TASK 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

THE BENEFITS OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION TOWARDS LANGUAGE LEARNING

1.0       INTRODUCTION

                        The way of teaching and learning language nowadays has become wider. Students can learn language in many ways. Teachers and students can now not depending 100% to books in order to learn language. Computer is one of the tool that teacher can use to teach language and students can use to improve their language. This is related to Computer Assisted Learning Language (CALL). According to Beatty (2003), CALL is defined as any process in which a learner uses a computer and, as a result, improves his or her language. There are four types of CALL programs which are CALL software applications program, Generic software program, Web-based learning program and Computer-mediated communication (CMC) program. This literature review will focus on one of the programs which is Computer-Mediated Communication program.

                        Computer-mediated communication in the educational context works on the basic principle of linking students together via computer. While the forms of C M C vary, they have in common the action of placing students in a networked environment through which they communicate with each other electronically in or outside the classroom. This may occur in either synchronous formats (real-time, i.e. immediate communication) or in asynchronous ones (delayed communication, i.e. students being able to access and respond to messages at their leisure). As Fey (1998: 86) observes, in these networked circumstances, ‘computer networks are allowing students to transcend boundaries of classroom walls and to learn in new ways’. Learners are no longer confined to the traditional types of classroom based activities and interaction with their peers that they may find unappealing and counterproductive in the ‘wired’ realm of the 21st century.

2.0       LITERATURE REVIEW

            2.1       Students’ perceptions on computer-mediated communication

                                    Research done by Ozdener and Satar (2008) which was conducted at a vocational high school in Turkey had found out that students enjoyed learning language through computer-mediated communication. They said that through the chat session, they were able to chat with their friends of with the person they know in English without anxiety and they felt confident. They also enjoyed speaking English with a familiar friend. Besides, the students stated that chat sessions made various contributions to their foreign language which is English skill, and that they made noticeable improvements particularly in their writing/reading, pronunciation/speaking skills. Some of the students stated that they believed that their English vocabulary knowledge had increased and their practical skills in English were developed.

                                    Undergraduate students from UTHM have their own perceptions of computer-mediated communication towards language learning. This research was done by Berhannudin Mohd Salleh., Ahmad Esa., Asri Selamat., Hussain Othman., Abdulah Sulaiman., & Khairul Azman Suhaimy. They said that Nicenet which was tool used for computer-mediated communication can overcome their fear and lack of confidence. Fear and lack of confidence is most common among foreign language learners including ESL learner in Malaysia. The students also stated that they can overcome their nervousness and embarrassment, improve their writing skill, and also develop thinking skill.

2.2       Computer-mediated communication and disable person.

                        Research done by Michelle and Pandian (2007) proved that computer-mediated communication did help deaf learner to learn language. They divided the students into intervention and comparison group. The result showed that that CMC allowed the students to participate in the group discussions and classroom debates on a more equally proportional basis. They also felt that the discussion was easy to follow and enjoyed using CMC during the activity. The deaf students in the study who used CMC (which involves reading and writing for communication) agreed they felt comfortable in the online environment and were comfortable with the pace of the discussion. This was in spite of the struggle some deaf students experience with reading and writing.

                        Another research done by Moira Burke, Robert Kraut and Diane Williams (2010) confirmed that computer-mediated communication works in learning language. They did the study with the students who suffer of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). People with ASD have difficulty making eye contact, interpreting nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, processing non-literal language, thinking flexibly, and understanding others’ perspectives. Furthermore, some individuals with ASD are hypersensitive to environmental stimuli, such as bright lights, loud sounds, or strong smells. The finding showed that many benefits of CMC, including reduced stress from nonverbal signals, the ability to find people with similar interests, and pre-defined interaction mechanisms, like birthday greetings.

3.0       CONCLUSION

                        As for the conclusion, I can say that all English teachers in Malaysia perhaps should apply computer-mediated communication in their language class. Teachers may face some difficulties but the researches showed that computer-mediated communication somehow help students in improving their language proficiency especially in speaking and writing. Here are some reasons why am I saying that computer-mediated communication should be applied in language class. First and foremost, computer-mediated communication significantly reduces cultural barriers of student-student-teacher communications. Second, CMC helps shy and reluctant students communicate freely and more confidently (ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report, 2001). Third, Computer-Mediated Communication provides both teachers and students with variety of authentic teaching/learning materials. Last but not least, Computer-Mediated Communication helps English teachers perform teaching responsibilities which they are not confident with.

