Computers and English: A
match made in Heaven !
熊本県内高等学校英語教育研究大会
Kumamoto Prefecture High School English
Teachers Conference
平成１5年１1月1３日
米岡ジュリ (Judy Yoneoka)
熊本学園大学英米学科
(English Dept. Kumamoto GAKUEN University)
Why?
Two requirements for being in the top 5%
in the 21st century:
Computer ability
and
English ability
A quick survey 1
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Do you know
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use
E-mail?
Chat or messenger services?
BBS (bulletin boards)?
Mailing lists?
Online dictionaries or encyclopedias?
Online translation sites?
A quick survey 2
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At your school do you have
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A computer lab?
A language lab?
Access to internet?
Free student access after class?
OFFICE (word, excel, powerpoint)
MSN (AOL, etc.) messenger?
use
Facts about computers
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About 300 million computers in use in 1999
About 500 million users of Internet (and
growing by leaps and bounds)
Keitai users are internet users too! (I-mode,
J-Sky, EZ-web)
Facts about English
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About 375 million ENL users
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About 375 million ESL users
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(English as a second language)
About 750 million EFL users
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(English as a native language)
(English as a foreign language) Graddoll 1995
=The most widely used language in the world!
=3/4 of the world’s English users are nonnative!
Links between Computers and English
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70% of Internet home pages are in English
40% of Internet users are (native?) English
speakers Iseri 2002
In Japan, over 95% of Japanese computer
vocabulary is in Katakana
In Africa: Internet usage in 2001 was almost
4 times higher in English countries than in
non-English countries (although the latter
outnumber the former by 33 to 22) Iseri 2002
Examples of computer use in
my English classes
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Listening
Writing
Speaking
World Englishes
American Studies
Current Events
Computers and English
Approach to Computers and English
（Old Model）
Computers and English
Education Communication
Research
Educational home
pages (Multimedia,
Language, news,
music, movies)
Online
journals,
Corpora
Keypals, home page
creation, chat,
presentations
New Model
Education
Language,
news, music,
movie HPs
ETC
=Interaction
Mailing
lists, BBS,
keypals,
chat rooms
Communication
HP creation,
Presentations
E-learning,
Blended
Dictionaries learning
Surveys
Encyclopedias
Polls
Resource HPS
=Reference
Online
journals,
Corpora
Research
=Field
work
As Education Materials
“Leading students to drink”
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My study page
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One example
English conversation, games, quizzes, travel sites,
translation sites, on-line dictionaries, etc.
Listening pages
 Movie trailers
www.imdb.com
 News files and scripts
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/shukan-st/
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Englishes dialects
http://classweb.gmu.edu/accent/
As a Communication Tool
“Linking with the World”
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Keypal sites (www.penpalgarden.com )
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US ５８％、UK １６％、Australia １３％ Canada １１％
France １９％、Korea １４％、China, Italy７％、Germany, Russia, Spain
５％、Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Sweden…
Africa？ North Korea!
Partner classes
Mailing lists (Kumamoto-I)
Chat
PowerPoint presentations
English conversation: online menus
As a Research Tool
“finding information”
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Translation Sites www.infoseek.co.jp
Online dictionaries www.infoseek.co.jp
Online encyclopedias www.encyclopedia.com
Questionnaires (polls)
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Traveling
Corpus research
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Answering “Thank you”
Current Events: an example
of blended learning
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Current events home page
A sample quiz
Passwords
Chat room
A sample chat room day
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Using excel for grading
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hp
A Chat about Chat
Three types of chat:
Open chat (ICQ, excite)
can meet and talk with anyone
Semi-private chat (MSN messenger)
uses a buddy list
Password chat (current events)
must use the same password
Dilemma 1: Misconceptions
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Arts vs. Sciences
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The “better safe than sorry” syndrome
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Computers=>computing
The Internet jungle
Learning is not playing
 No sound, no games, no chat =
no fun!
Dilemma 2: Lack of Resources
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No free-time use
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No time for authoring
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No specialists
Dilemma 3: True Dangers
Misinformation
 Internet predators
 Internet crime
 Plaigarism
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The future: Towards E-learning
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US education ：
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Most US universities offer distance education
programs
High school programs are available too
Japanese education： the die is
being cast
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Monbukagakusho preparations
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distance learning: up to 60 credits
lifelong learning
Interuniversity cooperation
general education (総合学習）
University/high school cooperation (高大連携）
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The Okayama University of Science program
University credits for high school students!
Possibilities and Proposals 1
Introduction to American Studies (アメリカ事情）
Requirements:
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Room with one computer per student
Video/web camera with sound
Home or school free access time (net café ok too)
MSN messenger (free messaging software)
Or
Possibilities and Proposals 2
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Information Processing Seminar 1
(情報処理演習１）
Requirements:
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All of the above and
word, excel (office)
Hidemon, Letter chase (free typing software)
AND MOST OF ALL:
AN ENTHUSIASTIC PARTNER !
Other Considerations
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Time schedules
5th period 4:20-5:50
School restrictions
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Convincing authorities
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And …..?
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A match made in heaven!
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The match is burning—
Shall we light a fire?
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Thank you. Comments or questions?
judy@kumagaku.ac.jp