CBT and Language Portfolios

Week 13, Computer-Based Language Testing. In our class this week, we discussed the potential benefits and drawbacks of computer-based language testing (CBT). The benefits include a consistent mode of presentation (or delivery), consistent timing, no need to interpret handwriting, practicality (time, money, # of proctors necessary to hire), world-wide access, and the ability of computer adaptive tests to adjust to student abilities. Although the study by Jamieson indicated that taking computer-based language tests did not disadvantage different learner groups, some people in class had different experiences. For instance, Turkan mentioned a practical problem. It is often hard to find English keyboards in EFL settings, or, if there is an overlay representing a different script, it is often difficult to remember and often not marked on the keyboard itself. Someone else (sorry, I can't remember who or I would give them a shout-out here) mentioned that the process of English composition may be different between people who type and people who handwrite, which could put people who handwrite at a disadvantage when using a computer-based test. Another question is whether typing proficiency plays a role in successfully completing CBT writing tests. Also, is CBT practical for all language testing situations? For instance, what about basic literacy tests? Tests for refugees (some of whom may have no computer literacy)? Jena referenced an example of several African students who took the PIE placement test. Their unfamiliarity with technology threw them off, and the test process became frustrating for both the test-takers and the proctor. While the technology issues were resolved, it may have triggered a negative affective reaction. Some of these difficulties may have practical solutions, but others warrant further research. E-Portfolios. Dan Isbell presented the idea of language portfolios, and I rather like the idea. Last semester, we watched a video about the EU language portfolios, and they looked like a good way to assess a learner's progress, and to compile their accomplishments. I also think it is an interesting method to present your professional qualifications in lieu of or to supplement a CV.

Palabea

Palabea Palabea has great potential as a website to learn language. Users can choose up to three languages to learn, and can connect with speakers of those languages. What's really interesting about this website is that you can narrow down your research by topics of interest. In order to communicate with others, you have to find people with similar interests connected at the same time as you. You can also set up appointments with others to meet on specific days and times. It is user friendly and easy to navigate (unless you're Marianna) and users can communicate via text or video. www.palabea.com

Culture and CALL

This past week we discussed teaching culture through CALL. I can see how the Internet provides a wealth of information regarding other cultures that is easily accessible. Choosing materials that lead students to a greater appreciation of other cultures and that promote an understanding of different cultural perspectives is important. Teaching culture should go beyond stereotypes and "shallow" aspects of culture. The article we read approached the teaching of culture through processes, products, and perspectives. This seems to be a fairly good way of approaching culture, especially as it is difficult to define what culture is, exactly. One of the exciting things about teaching any language is the opportunity to communicate cross-culturally, to get to know people with different cultural backgrounds, and to develop a better understanding of people throughout the world. I like the idea of interacting in virtual worlds like Second Life to communicate with people in different cultures. However, I still continue to be confused about the difference between a "culture" and a "community of practice," especially when it refers to online communities. I would tend to think of an online community as a "community of practice" rather than an online culture, but our article and the discussion in class appeared to approach them as separate cultures. Any thoughts, classmates?

Nour and Marianna's activity

Using YouTube to learn about the American Culture from different cultural perspectives: -Students are asked to watch a Friends' episode on YouTube -Students will identify 3 cultural aspects that are not stereotypes that they think to be typical to the American Culture.(Answers should be well elaborated and explained) -Compare/Contrast these 3 aspects to 3 similar/different aspects found in their cultures. -Students post their answers to a discussion board thread on bblearn. -Each student has to write a short reflection on another students' entry. -Each entry should have only ONE comment.

Materials Development #2

Materials Development #2: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B85vn1DVStkGalZtdWpYRWloQms/edit?usp=sharing Animal Categorization Worksheet: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B85vn1DVStkGUjZhcUhfdmp6NEk/edit?usp=sharing Chupacabra Wordle: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B85vn1DVStkGUmpVVzFKZ3ItQjA/edit?usp=sharing Chupacabra Reading: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B85vn1DVStkGaVVWMlRGaWR0Njg/edit?usp=sharing

Chatterbots and Penguin Clouds

Chatterbots and Penguin clouds... that's what we discussed in class this week! Here's the web address for the Wikipedia entry for chatterbot: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatterbot. I was hoping it would be an actual robot, but it's just a computer program that tries to fool you into giving away your bank account info. Sigh. Actually, we discussed a lot of cool stuff on Wednesday. I really enjoyed Nour Cherif's presentation on word clouds. I can see some practical applications for using word clouds. I feel it would benefit me to have a visual representation of the words I use more or less frequently, especially if writing in a foreign language. Nour discussed how students depend on high frequency vocabulary, and using word clouds can be used to bring attention to using new vocabulary. I liked how ss can look for high frequency vocabulary words in the word clouds, and try to think of synonyms, and I thought using word clouds for assessing vocabulary use and development was an interesting idea. For reading development, I think word-clouds could be used as a pre-reading activity to prepare ss for vocabulary used in the passage, or as a post-reading activity to check comprehension of words used in the text. For writing, I envision word clouds being used as part of a portfolio, where ss have a word cloud for each essay/text they write. Ss could look back and see their progress as far as vocabulary development is concerned. Moving on to a discussion of blogs, I thought Katie Morris' comments about how her student's motivation increased when writing blogs--because they were writing to their peers rather than to her--was interesting. I also thought it was interesting that the students preferred writing on blogs rather than paper. Are we--or have we--moved into a world where writing on paper is obsolete? At the very least, it has become archaic. How relevant is that for students? Katie's suggestion to encourage or require ss to respond to different people's blog posts was a good one. As far as our required reading and Language Standards are concerned, I enjoyed looking at the Standards for Foreign Language Teaching. The handout included clear examples and further explanations of what the standards meant. Very helpful! I'm sure at some point I will be working with standards again. As far as the reading was concerned, I couldn't figure out how they tied in blogging and wikis with standards and... was it performative writing? Did anyone catch anything I missed? Thanks for reading! Question: Was the original Chatterbot the Chatty Cathy doll from the 60's? My, how technology has advanced...