An Annotated Bibliography

Computer Assisted Language Learning

Wejdan Ibrahim Shahrani

2014

     Long time ago the use of computers in language teaching was not of a big deal. However, computer has become an important tool as language learning assistant. Actually, educators are now aware of the importance of technology in the classroom. But the main question they must ask themselves about is “What type of technology should be used during a lecture?”. Computer Assisted language learning does not only mean, using computers to teach another language. It involves also using the internet web sites. These web sites can provide unlimited data for the students. Recently, these web sites have been developed to be used not only by computers but also by smart phones. And now people call them social networking technology.  The following references are all about the importance of CALL in language teaching.

Bhatti, T, M. (2013). Teaching Reading Through Computer-Assisted Language Learning. Teaching English as a Second or a Foreign Language, 17(2), 1-11. Retrieved from The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language.

           The problem faced in this study is that children do not have a chance to develop their reading skills. So the study was conducted to prove how students can improve their reading skills through computer. The participants were male students in the age of 15 to 17 from the same secondary school in Pakistan. They were observed for a long time will using the computers to practice reading. Finally, the author has concluded that CALL showed positive results in improving the reading skills. He suggested that teachers should prepare themselves for using computers in teaching.

Chamberlin, L., & Lehmann, K. (2011). Twitter in higher education. Cutting-edge Technologies in Higher Education (pp. 375-391).

        This chapter provides information about the possible ways to use and to take advantage of twitter for beginners and educators. This research aims to use twitter effectively in learning for higher education students. As a result, the authors stated that the positive and negative effects of twitter depend on the personal use. This chapter is very important for students, educators, and beginners. For me, I can use it to improve the use of twitter in classrooms with university students. It can also help me to prove that the use of twitter can be positive only if we use it wisely. Also, it points out the difference between the macro and micro use of twitter.

Hamade, S. N. (2013) Perception and use of social networking sites among university students. Library Review, 62(6/7), 388 – 397. DOI 10.1108/LR-12-2012-0131

          This study aims to evaluate the understanding and use of social media applications. It also aims to study the influence of this usage. The participants are Kuwaiti students from different universities. The result of this study showed that Twitter and Facebook were used a lot. It also showed the positive side of using this technology. The author found some possible solutions for the positive and negative impact of social media in higher education. He concluded that students need to be trained on using social media for learning purposes.

Healey, D., & Warschauer, M. (1998). Computers and language learning: an overview. State of the art article, 31,57-71.

     The aim of this article is to provide a general review about the history of CALL. It also discusses the current studies and practices. It stands on the theoretical basis of the importance of using computers in language teaching. The author concluded his research with the assertion of the importance of CALL.

Hubbard, P.(2014).Lecture 1:CA 94305-2150 [Pdf] [Lecture notes]. USA, Stanford: University of Stanford.

     This lecture aims at discussing certain important points in regard to CALL. It provided some information about the theory of CALL. Also, it debated some studies, advantages and disadvantages of this usage. The role of CALL in developing the second language learning and teaching process. Finally, he stated some of his expectations and hopes concerning the status of CALL in the future.

McArthur, J. M., & Bostedo-Conway, K. (2012). Exploring the relationship between student-instructor interaction on Twitter and student perceptions of teacher behaviors. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 24(3), 286-292. Retrieved from http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/

     The aim of this case study is to find whether twitter is a useful instrument for teaching or not. The methodology of this paper is quantitative in which the study focuses on both teachers and students. The findings of this study show a great relation between Student-Instructor Interaction on Twitter and Student Perceptions of Teacher Behaviors. Another thing is that the result shows how fruitful and important twitter can be for teaching.

Mccool, L. B. (2011). The pedagogical use of Twitter in the university classroom (Iowa State University). Available from Graduate Theses and Dissertations. (UMI No. 11947).

     The purpose of this research is to find how twitter can be used in teaching students. The author uses qualitative methods for collecting the data. As a result, twitter has taken a great position in teaching students. The writer concluded that using the social media in the classrooms will improve the educational process.

Veletsianos, G. (2011). Higher education scholars’ participation and practices on Twitter. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 1-14. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2729.2011.00449.x

     The aim of this study is to investigate scholars' activities using twitter in higher education. The collected and analyzed data depend on qualitative methods. The result showed that scholars participate in twitter for many purposes which led to the need for training teachers to use the social media and twitter effectively while teaching their students.

Yakin, I., & Tinmaz, H. (2013). USING TWITTER AS AN INSTRUCTIONAL TOOL: A CASE STUDY IN HIGHER EDUCATION. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, vol. 12 (Iss 4), pp. 209 – 218.

     This case study was conducted in higher education. It aims to investigate the use of twitter as an instructional tool. However, the result showed that through time the students started using it to learn more. They also were able to realize the negative impact of twitter. This case study would be helpful in understanding the advantages of using twitter in the classroom. It also provides tips for using Twitter in an appropriate way.

Jenner, S. (2009). Using Twitter in teaching. Modern English Teacher, 19(3), 39- 42. Retrieved from Modern English Teacher.

    This article presents how twitter has been used in the educational system. It shows different ways for using twitter in teaching English. The findings of this article rely mostly on a study by an MA student who wrote a project depending on his own experience of using twitter as a student.