Coursebook Evaluation and Assesment

Değerli hocam Arda Arıkan'ın "Coursebook Evaluation and Assesment" dersi için yazdığım dönem ödevidir. Onun beğenisi ve takdirini alınca bunu da burda yayınlamak istedim.

Coursebook Evaluation and Assesment

Quick Step 6 New Headway Intermediate

Question 1.

Bu çalışma için M.E.B. yayınlarından “Quick Step 6” ve Oxford University Press’den “New Headway Intermediate” kullanılmıştır.

1. Bu ders kitapları kültürel bilgi ve değerlere kaynaklık etmekte midir?

Dil öğretimi yalnızca hedeflenen dili değil hedeflenen dilin üyesi olduğu kültürü de içermelidir. Buradaki temel amaç bir iletişim aracı olan dilin gerçek yaşamda işlevini gerçekleştirebilmesi için kültürle olan bağlantısını da öğrenciye sunarak bu iletişim aracını soyutlaşmaktan kurtarmakdır. Bu bağlamda Quick Step 6 ve New Headway Intermediate kitapları kültürel bilgi ve değerlere de kaynaklık etme amacındadır. Lakin Quick Step 6 kitabı bu noktada büyük olumsuz ve yetersizlikler içermektedir. Türk Eğitim Sistemi politikası gereği, ki bu politika bu sistemi yöneten bakanlığın isminde geçen “milli” sözcüğüyle kendini göstermektedir, öğrencilere kendi kültür ve medeniyetlerini öğretme çabasındadır. Milli eğitim genel amaçlarının ilk maddesi “Atatürk ilke ve inkılâplarına ve Anayasada ifadesini bulan Atatürk Millîyetçiliğine bağlı; Türk Milletinin millî, ahlâkî, insanî, manevî ve kültürel değerlerini benimseyen, koruyan ve geliştiren; ailesini, vatanını, milletini seven ve daima yüceltmeye çalışan; insan haklarına ve Anayasanın başlangıcındaki temel ilkelere dayanan demokratik, lâik ve sosyal bir hukuk devleti olan Türkiye Cumhuriyeti’ne karşı görev ve sorumluluklarını bilen ve bunları davranış haline getirmiş yurttaşlar olarak yetiştirmek” şeklinde belirlenmiştir. Bu genel amaç özellikle yabancı dil öğretimi için hazırlanmış kitaplarda dengesiz bir kültürel oran ortaya koymaktadır.

Quick Step 6 kitabında ne milli eğitim politikası ne de dil öğretiminin gereklerinden biri olan yabancı kültür eğitimi hedeflerine ulaşmıştır. Dil öğretiminde dahi problemleri olan bu kitap kültür aktarımı konusunda da oldukça yüzeysel ve yetersizdir. New Headway Intermediate kitabı ise İngilizler tarafından hazırlandığı için Amerikan ve İngiliz Kültürlerine dair bilgiler sunmaktadır. Bu kitap genel açıdan kültürel bilgi ve değerlere kaynaklık etmekte, dahası teoride ideolojik eğilimleri sunmaması gerektiği halde bu amaca da üstü örtülü bir şekilde hizmet etmektedir.

2. Sizce ilköğretim düzeyi İngilizce ders kitapları kültürel bilgi ve değerleri aktarması açısından yeterli midir? Neden?

Bu çalışma için kullandığım Quick Step 6 daha öncede belirttiğim gibi bu konuda oldukça yetersizdir. Kitaba kısaca göz atmak bile hedeflenen kültüre dair en ufak bir bilgi bile vermediğini görmemize yetecektir. Bırakın kültüre ait ögeleri öğretilen dilin dünyanın nerelerinde kullanıldığını, önemini belirten veya bu konuları herhangibir şekilde sunan hiçbir okuma parçası, aktivite veya grafik kullanılmamış. Kitaptaki belki de en çok göze çarpan kültürel öge aktivitelerde rol alan karakterlerin İngilizce isimleri. Birkaç sayfada kullanılan yabancı ünlülerin fotoğraflarını da hedef kültüre ait ögelerden sayabiliriz, ki bu şahısların öğrencilerde ne gibi davranış değişikliğine sebep olabileceği ayrı bir konudur. Kültürel bilgi ve değerlerin aktarımındaki bu büyük yetersizliğin sebebi eğitim politikamızın yabancı dil öğretimi alanında bu alanın gereklerine göre değiştirilmemesidir bunun sebebide muhtemelen tamamen yersiz olan kendi kimliği kaybetme korkusudur. Başka bir sebepte bu kitabın ait olduğu serinin güncel olmamasıdır, 90lı yıllarda kendi ortaöğretimim esnasında da hatırladım çizimler ve aktiviteler bu kitapda da karşıma çıktı. Zaten kitabın bir güncelleme komisyonunun elinden çıktığı kitabın künyesinden de anlaşılıyor. Bu komisyonda yer alan kişilerin konuyla alakalı eğitimlerini bilmediğimiz için yorum yapmak belki yanlış olur ancak en azından ana dili İngilizce olan bir eğitmeni bu komisyona dahil etmek yada referans almak her açıdan kitabın kalitesini artıracaktır kanaatindeyim.

