Faculty in Shenandoah University's intensive English program, and faculty and graduate students in the university's graduate level TESOL programs, continually try to adapt technology and pedagogy in ways appropriate to two balanced goals: increasing languagecompetence and cultural understanding in the most effective and efficient manner possible by encouraging language acquisition before learning.
Computer aided instruction is one way of accomplishing our goals, and recent efforts to introduce students to cyberspace have been exciting for students and faculty. But equipment, activities, and even methodology are only tools. Without a clear purpose, and effectively integrated organizational structure for accomplishing that purpose, the use of those tools will be less effective and less satisfying. Our English as a Second Language program, while relatively young as an intensive program, has grown since August, 1993, from 20 studentsto 80, and 8 teachers instead of 1. During the same period, the program has accelerated student progress through all levels of the program, and made better writers of all "graduating" students. Increased enrollment has resulted from an aggressive recruiting program. Increased effectiveness and efficiency are the result of using The Focal Skills Approach, an innovative and still relatively unheralded approach to language teaching. Focal Skills is currently used by several intensive English programs in the United States and Japan [1] to promote acquisition of real language proficiency more efficiently than in grammar-syllabus programs we've examined. Even compared with the national average TOEFL score gains of students inintensive English programs, Focal Skills students make better than average progress: 50 points per semester instead of 35 [2].
Focal Skills organization, curriculum, and methodologies were developed in agreement with results of studies in cognitive science and language acquisition by Asher, Krashen, Terrell, and others [4]. First piloted in a summer program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, students are placed in one of four modules (Listening, Reading, Writing, Immersion). There they focus on meaning rather than language, communication rather than rules. In Listening and Reading, students receive copious amounts of comprehensible input, with no pressure to produce language before they are comfortable doing so.
Classroom and extracurricular activities are designed and coordinated by instructors to encourage every student's interest and participation without calling attention to (or even having) a grammar point. The focus on meaning rather than language for three hours daily helps students acquire language naturally while they are involved in doingsomething interesting [5]. The focus on communication rather than rules helps students relax and acquire competence in the focal skill without even being aware of what is happening linguistically. Every four weeks students take a standardized placement test that allows the program administrator to know when students will profit more from more time in the same module or by moving to a different one [6]. While students in Listening and Reading are allowed to be silent or speak when they feel ready, they are encouraged to speak only when speech errupts rather than planning and struggling to speak.
By the time students reach the writing module, they are naturally speaking more without being forced to concentrate on production before they are ready. For the first time, they also begin producing written communications. Each day students read and discuss topics that interest them (often chosen entirely by themselves). From the continued comprehensible input they naturally develop the desire to express themselves in writing as well as speaking.
After students are able to demonstrate at least intermediate level competence in listening, reading, and writing, they progress to the fourth module, Immersion, where they integrate all four language skills in more academically and professionally oriented activities designed to develop advanced language skills needed in post secondary studies or professional success in an English language environment. Unlike earlier modules, where established criteria on the placement test determine progress from one level to another, the criteria for "graduation" from Immersion are often set externally, eg, for admission to a college or university, meeting a required level on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Generally, students enter Immersion with a TOEFL score of about 500.
English as a second language students develop their writing skills using Macintosh laptop computers owned by the intensive English program as well as desktop computers in the university's Mac and PC computer labs. After progressing from software to email, they eagerly begin navigating the superhighway called the WEB. In cyberspace, they are able to communicate with old and new friends, discover interesting websites, research topics of interest to them, write for publication in the intensive English program's newsletter or listserves like TESL-L. Without being aware of it, they quickly acquire better writing skills.
The continued exposure to comprehensible input helps them internalize correct models of written language. Students get initial input from many sources, such as their classmates, instructors, and material coming from the WEB. After they provide some kind of output, they receive training input from the same sources that allow them to makechanges in their output over time.
Instructors provide the most helpful training input through "focussed rewrites" of students' written output. A focussed rewrite involves the instructor recasting sections of the student's output into "correct" and "natural" language used by an educated native (or near native) speaking writer.
Students and faculty have conferences, at least daily, in which detailed differences between student output and instructor rewrites are examined and discussed. Students and instructors use an enhanced word processor called Shared Space which aligns student output and instructor rewrites in parallel columns. Differences may be highlighted so students more easily note differences, and over time their writing shows the changes that are occuring in their output. Students note the larger and larger sections of their writing that have not been rewritten, thus receiving additional encouragement and reinforcement.
It is interesting that students have shown very low interest in computer games of any kind. They are fascinated, instead, by practical uses that they also consider "fun." Rubarb is one of the popular programs with students who are first beginning to write. Students and faculty like it because it can easily form cloze exercises from any text. This has proven interesting to students in writing classes because of its similarity to the standardized placement test that determines when students are ready for promotion to Immersion.
When students use text generated by themselves, they show more interest than with externally generated text, even though the externally generated text was discovered and selected by thestudents. Faculty appreciate this added interest because students are then more likely to spend additional time examining the differences between their originals and the instructor's focussed rewrites. Continued reading is vital to maximize students' acquisition, even when they are focusing on writing, because it provides comprehensible input. While reading something they select can be motivational and often leads to written responses, reading and rereading rewrites of their own compositions is even more motivational. Both forms of reading lower their affective filter and increase comprehensible input, but reading their own writing and the instructor's rewrites is often better comprehensible input because it provides more obvioustraining input. In either case, though, they internalize correct language structures without "learning" them.
Websites are used by students doing research for assignments, which if not finished in class become homework. Students explore their assignments (solo & duet) and then must report by groupmail (letters) to tell classmates and instructor what they found (summaries), what they liked/disliked (comparisons), how others can access the site and download (directions/ instructions).
Yahoo! is the search engine everyone starts with, and seems to be the easiest. Popular topics and websites have included:
We have seen students gain better skills and progress more rapidly toward their own goals of language acquisition or language learning. Using computers and giving students access to the WEB, we have increased their motivation because they recognize the desirability of being comfortable in cyberspace. As a result, they enjoy their classes more and, because their affective filters have been bypassed, they acquire more English language and understanding of American culture. The WEB has been particularly responsible for their learning idiomatic language without interference from grammar rules. With all these positives, some observers are tempted to say, there must be a down-side somewhere. We agree that no approach is perfect, but so far no one has given any compelling arguments against the Focal Skills approach, only in the manner of its implementation.