Language Didactics and Computer Programs

Looking at different types of computer programs, different aspects of language didactics come into play. In Rüschoff, Bernd ; Wolff, Dieter, 1999 it is strongly argued for the integration of general modern language didactics like learner-autonomy and project-orientation and the use of information-technology. The authors therefore encourage the use of computers not as tutoring systems but more importantly as explorative devices. The learner is invited to explore the language he intends to learn. With the wealth of material in a foreign language now available in the computer via the internet, the teacher can give hints about what to look for and then the learner autonomously discovers the properties of the language. This type of usage is fundamentally different from the use of a computer as a tutoring system. Taking a look at what different categories of computer programs can offer things may be seen in a different light.

The main advantage of computers over pen and paper when solving exercises in so called tutoring systems (» Functionality) is the immediate feedback, that the learner can get from the computer, as mentioned earlier. Grüner, Margit ; Hassert, Timm, 2000 caution against the term "interaction", i.e. interactive exercises, and try to distinguish "communication" and "interaction" with the computer. In their opinion the term "interaction" is not plausible, as describing what the computer is capable of. They therefore suggest merely to use "reaction".

Even though tutoring systems are very restricted concerning the learning material and the learning progression and usually can not be adapted to personal preferences, there are certain circumstances, when tutoring systems might be of use. Usually tutoring programs are considered to support especially the learning of grammatical structures and lexical elements. The addition of multimedia-material might support the learning process, albeit this has not lead to new types of exercises with respect to the usage of language.

Teachers can use authoring programs to develop their own tutoring systems. This allows the teacher to develop exercises especially suited to the needs of his/her students and the learning-situation they are in. Unfortunately developing such exercises takes up a lot of time. Estimates are that the ratio of developing a learning unit to working on the exercises is around 10:1.

Using computers as resources for language learning involves mainly electronic dictionaries. Fast and combined access to even multimodal information is one of the advantages compared to printed editions. Some dictionaries include the possibility to extend the dictionary with user generated items. Encyclopedia also belong to this category of electronic resources which present monolingual, "authentic" information to the user. Resources which need the internet, e.g. databases on servers accessible through the internet, are listed below under "communication possibilities".

Programs such as text processing systems or concordancers can be used in language learning as tools "to actively model the difficult process of acquiring a second language" (Rüschoff, Bernd ; Wolff, Dieter, 1999 p. 73). This plays an important role in designing process- and action-oriented language teaching. The tools can be used by the learner themselves to discover properties of the foreign language.

Using todays communication possibilities has at least three main aspects: 1. The wealth of authentic material such as texts, graphics and video offered by the WWW partly in databases; 2. the possibilities for electronic communication with native speakers of the foreign language with E-Mail, Chat etc. and 3. the possibilities of developing distance-learning concepts. All three components (communicative competence, language awareness and language learning awareness) can be addressed with the use of communication technology.

Some more literature about using computers in language teaching with a focus on German as a second language: Fechner, Jürgen (Ed.), 1994, Bayerlein, Oliver, 1996, Eidecker, Martina Elisabeth, 1996, Goettmann, Hans, 1996, Hess, Hans W., 1998, Rösler, Dietmar, 1998, Wolff, Dieter, 1998, or works by M. Warschauer e.g. Warschauer, Mark in: Fotos, S. (Ed.), 1996. There is -of course- a lot more in the journals mentioned in the » Resources.