--- Forwarded Message from "Steve & Laura Spinella" <[log in to unmask]> --- >From: "Steve & Laura Spinella" <[log in to unmask]> >To: "LLTI-Editor" <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Re: #7634.3 Modern CALL primer needed >Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 12:45:31 +0800 I need a primer on what's out there now! In the over 10 years I've subscribed to this list (weird, huh?!), my research is obviously archaic. Who can point me to information about these kinds of tools now? (I'm interested in Chinese, but don't worry too much about character-based questions. I'd like to know what's out there, easy to use for loading up just-in-time content or robust enough to store a small world of language content.) Regarding the original question, I'm a firm believer in using tools for specific purposes. 8 years ago I asked a teacher to repeat, on my request, language sentences. (Call it "learner-elicited native speaker reinforcement"?) That first class was great--live language at my pace, and a nice sequence of initiative and response variations. Guess what? Next class she told me I might like to learn that way, but she certainly didn't need to teach that way and quit! (I didn't try the same thing with the next teacher ;-) Now I limit that kind of activity to technology-enhanced contexts where I'm not jeopardizing relationships--even if the language isn't all live, 3-d, moving lips and freshly generated.) So now I'd say there's nothing quite like live language interaction for learning language, but there's no live language context quite like a good call solution, either. I'm a pragmatist. I'll take anything that will help me learn (and others) learn. Dr. Steve and Laura Spinella, Sarah, Joey, Robby Ta Yi Street, Lane 29, #18, 2F-1, Taichung 404, TAIWAN 011 886 4 2236-6145, of 2236-1901, fx 2236-2109, cell 9 2894-0514 USA: 9685 Otero Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80920, 719.528.1702, cell 719.640.1261 TEAM, PO Box 969, Wheaton, IL 60189, 800 343-3144 <www.team.org.tw/spinella>, <www.team.org.tw/ccg> <[log in to unmask]> <[log in to unmask]> > --- Forwarded Message from "Read Gilgen" <[log in to unmask]> --- > > >Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 21:04:17 -0500 > >From: "Read Gilgen" <[log in to unmask]> > >To: <[log in to unmask]> > >Subject: Re: #7634 Computer-assisted language learning > > You use technology for things technology does best. You use people for > things people do best. Exercises with infinite patience, immediate > feedback, etc., and models that don't depend on instructors that don't > have native proficiency can be served well by technology. Interactive > speech practice is, obviously, better carried out between two or more > people. ...