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Traditionally, language work in the primary school has been not so much a curriculum area, but more a medium of expression which pervades all aspects of school life. Any discussion on the use of computers and language development must adopt a catholic approach in which the micro is seen as a tool to enhance the growth of language across the curriculum.

The classroom computer contributes to language development by stimulating discussion and logical thought in group, problem solving situations. Word processing, LOGO, simulations and adventure programs provide four key areas which have possibilities for enhancing language work in the primary classroom and have implications for language development. Past articles in A&B Computing have discussed these areas of computer use at some length, so this month I want to look closely at a number of software tools which will assist specific skill development and language teaching. This will involve the examination of appropriate computer use at both primary and secondary phases and a brief discussion of the usefulness of the computer in the modern languages environment.

Much software for primary aged children is written in such a way that the language appearing on the screen is friendly and closely approximates natural language. However, it is important to make the child aware that present day computers are not skilled communicators and that they can only cope with a small subset of the human language. I mention this because much of the software I will discuss this month for the primary age group is intended for children who have experienced difficulty with a number of aspects of language, children need to be made aware that they must adopt a restricted and formal code in order to communicate with the computer, and that some misunderstanding and confusion may occur. Teachers must ensure that the mechanics of the software are not only explained but are fully understood by the pupils.

Because skill practice programs are so easy to write, large numbers of them flooded the market four to five years ago when computers were introduced into schools.

Much of this software achieved nothing which could not be done equally well by other means. A typical example was the Brickup program which was distributed as part of the Micro Primer series. In response to a prompt like "...something to do with teeth" (beginning with 'DEN...'), the program only accepts DENTAL and not DENTIST which is the natural response from the child. It then comes up with the message 'DENTIST is spelt badly' simply because it was not the word that the programmer expected!

At best, this type of software can only test rather than teach (Most do so outside of any meaningful context), and at worst some will even fail to accept perfectly valid answers and will penalise children for their ingenuity and unorthodox answers.

Carefully designed, skill-based software does exist, and in the hands of a sensitive teacher such software can form part of the overall strategy in helping children with specific language difficulties. I must emphasize that the use of computer software will only be worthwhile if used in conjunction with a sophisticated diagnostic approach to learning problems. In such cases it is essential that a program is exactly right for the individual child to help with a difficulty that has previously been pin pointed (such as letter discrimination).

This is probably one of those rare occasions when computers are best used with a single child, as the enormous patience of a machine (compared with that of even the most dedicated teacher) is utilized to effect. Sherston Software, ESM, Chalksoft and HS Software are among the publishers who produce skill-based software - Each title described in this part of the article was tested with a mixed ability class of seven year olds. Each program was presented to children whom, it was judged, required specific help in a number of areas.

HS Software produce a series of reading, skill-based packs in a series entitled Read Right Away. The series comprises six packs, see Figure One.

The series is based on the traditional, phonic approach to teaching children to decode words. Each program employs excellent graphics and a simple, but effective user interface. The children perceive each program as a game, but in effect, the practice of reading skills is the core of each program. A feature of the series is the flexibility it offers offering varying options regarding the number of players, the choice of sounds and skill levels.

So popular is this series with the first year junior class, that when it is in use it is difficult to keep other children (who do not require the practice) away! Indeed, they felt cheated if they too did not get an opportunity to practise their phonic skills. The superb graphics and sound coupled with a game situation offer enormous encouragement for children for whom reading is a burden.

Similar reading skills are given lively treatment by Sherston Software, a company who have established themselves in the education market and have been widely praised by teachers. Among the company's titles are a series of phonic-based programs: Short Vowel Sounds, Magic E, Consonant Blends and Vowel Diagraphs, see Figure Two.

Each program in this series is designed to provide a diagnostic test, to teach and practise the various skills in the chart above. The teacher can direct a program to test and practise at selected skill levels, and options include diagnostic, practice and final assessment modes. The speed, number of retries and weighting on a particular phonic can be altered.

Typically, the programs are well presented with large lettering, simple and effective graphics and optional sound effects. Although the programs follow a similar modus operandi, each offers a unique and varied task, thus proving motivating for reluctant learners. Each program offers an extensive teacher menu allowing total control over almost all the program's facilities.

Each program can be adjusted to suit individual needs. The electronic blackboards are excellent providing the teacher (working with a group of children), a stimulating and attention holding tool. Every program I have seen from Sherston Software has been robust and based soundly on principles of teaching and learning. The programs in this series are no exception.

One aspect of language teaching which lends itself to computer use is that of spelling. Both ESM and Chalksoft provide solutions to the problems of helping children develop a good spelling sense. Chalksoft's Spelling Your Own Words is an upgraded version of their popular Spelling Week By Week software. Chalksoft have not been slow to respond to teachers' demands for a version which will allow them to work on their own sets of words.

