Michele Huston, Project Manager, Small-Enrolment Languages Project , Faculty of Asian Studies , ANU
Asian Fonts, CALL, Asian Studies, online course materials, Hindi, Vietnamese,
language learning, flexible education.
This paper documents early experiences in the use of web-based technologies in Asian language learning at the Faculty of Asian Studies, The Australian National University. The project had a broad agenda to find ways to deliver high-quality language learning opportunities to students at remote campuses. This paper focuses on technology issues in this context. It discusses the development of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) activities to enhance the value of face-to-face studies in Hindi and Vietnamese, where some students receive this "face-to-face" tuition via video conference. Widespread use of the Unicode character set is not yet established for either Vietnamese or Hindi and the special issues raised by the use of non-roman character sets in electronic publishing are discussed.
The primary focus of the project was small-enrolment languages but one trial was conducted in Japanese studies where student numbers are substantial. The purpose of this trial was to seek student feedback on the use of compulsory assessable activities delivered over the Internet.
Evaluation of the use of technology was undertaken, including an independent
evaluation of student perceptions into the use of online course materials in
Hindi language studies by students on-campus and attending classes via video
conference. This evaluation raises issues related to accessibility to network
bandwidth, computing equipment and computer literacy skills, issues that decision
makers need to consider if they are to make informed decisions about delivering
courses in Asian languages via video conference or online.