2

Use of Technology in Developing Communication Skills

“Technology can not be a goal in itself. However, a holistic integration of technology in teaching is the need of the hour.”

–Mini Joseph

2.1 Introduction

Nothing succeeds like success. This phrase goes well with technology, which has surpassed everything in its progress and the success rate is almost 100%. Out of the various available technologies, communication technology is progressing at the fastest rate and computer is playing a leading role in this advancement. Technological advancement not only makes the communication easier but also has a major share in the communication flow. Media of communication have been changing with the passage of time. Drums, pigeons and horse messengers were some of the early media of communication. With the advancement of technology, more complex media such as radio, telegram, telegraph, wireless, and telephone, have been beautifully realized. Today, mobile phones and Internet have become the most widely used media for both the oral and written exchange of messages. Communication technology is continuously upgraded from slow to fast and simple to complex. The science fiction of yesteryears is becoming a reality today. Teleconferencing, video conferencing, audio-visual aids, television, voice mails, audio tapes, compact discs (CDs), digital video discs (DVDs), pen drives and various types of software have brought a revolution in the field of communication.

It is an undebatable fact that if you want to be professionally successful, you will have to be highly proficient in communication skills. There is always a need not only to learn these skills but also to upgrade them from time to time, depending upon the latest situations that you may come across in the course of your career advancement. Sophistication in computer technology has made it available as a necessary tool for learning and developing the skills of oral and written interactions, commonly referred to as ‘Computer Assisted Language Learning’ (‘CALL’). This new learning of language, especially for the non-native learners of English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) is fast gaining acceptance globally and the results are quite encouraging. Teaching technology has offered students those opportunities which no one had imagined before. Consequently, it has also brought marked changes in curriculum as well as in teaching techniques. The best part is that the current technological tools to develop such skills are learner centric, rather than teacher centric. So, as a student of communication skills in English, one must have the knowledge of the technology being used and should make an active use of it as a tool in learning interactive skills.

2.2 Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL)

For many years, foreign-language teachers have used computer to provide supplemental exercises. CALL used to focus on vocabulary or discrete grammar points was more or less restricted to the basic drill-and-practice software programmes. In recent years, advancements in computer technology have motivated software developers as well as teachers to reassess the use of computer and consider it as an essential part of daily foreign-language learning. Innovative and interactive software programmes, authoring capabilities, CD technology and elaborate computer network are providing teachers with new methods of incorporating vocabulary, grammar, interactive sessions on real-life situations and writing into it. At the same time students gain access to audio, visual and textual information about the culture and language of non-native and native speakers. Simultaneously, they get necessary information and tips on developing the various skills of communication. For example, there are programmes, which are simulations that provide country-specific situations in a task-based format. Many other software programmes provide an entertaining environment for the students to learn the target language through problem solving and other entertaining tasks. There are writing assistants that aid students in writing compositions in English language by providing help in grammar, style, and verb conjugation and their usage.

CD technology (CDs and DVDs) has many uses in teaching foreign language. It includes information retrieval, interactive audio, video and other multimedia programmes. The CD allows us to store a huge amount of information on one disc along with the facility of quick access to the same. Publishers have put complete encyclopaedias, which could fill more than a dozen floppy discs, on one CD. Students and teachers can use the information quickly and efficiently in and out of the classroom. In recent years, many effective foreign language computer programmes for learning communication skills have been loaded on CDs.

Once you have chosen a wide range of tools, available for language learning in CALL, a right kind of technological environment, that can support you in various aspects of language learning, is required. Here, two options are available for you. You can either go for (i) self-learning or (ii) integrated group learning.

2.2.1 Self-learning Through the Use of Technology

The basic hardware requirement for this type of learning is a multimedia computer, a good-quality web camera, a headphone and the study material in the form of software of an interactive language-learning programme or similar type of programmes on CDs. While selecting the software, one should keep the following points in mind:

1. Competency level of your interactive skills in English.
2. It should be interactive, activity based and should particularly cover the development of all the required skills—namely listening, thinking, speaking, vocabulary, grammar, reading, writing and body language. (These skills have been dealt in detail in Unit 1, “Effective Communication”.)
3. It should be a reputed product.

The equipment should be set up in a quiet place, which has no echo. Now start using the programme and proceed systematically following the instructions given therein. Good interactive programmes have the facility of feedback, which you can use for self-judgement. The feedback of one’s own performance is an essential part of self-learning as it indicates how fast or slow one has to proceed, which items need more practice and so on. Self-learning with technology has its advantages as well as limitations.

Advantages

Some of the advantages are listed below:

• Good for beginners as it provides privacy of learning; hence, ideal for removing hesitation and building the initial confidence.
• Useful for people who have time constraints.
• Helpful for developing listening skills and viewing material to enrich basic vocabulary and grammar.
• Provides perfect environment for self-analysis by recording one’s own voice and viewing body language using the webcam and monitoring it from time to time.

