Post 1: The Islamization of Psycholinguistics

   The subject that our group had chosen is Psycholinguistics. As we know, Psycholinguistics has a very wide scope of study. It is the study of mental processes involved in the comprehension, production, and acquisition of language.   According to Steinberg and Sciarini (2006) in their book An Introduction to Psycholinguistics, psycholinguistics is the psychology of language as it relates to learning, mind and brain as well as various aspects of society and culture. Meanwhile according to Merriam-Webster dictionary, psycholinguistics is the study of the mental faculties which involved in the perception, production, and acquisition of language. There are variations of definition regarding the term which simply associated with psychology and language.

     Human being is the most unique creation that Allah ever created as He created them in good shape, excellent condition and the most crucial part is the brilliant human’s mind which also known as aql. He created human on purpose and the purpose of human’s creation is to serve Allah and to appreciate Allah such as appreciate the knowledge that He gives to human being and to follow His order. If we see the psycholinguistics study from Islamic perspective, we should realize how almighty and all-knowing Allah is yet we are not. Allah creates human brain with a lot of function in it and one of it is the production of language in human brain. In linguistics, Noam Chomsky explains how man can acquire language. Chomsky introduces the theory of Universal Grammar and about the Language Acquisition Device in human brain. This study has been found many years later after the creation of man and the revelation of Quran. However, Allah has already explains about the function and the miracle of human brain in the Quran before Chomsky attempted to found the theory of language acquisition in human brain.

In short, the psycholinguistics study enable us to understand more about how we as a human can acquire language through the brain that has been given by Allah only to human being. In addition, from the study we realize how Almighty and All Knowing Allah is. As a Muslim, we should study the Quran more as all of the knowledge that we need is actually all in the Quran.  

 

Reflection 3: Islamization of Knowledge

 

' Proclaim! (Read) in the name of your Lord and Cherisher, Who created,...' Surah Al-Alaq 96:1


Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim as the first ayah revealed to our beloved Prophet Muhammad s.a.w in Surah Al-Alaq/ Iqra which means proclaim or read.  There is a hadith from al-Tarmidhi which emphasizes the importance of seeking knowledge;

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Seeking knowledge in (the company of others) for an hour in the night is better than spending the whole night in prayer." - Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 91

According to the hadith above it is crystal clear that seeking knowledge is vital upon every Muslim. In every subject or course that we learn in school, college or university, we as a Muslim should look the extract of the subject from both perspectives which are from Western view and later on we have to understand the subject from Islamic perspective. As in today's challenging world, one should hold onto the teaching of Islam and should have a lot of knowledge not only about worldly matter but also akhirah. As a good Muslim, one should filter the information that he get in order to confirm the reliability of the information. In short, with knowledge, one can be one step closer to Allah S.W.T

Reflection 2: E-Portfolio

           
          E-portfolio is a digitized collection of artifacts, including demonstrations, resources, and accomplishments that represent an individual, group, community, organization, or institution. This collection can be comprised of text-based, graphic, or multimedia elements archived on a Web site or another electronic media. E-portfolios can also be defined as personalized, Web-based collections of work, responses to work, and reflections that are used to demonstrate key skills and accomplishments for a variety of contexts and time periods.

          An e-portfolio is more than a simple collection, however; it can also serve as an administrative tool to manage and organize work created with different applications and control that can see or discuss the work. The benefits of an e-portfolio typically derive from the exchange of ideas and feedback between the author and those who view and interact with the e-portfolio. In addition, the author’s personal reflection on the work inside an e-portfolio helps create a meaningful learning experience.

          Below are the examples of e-portfolio: 

 

Week I: Group discussion 1

Q (1). Reflect on your experience in the linguistic course that you have chosen as the theme of your blog?

A (1). CALL is interdisciplinary in nature. And it draws itself on psychology and Second Language Acquisition (SLA). From Skinner's Behaviorist learning theory, to Communicative theory and up until Integrative CALL theory; all these theories share the same aim and that is, to explain what happens when learning occurs.

Q (2). Relate the concepts in the three steps to that experience.

