Comparative analysis of instructional software that supports the teaching of English to speakers of other languages

Instructional Technology can play a major role In the teaching of English to speakers of other languages (ESOL). For it to realize this potential, though,essential shifts need to occur in how instructors and developers think about instructional technology: either as that which serves instruction or as that which supports learning. Instructors must also consider the extent to which they encourage learners to exert control over their own learning. Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) courseware is widely available for use in the LanguageArts for children in kindergarten and elementary schools, but little is available for use by adolescents and adults who are not fluent in spoken English. In this study,a rationale is provided for making CALL courseware more user friendly to students who are speakers of languages other than English. That rationale may be stated as: CALL courseware and spoken English are not so much subject matter for primary or supplemental instruction as they are tools that enable students to function efficiently, both in the classroom and in society at large.In support of that rationale, a survey was conducted of eight CALLcourseware applications that purport to address the teaching of modern English To adult speakers of other languages. The researcher first determined the established criteria were available for evaluating CALL courseware designed for use by adults. These criteria were then applied to the courseware survey, making use of a media comparison approach. The CALL courseware applications surveyed uniformly appeared not to address the kind of instruction necessary for teaching English to potentially non-literate speakers of other languages. Learning Institutions can and do equip modern classrooms with CALL courseware aimed at potentially literate learners. This researcher maintains that a more reasonable alternative would be to equip many of those classrooms with courseware that enables non-literate learners as well to participate in drill and practice, tutorials,and educational games or simulations.