Organizing a CAI Contest *1

Introduction

CAI Study Group

CAI Contests

This contest is easy to organize and administer if computers and software are available. It is a good way to encourage students to study foreign languages and to get students interested in CAI. I will explain what we did and how we did it in order to help readers start CAI contests of their own.

The First CAI Contest

All grammar and vocabulary questions for the contest were made by four teachers during the summer vacation.

We made an announcement of the contest and that forty students would be accepted on a first come, first served basis. We posted it on bulletin boards and distributed it through English teachers. There were some students who were interested, but many of them could not type. We extended the application deadline and had 30 applicants.

Another problem was setting up grading programs in a new account for the contest. Computer staff members insisted that they were not responsible for it, though they could technically do it. Therefore staff members from academic affairs did this under the instruction and supervision of the computer staff, and teachers checked whether they could work properly.

The head of the committee made three files of typing exercises (300 questions) and 7 files of grammar and vocabulary exercises (220 questions), using the questions made by the four teachers. We had one first prize (5,000 yen dictionary), two second prizes (3,000 yen dictionaries), three third prizes (2,000 yen dictionaries), and four other prizes (1,000 yen worth of floppy disks). we also made an English certificate for each prize.

Administering the contest. We held the first CAI contest on a Saturday, with registration scheduled to start at 9:00, the opening ceremony at 9: 10, and the contest 9:30- 11 :00, and the closing ceremony at noon. Since it was raining, five participants were absent and some others were late. We started the opening ceremony late. one staff member was the moderator, the head of the committee greeted the participants, and one English teacher explained how to use a computer and how to compete in the contest.

We had planned to start with typing questions, then move on to vocabulary and grammar. However, we had a problem at the beginning. The head of the committee had made the typing questions with old typing software on an NEC computer at home, and the questions did not work with the new software on the Hitachi computers at school. We let students work on vocabulary and grammar. and I converted the typing questions to the new software.

This accident was fortuitous, however, because all the students finished the vocabulary and grammar questions, but some non-CAI students gave up on the typing questions in the middle.

The head of the committee and a German teacher graded the files as the students finished them. Two staff members rapidly made charts of the grades.

The vocabulary and grammar questions were weighted 70%, and the typing questions 30%. The first, second and third prizes were decided based on total scores. The other four prizes were awarded weighing the individual categories.

The first prize winner was a female freshman who was not enrolled in a CAI class. In the closing ceremony, the head of the committee made comments on the results as a whole. Then a staff member announced the names of the winners, and the head of the committee read a certificate and gave it with the prize to each winner. After the contest, we posted the names of the winners on bulletin boards on campus. Since we had to put the winners' names on the certificates, we collected them and asked the winners to come to pick them up. However, some of them were never picked up.

Evaluation. Since this was the first contest, we had an evaluation meeting with a staff member and some teachers. The results were distributed to all CAI teachers and committee members as well as some administrative teachers.

Some of our conclusions about problems with the contest were as follows:

1. Partly because this was the first contest, it took too much time (almost 9 months) to make the plan and carry it out. It is possible to carry out a contest for up to 80 students with two staff members and three faculty members.

2. Only 25 students attended the contest. This may have been because it was held on a rainy Saturday on the campus, which is in an inconvenient location for many students. Also, the publicity was probably not sufficient. We should have put announcements near the CAI classrooms, contacted the ESS or other clubs related to English, and persuaded more teachers to make the announcement in class. We had very few non-CAI students.

3. The first come, first served registration might not be good. If there are more interested students than we can accommodate, we should hold a drawing.

4. We originally planned to accept participants for only one week, up until a week before the contest. If there is room, we should accept participants until the day before the contest.

5. Since the academic affairs office is some distance from the CAI classrooms, it might have been better to have the applications accepted at the computer office, which is very close to the CAI classrooms.

6. Five out of the thirty students who signed up were absent. One solution might be to charge students to enroll and give prizes to everyone.

7. Holding the contest on a Saturday, when students do not normally have classes, does not seem to be a good idea. It might be better to hold the contest on a weekday.

8. We need to test all software on the Hitachi computers which we use for the contest. Different people make materials with different levels of difficulty. It is necessary to check the balance of materials in advance. Since it takes much time and energy to make materials, we need to consider some payment for people to make those materials.

9. We need more assistance from computer staff members. They opened the accounts for the contest, and this was not enough.

10. Students were issued numbers at reception and assigned seats based on their numbers. This was helpful.

11. The opening ceremony took about 20 minutes. which was about the right length.

12. The number of questions was appropriate. Twenty-three out of 25 students finished all questions. The students got 25-55% right on vocabulary and grammar questions, indicating that the grammar and vocabulary questions were too difficult. The average time spent was between three and fifteen minutes, and there was a lot of variation on the time required per file. We should have arranged the questions according to difficulty and time required. Typing files were too long, and they were too difficult for non-CAI students. We used new materials for the contest so we did not know the difficulty level or time required to finish. However, if we use the old questions, it may be difficult to make the contest fair for every participant, since some of the CAI students might have encountered those questions before.

