Define VIRTUAL LANGUAGE LEARNING)

 Define VIRTUAL LANGUAGE LEARNING)

Virtual worlds are playing an increasingly important role in education, especially in language learning. By March 2007 it was estimated that over 200 universities or academic institutions were involved in Second Life (Cooke-Plagwitz, p. 548).^[1] Joe Miller, Linden Lab Vice President of Platform and Technology Development, claimed in 2009 that "Language learning is the most common education-based activity in Second Life".^[2] Many mainstream language institutes and private language schools are now using 3D virtual environments to support language learning.

Onlinequize creator

https://www.onlinequizcreator.com/english-quiz-on-adverb/quiz-183004

Websites of English language learner and its review

Websites of English language learner and its review

Easy World of English
easyworldofenglish.com
An attractive, user-friendly website including grammar, pronunciation, reading and listening practice and an interactive picture dictionary.

Many Things
manythings.org
This website includes matching quizzes, word games, word puzzles, proverbs, slang expressions, anagrams, a random-sentence generator and other computer-assisted language learning activities. The site also includes a special page on pronunciation, including practice with minimal pairs. Not the fanciest or most beautiful website, but with lots to see and use and no advertising.

Dave's ESL Cafe
eslcafe.com
A forum for both ESL teachers and students around the world. Includes quizzes, grammar explanations, and discussion forums for students. For teachers, includes classroom ideas on all subjects as well as discussion forums.

The California Distance Learning Project
cdlponline.org
Read and listen to a news stories on topics including working, housing, money and health, then work on activities based on the stories including matching pairs, vocabulary, and quiz questions. Some stories also include videos.

BBC Learning English
bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish
An array of wonderful activities for practice, some relating to current events. Includes videos, quizzes, vocabulary practice, idioms, crosswords, and much more, though all with British accents.

Activities for ESL Students
a4esl.org
Grammar and vocabulary practice for all levels, including many bilingual quizzes for beginners. Also includes a link for teachers, with conversation questions, games, and many other ideas to put to use in the classroom.

ABCYa
abcya.com
This is a website for kids, but who says adults can't use it, too? The site includes educational games organized by grade level, from 1st to 5th, and is particularly good for spelling and phonics. There are games to practice vowels, uppercase and lowercase letters, Dolch sight words, synonyms and antonyms and more.

TV 411
tv411.org
This site includes videos with native speakers explaining key reading concepts like critical reading, summarizing and scanning, and key life skills like signing a lease and reading a medicine label. Following each video is a comprehension quiz. Click on the blue tabs across the top lead for lessons on reading, writing, vocabulary and finance.

GCF Learn Free
gcflearnfree.org/everydaylife
A well-designed site with interactive tutorials for everything from operating an ATM machine to reading food labels. If you click on the main page icon and then click on reading, the site has resources for English language learners as well, including stories to listen to and read along, and picture dictionaries.

Language Guide
languageguide.org/english
This is an online picture dictionary, with everything from the alphabet to parts of the body to farm animals.

Oxford University Press
elt.oup.com/learning_resources
This site from Oxford University Press has activities to practice spelling, grammar, pronunciation, and listening. A bit difficult to navigate, so more suitable for advanced learners and savvy internet users.

Also, don't forget YouTube. Whatever you'd like to learn — an explanation of a grammar term, idioms, a set of vocabulary — enter it in the search field and an array of videos are sure to come up. I hope some of these sites prove useful. Enjoy! And please add your own

How to computer use in English language learning

How to computer use in English language learning

Computers have made a triumphal entry into education in the past decade, and only a dyed-in-the wool Luddite would deny that they have brought significant benefits to teachers and students alike. However, an uncritical use of computers can be just as disadvantageous to students as a refusal to have anything to do with them. In this article I discuss some of the ways that computers can be used in English language teaching, with a view to helping colleagues make the most of the opportunities they offer to ESL students.
It is helpful to think of the computer as having the following main roles in the language classroom:

• teacher - the computer teaches students new language
• tester - the computer tests students on language already learned
• tool - the computer assists students to do certain tasks
• data source - the computer provides students with the information they need to perform a particular task
• communication facilitator - the computer allows students to communicate with others in different locations