3. Sizce yabancı yazarlı İngilizce ders kitapları kültürel bilgi ve değerleri aktarması açısından yeterli midir? Neden?

Quick Step 6’in aksine New Headway Intermediate kitabı öğrenciyi sadece dil öğretimi açısından değil kültürel anlamda da yeterli bilgi sunmaktadır. Elbette yabancı bir kurul tarafından hazırlanan bu kitapta kültürel bilgi ve değerlerin aktarımı konusunda problem çıkmamasını beklemek çok da yersiz değildir. Olayların geçtiği yerler, karakterler, okuma parçaları, konular büyük oranda İngiliz ve Amerikan kültürüne ait ögelerden seçilmiş. Yine de kültürel bilgi ve değerlerin aktarımı büyük ölçüde popüler kültür alanıyla sınırlanmış. Kitapta gerçek anlamda kültürel ögeler ve değerli bilgiler yüzelsel ve kalıplaşmış bilgilere oranla daha az yer almış. Popüler müzik sanatçıları, doğa üstü olaylar, sinema yıldızları gibi daha çekici konular öğrencinin yalnızca dili değil, yaşama bakışını da geliştirecek kültürel birikimi oluşturacak bilgileri bastırmakta. Yine de Quick Step 6 ile kıyaslandığında bu kitabın kültürel bilge ve değerleri aktarma konusundaki başarısı göz ardı edilemez.

4. Ders kitaplarında kültürel bilgi ve değerlerin verilmesinde sorunlu noktalar ve örnekler nelerdir? Kitaptan direk alıntılarla örnekleyiniz.

Kültürel bilgi ve değerlerin aktarımında yetersiz hatta tamamen niteliksiz olan Quick Step 6 kitabında bu amaca hizmet eden bölümler bulmak, bu konuda sorunlu nokta bulmak kadar zor maalesef. Quick Step 6, Sayfa 49 “E. Read and tick the food Sarah buys.”: Bu bölümde Grocer ve Sarah karakterlerinin diyalogu yer almakta. Söz konusu alıştırmanın görsel açıdan ne kadar kötü olduğu bir yana, diyalogda önce İngiltere’de kullanılmayan “kilogram” birimi kullanılıyor, ardından da doğal olarak para birimi “pound” kullanılıyor. Sadece bu örnek bile “Authenticity” açısından diyaloğun ve kitabın ne kadar özensiz hazırlandığını gözler önüne seriyor.

Aynı kitapta sayfa 42’de yer alan “B. Listen and read.” başlığı altındaki diyalog da öğretilmesi hedeflenen dilin kültüründe hoş karşılanmayan bir durumu normalmiş gibi sunuyor. İş görüşmelerinde ailevi veya kişisel bilgilerin sorulması yurtdışında pek hoş ve kabul edilebilir bir davranış sayılmazken bu diyalogda işveren rolündeki Mike, John Scott’ a evli ve çocuk sahibi olup olmadığını sormaktadır. Kültürü, diğer insanların hareket, söz ve düşünme biçimlerinin değerlendirdirildiği, içinde kişinin kendi çıkarımlarının, fikir ve inançlarının bulunduğu bir çerçeve olarak görürsek kültürel bilgi ve değerlerin aktarımının bu aktivitede de hatalı yapıldığını kabul edebiliriz.

Yine aynı kitapta sayfa 74’te bulunan “C. Look at the symbols and talk about the weather conditions.” bölümüne baktığımızda hava durumunu ve sembolleri öğretmekte Türkiye haritasının kullanıldığını görmekteyiz. Kitabın genel anlamda kültürel açıdan yeterli olduğunu kabul edebilseydik belki sadece bu kısımda Türkiye haritasının kullanımı normal karşılanabilirdi. Ancak aynı aktivitede İngiltere, ABD veya İngilizcenin kullanıldığı farklı bir ülkenin haritasının kullanılması öğrenciyi İngilizcenin kullanıldığı topraklar hakkında ufak da olsa bilgilendirebilir ve merak uyandırabilirdi. Şahsi görüşüm harita, grafik, resim vs. gibi görsel materyaller bilgilendirme ve merak uyandırma yanında soyut gibi algılanan bazı bilgilerin somutlaştırılması ve daha kalıcı hale gelmesinde de büyük öneme sahip. Zaten görsellerin dil öğretimi konusundaki önemi aşikar ancak MEB yayıneviden çıkan tüm İngilizce ders kitapları bu konuda da oldukça yetersiz ve düşük bir kaliteye sahip.

