MDDE610+CAI+Assignment

= Computer Assisted Instruction: Rosetta Stone-Arabic =

Situation
toc ..... For six years, I have taught math to young Qatari men who are just beginning to learn English and their first language is Arabic. Sometimes, it can be difficult to communicate with some of the students, let alone teach them problem solving skills. So, in my first year of teaching in Qatar, I started totry and learn Arabic words and phrases from co-workers and students. I found it difficult because there are sounds in Arabic that are not in English language and since I am not a linguist or EFL instructor it was even harder to make sense of the different sounds/letters. ..... So, I decided that a better strategy to learn Arabic would be to focus on learning the Arabic alphabet first. The idea was that when learning new Arabic words at least I would know what letters were being vocalized. A colleague recommended Rosetta Stone to me and I tried it out. I hated it. I hated the guessing and I felt like I needed to learn to read and write Arabic alphabet before I could even start to use Rosetta Stone. Over a period of a year-and-a-half I tried to use Rosetta Stone three times, and each time I quit. ..... So in my second year in Qatar, I took a basic face-to-face Arabic course where I learned Arabic letters, how to read and write a little, and some basic vocabulary. Over the next four years, I practiced my Arabic through reading Arabic signs, listening to my students talk, and by writing new Arabic words on the board, in class, and having the students correct my spelling. Through these means, I gained some vocabulary and currently I remember about 90% of the Arabic alphabet (there are some letters I just keep forgetting and then there are the two letters that I still can’t pronounce unless I literally wrap my hands around my throat and choke myself). I can write a little bit in Arabic, but not very well. I feel like I have hit a plateau; I know some vocabulary, but I can’t string anything together to make a sentence.

Learning Goals
..... I want to learn some basic grammar, present tense only, so I can speak in short sentences. I want to learn some more general vocabulary, as most of the vocabulary I know is for classroom usage and specific to math (pencil, pen, listen, sit, please, thank you, book, where, when, add, subtract, multiply, fraction, positive, negative…).

Accomplishments
..... One positive aspect about Rosetta Stone--Arabic, is that it did helped me accomplished my goals—I learned how to conjugate verbs in the present tense and I learned some new vocabulary. Moreover, I own a copy of Rosetta Stone--Arabic. Is it the best system? or the best fit for me? I doubt it, but I don't have a copy of Pimsleur and Mango doesn't offer Arabic. Pimsleur may be a better fit, but I am able to make Rosetta Stone fit me well by supplementing the software with two books I own on learning Arabic and resources I can find online.

Main Resources Used
Rosetta Stone—Arabic

Intermediate Arabic For Dummies

Very Simple Arabic Script Internet (This makes me giggle--linking to the Internet.)

The Process
..... I spent four hours learning Arabic with Rosetta Stone. During this time, I completed the first lesson, out of four, in Unit 1. The four hours of learning includes the time it took searching the internet and looking through my books to try and figure out what Rosetta Stone was trying to teach me. I felt like Rosetta Stone wanted me to do a lot of guessing to try and figure things out, but that is not the learning methodology with which I am interested. I suppose it wouldn’t have taken as long to complete lesson one if I wasn’t so interested in really trying to figure things out, without guessing. However, this time it was much easier to learn Arabic with Rosetta Stone, as I know most of the Arabic alphabet and I can read and write some Arabic. ..... Here is my progress report.

Issue 1
..... The first problem I ran into was on the second screen—within one minute of starting the program. I was presented with a letter that I had never seen before. I looked in my dog-eared book //Very Simple Arabic Script//, but I couldn’t find any information about it. Then I looked in //Intermediate Arabic for Dummies// (I don’t own a copy of the beginner book //Arabic for Dummies//, but I should) and found some information, but I didn’t understand it—sigh. This letter has something to do with the indefinite nominative form, which I knew nothing about. So I had to Google the term ‘indefinite nominative’ and vaguely figure things out. The word below is //bintun// which means //a girl//, not //the girl//. I have only heard girl as //bint//, never with the suffix //-un// added on the end.

..... Through my searching, I learned that this character is called a //tanween//, of which there are three. I searched on the internet to learn a little more about //tanween//. I discover that in spoken Arabic dialects, these endings are absent. Okay, so this is why I have never heard this ending before for the word girl. Rosetta Stone is vocalizing this ending and I have to practice vocalizing //tanweens//, but it never is vocalized in regular conversations! So, now I am a little disappointed—I am learning words that I will never use and I am only on the second screen.



Issue 2
..... I am still in the core lesson and on screen 26 and I am very confused with I, he, she, they, you, we in Arabic. I Google those terms and find that they are called pronouns. Now that I know that they are called pronouns, I can look up pronouns in my Dummies book. (I feel like a dummy for not remembering the term pronoun.) I find that in Arabic there are ten pronouns—more than in English. No wonder I am confused! Then I look more closely, some of the pronouns that they are using in Rosetta Stone are not in my Dummies book and so I Google “Arabic pronouns.” I find that there are thirteen Arabic pronouns, not ten. Wow! That’s a lot. Additionally, for each pronoun there is a prefix and a suffix to attach to the verb that follows the pronoun. ..... This information about pronouns is really good information to have because I have found with my students that it is really offensive to them to use the wrong suffix when talking with them, and I guess pronoun as well. For instance, if I say //tali// (for females) instead of //tal// (for males) to a male student he will become very agitated (//tal// means to come). I am not sure how the suffix //–i// fits with what I learned about pronouns or how it fits with the table below, but now I have a better understanding of pronouns. Perhaps the suffix //–i// is for spoken language and Rosetta Stone is teaching me a more formal written language. >> * " Masculine Plural is three males or more or one male and two females or more >> ``**Feminine Plural is three females or more`` >> ``***Dual is two of the same sex``

Issue 3
..... Within the reading component, there is an annoying error with the multiple choice answers. When presented with the answers for the multiple choice questions, the correct answer always has a period at the end of the word. Since I am truly interested in learning Arabic I tried to ignore this error, but it was difficult to ignore... easy cheating, if I wanted to.