Computer as teacher. In the early days of computers and programmed learning, some students sat at a terminal for extended periods following an individualized learning program. Although we have come a long way from the rather naïve thought, held by some at that time, that the computer could eventually come to replace the teacher, there has been a return to a much more sophisticated kind of computerized teaching using multimedia CD ROMS. In such programs, students can listen to dialogues or watch video clips. They can click on pictures to call up the names of the objects they see. They can speak into the microphone and immediately hear a recording of what they have said. The program can keep a record of their progress, e.g. the vocabulary learned, and offer remedial help if necessary. Many of these CD ROM programs are offered as complete language courses. They require students to spend hours on their own in front of the computer screen, usually attached to a microphone headset. For this reason alone I prefer not to use them in my language teaching. Another of their serious drawbacks, in my view, is the fact that in many cases the course content and sequence is fixed. The teacher has no chance to include materials that are of interest and importance to the particular students in his or her class.
As an alternative to large CD ROM packages, there is an increasing number of useful sites on the World Wide Web, where students can get instruction and practice in language skills such as reading, listening and writing. Some examples.
Computer as a tester. The computer is very good at what is known as drill and practice; it will tirelessly present the learner with questions and announce if the answer is right or wrong. In its primitive manifestations in this particular role in language teaching, it has been rightly criticized. The main reason for the criticism is simple: many early drill and practice programs were very unsophisticated; either multiple-choice or demanding a single word answer. They were not programmed to accept varying input and the only feedback they gave was Righter Wrong. So for example, if the computer expected the answer "does not" and the student typed "doesn't" or " does not" or " does not ", she would have been told she was wrong without any further comment. It is not surprising that such programs gave computers a bad name with many language teachers. Unfortunately, there are now very many of these primitive drill and kill programs flooding the Internet.
Despite their obvious disadvantages, such programs are nevertheless popular with many students. This is probably because the student is in full control; the computer is extremely patient and gives private, unthreatening feedback. Most programs also keep the score and have cute animations and sounds, which many students like.
There are some programs which do offer more useful feedback than right or wrong, or that can accept varying input. Such programs blur the role of the computer as teacher or tester and can be recommended to students who enjoy learning grammar or vocabulary in this way. If two or more students sit at the same computer, then they can generate a fair amount of authentic communication while discussing the answers together.
Computer as a tool.
 It is in this area that I think the computer has been an unequivocal success in language teaching. Spreadsheets, databases, presentation slide generators, concordances and web page producers all have their place in the language classroom, particularly in one where the main curricular focus is task-based or project-work. But in my opinion, by far the most important role of the computer in the language classroom is its use as a writing tool. It has played a significant part in the introduction of the writing process, by allowing students easily to produce multiple drafts of the same piece of work.. Students with messy handwriting can now do a piece of work to be proud of, and those with poor spelling skills can, after sufficient training in using the spell check, produce a piece of writing largely free of spelling mistakes.
Computer as a data source.
 I'm sure I don't need to say much about the Internet as a provider of information. Anyone who has done a search on the World Wide Web will know that there is already more information out there than an individual could process in hundred lifetimes, and the amount is growing by the second. This huge source of information is an indispensable resource for much project work, but there are serious negative implications. I shudder to think of how much time has been wasted and will continue to be wasted by students who aimlessly wander the Web with no particular aim in mind and with little or no guidance. I generally do not turn my students free to search the web for information. Instead, I find a few useful sites beforehand and tell the students to start there; anyone who finishes the task in hand can then be let loose!
As an alternative to the Web, there are very many CD ROMs, e.g. encyclopaedias, that present information in a more compact, reliable and easily accessible form.
Computer as communication facilitator.
 The Internet is the principal medium by which students can communicate with others at a distance, (e.g. by e-mail or by participating in discussion forums). In fact at Frankfurt International School the single most popular use of computers by students in their free time is to write e-mails to their friends. Some teachers have set up joint projects with a school in another location and others encourage students to take part in discussion groups. There is no doubt that such activities are motivating for students and allow them to participate in many authentic language tasks. However, cautious teachers may wish to closely supervise their students' messages. Recent research has shown up the extremely primitive quality of much of the language used in electronic exchanges!

Moodle reovew

                                                 Moodle review

We’ve grown Moodle since 2001 as an open source platform for educators to develop and manage courses online.

Moodle is a modular system based on plugins, which are like lego blocks that you put together to build whatever you want.  There are plugins for different kinds of content, and plugins for all kinds of collaborative activities, which is where Moodle really shines.  As an example our Workshop plugin manages a full peer assessment process, so you can get hundreds of students accurately grading each other’s assignments (that can save you a lot of time!).  Add some tracking and reports and the ability to add more plugins from the community or even ones you write yourself, and you can build some pretty amazing education environments.

