Terms. Computer-assisted language learning. Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) is succinctly defined in a seminal work by Levy (1997: p. 1) as "the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning".[1] CALL embraces a wide range of information and communications technology applications and approaches to teaching and learning foreign languages, from the "traditional" drill-and-practice programs that characterised CALL in the 1960s and 1970s to more recent manifestations of CALL, e.g. as used in a virtual learning environment and Web-based distance learning.
MOO. A MOO (MUD, object-oriented[1][2]) is a text-based online virtual reality system to which multiple users (players) are connected at the same time.
The term MOO is used in two distinct, but related, senses. One is to refer to those programs descended from the original MOO server, and the other is to refer to any MUD that uses object-oriented techniques to organize its database of objects, particularly if it does so in a similar fashion to the original MOO or its derivatives. Most of this article refers to the original MOO and its direct descendants, but see Non-Descendant MOOs for a list of MOO-like systems. Background[edit] New MOOs have to choose a starting database from which to set their MOO up, or they can use a minimal one which contains only the necessary objects to start a MOO. Hot Potatoes. The Hot Potatoes software suite includes five applications that can create exercises for the World Wide Web.
The applications are JCloze, JCross, JMatch, JMix and JQuiz. There is also a sixth application called The Masher, that will compile all the Hot Potatoes exercises into one unit. Hot Potatoes was created by the Research and Development team at the University of Victoria Humanities Computing and Media Centre. Commercial aspects of the software are handled by Half-Baked Software Inc. Hot Potatoes has been freeware since October 2009. Hot Potatoes was first released in version 2.0 in September 1998, at the EuroCALL conference in Leuven, Belgium. Self access language learning centers.
Self access language learning centers are educational facilities designed for student learning that is at least partially, if not fully self-directed.
Students have access to resources ranging from photocopied exercises with answer keys to computer software for language learning. These centers are an outgrowth of a style of learning that can go by several names: learner-centered approach, learner autonomy or self-directed learning. These centers exist primarily in Asia, Europe and North America. Use of such facilities and the pedagogical theory they are based upon has its advantages and disadvantages.
Proper use can result in a feeling of empowerment and better learning outcomes, but getting to the point where students and teachers can exploit them effectively can be problematic. Definition[edit] Self access language learning promotes the approach where students study independently choosing from among different resources that are available. Second Life. Built into the software is a three-dimensional modeling tool based on simple geometric shapes that allows residents to build virtual objects.
There is also a procedural scripting language, Linden Scripting Language, which can be used to add interactivity to objects. Sculpted prims (sculpties), mesh, textures for clothing or other objects, animations, and gestures can be created using external software and imported. The Second Life terms of service provide that users retain copyright for any content they create, and the server and client provide simple digital rights management (DRM) functions.[3] However, Linden Lab changed their terms of service in August 2013, to be able to use user-generated content for any purpose. The new terms of service prevents users from using textures from 3rd-party texture services, as some of them pointed out explicitly.[5] Users can also photograph in Second Life with the camera technology the client programs have. History[edit] 10th anniversary[edit] Input hypothesis. The input hypothesis, also known as the monitor model, is a group of five hypotheses of second-language acquisition developed by the linguist Stephen Krashen in the 1970s and 1980s.
Krashen originally formulated the input hypothesis as just one of the five hypotheses, but over time the term has come to refer to the five hypotheses as a group. Virtual world language learning. Virtual worlds are playing an increasingly important role in education, especially in language learning.
By March 2007 it was estimated that over 200 universities or academic institutions were involved in Second Life (Cooke-Plagwitz, p. 548).[1] Joe Miller, Linden Lab Vice President of Platform and Technology Development, claimed in 2009 that "Language learning is the most common education-based activity in Second Life".[2] Many mainstream language institutes and private language schools are now using 3D virtual environments to support language learning. History[edit] Virtual worlds date back to the adventure games and simulations of the 1970s, for example Colossal Cave Adventure, a text-only simulation in which the user communicated with the computer by typing commands at the keyboard.