LANGUAGE PROGRAMS BY JAC (WRITTEN IN MICROSOFT VISUAL BASIC 3) The programs are adapted from original BBC BASIC programs which I produced back in the 80s as an experiment in CBL for Scottish Modern Language classrooms, when I was employed as a Modern Languages Lecturer in a teacher training establishment. In those days computers were not readily available in secondary school modern language departments, and the vogue for the new "Communicative" philosophy of Modern Language acquisition, giving rise to a negative reaction against language learning activities which were in any way redolent of "drill and practice", led to a healthy scepticism regarding the relevance of the microcomputer to the Modern Language classroom. I endeavoured to win over teachers by writing programs which avoided the worst excesses of the pretty dreadful commercial material which appeared at the time, e.g. by trying to place the language activities in reasonably meaningful contexts and seeking to maximise the flexibility with which user input was parsed and commented upon. However, these early versions of my programs were never widely used in classrooms, and eventually I moved on to new responsibilities in educational administration. Now that I have reached happy retirement and have unlimited time to devote to my favourite hobbies, computer programming and modern language learning, I have resurrected and rewritten these old programs, primarily as programming exercises, but also to find out whether they may now be of use to language learners as they are, or whether they may be adapted and developed further for individual or group language learning activities. I wonder if, side by side with the expensive "goodies" which will be increasingly be made available to the language learner as a result of the rapid growth of Multi-Media applications, there is still a place for simple straightforward programs which will enable the learner to consolidate and reinforce his command of the fundamental elements and structures of the language acquired. If you are looking for language programs with stunning graphics and Sound Blaster dialogue then you must look elsewhere (for the next couple of years at least!) The programs are essentially "content-free" taking their data from appropriately configured text files, and could be adapted as useful authoring packages for classroom use. I would enjoy producing more examples for a clearly identified group of language learners, but currently I have little incentive to go on writing exercises for what may turn out to be non-existent users. I have greatly improved the CLOZE activities program and added a facility to create one's own passages directly from within the application. At present I am still working on improvements to the other programs and this may take quite a lot of time. I shall release each revised program separately as it is rewritten. 1. CLOZE or GAP-FILLING activities Passages are presented with gaps for the insertion of missing words or phrases. Four types of exercise are available from the Activity Menu (a) Random word omission (b) Omission of selected words to test specific vocabulary and structures (c) "Secret Passage" - Reconstruction of entire passage starting with a blank screen- Excellent group activity (d) Retranslation Cloze- Omission of selected phrases for translation into the foreign language English, French, German, Italian and Scottish Gaelic examples are included. Passages can easily be configured in any language using ASCII characters. Cloze exercises are in regular use in many modern language classrooms especially at the more advanced stages of learning. 2. Information Gap activities A situation is presented and the computer asks questions and scans the responses typed in, providing (hopefully in most cases!) appropriate comment. Useful for group language work. Three examples are available Village Ask questions about a Scottish village Gift Try to guess what gift Mairi has bought for you Job Try to guess (in FRENCH) what vacation job the French girl is doing 3. Interpreting activities A situation is presented and you are asked to act as interpeter translating a phrase at a time The computer scans your input and identifies any anticipated erors NB it does this quite flexibly and can cover a wide (and expandable) range of possible inputs Two examples are available Douane Help a friend cope with the French Customs (a bit old-fashioned now that Customs barriers are disappearing but it does as an example) Letter Help your friend compose a letter to a French girl 4 Everyday Phrases You are presented with sets of useful phrases classified according to communication situation Having studied the phrases you are then asked to supply them from memory. The computer scans for errors, again with reasonable and (improvable) flexibility A library of French phrases is provided divided into sections 5 Grammar Exercises You are presented with phrases designed to reinforce your command of grammatical structures This is essentially drill and practice but there is immediate feedback from the computer on all the errors normally made by students and useful help screens are provided for quick reference to the grammar points in question An exercise is available on the plural of German nouns. The help screens list the various categories of endings with numerous examples (This is a lot less boring than book exercises, and is an excellent way of overcoming a basic weakness in command of the language) All the above programs are available in Visual Basic versions and run in Windows. Make sure that a copy of VBRUN300.DLL is in your Windows directory for these programs to run. Use PKUNZIP to decompress the files and place them in an appropriate directory. In Windows RUN the EXE file (i.e. WINCLOZE, WINPHRAS, WINIG, WINTERP) and then choose the required data file from the File Menu to start the program. The following program runs from the DOS prompt and does not require VBRUN300. 6. Grammar Spin (written in FORTH) This is a kind of grammar "fruit machine" game , in which words and/or endings spin round in small windows until they are stopped and matched into (hopefully) accurate and meaningful phrases. The spin speed can be varied and a score is provided based on the time taken for successful completion. French Verb Spin is available A good group game ACCENTS Accents are implemented by using the ALT key with the relevant numbers on the keypad (See HELP screen for character codes) Ownership of the programs All the above programs are the property of the author, J. A. Campbell, but they may be freely used and copied provided the purpose is purely educational and not for financial gain. Further adaptation of the programs should not be carried out without reference to the author. The author is willing to consider requests for further development of the material, but reserves the right to seek financial remuneration for further work carried out if appropriate. The programs can be easily adapted for the use of learners of ENGLISH from non English-speaking countries. I should be interested in involvement in the creation of a range of material for such learners. Both DOS and Windows versions of these programs are available. NB Where accented characters are used the content files are not interchangeable between DOS and Windows versions and should be kept separate . Any correspondence should be addressed to- J.A.Campbell 26, Manor Gardens, Blairgowrie, Perthshire SCOTLAND PH10 6JS (Tel. 0250 876227) Compuserve ID 100117,1573