How can individuals or small groups learn with OLA?

In this category, students will be working individually or in pairs/groups of three at computer workstations, in all likelihood using headphones. These workstations could be located in the classroom or in a language laboratory. Some of the activities outlined above are adaptible to individual use, but more often the instructor will have prepared structured activities using a CALL authoring system such as Dasher or Libra or created in Javascript with links to OLA dialogues via a network or contained on a CD-ROM or CD-Audio disc. We have once again attempted to categorize by level, though many exercise designs could be used at multiple levels by varying content. Graphic representations of a few exercise templates have been included.

Elementary level

record/playback/compare. Student listens to a segment, records his/her own voice, then compares it to the original segment. Can include alternative audio recording (slowed down or more clearly enunciated, for example).

fill-in-blank dictation. Student listens to segment, fills in missing word in written prompt (see illustration). Immediate correction by computer with errors hilited. Can be multiple blanks (cloze format) for extended segments.

full dictation (all levels). Student listens to segment, types out entire segment. Computer correction as above.

simple multiple choice comprehension (all levels). Student plays dialogue or segment, chooses from among a short list of possible answers to a comprehension question.

extended comprehension (all levels). Student plays dialogue and chooses multiple sentences (by checkbox) which correctly characterize the content of the dialogue.

Intermediate level

utterance ordering. Student listens to all multiple segments individually. Drags them into a correct/logical sequence. Plays back student order. Plays back original order to compare.

free response dialogue building. Student listens to segment, records a reply. Repeat for 3-5 segments. Play back segment prompts and recordings as new continuous dialogue.

Advanced level

extended discourse replies. For example (a dialogue about housekeeping preferences): Listen to this dialogue. Which of these two speakers would make the best roommate? Support your opinion with quotations from the dialogue.

discourse analysis. Find at least four examples of greetings. Explain the differences in formality and relative status reflected in them.