The Moodle project is run by Moodle HQ from Perth, Australia, but would not be what it is without a huge community of users.  Our community work together and help each other on moodle.org (itself a Moodle site), where they’ve taken Moodle’s founding principles of feedback and collaboration online and practice it in our Moodle forums, our wiki-based Moodle Documentation, our Moodle Tracker for bugs and new features, our course-sharing site Moodle.net, and our Moodle Translation portal (which means you can use Moodle in over 100 languages!).

General feature of moodle

• General Features

  • 

    Modern, easy to use interface

    Designed to be responsive and accessible, the Moodle interface is easy to navigate on both desktop and mobile devices.
    View demo
   
  • 

    Personalized Dashboard

    Organised and display courses the way you want, and view at a glance current tasks and messages.
    Dashboard
   
  • 

    Collaborative tools and activities

    Work and learn together in forums, wikis, glossaries, database activities, and much more.
    Activities
   
  • 

    All-in-one calendar

    Moodle’s calendar tool helps you keep track of your academic or company calendar, course deadlines, group meetings, and other personal events.
    Calendar
   
  • 

    Convenient file management

    Drag and drop files from cloud storage services including MS OneDrive, Dropbox and Google Drive.
    Working with files
   
  • 

    Simple and intuitive text editor

    Format text and conveniently add media and images with an editor that works across all web browsers and devices.
    Text editor
  • 
    

Definition evaluation and its type

Definition of evaluation ?

Evaluation is the process of finding/ determining the worth of anything.

Educational Evaluation

Educational evaluation is concern with finding the worth of instruction teacher, curriculum, and school administration.

Types of evaluation

• Formative
• Summative
• Process
• Outcomes
• Impact

Evaluation Type	Definition	Uses	Examples
Formative	Evaluates a program during  development in order to make early improvements Helps to refine or improve program	When starting a new program To assist in the early phases of program development	How well is the program being delivered? What strategies can we use to improve this program?
Summative	Provides information on program effectiveness Conducted after the completion of the program design	To help decide whether to continue or end a program  To help determine whether a program should be expanded to other locations	Should this program continue to be funded? Should we expand these services to all other after-school programs in the community?
Process	Determines if specific program strategies were implemented as planned Focuses on program implementation	To determine why an established program has changed over time To address inefficiencies in program delivery of services To accurately portray to outside parties program operations (e.g., for replication elsewhere)	Did your program meet its goals for recruitment of program participants?  Did participants receive the specified number of service hours?
Outcomes	Focuses on the changes in comprehension, attitudes, behaviors, and practices that result from programs activities Can include both short and long term results	To decide whether program/activity affect participants outcomes To establish and measure clear benefits of the program	Did your participants report the desired changes after completing a program cycle?  What are the short or long term results observed among (or reported by) participants?
Impact	Focuses on long term, sustained changes as a result of the program activities, both positive/negative and intended/unintended	To influence policy To see impact in longitudinal studies with comparison groups	What changes in your program participants’ behaviors are attributable to your program?  What effects would program participants miss out on without this program?

Educational assessment

Definition of Educational assessment?

Educational assessment is the process of documenting, usually in measurable terms, knowledge, skill, attitudes, and beliefs. Assessment can focus on the individual learner, the learning community (class, workshop, or other organized group of learners), the institution, or the educational system as a whole (also known as granularity).^{[citation needed]}The word 'assessment' came into use in an educational context after the Second World War.^[1]The final purpose of assessment practices in education depends on the theoretical framework of the practitioners and researchers, their assumptions and beliefs about the nature of human mind, the origin of knowledge, and the process of learning.

Definition ,approaches and components of assessment

What Is Assessment?

Definitions

Various definitions of assessment and the role it plays in teaching and learning:

• Assessment involves the use of empirical data on student learning to refine programs and improve student learning.  (Assessing Academic Programs in Higher Education by Allen 2004)
• Assessment is the process of gathering and discussing information from multiple and diverse sources in order to develop a deep understanding of what students know, understand, and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experiences; the process culminates when assessment results are used to improve subsequent learning.  (Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses: shifting the focus from teaching to learning by Huba and Freed 2000)
• Assessment is the systematic basis for making inferences about the learning and development of students.  It is the process of defining, selecting, designing, collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and using information to increase students’ learning and development.  (Assessing Student Learning and Development: A Guide to the Principles, Goals, and Methods of Determining College Outcomes by Erwin 1991)
• Assessment is the systematic collection, review, and use of information about educational programs undertaken for the purpose of improving student learning and development.  (Assessment Essentials: planning, implementing, and improving assessment in higher education by Palomba and Banta 1999)

