CATCH: A Program for Developing World Wide Web
CALL Material
Erik F.TJoiig Kim Sang
D e p a rtm e n t o f L in g u is tic sU n iv e rs ity o f U p p s a la e r ik .tjo n g @ lin g .u u .s e
1 Introduction
C o m p u te r - A s s is te d L a n g u a g e L e a rn in g , in s h o rt C A L L , is th e r e s e a r c h a r e a w h ic h d e a ls w ith th e d e v e lo p m e n t a n d e v a lu a tio n o f c o m p u te r s o ftw a re an d h a rd w a re th a t is u s e d in a la n g u a g e le a rn in g e n v iro n m e n t. T h e re c e n tly p u b lis h e d h o o k { \it C o m p u te r-A s s is te d L a n g u a g e L e a rn in g - C o n te x t a n d C o n c e p tu a liz a tio n } b y M ic h a e l L e v y fo c u s e s o n e v a lu a tin g C A L L s y s te m s a n d p r o v id in g a h ig h -le v e l d e s c rip tio n fo r th e m . W e a re in te re s te d in o b ta in in g a n s w e rs to m o re b a s ic
q u e s tio n s : W h a t e d u c a tio n a l m e th o d s c a n b e u sed in C A L L m a te ria l? A n d w h a t s o ftw a re c a n b e u s e d f o r d e v e lo p in g C A L L m a te ria l?
T h is p a p e r p ro v id e s a n s w e rs to th e s e tw o q u e s tio n s. W e w ill s ta rt w ith d e s c rib in g a b a sic c o lle c tio n o f e d u c a tio n a l m e th o d s th a t a re u s a b le in C A L L m a te ria l. A fte r th a t w e w ill in tro d u c e
o u r p r o g r a m C A T C H * w h ic h s u p p o rts th e d e v e lo p m e n t o f C A L L le s s o n s th a t m a k e u se o f th e se e d u c a tio n a l m e th o d s .
W e h a v e c h o s e n th e W o rld W id e W e b (W W W ) a s th e ta rg e t p la tf o r m f o r o u r C A L L m a te ria l.
T h e a d v a n ta g e o f d e v e lo p in g C A L L m a te ria l f o r W W W is th a t it w ill b e c o m e a c c e s s ib le a n d u s a b le f r o m a lm o s t all o p e ra tin g s y s te m s w ith s ta n d a rd s o ftw a re th a t is a v a ila b le o n m o s t c o m p u te r s th e s e d a y s . T h is s o lv e s p o r ta b ility p ro b le m s a n d o p e n s th e p o s s ib ility fo r u s in g th e
C A L L m a te r ia l lo n g e r th a n u n til th e n e x t s o ftw a re o r h a rd w a re update^.
2 Educational methods in CALL
I n th is s e c tio n w e w ill p re s e n t a b a s ic c o lle c tio n o f e d u c a tio n a l m e th o d s th a t c a n b e u s e d in C A L L m a te ria l. P re s e n tin g a c o m p le te c o lle c tio n is im p o s s ib le a n d th e re f o r e w e w ill c o n c e n tra te o n t h e m e th o d s th a t w e c o n s id e r m o s t im p o rta n t. W e w ill s ta rt w ith d e s c rib in g e x e rc is e fo rm a ts
a n d c o n tin u e w ith h e lp a n d fe e d b a c k fa c ilitie s . T h e s e c tio n w ill b e c o n c lu d e d w ith a g e n e ra l p a r t in w h ic h s o m e o th e r e d u c a tio n a l m e th o d s w ill b e d e s c rib e d b rie fly .
2.1 Exercises
T h e a b ility o f C A L L s o ftw a re to c h e c k th e la n g u a g e le v e l o f s tu d e n ts a n d s u b s e q u e n tly d e te r m in e th e c o u rs e m a te ria l th e y s h o u ld b e s u b je c te d to g iv e s C A L L a n a d v a n ta g e o v e r la n g u a g e le a r n in g b y u s in g b o o k s o r a u d io -v is u a l m e th o d s . C h e c k in g th e la n g u a g e le v e l o f s tu d e n ts ta k e s p la c e in a n e x e rc is e e n v iro n m e n t. T w o a d v a n ta g e s o f e x e rc is e s w ith a u to m a tic
* The program CATCH is available at http://stp.lmg.uu.se/~erikt/catch/
^ Reusability o f CALL material is a big problem according to [Lev97]. CALL material is often discarded at the next software or hardware update.
