LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Technical Language Lab and CALL -
A Descriptive Report

J. Samuel Kirubahar, Ph.D., V. Jeya Santhi, M.A., M.Phil., &
A. Subashini, M.A., M.Phil.

Abstract

The modern sophisticated language laboratory is an ideal communication tool because it has a number of advanced facilities that help a student learn a language with proficiency to communicate. The learners can change their attitude by attending CALL laboratory and this enables the teacher develop and use suitable materials and methods.

Introduction

In India and in many other nations, English has become a symbol of people's status for quality in education and a tool for a fuller participation in national and international life. English is necessity now to good jobs. Anyone, who wishes to advance his/her better career, has to give importance to English language as A. K. Banerjee states, English "language is simultaneously universal and individual. It allows people to communicate across time and distance, but it also serves to define almost everything that makes a person unique" (50). So, attitude toward English plays an important role in learning it.

Background to Educational Technology

Education is the act or process of imparting or acquiring particular knowledge or skills for a profession. Technology is the use of tools, machines, materials, techniques and sources of power to make work easier and more productive. As Razavi (3289-91) points out, "Educational technology includes instructional technology and the field study in human teaching and learning" We notice that, "Educational Technology is a creative blend of 'idea' and 'product' technologies with subject-matter content in order to engender and improve teaching and learning process". (www.reference.com).

Thus, the purpose of Educational Technology is promotion of learning by improving communication and interactivity. Crockford defines interactivity as having "more to do with taking part than in making decisions." (293-301). Computer Aided Language Learning (CALL) involves all the three types of learner-interactions, viz., Learner-content, learner-teacher, and learner-learner interactions" (Moore:1-6). In addition, these interactions are carried out with the help of technology. Thus, CALL becomes a rich field for the application of educational principles as well as for testing the efficacy of technology.

Complexities of Challenges

Complexities in using the CALL should be seen against the backdrop of a developmental stage of computerization of individuals and institutions. The transitional phase is a temporary phenomenon. The next generation of teachers and learners will be a part of computer generation. They will take for granted the skills demanded by computer technology and handle it as coolly as switching on a tape recorder or watching a television. Similarly, the learners can change their attitude while attending CALL laboratory in nearer future and this makes the teacher utilize the situations efficiently with suitable materials and methods. Computer assists teachers if it is seen not as a replacement for their work but as a supplement to it. Generally speaking, computer is just a tool without any inborn wisdom or a mind of its own.

English Language Learning

English Language learning involves a number of difficult skills for the second and foreign language learners: For instance, the traditionally recognized skills like listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing pose problems for Indian learners because of the wide differences in accent, phonological patters, sentence and morphological structures and semantic nuances, etc., between Indian languages and English. It is required of any learner to have a good command of the language for communication purposes, with clarity and accuracy being vital for effective and efficient communication.

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