THE USE OF CALL IN THE SKILL APPLICATION OF GRAMMAR IS THE BEST WAY IN TEACHING-LEARNING ENGLISH
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
The exixtence of media as a tool of information nowadays is very important in teaching-learning process. It can make the information becoming real, simple, clear, and attracted. One media that can help the teacher and the student in teaching-learning process is computer. The computer is used as a medium, tool, aid, and intermediary for people. It can used as a part of the of the entire learning process, which is called as CALL or Computer Assisted Language Learning. CALL has a role in the application of language skills, such as reading, writing, listening, and speaking. However, the use of CALL in the skill application of grammar is the best way in teaching-learning English.
B. THE OBJECTIVES
This paper is written with the intention to deal with the use of CALL in the skill application of grammar is the best way in teaching-learning process.
II. FRAMEWORK
A. COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING
Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is an approach to language teaching and learning in which computertechnology is used as an aid to the presentation, reinforcement, and assessment of material to be learned, usually including a substantial interactive element. It can make the language skills benefit to some extent, especially for the grammar skill appliacation. Geofrey, et al (1984, p.34) quotes Holmes and Kidd as stating it is often when applied to the grammar learning situation that the analytical and interactive capabilities (of computer) have been use4d to good advantage.
The use CALL in the skill application of grammar is the best way in teaching-learning process. First, most computer programs in foreign language deal with the grammar. CALL provides a lot of exercises to the grammar skill application, which are multiple choice, generative exercise, full sentence exercise, fill in the blank, etc. The multiple choice is the student’s exercise to choose the correct form. The CALL can provide the helpful comment for each choice, and since the choices in such an exercise are limited, the explanation can be clear and to the point. The generative exercise in CALL program is useful in helping the students create their own sentences. The program also concatenate the words to form a sentence. CALL also provides full sentence exeercise for transformation, completion, short translation, and scrambled sentence. Furthermore, it focuses on syntatic and morphological at the same time. A drill execise is giving correct forms of verbs or adjective. And tutorial is teaching grammatical concept and the drill on its application. It is one-to-one basis. It gears student’s individual responses and it also advices overcomes errors and reinforces grammatical pattern. The fill in exercises are especially programmed to work with the conjugation, declensions, and cases. It is easier to used for the studesnt since it requires one word answer. It also reduces error possibilities. And there are still many grammar exercises which can be applied with CALL program.
Second, the diversity types of answer processing for CALL in grammar exercises can be applied, such as correct or incorrect, record keeping and branching, tracking and diagnosis (partial answer processing), pattern mark up, authoring system, graphic diagnosis, etc. The correct-incorrect types of answer processing is actually unlike to motivate the students, and it leads to boredom, because the computer’s comment is only correct or incorrect. it is also less effort and the student is only guessing. The record keeping branching can be given to the student as an alternative choice of giving speech. The student also can be more interested in using it, for instance in correct-incorrect answer processing. The tracking and diagnosis (partial answer processing) is generally used in tutorial program. It deliver diagnostic messages to examine the student’s answer. It is anticipating the wrong answer by giving helpful messages describing the nature of the error. And the misspelling and typo are comment with ‘Something is wrong here. Check your typing or spelling’. The next answer processing is pattern mark up. It is used to diagnose extra letters, transposed word, and extraneous words. The answer processor or visual pinpointing is using like dash or other symbols. And the using of authoring system answer processing needs the writer just to write the questions with answer to create a grammar exercise, without anticipating possible errors and their explanations or engaging in any programming. Besides, the using of graphic diagnosis is one type of answer processing can be used in avoiding using verbal English and the use of grammatical terminology.
B. THE ADVANTAGE & DISADVANTAGE OF CALL IN APPLIED ON GRAMMAR SKILL APPLICATION
1.1. The Advantage of CALL in Applied on Grammar Skill Application
Computer as a means or tool in language learning has many advantages which is useful for the student and the teacher in teaching-learning process. The advantage of CALL in applied on grammar skill application:
- The student can directly choose some topics about grammar which they prefer. The student does not have to read the material or the exercise. They are free to choose the selected material which they want to learn.
- The student individually can get more knowledge about grammar from the beginning until advanced level. And for the students who are missed the class, they do not have to be worry for missing the lesson. Because CALL will solve their problem in simple, easy, and attracted.
- The student does not have to write down the down the note about the entire of lesson, for example a note about what is Past Tense, how to use Past Tense, etc is on the screen.
- CALL gives an alternative way of learning from the classic ir in monoton way. The students are more interested to do the grammar exercise than just do the exercise in the text book
- CALL can evaluate the student’s exercise correctly. The computer has never do wrong. There is no system in the computer which shows the wrong data. Sometimes, if they are too depend on techer’s information or knowledge, the information which is probably wrong. Because every human in this world, including teacher is sometimes doing some mistakes.
1.2. The Disadvantage of CALL in Applied Grammar Skill Application
Although the computer has never do wrong, it also has some weaknesses or disadvantages. The diadvantage of CALL in applied grammar skill application are:
- It is high cost to apply CALL in teaching-learning process.
- It is not simple to use the computer in applied the grammar exercise sometimes. It is not too complicated if the teacher just asks the students to do the grammar exercise in the work sheet.
III. CONCLUSION
In short, CALL is one alternative choices in learning the language. The student will be more encourage doing the grammar exercise which sometimes it can make the student bored. Because CALL program gives an interesting an interesting and simple text. However, CALL is still the high cost material in teaching-learning process.