a n s w e r c h e c k in g a re th e p o s s ib ility fo r te s tin g s tu d e n ts fro m o n e g ro u p o n d iffe re n t to p ic s sim u lta n e o u s ly a n d th e o p p o rtu n ity fo r d is c o v e rin g s tu d e n ts w h ic h p ro b le m s im m e d ia te ly w ith o u t a la rg e in v e s tm e n t o f tim e b y a h u m a n te a c h e r [S c i9 5 ]. It is h a r d to o v e re s tim a te th e
im p o rta n c e o f e x e rc is e s f o r C A L L m a te ria l.
E x e rc ise s c a n b e c h a ra c te riz e d b y fo u r fe a tu re s:
E x e r c is e f e a t u r e s :
P u rp o se : p ra c tic e a n d te s t.
T ask : tra n s la tio n , q u e s tio n a n s w e rin g a n d g a p fillin g . F o rm a t: te x t, s p e e c h a n d im a g e s.
In p u t fo rm a t; te x t, s p e e c h a n d m u ltip le -c h o ic e a n sw e rs.
In o u r v ie w e x e rc is e s c a n b e u s e d f o r tw o p u rp o s e s . O n e is fo r m a k in g th e s tu d e n t p ra c tic e w ith th e m a te ria l. I n th is c a s e th e p e rfo rm a n c e s o f th e s tu d e n ts o n th e e x e rc is e d o n o t h a v e to b e re g is te re d . S tu d e n ts m a y c h a n g e th e ir a n s w e rs a s m a n y tim e s z s th e y w a n t an d a tte m p t to u s e th e fe e d b a c k p r o v id e d b y th e C A L L so ftw a re to g e t a ll a n s w e rs rig h t. I t is a ls o p o s s ib le fo r u s in g a n
e x e rc is e fo r d e te rm in in g th e le v e l o f a stu d en t. In th a t c a s e th e e x e rc is e s h o u ld b e re g a rd e d a s a te st. T h e re s u lts o f th e s tu d e n ts o n th e te s t e x e rc is e s a re im p o r ta n t f o r th e s o ftw a re an d th e te a c h e r. T h e a n s w e rs s h o u ld b e re g is te re d a n d th e s tu d e n ts s h o u ld n o t b e a llo w e d to m o d ify th e m .
T h e re are th re e b a s ic e x e rc is e ta sk s . T h e firs t o n e is tra n s la tio n . I n a tra n s la tio n e x e rc is e th e stu d e n ts h a v e to tra n s la te w o rd s o r p h ra s e s fro m o n e la n g u a g e to a n o th e r. T h e s e c o n d ta s k is
q u e s tio n a n s w e rin g . H e re s tu d e n ts h a v e to a n s w e r q u e s tio n s , f o r e x a m p le a b o u t a te x t th e y h a v e re a d . T h e th ird e x e rc is e ta s k is g a p fillin g . H e re s tu d e n ts a re p re s e n te d w ith a te x t in w h ic h w o rd s
o r p h ra s e s h a v e b e e n re m o v e d . T h e ir ta s k is to fill in th e d e le te d m a te ria l.
T h e re are th re e p o s s ib le e x e rc is e fo rm a ts. T h e firs t o n e is th e m o s t c o m m o n o n e: p re s e n tin g a n e x e rc is e a s te x t. I t is a lso p o s s ib le to p re s e n t a n e x e rc is e a s s p o k e n m a te ria l. T h is is n e c e ss a ry fo r te s tin g th e lis te n in g c a p a b ilitie s o f th e s tu d e n ts. H o w e v e r o n e s h o u ld b e a w a re o f th e fa c t th a t
d e v e lo p m e n t, s to ra g e a n d re trie v a l o f s p e e c h s a m p le s re q u ire s m u c h m o re tim e a n d c o m p u te r re s o u rc e s th a n d o in g th e s a m e w ith w ritte n m a te ria l. T h e s a m e is tru e fo r th e th ird e x e rc is e fo rm a t: im a g e s . E x e rc is e s c a n , o f c o u rse , a lso m a k e u s e o f a c o m b in a tio n o f th e s e th re e fo rm a ts.
