I've had a couple of people write me recently asking about CMC (computer mediated communication) and how it relates to CALL, so I thought I'd do a quick post about what the two are and how they connect with each other.

In essence computer mediated communication has nothing to do with learning (although it is very closely tied to learning).  CMC is simply the use of computers to help with communication tasks.  A person with a severe speach impediment or condition that restricts speach (Multiple Sclerosis  for example) may use computer technology to assist with their communication.  In a sense the computer is used to mediate (manage) the communication act.

Now given that CMC is the idea of using computers to help out with communication, it should be easy to see how it can be tied into learning environments and CALL.  In fact you could quite easily say that CALL is in some ways a form of computer mediated communication.  When we use computer to help with language learning tasks, we are doing computer mediated communication.

However non-language learning activites like participating in a forum discussion, reading this blog, using Skype to phone someone, using MSN chat are all forms of computer mediated communication.  Unless these activities are being done as part of a language class, we wouldn't normally refer to them as CALL activities.

Clearly this is a very simple overview of the two concepts, but it should be enough to help you see the basic differences between the two and how they relate to each other overall.

Cheers,

Eric

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The roll of any language teacher is to come up with language activities that allow a student to develop their skill and comfort with the language being studied.  This is a never-ending quest that requires a certain amount of dedication and time commitment.  What you develop as a teacher will really depend on the level of your students (both in terms of language ability and age), as well as exactly what it is that you are currently teaching.  Activities for speaking are not usually the same as an activity for a writing class.

That said, there are a few things that are common to all language activities that you develop.  Here are a few ideas that I have found help me keep on top of planning and developing appropriate language learning activities.

• Language Activities should be Recyclable - Your activities should be easily recycled and used again, either with the same students, or a new crop of students in a future term.  You want to have language activities that you can create once and use many times.
• Language Activities should allow for skill area inter-linking - Ideally your activities should have some way of interlinking between several skill areas.  This means that when you are doing a writing activity, there should be some component which lends itself to a speaking activity perhaps.  In writing, doing peer conferencing is a good example of this.
• Language Activities should have multiple uses - When you are creating activities, try to make some that allow you to use them for different skill areas with minimal changes. A good example of this would be using photographs for practicing/developing descriptive language.  With very little effort pictures can be used for writing or speaking (look at this picture for 5 minutes and then write about it. vs. look at this picture for 5 minutes and then tell a partner about it…and then write about your partners using what they told you as a reference).

 If you keep these three simple concepts in mind as you develop language learning activities for your classes, you will save yourself a great deal of hassle and end up with much more cohesive lessons that require less effort on your part to plan and develop.

Comments are open - drop a note if you have other techniques that help you out.

Cheers,

Eric

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I recently had a reader send me a question asking "What are good topics for esl students"?

My first thought was "What a horribly vague question."  Topics for what?  Reading? Writing? Presentations? Vocabulary study? General discussion? Learning how to ask clear questions?

The reality is that in general there are no bad topics for ESL students - key phrase being "in general".  As a teacher you need to take some time to establish what best suits the likes and needs of your students within the situation that you are teaching.

Age, experiences, existing knowledge are just a few things that can determine if a topic is right for ESL students.  9 year old grade 4 students just won't be able to deal with some topics the same way post-graduate students might.

As a teacher there is real value in using topically based teaching (aka themes) in your teaching.  It gives you a focus and allows your students to gain knowledge and langauge around specific topics.  Of course computers and the internet can help out tremendously with this. There is a never-ending supply of text, audio, and video content on the internet that you can tap into for your classes.

So, in the end, what are good topics for ESL students?  Simple. The ones that you choose and make interesting and educational for your students thereby helping them towards their goal of improving their English ability.  I'm not putting a list here, because it is as long (or short) as your imagination and fear make it.

Cheers,

Eric

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There is a huge selection of pronunciation software available on the market today.  With pronunciation software you need to take a little time to research what is available on the market to help with the problem you are having. Some softwares target different pronunciation problems than others.

Here are a couple of quick points to keep in mind:

1. does the software target the problem you (or your students) have
2. is it nothing more than flashcards with a shiny interface (BAD)
3. does it provide visual feedback to the students in the form of voicewaves? (GOOD)
4. is the content reasonably realistic (GOOD) or totally fake a contrived (BAD)

Here are a few pronunciation software packages that are worth looking at.  Keep in mind that they don't all do the same things.

• BetterAccent:
  Pronunciation software designed to help students with American English pronunciation issues.
• Pronunciation Power
  Comes in two versions (PP1 and PP2), both of which are excellent.  They provide many opportunities and a variety of methods for students to practice over 40 different touble areas.
• Accent Technologies
  This software allows students to record their voice and then see visual representations of how their voice compares with a sample.  This lets them see where their voice is different from the standard pronunciation allowing them to target specific problems areas in their own pronunciation.
  American Speech Sounds
  A basic "repeat after me" software where the students listen to a sample and then speak it back into the computer via their microphone.  Not the most exciting software, but OK.
• Pronunciation Patterns:
  Helps students deal with both word level and sentence level pronunciation issues by working on phonics and the connections between sounds in speech.  Prices vary depending on the version, but a Demo is available on their site.
• Connected Speech:
  The main focus of Connected Speech is sentence level (suprasegmental) work.  Some of the content is a little 'forced' and made for ESL, but it is very popular in our lab.
• Pro-Nunciation Sound Lab and Mouth Exercises
  Provides students with a large collection of activities that work on individual sounds and phrase/sentence level intonation patterns.

 Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Eric

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