Issue 4
..... Within the listening and reading component one of the speakers does not pronounce the //–a// at the end of the word //hunna// (it means //they// for feminine/plural). This was confusing for me; however, since they presented the written form in addition to the audio, I was able read that it was //hunna// not //hun//.

Issue 5
..... I tried out my newly conjugated Arabic sentences on my students today. I told them that I was going to say something in Arabic and asked them if they understood it. I said, //he runs// in Arabic and they had no idea what I was saying. Then I then wrote it on the board, correctly, in Arabic and they still did not understand. And so I explained what it meant and then one student finally understood what it meant. He said that the vocabulary was correct, but it is the more formal Arabic that is used in the Koran, and that they don't use that vocabulary when they speak. I am a little disappointed, as not all of the vocabulary I learned through Rosetta Stone is relevant Arabic for me to use with my students. ..... I tried out some of the pronouns that I had learned with my students and I tried to conjugate them with some verbs I knew before using Rosetta Stone. Success! They understood the pronouns. They corrected me on how I conjugated the verbs though—perhaps I conjugated them wrong or the conjugations are incorrect for spoken Arabic dialects. I still haven’t been able to figure out if my grammar is correct, as I can’t use my students’ response to my grammar conjugation as a judge because many of them admit to not knowing proper Arabic grammar.

Modified Learning Goals
..... I reassessed my learning goals after trying out my newly learned Arabic on my students. I think I might continue to use Rosetta Stone to learn Arabic, beyond this assignment, but with modified expectations. ..... I want to use Rosetta Stone to learn some basic grammar, present tense only, and some additional vocabulary so I can speak in short sentences; however, I understand that not all grammar and vocabulary learned through Rosetta Stone will be relevant to my needs. (Disappointment is a direct result of my expectations; I am no longer expecting a lot of relevance from Rosetta Stone.)

Examples of My Learning
1) Here is a video deconstructing the masculine plural form of //they eat//. I created the video using Camtasia. media type="youtube" key="fqqjHgA56rQ" height="315" width="560" align="center"

2) Here is a video where I write in Arabic, //he eats//. I created the video using a Wacom Bamboo Tablet, Microsoft OneNote, and Camtasia. media type="youtube" key="9Xd0VmpwKes" height="315" width="560" align="center"

3) Here I have conjugated the verb //to drink//. = = = Critique of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) =

Benefits

 * It can emphasize individual needs.
 * It is self-directed—learners can learn at their own pace, anywhere, anytime, anything they want.
 * It allows for self-pacing; slower learners can take more time and quicker learners can learn more and more rapidly.
 * It can automatically provide more or less practice, or repeat lessons as often as necessary, depending on the learners needs.
 * As a result, reduce the learning stresses and anxieties.
 * Provides one-to-one interaction and individual assistance.
 * It’s private and thus, shy or inhibited learners, learners from disadvantages backgrounds, learners with language difficulties can be greatly benefited.
 * Freedom to choose the wrong answer, without anyone knowing.
 * It’s private and thus, one has the freedom to learn any topic.
 * It offers the learners the freedom to experiment with different options.
 * Provide simulations for dangerous, expensive, complicated, or theoretical situations—in these situations CAI can be safer, more cost effective, and it makes it possible.
 * CAI can easily include components of game theory.
 * Depending on the design, it can be a great motivator.
 * Instantaneous responses or feedback
 * CAI can use the principle of mastery learning, which ‘//ensures//’ learners have learned the material before moving forward.
 * Multimedia in CAI can help learners to understand difficult concepts—multi-sensory.
 * CAI can capture, analyze, and present data on a learner’s performance; this can help the learner and/or teacher monitor and check learning progress.
 * In blended environments or distance education environments,
 * It can help teachers devote more time to individual students or deeper learning activities.
 * I see CAI benefiting the average learner and thus, reducing the demand of the average learner on the instructor’s time.
 * CAI can be used as pre-class exercises to ensure learners are prepared for the lesson.
 * CAI can be used during the first few weeks of a course (or have a small prerequisite CAI course) to reduce the functional heterogeneity or background differences of students . Perhaps this could reduce the number of learners who get discouraged and drop out.
 * For organizations and institutions—depending on the development cost, number of students enrolled, and the expected course life—CAI can be cost effective and provide the opportunity to offer low-enrollment courses, that previously might not be justified.

Limitations

 * Learning can become too mechanical, monotonous, repetitive, and boring—depending on the design.
 * If CAI is the only tool used for instruction, then learners can be isolated from peers and a teacher—depending on the design.
 * The design of some CAI can divert the learner's attention from the content, same as regular instruction.
 * It’s difficult to find high quality CAI packages on the topics you want.
 * Learners need to have the necessary technology knowledge and skills to use CAI.
 * CAI cannot handle unexpected situations—unexpected learning problems or respond to unexpected learner questions. I see CAI benefiting the average learner, not being able to handle—depending on the design—the questions or needs of the very bright or weaker learners.
 * There could be a lack of infrastructure or budget to learn through CAI.
 * The design of CAI can easily fall into using behaviourist learning theory, which is suitable for learning facts or procedural skills, but not necessarily for higher order skills.