T h e re a re th re e fo rm a ts o f a n s w e r re s p o n s e fro m s tu d e n ts . T h e m o s t s im p le fo rm a t is th e
m u ltip le -c h o ic e a n s w e r. F o r e v e ry q u e s tio n th e s tu d e n ts a re p r o v id e d w ith a n u m b e r o f p o s s ib le a n s w e rs a n d th e y h a v e to c h o o s e th e c o rre c t o n e . T h is m a k e s d e a lin g w ith th e a n s w e rs m u c h e a s ie r fo r th e C A L L s o ftw a re s in c e e v e ry p o s s ib le a n s w e r is k n o w n b y th e d e v e lo p e r o f th e m a te ria l. I f th e s tu d e n t is a llo w e d to re s p o n d to a q u e s tio n b y in p u ttin g te x t th e n it is n o t p o s s ib le to fo re s e e e v e ry p o s s ib le a n s w e r. R e c o g n iz in g e rro rs in a n s w e rs b e c o m e s h a rd e r e s p e c ia lly w h e n
th e a n s w e r c o n s is ts o f a s e q u e n c e o f w o rd s ra th e r th a n a s in g le w o rd . T h e th ird in p u t fo rm a t, s p e e c h , is e v e n m o re c h a lle n g in g f o r th e C A L L d e v e lo p e r th a n te x t in p u t. B e s id e th e a n s w e r
h a n d lin g p ro b le m , w h ic h is e q u a lly d iffic u lt a s fo r te x t in p u t, it a ls o in c lu d e s te c h n ic a l p ro b le m s d e a lin g w ith th e r e c o g n itio n o f th e te x ts u tte re d b y d iffe re n t s tu d e n ts .
D e v e lo p e r s o f C A L L m a te ria l a re in te re s te d in fin d in g o u t w h ic h e x e rc is e s w ill h e lp in c re a s in g rile la n g u a g e le v e l o f th e s tu d e n ts in th e b e s t w a y . A .G . S c ia ro n e h a s p ro v id e d s o m e in te re s tin g
a n s w e r s t o th is q u e s tio n f o r th e to p ic o f te x t u n d e rs ta n d in g [S c i9 5 ] „ T h e la n g u a g e le v e l o f se c o n d Irm g iiag e le a r n in g s tu d e n ts c a n b e in c re a s e d b y m a k in g th e m s p e n d m o re tim e o n re a d in g w ritte n t e x ts a n d lis te n in g to s p o k e n m a te ria l. S tu d e n ts w ill s p e n d m o r e tim e o n th e s e ta s k s i f th e y p e r f o r m te s ts w ith o b lig a to ry r e s u lt le v e ls re g u la rly . D ic ta tio n e x e rc is e s a r e th e b e s t m e th o d fo r te s tin g lis te n in g c a p a b ilitie s a n d g a p fillin g is th e b e s t e x e rc is e ta s k fo r te s tin g te x t u n d e rs ta n d in g
[S c i9 5 ]^
2.2 Feedback and help
C A L L s o ftw a re re a c ts to in p u t o f s tu d e n ts b y p ro v id in g fe e d b a c k . I n o r d e r fo r th e fe e d b a c k to b e u s e fu l th e C A L L s y s te m s h o u ld b e a b le to re c o g n iz e a n d c la s s ify th e in p u t. T h is is o n e o f th e m o s t c h a lle n g in g ta s k s fo r d e v e lo p e rs o f C A L L m a te ria l. T o o o f te n la n g u a g e te a c h e rs th a t e v a lu a te C A L L p ro g ra m s c o m p la in th a t a s tu d e n t h a s g iv e n a c o ir e c t a n s w e r to a q u e s tio n b u t
t h a t th e c o m p u te r h a s fa ile d to re c o g n iz e it [v d L 9 7 ]. T h e p ro b le m h e r e is th a t c o m p u te r so ftw a re i s u n a b le t o u n d e rs ta n d h u m a n la n g u a g e .
A c o n s id e r a tio n o f th e p o s itio n o f C A L L in la n g u a g e e d u c a tio n is n e c e s s a ry h e re . C A L L sy ste m s a r e n o t b e in g u s e d f o r re p la c in g h u m a n te a c h e rs b u t a s a n e x tra to o l f o r a id in g th e ir w o rk . T h is m e a n s th a t C A L L p ro g ra m s d o n o t h a v e to b e a b le to e v a lu a te e v e ry p o s s ib le la n g u a g e le a rn in g
task^. C A L L s o ftw a re m a y c o n c e n tra te o n th e ta s k s th a t it p e rfo rm s b e s t a n d u s e in p u t fo rm a ts t h a t a r e r e la tiv e ly e a s y to c h e c k .