Limitations

Some of the limitations are listed below:

• Does not provide opportunity for real-life interactions with individuals, and does not provide environment required to gain confidence and fluency.
• The software is your instructor, which lacks the natural versatility and originality of a teacher. Human understanding and empathy is missing and there is no room for teacher’s guidance and doubt-clearing sessions.
• The software programmes may not be learner specific.
• Regular sessions may lead to too much dependence upon technology.
• For a computer-savvy learner, technology may become the aim.
• Technology (hardware and software) may not be easily affordable.

2.2.2 Integrated Group Learning Using a Multimedia Language Laboratory

State-of-the-art language teaching involves teaching syntax and grammar, phonetics and communication skills besides vocabulary enhancement. The task before the teacher is to motivate the student to speak and to improve his/her oral/aural abilities. The student also needs facility to assess his/her own performance. Multimedia language laboratory is an invaluable tool in this process.

There may be different versions of language laboratories that cater to the various requirements of the learners; the one that is currently gaining acceptance is a fully computerized, software-based and interactive laboratory for gaining competency in a targeted language area. A language laboratory consists of:

1. A teacher’s workstation facing the students, fitted with a computer, a headphone, a console and an auxiliary station for audio and video input.
2. Student terminals (number of terminals may depend upon the capacity of the laboratory software), each fitted with a computer, headphone and a volume control. All the terminals are duly numbered.
3. Video projection for common viewing.

Computers of the student terminals are linked together through local area network (LAN). They offer teachers a novel approach for creating new activities for students to provide them with more time and new experience in the targeted language. Certain LAN set-ups allow students and teachers to correspond with one another via computer or to conduct collaborative writing activities. Exercises on such a system enable students and teachers to communicate back and forth. Students may also be engaged in co-operative writing exercises, conversations and problem-solving exercises. Teachers can observe students’ activities and progress and provide feedback to individual learners from the teacher’s station.

The first requirement of using such a laboratory is that the learner should be able to work on a computer and should understand the working of such a laboratory. A language laboratory of this type normally has the following features:

1. The Interactive Nature:    The laboratory is fully interactive with teacher to learner, learner to teacher and learner-to-learner interactions.

2. Audio Link:    Oral communication in the first two types is made possible through audio hardware links via headphones, while the to and fro link between learners is established by going into grouping option. Teachers can address all the learners at a time or to a specific learner. A learner can individually communicate with the teacher to ask a question or clarify a doubt.

3. Text Messaging:    Text messages can be transferred back and forth at all the three levels of interactions. Learners can take on-line objective type and short-answer type tests prepared by the teacher for testing specific deficient areas. They can also exchange messages and can use them creatively to supplement oral interactive activities.

4. Audio Broadcast:    Audio files (recorded lessons through teacher’s authoring and other audio software programmes and CDs) can be transferred to student terminals for on-line listening. The broadcast audio lessons are used by the learners to develop and improve listening exercises. Some laboratories even give the option of transcribing the audio material to cross check the effectiveness of their listening.

5. Video Transfer:    Watching videos is highly fruitful for the appropriate use of body language as well as for enhancing oral skills. The laboratory software provides you with the option of transferring video CDs and DVDs and videos of a software study material to the monitors of the individual learner or to the common viewing facility through LCD projection. The learners can watch videos with original audio of animations, role-plays, group interactions, interviews, film clippings, speeches and presentations. Apart from using videos from language teaching software and CDs, self-made video shoots will be a rich source of learning and feedback. This will help learners develop and improve their understanding of pronunciations, stress, rhythm, intonation expression and culture. Here, it will be advisable to include videos of both the native and non-native speakers. The teacher’s voice, if required, can also be inserted for further explanations.

6. Speech Recognition:    Many language laboratories provide the option of speech recognition with in-built pronunciation of some words and a facility to compare the user’s voice with the model. Here, the teacher should choose a pronunciation programme using the RP as it has gained a global acceptance. However, to be more user specific, teacher-authored programmes would be more suitable. Recorded files containing correct pronunciation of commonly mispronounced words and sentences, etc., get registered on the teacher’s track and thereby transferred to the student terminals. This software has a program disc and various language discs that contain the digitized speech. With such programs, students are able to listen to the pronunciation of a phrase, a word, or even a syllable or a sound and then record their own voice on the student track, following the example. Thereafter, they can listen to the original recording, as well as their own, and compare the two for self-assessment and self-analysis. The learners can record their own voices again and compare the two until they feel their pronunciation has improved or it is correct. In addition to aural comparison, students can compare the two digitalized tracks plotted in waveform and, in this way, can pinpoint their variations to the level of syllable and even to the individual sound. Learners can also use this option for self-study under the effective guidance of the teacher.

7. Group Formation:    One essential feature is the formation of multiple groups to carry out paired conversations using role-plays and group discussions. The software allows the teacher to participate in group activity and record them for feedback and self-evaluation. Group discussion is an essential criterion for selection in jobs, while a role-play develops face-to-face conversational skills, confidence and fluency. In a language laboratory, ideally speaking, each student terminal should be provided with partitions on the left and the right of the terminal to ensure privacy of learning. In a group activity, learners can discuss a subject without being exposed to their partners. This reduces their inhibitions to speaking. In a paired conversation, a learner can overcome the fear of being spotted. Once the required confidence has been gained, group interactions should be carried out separately.