A Taxonomy of Approaches to Assessment

(Terenzini, Patrick T., “Assessment with open eyes: Pitfalls in studying student outcomes.” Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 60, No. 6, pp. 644-664, November/December 1989)

Fundamental Components of Assessment

Four fundamental elements of learner-centered assessment:

• Formulating Statements of Intended Learning Outcomes – statements describing intentions about what students should know, understand, and be able to do with their knowledge when they graduate.
• Developing or Selecting Assessment Measures – designing or selecting data gathering measures to assess whether or not our intended learning outcomes have been achieved.  Includes
• Direct assessments – projects, products, papers/theses, exhibitions, performances, case studies, clinical evaluations, portfolios, interviews, and oral exams – which ask students to demonstrate what they know or can do with their knowledge.
• Indirect assessments – self-report measures such as surveys – in which respondents share their perceptions about what graduates know or can do with their knowledge.
• Creating Experiences Leading to Outcomes – ensuring that students have experiences both in and outside their courses that help them achieve the intended learning outcomes.
• Discussing and Using Assessment Results to Improve Teaching and Learning – using the results to improve individual student performance.

Computer Assisted Language Learning notes

Computer Assisted Language Learning

Definitions of CALL:

Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) may be defined as the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning (Levy, 1997, p.1).

      Types of CALL Programs

 CALL programs/materials include (from ICT4LT Module 1.4): 

- CALL-specific software: applications designed to develop and facilitate language learning, such as CD-ROMs, web-based interactive language learning exercises/quizzes (see CD-ROM examples for language learning)

- Gener ic software: applications designed for general purposes, such as word-processors (Word),  presentation software (PowerPoint, see an e-book made by students "Many Moons"), and spreadsheet (Excel), that can be used to support language learning (see examples of usingExcel for language learning & teaching)  *Also see Microsoft Office Online Templates)

- Web-based learning programs: online dictionaries, online encyclopedias, online concordancers, news/magazine sites, e-texts, web-quests, web publishing, blog, wiki, etc.

- Computer-   communication (CMC) programs: synchronous - online chat; asynchronous - email, discussion forum, message board

      Types of CALL Activities

-  multiple-choice & true/false quizzes -  gap-filling exercise/cloze -  matching -  re-ordering/sequencing -  crossword puzzles -  games -  simulations

-  writing & word-processing -  concordancing  -  web quests/searching -  web publishing -  online communication (synchronous and asynchronous)

      What Computers Can and Can’t “Do” (based on Meskill, 2002, p. 122)

Computers CAN	Computer CAN’T
Judge predetermined right-or-wrong answers, e.g., multiple choice and fill-in-the-blanks	Judge unexpected input
Provide immediate, yet fixed, feedback, suggestions, and encouragement	Provide individualized feedback beyond a predetermined list of messages
Provide authentic information throughmultimedia - texts, images, sounds,videos, and animations	Engage learner in rich negotiation of meaning characteristic of face-to-face interaction
Motivate task persistence •Record learner’s writing, speech, and learning progress	Motivate depth and quality of engagement characteristic of human interaction

      * Caveat:

- Computer technology has to be treated as an aid, but not a panacea.

- The effectiveness of CALL cannot reside in the technology itself but in how it is put to use and for what purposes.

      Roles of the Computer in language learning and teaching:

- computer as tutor for language drills or skill practice

- computer as a tool for writing, presenting, and researching

- computer as a medium of global communication

      The development of CALL – from the pedagogical perspective

I) Warschauer's Analysis (Kern & Warschauer, 2000; Warschauer, 1996; Warschauer, 2004)

(*Note: the three stages have not occurred in a rigid sequence. As each new stage has emerged, previous stages continue.)

·           Structural / Behavioristic CALL (1960s -1970s)

View of Language: Structural (a formal structural system)

English Teaching Paradigm: Grammar-Translation & Audio-lingual

Principal Use of Computers: Drill and Practice

Principal Objective: Accuracy

Characteristics:

1.      Repeated exposure to the same material is believed to be beneficial or even essential to learning.

2.      A computer is ideal for carrying out repeated drills, since the machine i) does not get bored with presenting the same material and ii) it can provide immediate non-judgmental feedback.

3.      A computer is used as a tutor, presenting material and feedback on an individualized basis, allowing students to proceed at their own pace and freeing up class time for other activities.