I f C A L L p r o g r a m s a llo w o n ly s im p le in p u t o f s tu d e n ts lik e m u ltip le -c h o ic e a n s w e rs o r s in g le w o r d r e s p o n s e s th e n w e c a n a tte m p t to s p e c ify e a c h re le v a n t a n s w e r in a d v a n c e . In th a t c a s e it is
p o s s ib le f o r th e C A L L d e v e lo p e r to d e fin e u se fiil fe e d b a c k fo r th e s e p r e d e f in e d a n s w e rs . T h e a n s w e r s e t w ill b e n e f it fro m a n e v a lu a tio n o f th e a n s w e rs g iv e n b y th e s tu d e n ts w h ile u s in g th e C A L L m a te r ia l [A k e 9 8 ]. I t is th e re fo re d e s ira b le th a t C A L L s o ftw a re is a b le to s to re th e u n f o r e s e e n a n s w e rs o f s tu d e n ts so th a t th e y b e e v a lu a te d b y its d e v e lo p e rs .
A p a r t f r o m g e n e ra l h e lp fa c ilitie s a b o u t p ro g ra m u s a g e C A L L s o ftw a re n e e d s s p e c ia l a id s fo r
s tu d e n ts . T h e m o s t im p o rta n t o f th e s e is a s e a rc h a b le o n lin e d ic tio n a ry . L a n g u a g e s tu d e n ts o fte n e n c o u n te r u n k n o w n w o rd s w h ic h th e y h a v e to lo o k u p a n d it is a n a d v a n ta g e i f th e y c a n u s e th e C A L L s y s te m f o r d o in g th a t a s w e ll. A p ro b le m is th a t fo re ig n la n g u a g e s tu d e n ts m a y h a v e d if f e r e n t f ir s t la n g u a g e s a n d th is m e a n s th a t th e d ic tio n a ry m a y n e e d m o re th a n o n e so u rc e
la n g u a g e .
^ Sciarone has compared multiple-choice exercises, question answering exercises and gap filling exercises. His conclusion was riiat multiple-choice exercises allowed too much guessing, answers on questions are too hard to check for the available computational linguistics technology while gap filling exercises provide both good testing facilities and allow checking answers with the available technology [Sci95].
■* An example o f a language learning evaluation task which seems impossible for a CALL system with the present technology is testing die communicational capabilities o f language learning students. This task requires a human teacher.
2 3 Other methods
W ith e x e rc is e s , fe e d b a c k a n d h e lp fa c ilitie s o u r o v e rv ie w o f e d u c a tio n a l m e th o d s th a t a re u s a b le
in C A L L s y s te m s is b y n o m e a n s c o m p le te . A n o th e r im p o rta n t m e th o d is n a rra tiv e te x t w h ic h c a n b e e ith e r w r itte n o r sp o k e n . H o w e v e r te x ts n e e d to b e a c c o m p a n ie d b y e x e rc is e s to m a k e s u re d ia t th e s tu d e n ts h a v e r e a d a n d u n d e rs to o d th e m . E q u a lly im p o rta n t a re e x p la n a tio n s a b o u t
g ra m m a tic a l fe a tu re s o f th e la n g u a g e th a t is to b e le a rn e d . T h e s e c a n b e in c o rp o ra te d in a g e n e ra l C A L L le s s o n b u t th e y a re a t le a st a s u s e fu l a s a p a r t o f th e fe e d b a c k p ro v id e d to th e stu d e n ts. A th ird e d u c a tio n a l m e th o d w h ic h is o ffe re d b y s o m e c o m m e rc ia l C A L L p ro g ra m s a re la n g u a g e
g a m e s . W e re g a rd th e s e a s ffe e -fo rm a t p ra c tic e e x e rc ise s.
3 CATCH
I n th is s e c tio n w e d e s c rib e o u r a u th o rw a re p ro g ra m C A T C H . W e w ill s ta rt w ith a g e n e ra l d e s c rip tio n o f th e s o ftw a re . A fte r th is w e w ill p r e s e n t th e d iffe re n t p a rts o f th e C A L L le ss o n d e s c rip tio n la n g u a g e a n d g iv e a n e x a m p le e x e rc is e d e fin itio n . W e w ill c o n c lu d e th e s e c tio n w ith
e x p e rie n c e s o f C A T C H u sers.