New Headway Intermediate kitabı daha öncede belirttiğim gibi kültürel bilgi aktarımı konusunda daha başarılı. Ancak söz konusu kültürü sadece popüler kültür ögeleriyle sınırlamak bana işin kolayına kaçmak ve yüzeyselleştirmek gibi geliyor. Kitap elbette Pablo Picasso ve Ernest Hemingway gibi uluslar arası önem taşıyan kişilerin hayatını anlatmak gibi olumlu örneklere sahip. (Sayfa 26-27) Ancak sayfa 82-83 de yer alan Dennis Woodruff isimli bir insanın hayat hikeyesini anlatan “Famous for not being famous” başlıklı okuma parçası öğrencilere sadece kültürel anlamda değil, örnek alınabilcek bir rol modeli sunmakta da oldukça nteliksiz, başarısızlığıyla övünen ve mutlu olan bu insanın hayat hikayesi belki hayata olumlu bir açıdan bakma açısından incelenebilir ancak öğrencilerin hayatlarına yön verirken insanlardan örnek aldığı çabuk etkilenebilen bir yaş aralığında böyle bir yaşam hikayesini herhangibir eleştiriyle beraber sunmamak olumsuz sonuçlar doğurabilir.

Sayfa 96 da yer alan “A marriage made in hell” başlıklı yazı da öğrenciye eleştiri yapmasını ve doğruyu bulmasını sağlayacak herhangibir aktiviteden yoksun bir şekilde sunulmakta. Bu da zaten mevcut olan “Yurtdışında çöken aile sistemi” önyargımızı destekleyecek şekilde anlaşılabilir, elbette öğretmenin bu noktada devreye girmesi gerekmekte aksi takdirde klişeleşmiş önyargı oluşması ve söz konusu kültürde bu tür olumsuz ilişkilerin normal karşılanması gibi yanlış fikirlerin doğması gayet tabii mümkündür.

Popüler kültürün kullanımı konusu sayfa 87 de “Finding about Madonna” konusunda karşımıza çıkıyor. Böyle bir örnek yerine yine güncel ve başarılı bir kişinin hayatı incelenebilirdi. Zira daha önce de belirttiğim gibi kişilik gelişimin en hassas olduğu çağlarda yoğunlukla kullanılan kitaplarda daha etkileyici ve önemli kişilerin kullanılmasını daha gerekli buluyorum.

5. Sizce bir ders kitabı kültürel bilgi ve değerleri nasıl aktarmalıdır? İdeal bir kitap alıştırmasını göstererek açıklayınız.

Kültürel bilgi ve değerlerin aktarımının dil öğretiminin amacına ulaşmasında ve soyut bir alışkanlıktan somut bir iletişim yeteneğine dönüşmesinde önemi büyüktür. Bu yüzden dil öğretimi ve kültürel bilgi ve değerlerin aktarımı harmanlanmalıdır. Sadece hedef kültürü değil uluslar arası kültürlerde yer vererek öğrencilerin ufku genişletilebilir, MEB Yayınevi kitaplarında olduğu gibi sadece kendi kültürümüzü kullanmak dil öğretminin prensipleriyle çakışmaktadır. Bu yüzden doğru ölçülerde kaynak kültür, hedef kültür ve uluslar arası kültürleri de birleştirerek bir içerik hazırlanabilir. Kültür aktarımında diğer bir konu da popüler kültür ögelerinin kullanılması, elbette bu tür konularda öğrencilerin ilgisini çekebilir ancak bu şekilde bir tek yönlü kültürel aktarım öğrencileri kısıtlayacak, bireysel farklılıklarını ve yeteneklerini keşfetmelerini engelleyecektir. Dahası eğlenceli ve merak uyandırıcı olmak adına doğa üstü olayların konu olarak seçilmesi zaten günlük hayatta yetersiz bir şekilde somutlaştırılabilinen İngilizce bilgisini ve yeteneğini gerçek üstü ve soyut bir dünya ile sunarak dil yeteneğinin kullanımını sınırlandırmakta ve köreltmektedir. Bu tür konuların öğrencinin hayata bakış açısını ve düşünce sistemini de etkileyebileceği gayet açıktır.

Kültürel bilgi ve değerlerin aktarımına olumlu bir örnek için New Headway Intermediate kitabında 34 ve 36. sayfalar arasındaki okuma parçasına bakabiliriz. “Doing the right thing” ünitesine dahil olan bu okuma parçası “A world guide to- Good Manners- How not to behave badly abroad” başlığı altında sunulmuş. Parça tamamen kültür üzerine, ancak kültür konusuna sadece İngiliz ve Amerikan kültürü açısından değil, çeşitli alt başlıklarla Asya ve İslam kültürü, Latin Amerika ülkelerine ait kültürler ve Uzak Doğu kültürü gibi uluslar arası bir yelpazeden bakılmış. Farklı ülkelerde ki insanların farklı olaylara karşı tutum ve davranışları, gelenekleri verilmiş. 36. sayfada parçayla ilgili bir Vocabulary aktivitesi verilmiş. Bu bölümün ardında da bir “Listening and Speaking” aktivitesi kullanılmış, böylece öğrenciye sadece bilgi verilmekle kalınmamış verilen bilgiyi kendi deneyimleri, düşünceleriyle zenginleştirerek fikirlerini paylaşmaları amaçlanmış. Elbette tüm kitabın sadece kültür konusunda bilgi vermesini beklemiyoruz ancak bizim kitaplarımızda da en azından 1 ünite bu konuya ayırılabilirdi.

Question 2.

“Let’s Speak English 7” is used for this study.