·           Communicative / Cognitive CALL (1980s -1990s)

View of Language: Cognitive (a mentally constructed system through interaction)

English Teaching Paradigm: Communicative Language Teaching

Principal Use of Computers: Communicative Exercises (to practice language use; non-drill format)

Principal Objective: Fluency

Characteristics:

1.      Grammar is taught implicitly rather than explicitly.

2.      Computers are used to stimulate discussion, writing or critical thinking. Students are encouraged to generate original utterances rather than just manipulate prefabricated language.

3.      The programs avoid telling students that they are wrong and are flexible to a variety of student responses.

4.      Computers are used as a tool (e.g., word processors, spelling and grammar checkers, and concordancers) and the target language is used exclusively.

·           Integrative / Sociocognitive / Socioconstructive CALL (1990s -present)

View of Language: Sociocognitive (developed in social interaction through discourse communities)

English Teaching Paradigm: Content-based & ESP/EAP

Principal Use of Computers: Authentic Discourse (to perform real-life tasks)

Principal Objective: Agency (*definition: "the satisfying power to take meaningful action and see the results of our decisions and choices" Murray, 1997, p. 126)

Two types: Multimedia CALL (CD-ROMs) and Web-based CALL (on the Internet)

A) Multimedia CALL

Characteristics:

1.      They create a more authentic learning environment using different media.

2.      Language skills are easily integrated through multimedia.

3.      Students have a high degree of control over their learning through hypermedia.

4.      It facilitates a principle focus on the content without sacrificing a secondary focus on language form.

B) Web-based CALL

Characteristics:

  A) CMC –

1.      It provides authentic synchronous and asynchronous communication channels. Language learners can communicate directly, inexpensively, and conveniently with other learners or native speakers of the target language at any time and in any place.

2.      CMC can be carried out in several forms; it can be one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-one.

  B) The Web –

1.      Students can search through millions of files around the world within minutes to locate and access authentic materials exactly tailored to their own personal interests.

2.      Students can use the Web to publish their texts or multimedia materials to share with partner classes or with the general public.

* Question: Do you think Warschauer's analysis of the development of CALL is a good one?  Do you see any problems in his analysis?

[Read Bax's (2003) or see the quoted passage: Bax's criticism to Warschauer's analysis of the development of CALL]

II)  Bax's Analysis (2003)

	Restricted CALL	Open CALL	Integrated CALL
Type of task	- Closed drills - Quizzes	- Simulations - Games - CMC	- CMC - Web-based programs
Type of student activity	- Text reconstruction - Answering closed questions - minimal interaction with other students	- Interacting with the computer - Occasional interaction with other students	- Frequent interaction with other students - Some interaction with computer through the lesson
Type of feedback	- Correct/incorrect	- Focus of linguistic skills development - Open, flexible	- Interpreting, evaluating, commenting, stimulating thought
Teacher role	- Monitor	- Monitor / facilitator	- Facilitator / Manager
Position in curriculum	- Not integrated into syllabus - optional extra - Technology precedes syllabus and learner needs	- Toy - Not integrated into syllabus - optional extra - Technology precedes syllabus and learner needs	- Tool for learning - Normalized - Integrated into syllabus, adapted to learners' needs - Analysis of needs and context precedes decisions about technology
Position in lesson	- Whole CALL lesson	- Whole CALL lesson	- Smaller part of every lesson
Physical position of computer	- Separate computer lab	- Separate lab- perhaps devoted to language	- In every classroom

* Question: Do you think Bax's analysis of the development of CALL is a good one?  Do you see any problems in his analysis?

      How Computers can be used in the Language Class

1) Teaching with one computer in the class

                - delivery of content (PowerPoint, word-processor, Webpages, etc.)

                - classroom activities/discussions mediated by the computer

                - Interactive whiteboard

2) Teaching in the computer network room (network-based language teaching)

                - task-based group work /activities

                - computer-mediated communication (CMC): asynchronous/synchronous

                - tandem learning

                              

3) Self-access learning (independent learning)

                - drills and exercises

                - word processing

                - resource searching

4) Distance learning (i.e. individual learners working by themselves, at a place and time of their choice and, to some extent, at a pace and in an order also chosen by themselves.)

                - delivering online course content

                - CMC activities: email, discussion forum, chat rooms

                - tandem learning

                - community building

      Principles of Using and Designing CALL Programs in Language Learning and Teaching   

        - student/learner-centeredness (to promote learner autonomy)

        - meaningful purpose

        - comprehensive input

        - sufficient level of stimulation (cognitively and affectively)

        - multiple modalities (to support various learning styles and strategies)

        - high level of interaction (human-machine and human-human)

For reading from website

http://www2.nkfust.edu.tw/~emchen/CALL/unit1.htm