Computer Assisted Language Learning CALL Theories

4. Interactive PowerPoint

In this section, there are two points that are elaborated, Computer Assisted Language Learning CALL theories, component of Interactive PowerPoint, Interactive PowerPoint Application.

a. Computer Assisted Language Learning CALL Theories

CALL was firstly implemented in the 1960s. Levy 1997 defines CALL as “the search for and study of applications of computer in language teaching and learning”. For decades, many projects have been created to get variant qualities of CALL. To design a qualified learning model involving CALL, there are eight conditions that support optimal CALL environment according to Egbert, Chao, and Hanson-Smith as cited in Egbert Hanson Smith 1999. These eight conditions are considered as pedagogical aspects for the learning media in this study. They are: 1 learners have opportunities to interact and negotiate meaning, 2 learners interact in the target language with an authentic audience, 3 learners are involved in authentic tasks, 4 learners are exposed to and encouraged to produce varied and creative language, 5 learners have enough time and feedback, 6 learners are guided to attend mindfully to the learning process, 7 learners work in an atmosphere with an ideal stressanxiety level, 8 learner autonomy is supported. First, learners have opportunities to interact and negotiate meaning. Interaction and negotiation of meaning can be obviously measured through the implementation of individual assignments in the classroom activities Egbert as cited un Egbert Hanson Smith 1999. The teacher’s role, in this case, is to observe each student’s contribution during the authentic task and interaction with authentic audience, thus, the learning goal can be achieved. Second, learners interact in the target language with an authentic audience. Authentic audience is an audience that is concerned exclusively with the meaning of the speaker’s message rather than the form of the message. Speaker’s message is considered as an input. Input can be defined as all the target language that the learner is exposed to and that potentially provides the learner with knowledge about the target language. Third, learners are involved in authentic tasks. Authentic task is the most useful and interesting task to be those whose goals require communication in the target language Chapelle as cited in Egbert Hanson-Smith 1999, 101. Authentic task involves cognitive domain challenging in the complicated real- world task that must be performed. Egbert Hanson-Smith 2007, 6 describe the idea of cognitive demand in the learning process as, for example, learners not only simply to learn about English but rather to use English in the ways native speakers normally are. In this way, the role of task is important to influence the learners to function their current proficiency level in authentic communication. Fourth, learners are exposed to and encouraged to produce varied and creative language. An authentic task may not sufficient for language acquisition if the goal is to achieve varied and creative language. It requires diversity of tasks with a variety source of language input. Learners also strike between receptive and productive language skills and the tasks involve multiple learning styles and preferences among learners. A thoughtful and well-informed task design may influence learners’ creative thinking and awaken their creative linguistic potential Huh, as edited in Egbert and Hanson-Smith 2007, 221. Therefore the authentic tasks that were given to the students may be designed well involving receptive and productive language skills to influence students’ creative thinking and awaken their linguistic potential. Fifth, learners have enough time and feedback. Learners require time and feedback sufficiently. It is realized that there are individual diversities in learners’ ability, motivation and other factors demanding much time and feedback. Therefore, flexibility of time and feedback must be put up in the task. Sixth, learners are guided to attend mindfully to the learning process. All of those five conditions before are not adequate to address a mindfully learning process. To address learning process mindfully a certain degree of metacognitive guidance is needed. This metacognitive guidance may facilitate learning and promote cognitive engagement. Through metacognitive strategies, the learning outcomes in which learners are encouraged to be aware of their language use and learning may be achieved. Seventh, learners work in an atmosphere with an ideal stressanxiety level. The atmosphere with an ideal stressanxiety level must be initially experiences before the learners are mindfully engaged. This atmosphere can be developed through implementing a learner-centered learning in which learners can control their own learning. Eight, learner autonomy is supported. Learner autonomy is promoted in recent classroom activities because it supports learners’ confidence and skills to learn autonomously, whether it is to design or to coordinate tasks in a variety contexts. Learners have control over their learning process although it is not absolute. Teacher still has a role to determine boundaries thus learners can work out meaningful problems or tasks in that area. After considering the pedagogical aspects, it is important to design a learning media with thoughtful tasks in order to be a comprehensible input for students. Multimedia in CALL environment can be a good input for learners in developing their language acquisition, especially their fluency and accuracy. Hanson-Smith 1999 explains that this input can be in a form of written texts enhanced by pictures, graphics, animations, video, and sound as well as hyperlinks to other explanatory texts. The focus of this input counts for many language skills containing listening and vocabulary, discourse, reading holistically, and reading in context, while the focus on output results on speaking and interaction, and writing as interaction. There are many advantages of the computer over written texts. Firstly, the computer’s sound capability to read the text aloud, often while highlighting individual words or sentences. Secondly, the need to scroll rather than turn pages, which can slow down reading for meaning, can operate to the learner’s advantage. Thirdly, hypertext or hypermedia links allow instantaneous glosses in the form of pictures, animations, video, and related reading material Hanson-Smith 1999, 200-202.The computer program that is suitable with hyperlink and glosses is called PowerPoint. Added by interactivity to the users, this program becomes Interactive PowerPoint.

b. Component of Interactive PowerPoint