- Covering aims and goals as prescribed in the books’ table contents

Let’s Speak English 7’s contents includes unit, lesson, page, title, function and structure headlines. Under these title a brief summary of the book’s content is given. There are some mistakes in “function” column, some of the entries can not be described as a function. For example “Obligation” is not a function, it is title of the grammar point, “Talking about obligations/ obligatory situations” can be a good function. These problem occurs a few more times in other units’ function column. Another problem is about the page numbers, the given page numbers does not fit with contents of the book.

It is not easy to say that the book covers all prescribed goals and aims in the table of contents. For example in the 1st lesson of the Unit 1 claims to have a revision function, which we can not describe it as a function. The lesson covers only 4 pages of this unit, it is really too short to revise the language skills and the knowledge of the students. Moreover on the 1st page the dialog taking place at the lower right corner of the page is totally wrong. The first student asks: “Do you like maths?” and the other answers: “Yes, I have.” I think it is such a shame to be unaware such a mistake for the “Revision and Update Comittee” of the coursebook.

The first lesson of Unit 1 claims to revise: Simple Present Tense, be going to, Present Progressive tense, to be, there is/ are, have/ has got, can, must, What is the time? But when we study this lesson it is easy to see that each of these contents take place only in some short dialogues or activities. The 1st lesson seems as if it is a part of a work book as it does not include sufficient exercise and activities for the revision of the aimed structures. The book does not really cover the aims and goals as prescribed in the table of the contents, it just includes these contents without enough and effective activities, exercises and examples.

- Teaching in context and with sufficient examples

The book rarely present and teach in context. Most of the time the grammatical rules are given by the independent sentences, it is really hard to find a connection to create a context among those sentences. There are some short texts though, but they are really far away from being authentic. For example:

“Some years ago Mehmet used to go to the seaside for his summer holidays. He used to swim in the mornings. In the afternoons, he used to ride his bicycle. At nights, he used to watch TV and go to bed late. Nowadays, he goes walking in the mountains for his summer holidays.”(pg. 59)

This text is used in Unit 5 Lesson 3 aiming to teach talking about past habits and experiences. The text may present a context but it is made up sentences with the same grammatical structure, such reading texts are really bad for students, they do not only create a wrong impression about the usage of the grammatical structures but also decrease the willingless and amusement of reading for students. The given example is very short to be criticised for the latter aspect but I think the text which has literature taste should be used as much as possible as they both supply a authentic material and a enjoyable reading.

-Inductive/ Deductive teaching

It is really hard to decide whether the book use inductive or deductive teaching method as the book presents very small parts for the teaching. The teacher have to do the teaching for almost all of the contents. In some pages of the book the structures and rules are given in charts with formulas. But it is claimed the MEB Coursebooks use inductive teaching in Teacher’s Books of this series. Book gives examples and dialogues first and encourages students to understand the rules by themselves.Then they are given the structures of grammar subjects under the title of “Language Focus” at the end of the each unit. Moreover there are some small boxes titled as “First Aid” presenting the rules with some charts or short sentences near the related activities.

- Communicative grammar teaching

At the 7th page of the Teacher’s Book of the Enjoy English 5 there is an explanation which says the series of MEB English Coursebooks are prepared according to the Communicative Approach. But it is really hard to say that the book serves well for that approach. Most of the activities are “Listen and Repeat, Writing and Reading”. There are speaking activities too but they are generally controlled activities, for example they asks students to talk about a picture or answer a question orally by looking a picture. It is really hard to find activities which enables students to communicate in a native-like situation freely.

In sum, the “Let’s Speak English 7” coursebook is far away to supply the learners and teachers with sufficient learning materials. Most of the prescribed aims and goals are not covered, there are sufficient exercises in number but not in quantity, the sufficiency of examples are not at a desired level. It is really hard for this book to fulfill its aims without extra efforts and the help of the experience of teachers.

Question 3.

“A day in the life of Ali Öztürk” reading passage is used for this study.( Let’s Speak English 8, Unit 5, Lesson 2, Page 58)

-The problems in terms of how the langauage sounds as an authentic material

“A day in the life of Ali Öztürk” can not be described as an authentic reading passege, first of all the passage is about a Turkish tourist guide. The language of the text is very artificial which may disturb the students’ willingless to read text. Not only the language, but also the situation is very artificial and superficial. The dialogues in the text are given as a part of it but it is really confusing and distracting as most parts of this passage are direct quotations. The text has also problems in the aspect of transferring the cultural information and values as the passage only give information about İstanbul we can not say it really teaches learners about the target culture. Moreover the information about İstanbul is quite debatable, for example some places are mentioned with their Turkish names, but some with English names.

- List of Awkward and Illogical Sentence and Phrasal Constuctions

• Mısır Çarşısı: Spice Bazaar can be used instead of this.
• bringing a lot of tourists to İstanbul: organizing tours to İstanbul sounds better in my humble opinion
• First of all, we will see it.: This sentence is used at the very end of the passage which sound quite illogical and confusing.

- The quality of the passage as an instruction material

The passage does not stands for a helpful, correct and meaningful sample of English usage. It seems as a bad translation of a Turkish text. It is totally far away from being an authentic, interesting and enjoyable reading material and does not have a small piece of literary taste.

