In this text the author presents a personalized view of what has happened in the first decades of modern computers in American education.
a) Read the text for obtaining its information:
Throughout the 1960's far-reaching claims were made for the potential for computers to improve education. The efforts, particu-larly of computer companies, were concentrated on "Computer-Aid-ed Instruction" or "CAI". While the phrase computer-aided instruc-tion is broad enough to describe all current applications of comput-ers to the process of education, in practice CAI has come to stand for only one possible use of the computer — namely, as a substitute teacher. Students sitting at computer terminals can receive instruc-tion in a wide variety of subjects. A perennial favorite is language instruction. This can consist of vocabulary, grammar, and spelling drills, or of monitored language translation in a more sophisticated version. For example, the computer may provide words in English, for which the student is supposed to give synonyms in French.
In a more sophisticated application CAI will teach the student new subject matter and quiz him on it. Textual material is provided either directly on a display terminal or through supplementary notes.
A major claim made for CAI is that each student can proceed at his own speed. The student who is having difficulty with a given top-ic, as shown through the number of errors he commits, can branch out to another program and be provided with remedial instructional material. In this sense CAI is more individualized than the instruc-tion the average teacher can provide to a class.
The computer also has certain attributes which in special situa-tions makes it superior to the teacher. First, the computer has infi-nite patience. Second, through time sharing, it can simultaneously drill a large number of students, each one proceeding at his or her own speed. Third, the computer, if correctly programmed, does not make any mistakes. And finally, there are distinct advantages in the completely ітрегзодаї relation between the student and computer. The student can make all his mistakes in private without having to demonstrate his ignorance to the teacher and to the rest of the class.
All those advantages have to be acknowledged.
(From: KemenyJ.G. Man and the Computer. N.Y., 1972. Abridged.)
Answer the following questions:
How can computers be used in the area of language instruction?
Can a computer quiz the student besides teaching him new sub-ject matter? 3. What are the main four advantages of a computer in education, as the author puts it?
Summarize the whole of the text in two paragraphs.
Tell the class how you think computer-aided instruction should be used in language teaching at school.
H.Muchofthe information we need in carrying on either our professional work or leisure-time activities we gather through interviews — purposeful conversa-tions, as we might call them.
Use the following monologues for making imaginary interviews with the speakers on the current problems of education.
Mind that besides asking questions the interviewer should encourage people
To speak.
Model: Mrs. Brown, tell us what happened, will you? — Really! — So what did you do about it? — The computer, you mean...
— Read it for us, will you? — And what about you, Mr. Green?
Mona Thompson, 47, comprehensive school teacher
It's easy for the experts to tell us how to teach. I wish they'd tell my fourteen-year-olds how to learn. I think study techniques are becoming most important today. Besides, I wonder how I should motivate my teenagers to read. Of course, there are plenty of inter-esting books in the library, but the boys and girls in my class aren't interested in them. All they care about is football or pop music. It's no use telling them to read. I've tried, but they don't listen.