3.1 Background
T h e W o rld W id e W e b (W W W ) is a n in te re s tin g m e d iu m fo r C A L L m a te ria l b e c a u s e i t s o lv e s th e
p o rta b ility a n d r e u s a b ility p ro b le m s th a t c o m e s w ith m a n y o f t h e c u rre n t C A L L a p p lic a tio n s . H o w e v e r th e re a re s o m e p ro b le m s w ith th is m e d iu m a s w ell;
L
2.
3 .
a lo t o f te c h n ic a l k n o w le d g e a b o u t d o c u m e n t e n c o d in g a n d p ro g ra m m in g is n e c e ssa ry in
o rd e r to b e a b le to d e v e lo p a w o rk in g W W W C A L L a p p lic a tio n ^
a la rg e a m o u n t o f e n c o d in g in fo rm a tio n is n e c e s s a ry fo r e v e n th e s im p le s t ex ercise* an d b e c a u s e s tu d e n ts m ig h t h a v e a s lo w n e tw o r k c o n n e c tio n to th e m a te ria l C A L L d e v e lo p e rs a re
n o t a b le to a p p ly fre e ly a ll te c h n iq u e s th e y w o u ld lik e to u s e (th e y s h o u ld b e c a re fa l w ith u s in g m a n y im a g e s , a n im a tio n s a n d s o u n d file s).
T h e s e p ro b le m s h in d e r th e d e v e lo p m e n t o f C A L L W W W m a te ria l. T h e re is n o t m u c h w e c a n do a b o u t th e th ird p ro b le m . H o w e v e r th e firs t a n d th e s e c o n d p ro b le m a re s o lv a b le . O u r p ro p o s e d s o lu tio n fo r th e s e tw o p ro b le m s is to c re a te a C A L L d e v e lo p m e n t la n g u a g e w h ic h e n a b le s la n g u a g e te a c h e rs to d e fin e in fo rm a tio n n e c e s s a ry f o r C A L L a p p lic a tio n s w ith o u t h a v in g to
w o rry a b o u t th e p e c u lia ritie s o f W W W d o c u m e n t e n c o d in g . A n e x te rn a l p ro g ra m w ill b e u s e d f o r c o n v e rtin g th e s p e c ific a tio n s to a W W W d o c u m e n t. O u r p ro g ra m C A T C H w o rk s e x a c tly lik e th a t.
C A T C H is a d o c u m e n t c o n v e rs io n p ro g ra m w r itte n in th e p ro g ra m m in g la n g u a g e P e r l [W a l9 6 ]. I t c o n v e rts d o c u m e n ts in a C A L L e n c o d in g la n g u a g e to d o c u m e n ts in th e e n c o d in g la n g u a g e o f
W W W : H T M L . T h e C A L L e n c o d in g la n g u a g e c o n s is ts o f m a rk u p ta g s w h ic h d e fin e th e ty p e o f
’ For example, [Gol96] reports that while many departments at the University o f British Columbia were interested using WWW based course material in the early nineties both quantity and quality o f this material was highest at the Computer Science Department.
*[Ahl98] reports that for a WWW file with an eleven-question gap exercise 89% o f the file consisted o f encoding tags and software.
t e x t p a rts . T h e ta g s u s e d in th is la n g u a g e a re S G M L ta g s: th e y s ta r t w ith th e < c h a ra c te r a n d e n d w ith > . T h e re a re tw o v a ria n ts o f e a c h m a rk u p ta g : th e < x x x > ta g w h ic h o p e n s c o n te x t x x x an d th e < /x x x > ta g w h ic h c lo s e s c o n te x t x x x . E x a m p le s o f th e s e ta g s a r e th e s ta rt o f le ss o n ta g < le s s o n > a n d th e e n d o f te s t e x e rc is e ta g < /e x e rc ise > .