Question 4.

Table of Topics

Name of the coursebook: New Headway Intermediate Student’s Book

Unit	Topic as advertised by the coursebook writers	Visible Topic in this coursebook	Discrepancies between the two
1.	Wonders of the Modern World	Technologies that changed our life	Although the text is titled as Wonders of the modern world it presents the seven of the most important technology of todays world.
2.	The Clown Doctor	The importance of happiness as a tratment of illness	Text is about the the life of a doctor who work with childrens. It emphasizes the importance of positive feelings.
3.	The painter and the writer	The bioghraphies of Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway	Text simply presents the bioghraphies of Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway and their lifework and masterpieces.
4.	A world guide to good manners	Cultural differences	The text does not only give tips about how to behave abroad but also teaches the differences between the cultures.
5.	My kind of holiday	Which Place to choose for holiday	This passage is narrated by a travel agency owner, she inform us about 3 famous holiday resorts. Text also claims that home can also be a good holiday resort.
6.	Global pizza	History of pizza and some facts about it	Context is the history of the pizza but the reading passage also write about financial facts and story of the pizza’s being a global food.
7.	Dream jobs	Three extreme jobs	The title says dream jobs but text is about three extreme job, text also compare these jobs with so alleged jobs as boring.
8.	Who wants to be a millionare?	Lottery	Although the context is lotteries the text is about the difficulities and differences of the winners of the lotteries. It also mentions about the negativeness of getting rich with lotteries.
9.	Family matters	Generation Gap	The context is about family but it also write about generation gap by giving a father’s and his daughter’s ideas about each other. It has also cultural information and values.
10.	Famous for not being famous	Life style of Hollywood	The context is about an unsuccessful movie star but the passage is about the life of so called stars of the hollywood, and how the desire of being famous effects people.
11.	How well do you know your world	Interesting facts	This reading activity is formed with seven question and answer passages. It does not give any necessary information that may change or improve the learners’ knowledge about the world.
12.	Funeral Blues	Grief by death	The poem does not only expression of grief by the poet but also give the feelings about the death as a cultural value.

Bibliography

Soars, L. & Soars J., (2003). New Headway Intermediate Student’s Book, NY Oxford, Oxford University Press MEB (2006). Quickstep 6 Student’s Book. Ankara: Devlet Kitapları Müdürlüğü. MEB (2004). Let’s Speak English 7 Student’s Book. Ankara: Devlet Kitapları Müdürlüğü. MEB (2006). Let’s Speak English 8 Student’s Book. Ankara: Devlet Kitapları Müdürlüğü. MEB (2005). Enjoy English 5 Teacher’s Book. Ankara: Devlet Kitapları Müdürlüğü.

Using Interactive Computer Software in ELT Classroom

Üniversite 3. sınıfta "Research" dersi için yazdığım ödev. Dr. Frankenstein'ın yarattığı gibi olmasının sebebi dersten mi benim eşekliğimden mi bilmiyorum ama rezalet abidesi şeklinde sergilemek istedim.

Abstract

Although most of people accepts the language teaching software as the only necessity to learn a language well, Stevens (2000) emphasizes the reality about computer assisted language learning by saying: “ Although computers and other electronic technology have often been looked upon as either tools or tutors, they, infact, present enviroment in which learning take place”(p. 25). I strongly agree with the author’s views about this issue as the learning enviroment needs a supervisor, a teacher to be able to give the maximum benefit to the learners. Therefore the role of teacher is as important as the software and the hardware’s.

Using Interactive Computer Software in ELT Classroom

1. Introduction

Educational technologies has developed dramatically after 1950s. One of the most important part of this dramatic development is the result of computer technology which have entered the education in the seconf half of the 20th century. The opportunies and the scale of usage of computers are developing day by day throughout the world. While usage of computers in education was mostly based on hardware in 1960s, today, with the helps of programming studies, learners and teachers have more opportunity of choosing the appropriate software for their aims in education.

The usage of computers in language teaching creates great benefits both for teachers and learners. Especially in 1980s microcomputers were started to be used in support of foreign language teaching. Desktop computers are now able to play natural human speech together with full-screen interactive video, which was impossible just a few years ago. Users can now communicate and interact with one another in real-time. Such virtual chats provide great opportunities for authentic language use among learners. The sudden increase of the numbers of CD-ROMs offering language instruction is not a surprise either.

Although computer assisted langugae learning is accepted as a supportive technique, considering its benefits on slow learners, handicapped students and gifted students, CALL should be used more widely in language teaching facilities.

To gain the maximum benefit from computer assisted language learning, Ministry of education should not only be considered with foundation and financial issues, but also with the proper and necessary training of teachers about computer and software technology.

2. Description of CALL

The abbreviation CALL stands for Computer Assisted Language Learning. It is a term used by teachers and students to describe the use of computers as part of a language course. (Hardisty & Windeatt: 1989). This learning includes presenting, reinforcing and testing of particular language items. In most of CALL software, the rule presented first, with some examples, then the learner answers the questions which test his knowledge of the given rule. During this process computer gives appropriate feedback to learner and records his performance so that the teacher could inspect them later in evaluation step.

