Chapelle (1998) examines the application of SLA
theories/expectations with the development and implementation of CALL tools or
materials. One of the interesting SLA hypotheses discussed in this article
pertains to the modification of linguistic input. The hypothesis is summarized
by Chapelle as "learners should receive help in comprehending semantic and
syntactic aspects of linguistic input" (p. 23). In other words, in order
to comprehend the input and thereby render it 'valuable for acquisition', the
learner should be able to modify this input within the CALL materials. Some of
the possible modifications listed by Chapelle include simplifying the
statements, repeating the forms, decreasing the speed of the input, changing
the mode of the input, and providing access to reference tools (p. 27).
It seems that these types of modifications are necessary in
one form or another so that learners can progress to the next level of
proficiency. However, this places language teachers in a difficult position. On
the one hand, many language teachers would like to take advantage of the wide
range of examples of authentic language available online and introduce these
materials into their classrooms. These materials have the potential of being
much more motivating and stimulating for students than standard textbook
examples. On the other hand, these materials, if created by and for native
speakers, will most likely be inaccessible for all but advanced learners. The
reality is that providing these types of modifications is not necessarily (currently)
possible when using authentic language materials. Are there ways to modify
these materials according to the options laid by Chapelle, so that this natural
language data can be included in the classroom? Can the implementation of these
'modification' options (repeating forms, decreasing speed of speech, changing the
input mode, etc.) be automated in order facilitate the use of these materials
in the classroom? If there is no simple and effective way of introducing these
authentic materials into the classroom with modifications, then language
teachers will not necessarily spend an inordinate amount of time (nor should
they have to) trying to tailor these materials 'by hand' according to the needs
of their students. The development of tools for automating most, if not all, of
the user modifications seems necessary for these authentic materials to play a
larger role in language classrooms.
As a language teacher, I am curious about incorporating CMC in my teaching. However, as a novice user of computer-based technology, I get intimidated by the fact that teachers (most likely) need to modify online materials to fit the needs of the classroom. You raise a good point that, in order for a web-based material to be used effectively, it needs to be designed in a way that allows fairly easy access and navigation.
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