T h e u s e rs o f C A T C H c a n s p e c ify C A L L m a te ria l w ith o u t h a v in g to w o rry a b o u t te c h n ic a l d e ta ils
lik e a n s w e r c h e c k in g an d W W W d o c u m e n t e n c o d in g . T h e C A L L fo r m a t d o c u m e n ts a re b o th s m a lle r a n d e a s ie r to u n d e rs ta n d th a n th e c o rre s p o n d in g H T M L d o c u m e n ts . I t is p o s s ib le to u se C A T C H w ith o u t h a v in g a n y k n o w le d g e o f H T M L . H o w e v e r w e h a v e fo re s e e n th a t C A L L
d e v e lo p e rs w ill w a n t to u s e H T M L fe a tu re s th a t a re n o t in c lu d e d in th e s ta n d a rd o u tp u t fo rm a t o f C A T C H . F o r th a t re a s o n C A T C H a llo w s H T M L ta g s to b e p r e s e n t in its in p u t file . T h e p ro g ra m w ill a c c e p t th e s e ta g s a n d c o p y th e m to its o u tp u t file. In th is w a y it is p o s s ib le fo r C A T C H u s e rs t o a d a p t th e f o rm a t o f th e ir C A L L le s s o n s to th e ir o w n w ish e s.
3.2 Parts of the program
T h e p r e s e n t v e rs io n o f C A T C H (2 .0 ) r e c o g n iz e s fifte e n C A L L m a te r ia l e n c o d in g ta g s. T h e c h o ic e o f th e s e ta g s h a s b e e n b a s e d o n th e th e o re tic a l o u tlin e p r e s e n te d in s e c tio n 2. T h e la rg e s t p a r t o f th e ta g s d e a ls w ith e x e rc is e s (9 ta g s). A p a rt fro m th a t th e re a re s o m e g e n e ra l stru c tu re ta g s (3 ) a n d s o m e ta g s th a t d e a l w ith o th e r e d u c a tio n a l m e th o d s (3 ). T h e g e n e ra l stru c tu re ta g s
d e a l -with d e fin in g th e C A L L le s s o n c o n te x t, th e h e a d in g s a n d m e n u s w ith p o in te rs to th e d iffe re n t p a rts in th e C A L L le ss o n . C A T C H o ffe rs th re e o th e r e d u c a tio n a l m e th o d s f o r th e C A L L m a te ria l: te x ts , w o rd lists a n d g r a m m a r e x p la n a tio n s.
C A T C H o ffe rs tw o e x e rc is e ty p e s : p r a c tic e e x e rc is e s a n d te s t e x e rc is e s . S tu d e n ts c a n w o rk w ith
th e p ra c tic e e x e rc is e s o n a s ta n d -a lo n e c o m p u te r. H o w e v e r fo r w o r k in g w ith th e te s t e x e rc ise s th e y w ill n e e d a c o m p u te r w ith a n e tw o r k c o n n e c tio n b e c a u s e a n s w e r c h e c k in g w ill u s u a lly b e p e r f o r m e d b y a c e n tra l c o m p u te r. B o th e x e rc is e s a llo w tw o in p u t fo rm a ts : m u ltip le -c h o ic e in p u t
a n d te x t in p u t. T h e d e c is io n a b o u t w h a t e x e rc is e f o n n a t a n d w h a t e x e rc is e ta s k to u s e h a s b e e n le f t to th e d e v e lo p e rs o f th e C A L L m a te ria l.
3.3 User experiences
T h e f ir s t v e r s io n o f C A T C H ^ h a s b e e n te s te d b y s e c o n d -y e a r L a n g u a g e E n g in e e rin g s tu d e n ts a t U p p s a la U n iv e rs ity in a o n e - p o in t C A L L in tro d u c tio n c o u rs e . T h e s tu d e n ts h a v e u s e d th e p r o g r a m f o r d e v e lo p in g C A L L m a te ria l f o r S w e d is h a n d F re n c h . T h e y w e re p o s itiv e a b o u t th e
s o ftw a re . T h e s tu d e n ts h a d s o m e r e c o m m e n d a tio n s fo r a d d itio n a l f u n c tio n a lity w h ic h h a v e b e e n u s e d f o r e x te n d in g th e p re v io u s v e r s io n o f th e p ro g ra m . T h e C A L L m a te r ia l d e v e lo p e d b y th e s tu d e n ts h a s s u b s e q u e n tly b e e n p u b lis h e d o n WWW®. W e h a v e r e c e iv e d q u ite s o m e e n th u s ia s tic
r e a c tio n s o n th e s e le s s o n s fro m its u s e rs a n d re q u e s ts f o r d e v e lo p in g m o re .