Although most of people believes that language learning software is the only necessity to learn a language well, Stevens (2000) emphasizes the reality about computer assisted language learning by saying: “ Although computers and other electronic technology have often been looked upon as either tools or tutors, they, infact, present enviroment in which learning take place”(p. 25). I strongly agree with the author’s views about this issue as the learning enviroment needs a supervisor, a teacher to be able to give the maximum benefit to the learners. Therefore the role of teacher should not be underestimated.

2.1. Description of Software

Computer software, or simply software, is essentially a computer program encoded in such a fashion that the program, the instruction set, contents can be changed with minimal effort. Computer software can have various functions such as controlling hardware, performing computations, communication with other software, human interaction, etc; all of which are prescribed in the program.

Computer software used in language teaching and learning process can be classified under the title of human interaction software. As the computer technology develops day by day, more well-organised, accurate and user-friendly software are presented to the market continuously. This situation rises the question of how to choose the appropriate software considering the social background, level of proficiency, age and the purpose of the learner. Although most of the language learning software’s title gives clues about the features of it, a deeper research should be done before purchasing the software.

2.2. Description of Hardware

Computer is a device that processes information. The computer and its components are known as hardware. In other words, hardware is equipment involved in the function of a computer.. Computer hardware, unlike the software, consists of the components that can be physically handled. Computers process the information with high speed and accuracy by using the hardware and software simultaneously.

3. Advantages of the Usage of the Interactive Software in Language Learning

The history of CALL suggests that the computer can serve a variety of uses for language teaching. It can be a tutor which offers language drills or skill practice; a stimulus for discussion and interaction; or a tool for writing and research. With the help of the Internet, it can also be a medium of global communication and a source of limitless authentic materials. Blomeyer (1991) describes the CALL as “a powerful educational innovation that has great potential for the improvement of teaching and learning”(p. 115).

Main advantages of interactive software in language teaching can observed in different sections of learning process in different levels of the learners. For example, especially younger learners would benefit from acquiring fast concentration on subject, as the software designed for children present very enjoyable an colorful enviroment. Adult learners would be able to control their own learning process with the limitless repetition of the target issues and practices. For teachers who use these software in classroom, evaluation and supervising the learning would be easy and more accurate as the software stores the records of the learners. This will help the teachers leading the learners towards the key points of the learning process and revising the performance of them.

One of the most important advantages of the growth of interactive language teaching software is language teachers no longer feel bound to grammar practice as the main goal of computer use in the language classroom. The movement towards communicative teaching with computers is clearly expanding. The vocabulary software has started to be contextualized and to incorporate graphics, audio recording and playback, and video. More sophisticated error-checking can provide students real help in the feedback they receive, directing them to further practice or moving them to the next stage. Those who need extra help with those aspects of language that improve with practice can use small, focused programs to give them additional time and assistance outside the regular class time. The writing process is another area where computers have added a great deal of value. Some programs help students in the pre-writing stage to generate and outline ideas. Most word-processors now come with spelling checkers, giving weak spellers some help in finding their errors and recognizing the correct spelling from a list of options.

Further most pronunciation programs now incorporate some sort of voice recording and playback to let students compare their recording with a model. Most computer programs stimulate some discussion among group of learners even if oral practice is not the main purpose of the activity. Most drills now include games, as well, using the power of the computer and competition for collaboration toward a goal, the fun factor, to motivate language learning. These programs provide a varying amount of instruction along with the games. The other advantages of interactive language teaching software are:

Multimodal practice, that adresses all main language skills, with feedback,

Pair or small group work on projects,

The fun factor,

Learning the skill of computer using which is essential in today’s world,

The computer gives individual attention to the learner and replies to him. Traditionally it acts

as a tutor, assessing the learner's reply, recording it, pointing out mistakes, giving

explanations;

They guides the learner towards the correct answer;

They offers interactive learning; it can assess the learner's response;

They can repeat an activity without any limits and errors;

They can accommodate different speeds of learning; limits can be imposed on the time

available for answering questions (for testing purposes). Moreover it can be used on slow learners, handicapped students and gifted students.

3.1. Experiencing the Real Life Language with Interactive Software

Being able to experience the real life language is one of the most significant advanteges of intearctive computer softwares. Especially in Europe, the trouble and complaints of students who have discomfort in communicating with native English speakers result in the birth of Real English approach. Marzio (2000) explains his efforts to utilize software for teach real English as:

Our objective was to bring authentic oral material for beginners to the classroom. But authentic listening materials, such as news broadcasts, or movies, are usually much too difficult for beginning and intermediate students. ...As a result of these factors, the teachers became producers. They wanted real English, the kind their own students heard in the streets when they went abroad, and the teachers knew that they themselves were often not the best source of this type of English. (pp. 68-69)

Later on, Marzio developed the Real English Interactive CD. Basically it is a collection of video and CD-ROM collection. Videotapes that consist interviews with native speakers are produced first. Then they are transformed to CD-ROMs as an extension, but this time interviews were combined with a software that enables the learners to interact with the videos.