The new program provides ten sets of words, each of which may be replaced by the teacher's list. A teacher's menu (accessed only by password), provides a number of settings to suit individual needs. In practice I have found "Spelling your own words" to be a valuable tool for utilizing the topical approach to vocabulary - i.e. in helping children to gain familiarity with "interest" words. ESM's An Eye For Spelling is more suited to developing a sense of spelling in children. Using the "look-cover-write-check" visual approach to help weak spellers, the program provides a list of 3500 words selected and grouped into specific patterns within three broad age groups: 5-7, 7-9, 9-11 years. Each word group teaches a specific letter pattern, for example, the 5-7 years group:

others, brother, mother, another

word groups can be edited, and individual groups can be created to suit individual difficulties. The teacher maintains complete control throughout, and the pupil's progress can be monitored. The program certainly puts some fun back into spelling and children really do gain a sense of achievement.

Introducing dictionary skills to young children is often hampered by the fact that "starter" dictionaires often present a single instance to illustrate items; ambiguous information is often an unwitting part of the illustration. A program which helps to overcome the limitations of "first" dictionaires, is Wordweb from ESM. The software aims to allow access by children to several illustrations of the key words in different contexts and at any point to break down the sentences into their constituent parts and see them illustrated.

Thus, ambiguity inherent in single illustrations is reduced - naturally, the whole of the Oxford Junior Dictionary cannot be represented visually by the BBC Micro as it stands, however, to describe Wordweb as only a "dictionary" program is to render it a disservice as it is more like a mini thesaurus in reality. ESM have produced four theme discs for children to explore: The Home, The Street, The Farm and The Zoo which approximates most children's widening horizons! Each theme has about 40 key words divided into various types: people, places, animals, verbs and so on.

Through the use of text (in the present tense), children are led by reference to simple, block graphics and S.V.O. (subject-verb-object), sentences to process simple textual information. A particular pathway through the program can be directed by the teacher (most successfully in teacher-led, small group activities), or by the children themselves. Inputs from light pens and Concept Keyboard are accepted and a child's list of sentences and key words can be dumped to the printer. As an open-ended database and a means of stimulating and clarifying ideas for writing, Wordweb is most successful. It proved popular with the class of first year juniors.

In the primary school, talking, listening, reading and writing are all integral parts of the way young children learn. The computer equipped with interesting and challenging software such as that described above has a valuable place in the schema. The secondary school, as mentioned before in these columns, provides a far different environment. Matters of equipment provision, software support, curriculum constraints and teaching method constrain the way that the computer may be used much more than in the primary school. Her Majesty's Inspectorate spend a good deal of time expounding the "primary ideal" to secondary teachers - that is, the topic based, group work approach to which computer materials are so admirably suited.

In the secondary environment however, that ideal is even more difficult to attain than in the primary school. If the school is a formal or traditional environment then it is certainly true to say that the teacher who dares to be adventurous is likely to find that the situation can get out of hand. Furthermore, although a topic based approach may be appropriate, other departments on whom the topic impinges probably have little or no connection with the department in question.

Communication is sufficiently difficult within "faculties". Cross faculty communication is still almost a taboo in many schools, although this is becoming less the case.

Modern languages are a case in point; an appropriate mixture of curricular areas would be modern languages, geography and history with the odd sprinkling of English. Much software available for languages would be better exploited in that type of mixed market because different aspects of the study of a culture, other than just its language, would be possible. This would mean that the learning of all these aspects would be in context.

A fine example of this would be Granville. Cambridge Micro Software's "Prize Holiday Package". This excellent piece of material which should be available to every teacher of French, presents the group of students with a holiday at a French coastal resort. The object of the exercise is to survive in France! Consequently a variety of situations occur which demand that the pupils use the language to manage their lives.

This package enables users to investigate their environment, as they will. As this environment is a real place in France it is possible to develop a whole selection of sideways routes out from the software that develop an understanding of the culture of that area of France. The language is not the sole objective of such work although it is obviously very important.

The question also arises, "When do we use this material?" The answer is, whenever it becomes appropriate. The user need not be limited by times of lessons or even the context of a particular course. Children needing development work in survival French may be pointed at this software, even if it is not used anywhere else! Revision work and topic based work for less able groups all have their place. The great shame is that this is only one context in a whole variety that are possible in a language.

A series of such programs could cover many aspects of the modern languages "survial" syllabus in an attractive and easily managed way. The other beauty of this type of theme-based package is where schools actually talk to each other, there is the possibility of exchange of materials which build up into huge resource packs in very little time t all. These multimedia offerings often grow up because of the efforts of one or two teachers whose imagination is fired by the possibilities of a particular program.

At this point, it is worth mentioning an excellent book which will provide a wealth of information for computer users in Modern Languages. Using Computers In The Language Classroom by Christopher Jones and Sue Fortescue brings together a great deal of information about the user of the micro in many language situations. It covers everything from word processing and desk-top publishing, through "authoring" packages (dreadful name!) to language drills and exercises. It is critical, objective and keeps a firmly educational head on its shoulders.