13. One hour was just about right for deciding the winners. However, one teacher was busy running grading programs and was not involved in decision making. The procedure and criteria should be clearly decided before the actual decision making. It should be announced before the contest, which would allow students an opportunity to plan strategies to help them win.

14. It was useful to have a closing ceremony. The comments that were given were useful for educational purposes, and the ceremony allowed the winners to be recognized and praised.

Some suggestions were made for the future contests:

1. We could give many questions in advance, allowing students to study before the contest. This would better enhance their learning of English.

2. Typing answers to questions is too difficult for the non-CAI students. We could make an elementary division with only multiplechoice questions and an intermediate division with questions which require some typing and which also includes typing questions.

3. All the questions should be tested by more than one teacher on the computers to be used for the contest. There are almost always some problems in CAI materials.

4. The questions we used were too difficult. It would be better if students could get at least 70% right, or they will lose interest. One possibility is to give hints if the students get the wrong answer the first time and allow them to try a second time. If they still do not get the right answer, it could be given to them.

5. In this contest, we had only vocabulary, grammar and typing. We need to consider what areas to cover. It might also be a good idea to have divisions such as vocabulary, grammar, reading, writing, culture and typing.

6. The English certificates were a good idea, but it might be better to have prizes such as trophies or plaques. We should make it clear what prizes we are offering and how we select students for each prize, so that students can make strategies.

The Second CAI Contest

Since the head of the CAI committee had not been involved in the previous contest and was not familiar with the results of the evaluation, there was conflict. We made an administrative committee and appointed a chair. The chair called a meeting and organized plans, but there was little time, and the committee was not able to change much, so some of the same problems of the previous year were repeated.

There were four divisions: grammar, vocabulary, reading, and typing. The first two were all multiple-choice questions. The chair made all the questions used in the contest, based on materials made by another teacher which had not been in class. This was his first experience making questions, and it was good training for him to make the files. He was very dedicated, and he spent several days making all the arrangements himself. He chose to give book bonds for prizes, and he created a new prize for the second student from the bottom, to encourage that student to study harder. He offered prizes for the best overall score and for each division.

Administration. Thirty-five students participated in the contest. All of the students finished the grammar, vocabulary, and reading sections, but 13 students could not finish the typing section. They got 57% correct in grammar, 53% in vocabulary, and 49% in reading. The most difficult file was 41% correct, which was a reading file. The difficulty level was much improved but it was still too difficult. The prizes were decided based 70% on the score and 30% on the time. We chose the top three overall and the best in each division. There were no problems with either the contest and or the grading and we were able to finish both within the time we planned. The closing ceremony was also good. The comments were made on the results, and certificates and prizes were given to all the winners.

Evaluation. The second contest was much better than the first one. However, problems with the second one included the fact that the head of the committee did most of the work, and some of the teachers on the committee teachers did not work even on the day of the contest. We also need a greater variety of divisions, including, for example, English-speaking cultures. In order to make a variety of good questions, we need more people making materials. Since this is time- consuming, some money should be paid to the materials developers.

The Third CAI Contest

Suggestions for Administering CAI Contests

We should have a variety of divisions, including American history, English-speaking cultures, business English, and reading newspapers, in addition to the four skills. We should continue to include some exercises requiring typing skills, which many students do not have.

There are a number of other possibilities for the various divisions in the contest which would stimulate students' interest and encourage them to develop their skills in English. For example, it is possible to have students use word processors to write an essay. We could announce a few topics, and allow students to practice in advance. At the contest, we could give the students one topic and let them write an essay within a certain time. Another possibility would be to give students a large amount of reading material in advance, and one division of the contest could involve answering questions over that reading material. In addition to having students compete as individuals, we could make groups of three or four students who have to cooperate on an assigned task. We could, for example, give each group the assignment to make a newspaper, requiring the students to write articles and edit and organize them. We could also have competitions among classes. We could give tasks using computers for databases, dictionaries, or encyclopedias. If a contest could create situations in which many students work together to learn English, that would be beneficial.

Since many teachers have never tried CAI, it is also important that the contest get as many faculty members as possible involved and get them interested in using computers as a part of their instruction.

Computers are very powerful, and they can be used to do a variety of activities for instruction. If your school already has them, it is not very expensive to organize a contest like ours, and we believe that it is very useful for education. However, it does take time and energy, and it is necessary to make good plans.

List of References