Usage of software to expose the real life language has four important advantages. The first feature is its spontaneity, which involves and, consequently, motivates the students. Learners feel an emotional bond with the world whose language they are learning. Secondly, interactive software ensures comprehension of what initially seems very difficult to the beginner. Tha ability to repeat the exercises, listen to the dialogs again and again, work in his own pace supports the comprehension. The other distinguishing feature of software is the plesaure and fun that learners experience during the learning progress. Another advantage of these software is the concept of presenting multimedia. Unlike the videotapes or cassettes, interactive software present totally adjustable audio, image and text.

3.2 A Useful Tool to Teach Vocabulary

James Coady (1997) offers a synthesis of research on second language vocabulary acquisition. He suggests these implications for education:

Three main principles appear to underlie effective vocabulary teaching. First, learners should be provided with both definitional and contextual information about words.. Second, learners should be encouraged to process information about words at a deeper level. Finally, learners need multiple exposures to words. ... Extensive reading is the most often cited remedy for this lack. (pp 68-71)

Although coursebooks for English lessons present all these main principles, computer software can be more effective while teaching vocabulary. The vocabulary teaching software varies for the level and age of the learners.

3.3 A Useful Tool to Teach English Language for Young Learners

Most of the young learners share some features that distinguish them from adult learners. They are energetic, curious, passionate about learning, they do like colorful pictures, songs, activities that they can express their creativity, and especially games. Most of these distinctive features can be used as language learning motivator with the help of the software. Language teaching software technology never hesitates to present products targetting the young learners, these software often includes colorful multimedia. Based on his research, Wood (2001) believes that the software that will be used with young learners should have :

Animations, attempting to captivate children Video Clips of Related Information. offer vivid demonstrations aimed at helping children grasp sophisticated concepts. Video clips are typically accompanied by voice-over text that elaborates a relevant theme Sound Components. used for educational purposes; a click of the mouse causes a word to be pronounced, a narrator to read aloud, or a character to provide a narrative thread to help the learner contextualize the passages. Hyperlinks to Related Information. The most important, innovative feature of the software in this study consists of hyperlinks, a radical departure from linear text. Through hyperlinks, users are encouraged to access a wealth of related information, often in the form of icons labeled, for example, "click here to find out more." Ability to Create One's Own Pathway Through Information. It is often through the use of hyperlinks (above) that students have opportunities to pursue their own interests via software. The Ability to Pause, Repeat Information, or Replay Video Clips. Such features have great potential for teaching new words to children who benefit from several repetitions using a variety of modalities. Hints or Clues Related to Word Meaning.. They can point children in the right direction and help them interpret information once they get there. Multimodal Presentation of Information. Mulitimodal features not only help keep children actively engaged in their own learning, but also accommodate a range of learning styles by offering several entry points: When children can see new words in context, hear them pronounced, type them into a journal, and cut and paste an accompanying illustration (or create their own), the potential for learning can be dramatically increased.(P. 11-12)

4. Limitations of the Usage of the Interactive Software

Although computers in language classes have a role,gaining importance day by day, especially in language learning process, there are disadvantages. As I stated before Computers are not very good at teaching themselves, they just create an learning enviroment that learner can take place, the software does not run the lesson for the teacher. The teacher should adapt, improve and compensate for shortcomings in the software. It can take longer to learn a piece of CALL software than handle a textbook.The teacher must feel comfortable in the computer lab and with the medium in order to be able to use it effectively. In addition, it is important to use the appropriate program for the students' level.

Besides the financial problems to build a computer lab, the requried level of knowledge for computer using can create a problem for both teachers and students. Learners who have never used a computer before would have some difficulities while using the keyboard and mouse. Moreover every software has a different control system, that will take time even for the students who have acquired a certain level of computer using knowledge.

In the same way hardware requirements of the softwares can arise troubles. Mechanical failures, power cut and user errors are some of the most common problems. These situation may even result in serious damage of the hardware and loss of important information stored on the computers. Moreover increasing system requirements can obstruct the usage of the software in some cases.

As a result despite all of their advantages, lack of knowledge and financial support may decrease the effectiveness of the intearctive language teaching software. Therefore the usage and establishing the appropriate conditions for the software should be carefully planned.

4.1 Not having Enough Foundation For Equipment

Having enough foundation for equipping the classroom for interactive software and computer usage is one of the biggest problem that teachers and school management face especially in developing countries like Turkey.

In Turkey, public schools get most of their financial support from the Ministry of Education. A small amount of the support are provided by donations and Parents Associations. Although Ministry of Education shares more foundation for computerizing the classrooms there are still a large gap to reach the target. Moreover most the existent computer labs in schools needs to be modernized as the computer technology develops rapidly, new software needs new hardware specifications.

In order to overcome these financial issues, some of the broadcasting companies organise national donation campaigns that claim to computerize schools. With the knowledge and increasing interest about the benefits of the computer usage in school, it seems that these kind of activities will increase in quantity and quality.

4.2 Difficulities of Choosing the Appropriate Software

As the computer technology develops, new language education software are take place in the market. Supply and demand relation always encourage the software companies to produce new computer programs or expand the existent softwares. As a result of these efforts the quantity of the language software increase on the other hand small software companies who want gain profit by this situation throw some poor quality products on the market, too.

