Schedule: 2009-09-10 (12:00 - 12:45)
Parallel Session 3 (Room A-1)

Title: Students Are Ready, But Are We? Assessment of Current TELL Trends
Authors: Kaori Kabata, Grace Wiebe
Abstract: The last decade has seen a remarkable change in the role of computers and other technologies in students’ educational experiences. Such a change has been observed in the way students react to TELL: Wiebe et al. (2008) reported that students did not react to a new technology for its novelty per se (cf., Clark 1983), but rather, they were critical of the fit between the activities they participated in and the goal of the activities. On the other hand, they also observed that instructors were very concerned with technical glitches and were not aware these did not affect students’ perceptions of TELL activities.

In this study, therefore, we are interested in current TELL trends in second/foreign language learning environments, especially in post-secondary institutions. In a close examination of the findings of TELL evaluation studies published in major journals, including CALICO Journal, ReCALL, and CALL, we determine how research on TELL has developed over the last several years, and how students’ and instructors’ perception of TELL may have changed. Are there gaps between students’ and instructors’ perception of TELL, and if so, where do we observe those gaps?

The preliminary result of the study has indicated that whereas we are certainly moving towards normalization of everyday technology use, we are far less normalized in TELL implementation and use than in everyday technology use (Chambers & Bax 2006). There is still room for integration of technology and pedagogy (e.g., Jamieson et al. 2005, Kessler 2007), which has been discussed from the initial TELL research stage (Putnam 1983, Moeller 1997). A discrepancy has also been observed between less commonly taught languages and those that are most commonly taught. By identifying what has been achieved and where gaps are found, the findings from this study suggest what needs to be done in order to further progress towards the normalization of TELL.

Bax, S. (2003). CALL – past, present and future. System, 31, 13-28.
Chambers, A., & Bax, S. (2006). Making CALL work: Towards normalization. System, 34(4), 465-479.
Clark, R. (1983). Reconsidering research on learning from media. Review of Educational Research, 53, 445-459.
Jamieson, J., Chapelle, C., & Preiss, S. (2005). CALL evaluation by developers, a teacher, and students. CALICO Journal, 23(1), 93-138.
Kessler, G. (2007). Formal and informal CALL preparation and teacher attitude toward technology. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 20(2), 173-188.
Moeller, A.J. (1997). Moving from instruction to learning with technology: Where’s the content? CALICO ’97 Keynote Address. CALICO Journal, 14(2-4), 5-13.
Murray, L., & Barnes, A. (1998). Beyond the “wow” factor – evaluating multimedia language learning software from a pedagogical viewpoint. System, 20, 249-229.
Putnam, C.E. (1983). Foreign language instructional technology: The state of the art. CALICO Journal, 1(1), 35-39.
Wiebe, G., Kabata, K., & Okamoto, M. (2008, January). Changes to students’ and instructors’ perception of novel technologies in foreign language teaching situations. 6th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Keywords: less-commonly taught languages, current trends, normalization

Main topic: Research in new language learning environments

Biodata: Kaori Kabata (PhD, Psycholinguistics, U Alberta) is an associate professor in the Department of East Asian Studies, University of Alberta, Canada. She teaches Japanese language and Japanese linguistics. Her research interests are in lexical semantics, first and second language acquisition, and CALL. Grace Wiebe (MA, Germanic Linguistics; PhD, Psycholinguistics, U Alberta) is the Director of the Arts Resource Centre (formerly Language Resource Centre) and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta, Canada. Her research interests include psycholinguistics, syllable structure, language acquisition, TELL and CALL.
Type of presentation Paper presentation

Paper category Research

Target educational sector Higher education

Language of delivery English

EU-funded project No

Schedule:	2009-09-10 (12:00 - 12:45) Parallel Session 3 (Room A-1)
Title:	Students Are Ready, But Are We? Assessment of Current TELL Trends
Authors:	Kaori Kabata, Grace Wiebe
Abstract:	The last decade has seen a remarkable change in the role of computers and other technologies in students’ educational experiences. Such a change has been observed in the way students react to TELL: Wiebe et al. (2008) reported that students did not react to a new technology for its novelty per se (cf., Clark 1983), but rather, they were critical of the fit between the activities they participated in and the goal of the activities. On the other hand, they also observed that instructors were very concerned with technical glitches and were not aware these did not affect students’ perceptions of TELL activities. In this study, therefore, we are interested in current TELL trends in second/foreign language learning environments, especially in post-secondary institutions. In a close examination of the findings of TELL evaluation studies published in major journals, including CALICO Journal, ReCALL, and CALL, we determine how research on TELL has developed over the last several years, and how students’ and instructors’ perception of TELL may have changed. Are there gaps between students’ and instructors’ perception of TELL, and if so, where do we observe those gaps? The preliminary result of the study has indicated that whereas we are certainly moving towards normalization of everyday technology use, we are far less normalized in TELL implementation and use than in everyday technology use (Chambers & Bax 2006). There is still room for integration of technology and pedagogy (e.g., Jamieson et al. 2005, Kessler 2007), which has been discussed from the initial TELL research stage (Putnam 1983, Moeller 1997). A discrepancy has also been observed between less commonly taught languages and those that are most commonly taught. By identifying what has been achieved and where gaps are found, the findings from this study suggest what needs to be done in order to further progress towards the normalization of TELL. Bax, S. (2003). CALL – past, present and future. System, 31, 13-28. Chambers, A., & Bax, S. (2006). Making CALL work: Towards normalization. System, 34(4), 465-479. Clark, R. (1983). Reconsidering research on learning from media. Review of Educational Research, 53, 445-459. Jamieson, J., Chapelle, C., & Preiss, S. (2005). CALL evaluation by developers, a teacher, and students. CALICO Journal, 23(1), 93-138. Kessler, G. (2007). Formal and informal CALL preparation and teacher attitude toward technology. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 20(2), 173-188. Moeller, A.J. (1997). Moving from instruction to learning with technology: Where’s the content? CALICO ’97 Keynote Address. CALICO Journal, 14(2-4), 5-13. Murray, L., & Barnes, A. (1998). Beyond the “wow” factor – evaluating multimedia language learning software from a pedagogical viewpoint. System, 20, 249-229. Putnam, C.E. (1983). Foreign language instructional technology: The state of the art. CALICO Journal, 1(1), 35-39. Wiebe, G., Kabata, K., & Okamoto, M. (2008, January). Changes to students’ and instructors’ perception of novel technologies in foreign language teaching situations. 6th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Keywords:	less-commonly taught languages, current trends, normalization
Main topic:	Research in new language learning environments
Biodata:	Kaori Kabata (PhD, Psycholinguistics, U Alberta) is an associate professor in the Department of East Asian Studies, University of Alberta, Canada. She teaches Japanese language and Japanese linguistics. Her research interests are in lexical semantics, first and second language acquisition, and CALL. Grace Wiebe (MA, Germanic Linguistics; PhD, Psycholinguistics, U Alberta) is the Director of the Arts Resource Centre (formerly Language Resource Centre) and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta, Canada. Her research interests include psycholinguistics, syllable structure, language acquisition, TELL and CALL.
Type of presentation	Paper presentation
Paper category	Research
Target educational sector	Higher education
Language of delivery	English
EU-funded project	No