Voices in the Foreign Language classroom

TESOL Spain National Convention Madr
Lack of Voices in the FL Class?Lack of Voices in the FL Class?
By Lluís Figueras
(IES Vilassar de Mar / University of Barcelona)

TESOL Spain National Convention Madrid 25/3/20062
Questions
Do you think that students need to improve their
speaking skills?
Do you think computers may be useful?
Website to download this presentation:
http://www.xtec.net/~lfiguera/

Summary
• Presentation of a study case
• Results
• Criteria for selecting Multimedia applications
• Criteria for selecting software
• Useful computer tools
• Specialized software
• Questions

Type of study taken
(experimental /control group)
GENERAL FEATURE FOR BOTH GROUPS
• Middle-low socioeconomic class
• 100% speakers of Spanish
• Studying English since 8-10 years old
• Eleven 55-minute sessions
Experimental group: Number of students tested
• First 14 reduced to 10 pre-tested, ages 16-18 years old
Control group: Number of students tested
• Pre-test with 10 students and a post-test with the same
ones. No absences.
• Pre-test taken in February 2002. Sessions ended in May
2002

Methodology
• Always half group (Experimental 15; control 20)
Students in the experimental group:
• Pair-work 10-15 minutes with computers Specific software
for pronunciation (Pronunciation Power and Connected
Speech).
• 10 -15 minutes conversation with a native assistant teacher
in groups (4-6 people).
• Remaining 10 -15 minutes: Self-Access class for other
purposes (Vocabulary, Grammar, correction of activities…)
Students in the control group:
• 10 to 15 minutes for conversation
• Remaining time for tradicional type of class: reading,
correcting activites, just with the teacher intervention.

Type of syllabus covered with both
groups:
• Long and short vowels (especially sound /i:/)
• Vowel /:/
• Initial Consonant clusters ( sp, sk, st, etc)
• Suprasegmental work, linking words.
• Stress of words in the sentence, in an isolated
way, especially in two-syllable words.
• Correct intonation in interrogative sentences.

PLANTILLA DE CORRECCIÓN Y EJEMPLO
FONÉTICO DEL ESTUDIO DE CASO EN 1º DE
BACHILLERATO (texto 1)
• ‘Consonant clusters’ (/sp/, /st/, /sl/) (7 casos)
• Contraste vocálico (i: / I) ( 9 casos, ‘he’ (7 casos
sólo cuentan como 1)
• Diferentes formas de pronunciación del pasado
regular /-ed/ (4 casos)
• Diferenciación de sonidos /ch/ /sh/
• Algunos de los aspectos del texto 2 se incluyen
también aquí

PLANTILLA DE CORRECCIÓN Y EJEMPLO
FONÉTICO DEL ESTUDIO DE CASO EN 1º DE
BACHILLERATO (texto 2)
• Trabajo específico del sonido //
• Acentuación correcta en palabras polisilábicas
• Suprasegmentales (Enlace, pausa y acentuación
correcta)
• Contraste directo
• Algunos de los aspectos del texto 1 se incluyen
también aquí

Results
• All fields analyzed in the Experimental group had
improvements.
• All fields analyzed in the Control group had
improvements as a whole but not individually;
those were less significant than the ones found in
the experimental group.
• The Methodology with computers with a specific
time assigned worked with the experimental
group.

Interpretation by Pastore (2003), inhttp://teacherworld.com/
potdale.html
Useful hints when working with
computers

Advantages and disavantages of
Multimedia resources
• Safe learning environment
• Flexibility for individual needs
• May stimulate demotivated
students
• Present info in different ways
• Teachers may review the way
they teach and how students
learn
• Non-judgemental
• Non-threatening
• Amount of money
• Equipment
• Renewal (5 years?)
• Reading is more tiring and 28%
slower in a computer screen
(Thibodeau, 1997)
• Technophobia
• Anxiety
• Lack of control
(Weil y Rosen, 1997)
Brown y Howlett (1994)
Egbert et al. (1999), Brett (1999)

What do we need in the FL class?
• The number of students IS NOT a problem if all of
them have a clear idea about what they have to
do.
• Working areas are necessary (at least 3-4).
• Adequate space / room may be important but not
a must.

Working areas
• Students work in pairs or groups of three
• Typical areas to develop are: GRAMMAR,
VOCABULARY, LISTENING, READING…
• New types of working areas include
computers with special requirements.

Computers and special requirements (i)
• Individual or pair work is the maximum
number of people allowed for optimal
performance. Use splitters to maximize users.
• Higher number of students provoke other
problems to arise, such as: room / space,
indecisions, arguments or lack of cooperation.

Computers and special requirements (ii)
• The use of a computer may be considered as an
award and it is just a working area, for a
specific time and day, not a permanent place to
be in.

Three different situations for working
with software:
• Guided production through Reading and Listening
• Guided production through Pronunciation
• Free production through an authorable software

Tell me more / Talk to me by Auralog
Guided production through Reading and Listening

• The S.E.T.S. (‘Spoken Error Tracking System’) technology:
• A) The software detects a word pronounced wrongly (red)
• B) The user may click on it and work individually.
• WHAT CRITERIA DOES THE SOFTWARE USE FOR S.E.T.S?
• ???
http://www.auralog.com/

Tell me more / Talk to me
SAMPLE PRODUCTION

Pronunciation Power
• Products and demos:
http://www.englishelearning.com/en/
• Professional software review at CALICO:
http://calico.org/CALICO_Review/review/propower.htm
Guided production through Pronunciation

Improving oral aspects
• http://evaeaston.com/pr/t-d-Id-pattern.html
Guided production through Reading and Listening

Recommendations when working with
computers
• Re-start again after a class period to release memory
• Older computers need extra time to think
(extra clicks  blocking system)
• Pair work or individual work only
• Limit the time of a computer activity /
• Limit the computer activity itself
• Select your microphones with noise reduction
• Set working areas according to the room / space

Connected Speech software
• http://www.proteatextware.com.au/
• Professional review at CALICO:
http://calico.org/CALICO_Review/review/conspeech00.htm

What is an authorable software program?
(I)
• It is a language specifically designed to produce
educational software.
• The software may be adapted by adding data
which may fit the user needs with different levels
of difficulty, interest, culture, etc. allowing a high
degree of autonomy (Wachman 1999).

What is an authorable software program?
(II)
• This type of software allows extra flexibility in the
areas of:
• Visualization on the screen, addition of graphics
and pictures.
• Answer opinion: accept more than one answer.
• Recordkeeping: store the different performances
of students.
• Branching or looping: may vary the contents for
different users.

Oral Testing Software
• http://creativeworks.byu.edu/hrc/index.php?userid=812
•Free production through an authorable software
Professional review at CALICO:
http://calico.org/CALICO_Review/review/ots.htm

Thanks for your attendance
Don’t forget to check
http://www.xtec.net/~lfiguera
to copy interesting links

Voices in the Foreign Language classroom

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Voices in the Foreign Language classroom