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ITMELT '99 Conference Papers

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On this page are the accepted papers for the conference. They are indexed in 3 ways:

Click on the title of a paper to see it's abstract. Below the abstract is a link to the full paper.

On this site: Conference Home Page; Call for Papers; Hotel Accommodation, Conference Schedule.

Index of papers (by title):

 

Index of papers (by author):

Index of papers (by conference theme):

Plenary sessions

The conference papers are grouped around four themes - although a number overlap in content.

1. IT in English language learning and teaching, with reference to:

2. The development and implementation of hypermedia and multimedia educational systems

3. Computer-mediated communication: the Internet, virtual classrooms, information exchange systems, e-mail, video-conferencing, MOOs etc.

4. The management of educational IT, including:

 

IT in English language learning and teaching

 

The development and implementation of hypermedia and multimedia educational systems

 

Computer-mediated communication

 

The management of educational IT

 

Living Lessons for university learners of English
Dr. Gino Yu
Associate Professor
Head, Multimedia Innovation Centre
Hong Kong Polytechnic University

 

A recent innovation in teaching has been the use of the world-wide web to deliver on-line lessons. Education institutions are often keen to support this innovation, seeing the prospect of reduced costs, international exposure and global delivery of programmes to a larger, international body of students.

However, many existing on-line learning materials suffer from a teaching model that mirrors the lecture experience, and fails to take advantage of the many interactive possibilities of the Internet.

This paper introduces the concept of the ‘Living Lesson’ that evolves with student input. Learning through such lessons could be participatory, collaborative and involve ‘moderated exploration’. The paper presents a framework for the development of a web-based platform to create, deliver and support lesson-based education. The paper then describes the framework and considers how it may be applied to English Language Teaching.

Click here to read the full paper in on the Internet in HTML format.

Click here to read the full paper in Microsoft Word Format.

Giving learners something to do with concordance data

(Workshop)

Tom Cobb

Université du Québec

Montréal, Quebec, Canada

 

I have developed an approach to computer-assisted vocabulary expansion that takes advantage of two new insights on vocabulary acquisition and answers two old questions about learner concordancing.

The first insight is that the richness of word learning from multi-contextual encounters offline can be replicated online eliminating a good deal of time and randomness. The second is a proposal that the time-course of vocabulary acquisition can be reduced by taking advantage of what is known about massed vs. distributed learning. My corpus-based lexical tutor combines these ideas in an environment where learners find lexical information in a corpus and practice using it in CALL activities that are designed to maximise learning through principled spacing of episodes. Learner data from use of this program will be presented.

Finally, two questions about learner concordancing will be answered.

Click here for the full paper in Internet (HTML) format.

Click here for the full paper in Microsoft Word format.

Using Virtual communities to create real bonds

(Paper)

Desloge Patrick & Wong, Lillian

English Centre, University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong

 

Using a class of adult part-time degree students as a model, this paper will describe the process and results of the integration of a course curriculum and web-based discussion forum designed to strengthen the ties between:

This paper will argue that the three factors critical to the successful integration of this technology are: firstly, active participation and moderation by the course tutors; secondly, seamless integration of the discussion board into the course curriculum; and thirdly, creating opportunities for students to take ownership of the board.

Two team-teachers will discuss the technical and logistical implications of creating and maintaining discussion forums as well as the challenges involved with making this virtual space become an integral part of the course curriculum and a place were participants can build a community. The authors will compare model tasks that are purely online with those that combine classroom and online collaboration. Finally, the authors will share and discuss empirical and anecdotal data revealing the students' perceptions of how the use of this technology affected their learning experience and their relationships with the tutors and peers.

(Link to Powerpoint presentation)

An EAP module via the Merlin internet learning environment

(Paper)

David Oakey

Language Institute, University of Hull,

Hull, England

 

This paper will present a component of a 10-credit English for Academic Purposes (EAP) module which is delivered via Merlin, a web-based learning environment being developed at the University of Hull. The students taking this module come from a wide range of departments, and their other course commitments mean that they cannot always attend classes. This paper will highlight the benefits which we have found to result from a shift to web-based course delivery and will argue that, in university contexts where student numbers are increasing and classroom contact hours are limited, web-based distance learning can offer a viable complement to face-to-face classroom interaction.

Examples will be presented of how placing module content in a password-protected web-based environment has allowed our students to access the module independently outside scheduled class times; how it has enabled tutors to give written or oral feedback on students' individual or group performance of written or oral tasks; and how it has simplified to some extent the time-consuming administrative aspects of a module with a large and diverse student body. Discussion of unresolved distance learning issues such as student IT unfamiliarity, security, assessment, and the provision of staff training and support will be encouraged.

Click here to read the full paper in on the Internet in HTML format.

Click here to read the full paper in Microsoft Word Format.

Bridging the gulf between teachers and computers - a teacher-based action research project in CALL staff development

(Paper)

Ian Brown

Australian Pacific College

Sydney, Australia

Computers will never replace teachers, but teachers who use computers may replace those who don't. The use of CALL in teaching English requires teachers who are not only competent with the programs being used but who are also aware of the pedagogical and curricula reasons for using them. Good programs cannot bring about successful learning without proficient guidance from teachers aware of what they are doing and why. Teacher training and development is struggling to keep up with the requirements of these new technologies, often resulting in teachers being thrown in at the deep end, required to use CALL because of student expectations and school policy, yet not familiar or confident enough in its use. Consequently the full potential that CALL offers to language teaching is not fulfilled. A gulf often grows between those interested and innovative in the use of technology and those who, sometimes even begrudgingly, go along with its use.

This paper reports on an in-house action research project carried out among teachers at a TESOL college to update their expertise in CALL. Different methods were explored to allow the more computer aware to share their knowledge. The aim was to break down the gulf between the different users and the computers, to expand understanding and promote competent and successful use of CALL throughout the college.

