COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY - what it can and cannot do in the study of language and literature

Computer Technology2 TEACHING METHODOLOGY INFORMATION RETRIEVAL & DISTRIBUTION SOFTWARE FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES

Computer Technology3 TEACHING METHODOLOGY Increasing availability of information Less dependence on local sources of information Change in focus from teaching to learning Change in type of communication between teacher and student Changes in teaching/learning needs Life long learning Teaching/learning HOW TO LEARN

Computer Technology4 Teaching in the classroom- progress in use of cognitive abilities –Teacher only –Teacher + Black/white/green board Overhead Projector Video Power Point Computers

Computer Technology5 Beyond the classroom The ‘sebenta’ –Value > teacher accountable for knowledge –Limitations > local scale Bibliography –Value > teacher and student responsible for search for knowledge –Limitations > local libraries and bookshops –Side-effect > teacher loses confidence in own knowledge

Computer Technology6 Open and Distance Learning (ODL) –Value > teacher accountable for providing knowledge acquirable locally acquirable on international scale –Limitations existing material teacher’s knowledge of existing material –Side-effect Lessons available locally and internationally –incoming –outgoing

Computer Technology7 Open and Distance Learning (ODL) –This is not the same as Open University –Anyone who wishes to put in the necessary time can access lessons on-line, at any time of the day or night –Anyone who wishes to put in the necessary time can put lessons on-line, at any time of the day or night –There are plenty of courses on-line most of them have to be paid for some are free –Students and teachers can communicate with each other easily –Please note that the Reitoria is doing its best to promote ODL

Computer Technology8 Study and homework –Traditional Set books Photocopies Library Local Bookshop Limited to local availability –Additional On-line bookshops CD-ROMs Internet Availability on international scale

Computer Technology9 INFORMATION RETRIEVAL & DISTRIBUTION RETRIEVAL On-line bookstores, e.g. – – Direct links to publishers, e.g. – Newspapers on-line –over 2000 newspapers

Computer Technology10 Journals on-line –free and by subscription Books, articles and conference proceedings on-line Reference material –dictionaries –encylopedias –databases (e.g. EURODICAUTOM) Resource material –‘ready made’ lessons –bibliographies Information on a multitude of subjects

Computer Technology11 RETRIEVAL & DISTRIBUTION Mailing lists and –Interactive communication with others –Easier teacher student communication –International communication –Virtual mobility Video-conferencing –On-line lessons and discussions Making Web pages –Teachers can create reference material for their students –Students can publish their work on-line

Computer Technology12 SOFTWARE FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES Electronic corpora –the whole Web - –general purpose representative of many registers –special purpose restricted registers - literary, scientific, technical, etc specially designed corpora - e.g. telephone conversations, doctor/patient communication, Text Analysis Software Translation software

Computer Technology13 Electronic corpora –British National Corpus (BNC) million words on-line /100 million on CD-ROM –International Corpus of English (ICE)- 1 million fully parsed words –International Corpus of Learners’ English (ICLE) –European Language Resources Association (ELRA) - collection of corpora in many languages –ICAME - CD-ROM of several corpora –Gutenberg project and On-Line Book Page -thousands of literary texts –Oxford University Computing Service - a wide variety of texts for research purposes

Computer Technology14 Text Analysis Software Concordancers –MICROCONCORD –WORDSMITH (FLUP has this software) Word Lists Concordancer Text Alinger / Viewer –PARACONCORD for parallel texts Tagging - parts of speech –Cobuild will do short texts for free on-line Parsing –ICE fully parsed

Computer Technology15 Translation Software –Machine Translation SYSTRAN – available as programme –on-line via Alta Vista at GLOBALINK, METAL etc. –Translation software TRADOS, TRANSIT, DÉJÁ VU etc –Translation memories –Terminology databases –Alignment programmes

Computer Technology16 APPLICATIONS Teacher Training –Trainee Teachers need to learn how to use computer technology for teaching and learning processes Language teaching and learning - CALL Translator Training Research into: –Language –Linguistics –Literature –Culture –ETC.

Computer Technology17 CALL –See Warschauer, M. (1996). Computer-assisted language learning: An introduction. In S. Fotos (Ed.), (pp. 3-20). Tokyo: Logos International. Behavioristic CALL Communicative CALL Steps toward Integrative CALL: Multimedia Steps toward Integrative CALL: The Internet –Experiments in virtual mobility like the Open to Europe project –Open and Distance Learning

Computer Technology18 RESEARCH INTO: –Language and Language Teaching Internet and mailing lists - essential for retrieval and distribution of information –Linguistics Corpora now essential for all serious linguistic research –Literature Text analysis software indispensable for rigorous analysis of texts Internet and mailing lists - essential for retrieval and distribution of information –Culture Internet and mailing lists - essential for retrieval and distribution of information

Computer Technology19 TRANSLATOR TRAINING The LETRAC project found that, if translator training institutions wish to prepare their students to work in the real world, it is essential they should learn about: –Introduction to Information Technology –Desk Top Publishing –Telecommunications and Internet –Translation Specific software and advisable that they study: –Corpus Linguistics –Machine Translation –Computational Linguistics

Computer Technology20 COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY - FLUP Hardware –Library on-line –PCs connected to Internet and local server in: most ‘gabinetes’ Institutes 3 Computers Rooms on 4th floor - 15, 8, & 12 PCs+3 Macs Sala de Tradução PCs Centro Leonardo Coimbra - 10 PCs –CLC organises courses on Internet, Office etc –Scanners –Multimedia projectors

Computer Technology21 Software Existing –Windows NT and 2000 –Microsoft Office –Panda Anti-Virus –Internet Explorer –SPSS –WORDSMITH + Large quantities of newspaper text literary texts –TRADOS –ETC

Computer Technology22 Requested –Access to BNC –ICAME CD-ROM –TRANSIT –Déjà Vu Possible with general co-operation –Collection of literary texts –Collection of texts for study purposes –Collection of general and specialised corpora –Collection of reference material –Collection of ‘ready-made’ teaching material

Computer Technology23 CD ROMs in FLUP Library - English Oxford English Dictionary The Encylopedia Britannica The English Poetry Full-Text Poetry Database The Times and Sunday Times The Guardian Electronic Management Research Library CD-ROM of twenty Dictionaries Various Dictionaries by Collins, O.U.P and Longmans Encarta Hutchinsons Multimedia Encyclopedia ETC –

Computer Technology24 CD ROMs in FLUP Library - Portuguese História de Portugal Bibliografia Nacional Portuguesa Mediateca do Século XX Fernando Pessoa Luís de Camões Vários encyclopedias, dicionários e gramáticas em Português CD ROMs in FLUP Library - General Museums, Art Galleries, Artists, Cities, Countries ETC.

Computer Technology25 WHAT COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY CAN DO Facilitate the teaching / learning process Provide tools for human imagination and creativity Offer links to an international world of information Provide the tools for more precise, less impressionistic research Contribute to a more professional approach by teachers, translators and others in the language industries

Computer Technology26 WHAT COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY CANNOT DO Work without input from human beings Help those determined to maintain the status quo in the teaching and learning processes Maintain the ‘education for an élite’ mentality