculiarly in the aspect of foreign language learners) and I believe my most favorable sections are Neko Chat, Messy Room and Frog Hollow, I might also adopt Desert Odyssey in my writing class.

STRENGTH - This website is generally interactive, pretty much easy to navigate hence making it user friendly. Secondly, the website is comprised of diversified topics, not only focusing on linguistic items but also other aspects or fields of subject per se; environmental science which instills environmental awareness amongst learners. However, in this case the website is more on teaching language to foreign speakers focusing on communicative English. Therefore, it focuses less on linguistic items (perhaps too loose if it's on a standard instructional based curriculum scale)...

AND WEAKNESS

Thus it makes this website lacks of tangible curriculum outline, the focuses are rather vague as we review it from a pedagogical prospect. Though I am well informed that this website is trying to lay out an authentic experience for the users ; (in this case the Japanese students) but I believe a simpler yet explicit instructions would be more stimulating to mediocre proficiency learners. It is very culture specific, relatively to the Western culture (Halloween and Zoom section) hence not very relatable but countering that argument I think Japanese nowadays are more open for culture acculturation, depending on individual belief. Finally, there are some minor errors in technicality; namely spelling errors and grammatical deficiency.

SUITABILITY

Mediocre proficiency - Neko Chat, Desert  Odyssey, Messy Room.

High proficiency - Frog Hollow (comprehension text - MCQ), Zoom! Japanglish (because effective code-switching requires a certain degree of proficiency).

TARGET AUDIENCE 

AND CRITERIA FULFILLED:

8 Conditions In Promoting Language Learning

1- opportunities to interact between learners

2- learning as a social process (authentic audience - relatable and meaningful)

3- authentic tasks, authentic goals

4- learners' exposure towards producing varied and creative language

5- enough time and feedback

6- learners are guided to attend mindfully to the learning process

7- work in an atmosphere with an ideal/anxiety level

8- learner autonomy is supported 

Neko Chat - students make sense of the language use and improvise on their sentence constructing skill mainly in interacting. CF: 2, 4, 8 

Desert Odyssey - this is an ideal activity for teachers to adopt I think it is very alluring and able to establish a teacher-student engagement in ELT, plus adding on imaginative coherency giving the students time to discuss, brainstorm and justify their point of view in that particular storyline. CF: 1, 3, 4, 5, 8 

Messy Room - group task, enhances critical thinking and creative language development. CF: 1, 2, 3, 7

ADAPTABILITY - usable to both teachers and students in language learning and teaching.

IMPROVISATION - this website interface can be more interesting and the design could be more appealing. The authenticity may assist hands-on application but their (the target audience) competency or at least tangible fundamentals of English will be neglected. I personally believe that at least a slit of exposure of the English language like basic rules and structures will assist the students in excelling the activities much better.

Asyraf (167487)

Faculty of Educational Studies

TESL UPM - 3rd Semester

Dr Abu Bakar - LHE3220 Computer Application