A (2).The field of CALL involves the use of a computer in the language learning process. And CALL programs aims to teach aspects of the language learning process through the medium of the computer. The first phase of CALL was based on the then-dominant behaviorist theory where the programs of this phase entailed repetitive language drills (also referred to as "drill and kill"), Drill and practice coursework sees the computer as a mechanical tutor for the learners. The second phase of CALL however, was based on the communicative approach of teaching; . Communicative CALL theorist felt that the drill and practice programs did not allow enough authentic communication to the learners; the behaviorist only focus and look at the forms themselves rather than focusing more on using the forms and this does not encourage the students to generate their own utterances rather than manipulate the fabricated language that was being learned.

Q (3). Discuss how the concept in the three stages of CALL are relevant to SLA theories and practices.

A (3). Second Language Learning (SLA) is the study of how a second language is acquired by a learner. And it involves a conscious process (learning) and a subconscious process (acquisition). For example, if a student lacks the motivation and the right attitude in learning a language, the student might looks at things differently and the importance in learning a language would be dealt with in an uninteresting manner. All the three stages of CALL suggest to SLA theory that every language learner has a different way of acquiring a language and that different CALL stages can be used for the language learning process to occur. Therefore, in teaching second language learners how to learn, the three CALL stages can help facilitate the learning process and promote learner autonomy that can make language learning more meaningful for the second language learners (the learners can equip themselves with knowledge, skills and competencies that will enable them to take responsibility for their own learning).

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Q (1). Did the course incorporate the use of computer in the teaching and learning?

A (1). Yes, psycholinguistic incorporates the use of computer in the teaching and learning.

Q (2). Are the computer-based activities related to any of the three stages of CALL?

A (2). Yes, all the three stages of it.

Q (3). What are the important concepts in the three stages related to the activities?

A (3). 

In relation to The History of CALL

A videoscribe on how advancements in technology have impacted teaching and learning over the years.

Reflection 1: The History of CALL

 

     As computers have become a widespread learning tool in schools, the necessity for computer literacy has also become obvious. Hence this has spark an interest in language teachers too also start using the new technologies as their pedagogical approach tool in their teaching methods. CALL thus has provided an incredible boost in offering a wide variety of educational programs, resources, multimedia software programs and computer software tutorials (grammar drills, vocabulary, listening and pronunciation exercises etc).

     The first field of CALL has straddled since the 1960's and the 1970's and it underwent through three important phases; the Behaviorist phase, the Communicative phase and the Integrative phase. The Behaviorist CALL was implemented in the 1960's and the 1970's, so as  proposed by B.F. Skinner in (1957), Behaviorist Call emphasizes behaviorist learning methods where the computer is seen as a mechanical tutor to the learner and alongside creating an environment that stimulates the learning process. The principal use of Behaviorist Call is the drill and practice methodology. For Behaviorist, they believe that the learners are passive; the learners will only acquire new information in a structured environment that will stimulate them. In other words, the learners should be stimulated again and again in order for them to acquire new information and this comes in form of: dialogues and pattern drills, grammar translation, audio-lingual teaching and etc.

     Communicative CALL (multimedia) however is more process oriented than product oriented; more interested in knowing, 'How did they acquire the (example) grammar?, than, 'Did they acquire grammar? Yes or no'. Seeing that Communicative CALL encourages learners to their own learning discovery (learner-centered approach), Communicative CALL programs provides skill practice in a non-drill format; language games, reading and text reconstruction. For example in spelling and grammar exercises, instead of giving them the rules, the learners should also know how to use the rules and thus produce their own sentences and utterances. In this phase, the computer is still used as a mechanical tool but it gives the learners their own choices, control and interaction in order for them to make their own environment to stimulate their learning process.

     In the current Integrative CALL (Internet) phase by Warshaver (1996), technology based multimedia computer is integrated in the learning process. It is a task-based, a content-based and a project-based Integrative CALL method that combines text, graphic, sound, animation and video in a learner-learner interaction learning environment. Computer are used only as a tool for interactive communication for the learners. For example, learners can interact with other native language learners via international or local network by accessing virtual chatrooms (Skype, Facebook etc).

    To conclude, CALL suggests that the computer can serve a variety of uses for language teaching and learning. It can be a mechanical tutor which offers language drills and skill practice, a stimulus for discussion and interaction, and  a tool for writing and research. And with the advent of the Internet, it can also be a medium of global communication for the learners to interact with other native learners, and also as an easy-access library filled with limitless sources and materials.