Main goal of the "Online
Components for Intensive
Language Learning"
(OCILL) Project?
= to help UT increase its
language teaching and
learning capacity
through more effective
use of time and effort
by teachers and
students.
Auto-correct online exercises and drills

allow students to work at their own pace and with
immediate feedback.

provide opportunities for language-learning
practice that complement in-class instruction.

contribute to our overall student-centered
methodological and philosophical approach.

encourage students learn to take responsibility for
their own language learning.

decrease the amount of time required to correct
daily homework assignments by at least 50%,
enabling instructors to make better use of the
curriculum and focus on the activation of materials
during class time.
Participants in the
development of Intensive
Turkish OCILL materials
Dr. Jeannette Okur and Dr.
Duygu-Üslü-Ök, recent
graduate of the College of
Education’s doctoral program
in Foreign Language Education!
•
LAITS Staff (Mike
Heidenreich, Jacob Weiss, and
Stacy Vlasits)!
Online methodology for improving
Intensive Turkish I (novice-level) students’
communicative and cultural proficiency

Stimulate interest in the target culture!
 Liberal use of photos and videos
 Present-day culture-specific scenarios
 Humor
•

 Phonetic, semantic and syntactic recognition
 Models for communicative function
Texas Language Center: 2013
Summer Grant!
•
Longhorn Innovation Fund for
Technology (LIFT) grant
program!

Turkish-Americans in the
Austin community who
volunteered their time and
voices in the LAITS recording
studio!

•
•
Emphasize listening!
Recycle!
 Old vocabulary/structures in new contexts
Move from successful reception to successful
production!
 Linked free writing assignments
 In-class application

The “culture-free”
alphabet vs. the
“culturally relevant
alphabet”

Unit 3 ex: Bargaining
for strawberries in
Çihangir (Istanbul)
 https://ocill.herokuapp.c
om/drills/374/attempts/n
ew
TYPES OF NOVICE-LEVEL
LISTENING EXERCISES


Listen and Repeat
New Vocabulary: Sentence
Dictation (Unit 4)
 https://ocill.herokuapp.com/dril
ls/389/attempts/new
Selective Listening (fill-inthe-blank)
 Listening for Important
Details or Gist (short answer
or chart – Unit 6)

 https://ocill.herokuapp.com/dril
ls/301/attempts/new
SKILL FOCUS
Accurate reproduction of
phonemes and intonation;
audio-memorization
 Semantic and syntactical
recognition; written
reproduction of phonemes,
semantic units and
communicative utterances
 Organization of semantic
material; recognition of
communicative function;
simple text interpretation

CONSTANT RECYCLING INCREASES
STUDENTS’ EXPOSURE TO L2

Example: Fill-in-the-blank
vocabulary review exercise
requires students to
verbalize the visual input
(ie. produce Unit 3-4
vocabulary) related to a
Turkish laundry detergent
advertisement
 https://ocill.herokuapp.com/d
rills/434/attempts/new
OMO: KIRLENMEK GÜZEL!
(OMO: GETTING DIRTY IS NICE!)
IN-CLASS ACTIVATION OF
MATERIAL






Focus on speaking &
listening in class
Pre-dominant practice
form: partner conversation
Frequent partner changing
Missing gap activities
Mixer (Q & A activities)
Student production of
dialogs and skits

http://www.laits.utexas.edu/video_services/pl
ayer/app.php?video_path=http%3A%2F%2F
media.laits.utexas.edu%3A8080%2Fvideo_pr
oduction%2F_working%2F2013_walkins%2F2013-1022_okur%2Fokur_5.mp4&img_path=&caption
_path=&method=progressive
LINKED WRITING
ASSIGNMENTS
Content focused on the
student’s world.
 Tasks encourage creativity
and draw on prior
knowledge.
 Writing in pairs
 Sharing writing done at
home in class

Thank you for your attention!