Strangely enough, modern languages is not a subject area that lends itself comfortably to many aspects of computer use. In common with maths, there is little really good dedicated software. The best practice seems to be generated by people's use of computer tools which are sufficiently open-ended to allow them to be used for almost anything. A fine example of this would be the word processor. However, here we immediately fall foul of a huge problem - namely the ability or rather inability of BBC Micros to generate a foreign language character set.

A flexible package called Btype allows the user to type in one of about five languages, and mathematical and scientific symbols. Unfortunately, there is only room for two or three pages of text in this word processor because of the memory overheads. Moreover, printing is very slow. Now this is probably one of their better packages - certainly in the earlier days of computing. It still has a great deal going for it, and I recommend it as a piece of software for all schools' software libraries.

Another package on similiar lines is Folio from Tedimen Software. Folio has already found a place in many people's hearts as a primary word processor. With its clear text and variety of printouts it is easy to use, powerful and fun. Tedimen have done modern language versions of this package which include European characters and Asian character sets.

In an ideal world every child would have access to his or her own WP package. In reality we do not even have one micro per classroom! Another tool which is of interest but again fraught with problems is the French Teletel Service. This is somewhat similar to our Prestel system in that it is a videotex database and communications system. A huge amount of material of use to language teachers is available on this system, although it should be said that it must be used with some care - there are areas of the Teletel network that would make a sailor blush! If that is an encouragement to you to go and try it then you will need appropriate software in order to gain access to the system.

Two packages are available - Collnet from Harrogate College of Arts and Technology and Teletel from Aldoda International. The former is disc-based whereas the latter is supplied on ROM.

In many authorities communicating from England to France is still not possible, although we live in hope of some sort of initiative from the Department of Trade and Industry who kindly gave authorities all the moderms which are, at the moment, mouldering in store cupboards, rapidly running out of warranty. The easiest way around this particular argument is to do all your work from home, save it to disc and integrate the screens into some other system such as Communitel or Micro Viewdata. You will be unlikely to recoup your expenses however and, more importantly, you will need to know what you are doing in order to build your suite of screens into a useful format for the classroom. Local authority computer centres with the guidance of modern languages groups should be able to do a good job of this sort of work if they have the facilities and the inclination.

In terms of the nitty gritty world of grammar, structure and syntax, many teachers feel that it is appropriate to use the computer as a practice machine.

The most drab exercise can be livened up to encourage the user to sit down and plod through the nuts and bolts of a language. The second reason put forward for not using the computer is that it deals only with written language and cannot ever have an interface to the spoken world directly. BBC Soft have countered this with one of their two modern languages programs. Deutsche Direkt comes complete with an audio pronunciation tape.

Deutsche Direkt and its companion A Vous La France supply teachers with a readymade kit of imaginative exercises that can be slotted into the work of a class at any point. Although nominally tied to the BBC language courses of the same name, the materials are fairly broad in their application and may be used in conjunction with any course material.

There are many programs around from a variety of publishers claiming to perform tasks that the teacher ought to be doing. Unfortunately, as with all subject areas, there is a great deal of dross around; vocabulary rehearsal programs are notoriously bad (tedious and uninspiring) yet they seem to make the educational best seller charts frequently, this is because these charts are based on high street sales and not on school purchases.

We are seeing the effect of the demand by parents for educational products which are being serviced by something many will find totally unacceptable. There are good educational programs that are of use outside the classroom. One that I shall mention in closing strikes me as an excellent example of contextualised software. French On The Run which was originally published by Silversoft and has now been taken over by Database Publications is an adventure game in which the user is a pilot of an aircraft shot down over occupied France.

The object of this adventure is to reach Marseilles without getting caught. This will happen when your knowledge of the language lets you down. The fine thing about this excellent package is that most of the text is in English. The key points are where you encounter situations where you must converse with the locals or the occupiers and each situation is based around a particular French grammatical problem. This software provides an enjoyable context for GCSE candidates to practise their French skills and learn some boring grammar in a fresh way. The adventure is fast moving and exciting - and I challenge you to get through it all the way first time, even if you do have a degree in modern languages!

1. HS Software can be contacted at 56 Hendrefoilan Ave, Sketty, Swansea, West Glamorgan SA2 7NB
2. Short Vowel Sounds, Magic-E, Consonant Blends and Vowel Diagraphs are all available from Sherston Software, 8 Court St., Sherston, Malmesbury, Wiltshire SN16 0LL
3. Spelling Your Own Words is available from Chalksoft Ltd, PO Box 49, Spalding, Lincs. PE11 1NZ
4. An Eye For Spelling and Wordweb are both available from ESM, Duke St., Wisbeach, Cambridgeshire PE13 2AE
5. Granville is available from Cambridge Micro Software, c/o Cambridge University Press, The Edinburgh Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 2RU
6. Folio is available from Tediem, PO Box 23, Southampton
7. Teletel is published by Aldoda International, 201 Haverstock Hill, London NW3 4QG
8. Deutsche Direkt and A Vous La France are both available from BBC Enterprises, Woodlands, 80 Wood Lane, London W12 0TT
9. French On The Run is currently available through Database Publications, Europa House, 68 Chester Road, Hazel Grove, Stockport SK7 5NY