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Chapter ten

COMPUTER ASSISTEDINSTRUCTION AND COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING

As appears from the above overview of teaching concepts, approaches and methods, the entire development of foreign/second language pedagogy is characterised by three major trends of development:

—    innovation through changes in teaching method,

—    innovation through the language-related Sciences and research,

—    technological innovation.

This chapter will focus on one of the latest developments in language teaching within the area of technological innovation, namely the use of computers in foreign/second language teaching.

Computer is an electronic machinę that can be used to manipulate data according to a series of instructions stored in its memory, and which can perform complex tasks in a very short time. The machinę itself together with a keyboard, printer, screen, disk drives, programmes is known as a Computer system. (Richards 1992:72)

10.0. Background

Computers have been used for language teaching sińce the 1960s. This morę than 40-year period can be divided into three main stages: behaviourist, communicative, and integrative. Each stage corresponds to a certain level of technology and certain pedagogical theories.

The behaviourist stage dates back to the 1960s and 1970s when the first form of using computers in language classrooms featured repetitive language drills, the so-called drill-and-practice method. It was based on the behaviourist-leaming model and as such the Computer was viewed as a mechanical tutor that never grew tired.

The communicative stage emerged in the 1970s and 1980s as a reaction to the behaviouristic approach to language leaming. Supporters of the communicative approach rejected behaviourist practices and they stressed that computers should focus morę on using forms rather than on the forms themselves. Grammar should be taught implicitly and students should be encouraged to generate odginał utterances instead of manipulating prefabricated forms. This form of computer-based instruction corresponds to cognitive theories which recognized that leaming was a creative process of discovery, expression and development.

New experience and developing information science enabled the integrative stage to emerge. Communicative computer-based instruction was criticised for using the Computer in an ad hoc and disconnected fashion and using the Computer for deveIoping marginal rather than central elements of language leaming. Teachers began to emphasise real language use in a meaningful, authentic context. The integrative approach integrates individual skills of language, and technology morę fully into language teaching.

10.1. Computers in the language classroom

The current use of computers in the language classroom offers a number of important advantages. Computers offer interactive leaming, personalised instruction, and considerable flexibility in handling different types of materiał. On the other hand, as computers cannot effectively conduct a free dialogue with the student, they can be used only for certain types of activities. It is necessary, therefore, for the teachers to carefully weigh up its advantages and

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