Education software can be divided under three titles as Koşar (2002) point out as:

Repetition and Exercise Software: These programs enable learners to repeat the studied lessons and do exercises about them. Self-Study Software: These software provide the students with all of the required information and learning activities about the target subject. Simulation Software: These software offers real life-like situations to the learner and expect them to react according to these situations. (p. 130)

To mention about language learning software, we can study all of these types in different software packages. For example, forementioned Real English Interactive CD (Marzio, 2000) can be a combination of all these three types of software. It includes real interviews with native speakers which is a simulation of real life, it enables learners to study and repeat these interviews which is a feature of the repetition and exercise software and finally it presents the chance of the follow the learning process with the learner’s own pace, similar to self-study software.

Considering all these features, the question arises: “How we should choose the software?” The answer of this question demands a deep research on the software and the learners. The age, proficiency level, aim, cultural background and skills of the learners is very important to determine which software to choose. Moreover the features of the software is important, the claimed abilities of the software should be fully studied before using it. For public schools, the concurecce and accord between the curriculum and the software is very important as Koşar(2000) highlights.

5. Types and Reviews of Interactive Software

Considering the importance of software usage, it is time to question which software is the most appropriate for the specific aims. The software market presents a large variety of products from accent training to Business English. At the same time games, especially in some genres, provide a good opportunity for learning and teaching English especially in some genres. The choice of the appropriate software among these variety requires a deep research and experince about the software technology.

5.1 Examples of Appropriate Language Learning Software

Appropriateness of the language learning software differs according to the age of the learners, level of the language and the main focus on the language. As a useful software for both teachers and learners, “Student Assistant” presented by Bagettaware. Based on my observations of the demo version of this software, I can say it is one of the most succesfull software providing multiple usage. As stated his the website Bagetta (2005), this software enables students and teachers find the errors in writing exercises, moreover same software can also be used as a tool to examine the skills and abilities of students about comprehensing and correcting the writing mistakes. Bagetta expresses the aim of the software as follows: “Student Assistant is not going to do the work for the students, but it will give them a fighting chance to improve their writing, if they are really sincere.” Considering the features of the software the producer’s claims are convincing.

As another appropriate software for a different brunch of teaching English, American Accent Training by Ann Cook can be used to improve pronunciation skills for advanced students. According to the Beare (2004) English learning software reviews, American Accent Training provides a self study course that is claimed to improve any advanced level student's pronunciation. This course includes a course book and five CDs. The book includes all the exercises, quiz material and reference material that are found on the audio CDs. In this way, learners follow their course by reading, listening and repeating materials that are oral in nature. This software develops in sections, to mention about them roughly; “Introduction to American Intonation” section helps the learner become aware of the music of English as it is spoken in America. Students learn about intonation in this section. Second section is “Refining your pronunciation” presenting the specific pronunciation problems including various vowel and consonant sounds. Finally “Periodic diagnostic analysis and continuing review” comes after each unit. The interactive exercise and practice sections in this software helps learners to internalize the aimed skills easily. For these features American Accent Training software can be classified as a complex one. Therefore learners should also be advanced level readers to be able to truly take advantage of all this package has to offer.

5.2 Examples of Useful Computer Games

Computer assisted games can be used as an effective technique in language teaching classrooms. Vocabulary teaching and engaging the students with real life language can be easily acquired with appropriate gaming software.Based on her research Wood, J. (2001, January) believes that especially young learners benefit from computer based games in vocabulary learning, despite some weakness and negative aspects of these gaming software the ability of them to gather the interest of the young learners to the subject should not be underestimated. Although computer games are considered as way of time-wasting entertaintment, certain types of computer games provides good oppurtunity to learn and teach langugae. While earlier computer games were directed to the youngs, in recent years game industry are producing games for adults increasingly. Therefore the chance of engaging games in langugae teaching increased.

Most of the useful games for teaching English are gathered under the genres of “adventure” and “role playing” games. These genres provides a variety of games for every age. For youngers, “Monkey Island” series can be very enjoyable, as it presents a very colorful, vivid enviroment with animations and sounds. As an adventure game, Monkey Island engage students with language intensively, understanding and using language is the primary requirement to solve the puzzles and complete the adventure. “Nibiru” is another adventure game, which is more appropriate for adult learners, as it presents a complex scenario with some graphic scenes. In this game, gamer controls a journalist who is trying to solve a secret about an ancient civilazition, the events take place in Prague, the interaction with local people provides a good chance to observe the difference of the accents. As in the most of the adventure game the conversations are supported with subtitles which is an optional feature. Despite the linear scenario type of adventure games, role playing games provide more independent activity. “Fallout” is one the most popular role playing games, the events take place in a post-nuclear war era, after the gamer creates his own character he starts to complete the quests that he takes from the other characters in game. Although it has well designed animations this games can be defined as a text based role playing game, the events and situations are not only seen by the gamer but also read from the descriptions which gives a more accurate definition. I think engaging these kind of games in language teaching as a classroom activity can increase the motivation, as young learners are more enthusiastic about talking and sharing their experinces and feelings about virtual world that they feel more secure.

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