Supplementing language Instruction with Web-based Exercises and Multi-media Material Using Hot Potatoes

Biographical Notes

Simone Monnier Clay, Ph.D. has a M.A. in music and a Ph.D. in French literature with an emphasis on the adaptation of literature to the opera libretti.

S. Monnier Clay teaches grammar, composition and translation as well as language and methodology courses, and she has written several text books for her courses. Since her appointment as Language Coordinator in the Department of French and Italian at the University of California in Davis, she has become very interested in the application of technology in language learning. This interest has led to a project to develop exercises which are self evaluating and provide instant feedback to allow students to practice on their own the material covered in the classroom.

Abstract

The purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate the use of Hot Potatoes (Half-Baked software, University of Victoria) and its integration in language instruction. We will present sample multiple-choice, gap-fill, jumbled sentence, and short-answer exercises in order to show the instructional power of this freeware available at http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/halfbaked.

We will also describe how to add pictures and links containing chapter grammardescriptions, vocabulary lists, cultural material or multi-media data such as a video or sound clip to a quiz. With web-based exercises and Hot Potatoes instructors are able to fully integrate technology and language learning.