8. Screen Transfer:    Language laboratories give the option of transferring the teacher’s monitor screen to that of the student’s and vice versa. This facilitates the teacher to display different types of text information, pictures and videos on student’s monitors. Power point presentations on topics can be shown directly on student terminals. Learners can be taught to create power point slides with live demos. A teacher can view their monitor screens for effective monitoring of the class.

2.3 Effectiveness of CALL for Developing English Language Skills

We have seen the various technical options available in a multimedia language laboratory and the activities which can be performed using these options. In fact, such a type of laboratory is an ideal proposition for learning English language skills, oral as well as written, and can be a great supplement to classroom teaching.

Listening exercises carried out in a language laboratory have been found to be highly fruitful. The learners, according to their requirement, are exposed to intensive listening of English sounds, recorded texts, speeches, discussions, stories, reviews and role-plays. Prior to this, a few minutes can be assigned to the aural recognition of vocabulary used and clarification of the other aspects of the listening material. Specific stress should be laid on the development of aural and oral skills. Teaching of phonetic symbols can come at a later stage. Development of listening skills demands training of the ear by an exposure to a wide variety of native and non-native speakers, discussing familiar topics and using normal conversational deliveries. Learners are able to listen to the finer variations of pronunciations and intonation with superior quality of digitalized sound. Listening strengthens the subconscious grasping of the nuances of the language and helps overcome the mother tongue and regional language barrier.

During laboratory sessions, the main concentration is on learner-to-learner interaction by involving them in various activities. In a free conversation or a situational role-play, students should be able to respond intelligently to what someone else has said. To make learning faster and more effective, audiovisual effect can be brought in by making students listen and watch simultaneously. Advance learners may listen and watch CDs of job interviews, interviews of politicians and celebrities, group discussions on various topics. As learners need to use language more independently, activities such as face-to-face interactions, role-plays, mock interviews, group discussions and presentations should be performed and demonstrated more and more in the laboratory. Pictures of people interacting in various situations may be displayed and students may be asked to comment, discuss and converse on them. As the learner’s confidence increases, a teacher can introduce more activities such as problem solving, brainstorming sessions, film reviews, debates, open house and mock press conferences. Availability of a language laboratory makes the speaking activities highly effective and productive as all the interactive sessions can be recorded, played and replayed to the students for assessment and error corrections.

Loud reading practice is a tested tool for bringing clarity and fluency in speaking. Reading activities can be recorded in a language laboratory for self-analysis and monitoring the speed of speaking, which should be around 150–160 words per minute. The exercises on grammar items, dealt within classes, may be carried out skilfully in the laboratory relieving the students from the monotony of the classroom teaching. Writing skills should also be made an important part of the laboratory activity. Learners may be asked to write passages on eye-catching visual clues, pictures and video clippings transferred or shown to them on their monitor screens. They may also be given the task of writing words, which are relevant to the given clues. This activity will assist them in vocabulary building. In this way, a multimedia technology of a language laboratory can be proved to be an excellent additional tool for strengthening, not only the listening and the speaking skills, but also the skills of word building, grammar, reading and writing. Above all, the language laboratory sessions remove the tedium of a traditional language learning class.

2.4 Use of Internet

With the focus on language, communication and culture, English language teachers are continually searching for better ways of accessing authentic materials that will improve their students’ knowledge and skills in the targeted areas. As the technology of Internet has transformed communication around the world, it is natural that it should play a major role in a multimedia language laboratory for developing English language skills. E-mail, is the most commonly used Internet application today. English language teachers can integrate e-mail-based activities into their curriculum. The search engines such as Goggle and Yahoo take you to sites that enable you to correspond with native speakers of the English language. The infrastructure requirements for e-mail are minimal, making it the most available of all Internet tools. Today’s e-mail software can handle text in a wide variety of languages, and can include word-processed files as attachments. The software also allows us to send sound and images as attachments that enhance the context of the written communication. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is doing an excellent job in providing regular on-line lessons on English language learning. Technology has advanced to such an extent that there are sites, which provide you on-line language laboratories giving you listening and speaking practice with recording facility for feedback. A web camera can be a very important tool for on-line video conferencing, which can be used to interact with native and non-native speakers. One such application is Internet Relay Chat (IRC), which enables synchronous “conversation” among participants in different parts of the world.

Technology is growing very fast and we will have newer and newer techniques each day for improving communication skills. However, it cannot be a substitute to the classical method of language teaching. It supplements the basic training system. The teacher is very much on the scene and has a big responsibility. At the same time the teacher has to make learners understand that their aim is not mastering technology but language itself. It is he/she who identifies the weaknesses of the learners, provides them with the correct guidance, motivates them, inculcates confidence in them and makes language-learning experience a real joy.

Task

Answer the following questions:

1. What is CALL? How can it be effectively used to develop communication skills?
2. How can a multimedia language laboratory be beneficial to language learning?
3. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of technology aided self-learning and integrated group learning.

Write short notes on the following:

1. Use of Internet in language learning
2. Technology as a teacher
3. Technology is a good servant but a bad master