Click here to see the whole paper as an Internet page.

Click here to see the whole paper in Microsoft Word Format.

CALL for Oral Skills in English: the development, implementation and operation of the Computer Assisted Voice Mail Oral Practice System (CAVMOPS) at the Open University of Hong Kong

(Paper)

Anita Y.K. Poon, K.C. Tang and Tang, Thomas

School of Education and Languages, The Open University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong

 

To develop essential oral language skills, learners need many opportunities to practise the language in realistic situations. This requires substantial face-to-face contact. Since the Open University of Hong Kong adopts the mode of distance learning, offering English language courses does pose a significant problem.

There has been a growing trend in the application of computer technology to language learning. The computerized voice mail system has become quite popular in the commercial world in recent years. Modifying such a system into a computer assisted voice mail oral practice system (CAVMOPS) is a possible way to resolve the problem posed by learning English through distance education.

The CAVMOPS allows students to dial in, listen for information and record their responses as voice messages. Tutors can dial in, listen to the responses of students, make comments in the format of voice mail, and award marks using telephone keypads. The system is flexible in terms of timing. The students and tutors can choose their own time to access the system.

This paper consists of three parts. It starts with a description of CALL technology and the system design of the CAVMOPS. The second part focuses on the functions of the system. The final part discusses how such a system can enhance the oral skills of learners of English.

Click here to see the whole paper as an Internet page.

Click here to see the whole paper in Microsoft Word Format.

Evaluation of an on-line rater training and monitoring system

(Paper)

Jan Hamilton & Sue Reddel

English Language Centre, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Hong Kong

While conventional assessment rater-training processes involve face-to-face meetings of raters, the logistics of regularly bringing together a large number of raters for training and monitoring is problematic. Developments in IT have now made it possible for rater training information presentation and rater discussion to take place through computer-mediated communication channels rather than in face-to-face settings.

This paper will introduce an on-line system of rater training and monitoring being developed to support the Hong Kong Polytechnic University English Language Centre’s credit-based English for Academic Purposes curriculum. Accessed through the Centre’s computer intranet, this package enables the Centre’s service teachers to:

The researchers investigated the users’ perception of this package firstly in terms of its accessibility (system design, instructions and operation) and secondly its value as a system of rater training and monitoring. Data was collected by questionnaire, interview and think-aloud protocols. The findings from this study will have implications for research into rating training processes, rater behaviour and computer-mediated communication.

Click here to see the whole paper as an Internet page.

Click here to see the whole paper in Microsoft Word Format.

 Lexicon driven learning on the internet: a design strategy for a WWW "virtual language learning classroom"

(Paper)

Greaves, Chris

English Language Centre, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Hong Kong

The Hong Kong ‘Virtual Language Centre’ (VLC) is a dedicated language learning web site which provides a broad range of language learning and teaching materials for self-access study or for teachers to use in their classes. A central feature of the VLC approach has been the development of a customized bilingual lexicon specifically designed to help Chinese students, which at the same time can be fully integrated into the diverse language learning activities on the VLC.

A guiding principle of the VLC methodology is "Lexicon-driven learning" (the integration of vocabulary, lexicon, concordancing and multimedia in a unified way). It results from the convergence of the various traditions in CALL and is the key design feature of the VLC. The VLC web server is designed to be an accessible medium for the integration of various approaches to language learning and aims to bring these disparate traditions to as wide and diverse an audience as possible

This paper describes the "lexicon-driven learning" strategy employed in this approach to WWW language learning with particular reference to the following VLC features:

 

Click here to see the whole paper as an Internet page.

Click here to see the whole paper in Microsoft Word Format.

Encouraging creative writing through Information Technology

(Paper)

Grace Pow

St. Paul’s Convent School

Hong Kong

This paper focuses on how the integration of Information Technology in an English Language project has nurtured students’ creativity in writing and aroused their interest in current affairs. The contents are related to the four aims stated in the Education Blueprint for the 21st Century - creativity, language, enjoyment and commitment.

In the project, students were divided into groups of six or seven. They surfed the World Wide Web (WWW) for articles related to the local education system. After reading, they created a webpage, entitled ‘The cyberclassroom in the 21st Century’, which consists of a weekly diary of a student in 2050. Some sections of the diaries are hyperlinked to other useful educational websites. Follow-up activities for the entire class included writing synopses of recommended websites.

The paper evaluates the ways in which the project provided opportunities for students to initiate new ideas, share opinions and polish their writing skills.

Click here to see the whole paper as an Internet page.

Click here to see the whole paper in Microsoft Word Format.

Using a corpus of student report writing

to help students write a better report

(Paper)

Linda Lin

The English Language Centre, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Hong Kong

This paper describes a project focusing on the use of a corpus of student report writing to improve students’ report writing skills and that will also facilitate teachers’ ESL research. The project uses a corpus of about 100,000 words built up from students’ writing.

The project aims to explore possible ways that a corpus of student report writing can be used in helping students improve their report writing. It intends to do this by presenting the common derivated usage in verb tense and voice, syntactical structure, idiomatic use and vocabulary use - especially that of conjunctions and connectives in the genre of reporting writing so as to raise the awareness of their such use in this genre.

This paper will first of all look into ways of employing the data from the corpus of student writing to help classroom teaching. It then investigates ways of integrating the data into exercises composed for students’ autonomous learning through multi-media. Suggestions on the use of the corpus of student writing for teachers’ research on the principles of ESL teaching and second language acquisition will also presented for consideration and discussion.

Click here to see the whole paper as an Internet page.

Click here to see the whole paper in Microsoft Word Format.

Also on this site: Conference Home Page; Call for Papers; Hotel Accommodation, Conference Schedule.