C u r r e n tly th e p ro g ra m is b e in g u s e d in a fiv e -p o in t C A L L c o u rs e f o r d e v e lo p in g m a te ria l fo r S p a n is h a n d R u s s ia n . I n th is c o u rs e w e a re c o o p e ra tin g w ith a p r o fe s s io n a l la n g u a g e te a c h e r. W e h a v e re c e iv e d m a n y in te re s tin g r e c o m m e n d a tio n s fro m b o th h e r [A k e 9 8 ] a n d th e s tu d e n ts
’ The first version o f CATCH was called call2html.
® The CALL material is available at http://stp.ling.uu.se/call/
[A h l9 8 ]. S o m e o f th e ir re c o m m e n d a tio n s fo r a d d itio n a l f u n c tio n a lity , lik e p r a c tic e ex e rc ise s, h a v e a lre a d y b e e n a d d e d to C A T C H .
4 Concluding remarks
T h e W o rld W id e W e b is a n e x c e lle n t m e d iu m f o r th e d e v e lo p m e n t o f C A L L m a te ria l. H o w e v e r th e a m o u n t o f te c h n ic a l k n o w le d g e a n d th e a m o u n t o f H T M L c o d in g th a t a re re q u ire d fo r c re a tin g CA L,L le ss o n s m a y p r e v e n t la n g u a g e te a c h e rs fro m u s in g W W W fo r d e v e lo p in g th e ir o w n te a c h in g m a te ria l. In th is p a p e r w e h a v e d e s c rib e d a g e n e ra l to o l c a lle d C A T C H ’ w h ic h c a n b e u s e d to o v e rc o m e th is b a rrie r. C A T C H c o n v e rts d e s c rip tio n s o f C A L L m a te ria l w ritte n in a n e a s y to u n d e rs ta n d e n c o d in g f o rm a t to H T M L file s. B y w o rk in g in th is w a y it is p o s sib le fo r p e o p le w ith o u t te c h n ic a l k n o w le d g e to d e v e lo p C A L L m a te ria l in a f a s te r w a y th a n b y c re a tin g H T M L file s fro m sc ra tc h .
References
[A h l9 8 ] V ik to ria A h lb o m . In te r a c tiv e G ra m m a r E x e r c is e s in R u s s ia n . D e p a rtm e n t o f L in g u is tic s, U p p s a la U n iv e rs ity . (In S w e d ish , to a p p e a r).
[A k e 9 8 ] K a rin é Å k e rm a n S a rk isia n . A P ilo t P r o je c t f o r U sin g C A L L f o r R u ss ia n . D e p a r tm e n t o f S la v ic L a n g u a g e s , U p p s a la U n iv e rs ity . (In S w e d ish , to a p p e a r).
[G S S 9 6 ] M u rra y W . G o ld b e rg , S a s a n S a la ri a n d P a u l S w o b o d a . W o rld W id e W e b C o u rse
I ’o o l; A n E n v iro n m e n t fo r B u ild in g W W W -b a s e d C o u rs e s . C o m p u te r N e tw o r k s a n d I S D N S y s te m s , 2 8 , 1996. A ls o a v a ila b le on h ttp ://h o m e b re w .c s .u b c .c a /w e b c t/p a p e rs /p 2 9 /
[L e v 9 7 ] M ic h a e l L e v y . C o m p u te r - A s s is te d L a n g u a g e L e a r n in g . C la r e d o n P re s s - O x fo rd , 1997. IS B N 0 - 1 9 - 8 2 3 6 3 1-X .
[S c i9 5 ] A .G . S c ia ro n e . T h e C o m p u te r in S e c o n d L a n g u a g e L e a r n in g . B o o m A m s te rd a m , 1995. IS B N 9 0 -5 3 5 2 -2 0 5 -0 . ( I n D u tc h ).
[v d L 9 7 ] H a n n y v a n d e r L in d e n . P e rs o n a l c o m m u n ic a tio n , 1997.
[W C S 9 6 ] L a rry W a ll, T o m C h ris tia n s e n a n d R a n d a l L. S c h w a rtz . P r o g r a m m in g p e r l. O 'R e illy & A ss o c ia te s , In c ., 19 9 6 . IS B N 1 -5 6 5 9 2 -1 4 9 -6 .
’ The program CATCH is available at http://stp.ling.uu.se/~erikt/catch/. It runs on the platforms MSDOS, Windows and Unix provided that the programming language Perl is available.