REFERENCES

Ozdener, N., & Satar, H.(2008, Apr). Computer-Mediated Communication in Foreign Language Education: Use of Target Language and Learner Perceptions. Volume: 9 Number: 2 Article 9. Retrieved from http://tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/tojde30/pdf/article_9.pdf

Chang, Y-Y. (2007). The Potential of Synchronous Text-Based Computer-Mediated Communication for Second Language Acquisition. Volume VIII. No. 2. Retrieved from http://www.iacis.org/iis/2007_iis/PDFs/Chang.pdf

Burke, M., Kraut, R., & Williams, D. (2010, February 6). Social Use of Computer-Mediated Communication by Adults on the Autism Spectrum. Retrieved from http://www.thoughtcrumbs.com/publications/Burke_CSCW2010_CMC_and_Autism.pdf

Berhannudin Mohd Salleh., Ahmad Esa., Asri Selamat., Hussain Othman., Abdulah Sulaiman., & Khairul Azman Suhaimy. (2010). Computer-Mediated Communication as a Tool for Improving The English Language Among Adult Learners in TVET Program. Retrieved from http://penerbit.uthm.edu.my/ejournal/images/stories/JTET21/JTET21_A4.pdf

Michelle, F., & Pandian, M.S. (2007, August 8). Cooperative Learning Incorporating Computer-Mediated Communication: Participation, Perceptions, and  Learning Outcomes in a Deaf Education Classroom. Retrieved from http://www.languageinindia.com/aug2007/deafcommunication.pdf

CALL is not a Hammer and not Every Teaching Problem is a Nail!

CAI and CALL Application in Taiwan

Past

When looking at CAI (Computer Assisted Instruction) and CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) in Taiwan (R.O.C.), it is clear that application of these technologies, in the classroom, is in its embryonic stage. Through a combination of factors, computers have generally not entered the R.O.C. language scene. These factors include, but are not limited to general lack of computerization of schools in the R.O.C. , lack of access to mainframes and minis, on which many CAI and CALL software was originally developed, needed technology only recently commercialized, i.e., powerful computer packages: 80486 CPUs, sound cards and CD-ROMs, expenditures of time and money for non-computer based "language labs" that are not perceived as successful teaching tools. The factors cited above are of a structural nature and have not been influenced by language teachers. One last factor I will cite is directly related to language teachers and the previous "technology solution" for language learners, i.e., the audiolingual methods, from the late fifties and early sixties, as applied in the language lab. Although many of the motivating theories have since been supplanted, the language labs go on. Schools nearly everywhere around the world automatically include labs as part of any English program (Strei, 1979).

It is likely that negative experiences with language labs has led teachers to be skeptical of new technologies in the classroom. Many Taiwan schools have installed language lab equipment that allows a class of students to listen to recorded conversations through headphones, equipped with microphones, while a teacher can send instructions, listen into and monitor students through a central control panel.

Often, the engineers who installed such equipment did not understand all the features and installation requirements and certainly had little grasp of the pedagogical applications. The result was that at many locations, these language labs simply have became glorified, and expensive, tape players. The equipment actually served to separate the students from the teacher and encouraged less motivated students to daydream through the class period. Such experience is not unique to Taiwan, nor is it new, but may be endemic to language labs (Kirpal 1979). Teachers are often placed in these labs with no training, not even a manual on the lab's features and use, while a class of fifty students wait for the teacher to assimilate. With teachers struggling to find use of the technology they already have, it is unrealistic to expect them to quickly swallow another "technology solution" pill.

Present

In the past decade, numerous academics have examined the application of CAI in Taiwan classrooms. From the very start, teachers have realized that computers have enormous potential. Of special interest is the realization that CAI may be especially useful in the Taiwan situation where writing students are often at a low level of skill attainment and class size is large (Chen, 1988).

Many teachers, domestic and foreign have observed that students generally have a positive attitude toward technology in the classroom. Studies have consistently shown that students have positive attitudes about computer technology being used in the classroom and that such technology does have a positive impact (Warden, 1995; Chen, 1988; Nash et al., 1989; Brady, 1990; Herrmann, 1987; Johnson, 1988; Phinney & Mathis, 1988).

However, such attitudes and results may simply reflect the "normal" outlook of most people who live in the Computer Age. Academics such as Pennington (1991) and Thiesmeyer (1989) warn of rushing into CALL without solid evidence of its benefits. Such caution is justified since all of the cultural signals being sent every day, support the believe that technology is good, and that specifically computers are helpful in nearly every human endeavor. Even expressing the slightest doubts about the usefulness of computers is likely to result in one being labeled as a Luddite. Classroom research of CAI must avoid such dogmatism and not make any apriori conclusions.

Future

Clearly, adoption of CAI and CALL approaches will not, and should not, spread until measurable benefits can be seen not only for students but also for teachers. More research into actual results of CAI application results must be performed. All too often, CAI is becoming confused with multimedia and the Information Superhighway. These are useful tools, but are they germane to CAI? I would assert that they are not CAI simply when they are used in the classroom. Although many apriori conclusions can be reached about their effectiveness, it is only after careful research into results that a tool can be justified as having CAI application.