Stephen van Vlack
Sookmyung Women`s University
Graduate School of TESOL
English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
Spring 2006
Week 14 - Egbert. (2000). Chapter 9, pp. 151-164 & Kasper. (2000). Chapter 12, pp. 282-312 - Answers
1. What are some of the advantages of this type of project? (Eg)
There are many different advantages associated with this type of interactive project. The principal learners here were students from many different places all over the world (including Korea) who were doing a short-term exchange program or language learning program at a US university. The original project was designed for these students to be able to practice English in a meaningful setting and in a meaningful way. So, originally they were going to teach computer technology to a class of elementary school students by focusing on a specific computer program (Kid Pix). I really like this idea because it takes the CBI idea one step further. Instead of having the students learn content and through that improve their English level they are actually going to be teaching content to children through English as a way of improving their English skill. That was the original idea of the project and really sounds good. Unfortunately it is not what actually happened. Since there were problems with the technological aspects of this project the ESL students and the elementary students wound up having a cross-cultural encounter. So the ESL students and the elementary students taught each other about their respective cultures using the Kid Pix. This is also helpful exercise in language practice but is not nearly as content-based as the original idea. In the original idea the use of the elementary school students was essential because the ESL students needed to teach something and this could really only take place with learners who were much younger, but the age variable was rendered unimportant in the actual project. So, much of the original elements which were very good and well-planned out were lost in the final version.
It is interesting to note how the actual project changed quite a bit over the course of its run from the original plan and original intentions. I mention this because this is what always occurs in these types of projects. Things never work out as we plan because there are simply too many variables and extenuating circumstances, so if you ever plan or try to do something like this please be open-minded and ready to change because sometimes the changes can be for the better.
2. How do you think we could do this kind of project here in Korea? (Eg)
Obviously there are no readily accessible groups of native speaker students here that we would have access to so in order to try anything closely resembling this project will be quite impossible here. It is the computer element of this project, however, which makes it in spirit possible for us. While the students might not be able to meet each other face to face we can have them interact using computer technology. Thanks to computer technology we no longer need to have our students physically meet other students. Of course trips are better but they are re also much more expensive an time consuming. We can have our students contact other students on the web. There are many different organizations which help set up international keypal exchanges between individual students and even between whole classes.
Here are just a few links to such organizations.
http://k6educators.about.com/library/blpals.htm
http://forums.educationworld.com/index.php?t=msg&goto=562&rid=0&S=de137b34279c493b787dcfd42efd5cbf#msg_562
http://www.worldwide.edu/travel_planner/pen_pals.html
http://eleaston.com/keypal.html
In this computer-based model it might be difficult to develop a model similar to the original project model in Egbert (2000) but it will certainly be possible to do something similar to what Egbert (2000) ended up having the two group do. More specifically, it should be quite possible to have the students in different classrooms on other sides of the world engage content together and work together to understand content. The content, as we shall see from our discussion below, is best if it also comes from the Internet because then both groups will have equal and easy access to it. The key here is setting up tasks for the students to do collaboratively not just in the classroom but on the web. In this way we can develop CBI lessons in very much the same way we would if we were just doing this in the classroom, but the medium will be different. In fact computer applications fit in really nicely to the CBI model we have been discussing in this class because the Internet is nothing more than a vast storehouse of content. Additionally, other aspects of computer technology allow us to communicate with others across great distances easily and provides tools to create and even store the content our students themselves have created.
3. What are some of the ways technology can be used in the teaching of a CBI-style class? (Kas12)
Kasper mentions how powerful technology can be in CBI class without mentioning specifically how. We, however, already know the answer. We can think of technology supporting the class in two major ways. The first of these is through systems. Technology makes it possible to do different things in the classroom through exciting programs and systems like KidPx or Adobe PageMaker. Other technology-based systems would be things like corpus data which is rapidly becoming more accessible to the general public (http://www.seasite.niu.edu/trans/Concordance_Overview.htm) (http://193.133.140.102/JustTheWord/). And other types revolve around communication technology in both spoken and written form. The other side of technology involved information. The Internet is a grand storehouse of all kinds of information. We all have free access to it and the nature of this information as it is a all interconnected through hyperlinks and the like make it very easy and fun to sift through. Here is a nice example of a well developed website for a specific aspect of American history (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lewisandclark/). The way that the information is interconnected and stacked together on the Internet is well suited to the development of certain strategies and skills related to reading. Good websites also provide lots of scaffolding through sounds and visuals. This makes the content easier to understand. There may also be activities for students of all ages (especially elementary school students) and these again are simple enough that they might be appropriate to our students even if they are a bit older.
4. How can teachers and administrators best deal with the concept of technology? (Kas12)
The most important thing Kasper mentions in relation to teachers and administrators and technology is that there needs to be clear reasons why technology is being used. In our zeal to pick up on new things we often implement technology without knowing precisely how and why we are doing so. It looks good and as well as teachers and administrators look good. Often schools spend lots of money on technology and impel teachers to use it without training them how to do so. The bottom line is that use of technology can also be distracting. There have to be clear advantages to using it as well as support for doing so. Like any other tool the people who wield it should know the how and why of it.
5. Kasper makes many predictions in this chapter. In lieu of the age of this article, how many of her predictions have already come true and to what extent? (Kas12)
Well, basically she predicts that technology will become a more useful tool for students and teacher especially in relation to CBI. This of course is theoretically possible nowadays. Websites today are much better than they were in the past providing a much better experience for the users. This makes it better to teach form them and what is more many of these websites have been developed as teaching materials. This is much more than she mentions in relation to some of the simple websites that have simple grammar and quite bad listening activities. So in this respect her predictions have certainly become true and have exceeded her expectations. On the other hand, it is also true that there has been some resistance by teachers to use these resources. If there is anyone who has been resistant to this movement regarding the use of new technologies it is teachers and not students. Often it is the students, and even very young ones, who have a better fix on many of the technological tools that teachers can be using but don`t. The once promising field of CALL is slowly waning as teacher often don`t have the time to keep up with and play with the new technologies that come out so rapidly.