Online Language Review

Le Chandail de Hockey and The Hockey Sweater

Laurey Martin-BergUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The Le chandail de hockey and The Hockey Sweater programs are a pair of interactive CD-ROMs directed at learners of French or English as a second language, respectively. The intent of the authors was to use an animated film based on a popular children’s story to teach second language reading and listening skills to young and new Canadians, and to introduce a significant aspect of Canadian culture to those audiences by expanding on the context of the story (hockey). The film is accompanied by other texts and cultural realia (a song, hockey cards, 12 pages from a 1946-47 department store catalogue), as well as interviews recorded specially for the CD-ROM with Roch Carrier, the author of the story, and Marcel Dargis, a Quebec folk artist. The pair of CD-ROMs is the winner of the 2007 Best Educational Award bestowed by the Digital Media Association of Alberta. It has been positively reviewed in Contact (a publication of Teachers of English as a Second Language, Ontario) and in Language Learning & Technology, where Catherine Caws of the University of Victoria wrote that “the interactive nature of this learning tool will help learners of French as a second language develop a better appreciation of the culture in which this story is rooted. The cultural notes are rich but not overwhelmingly detailed, well presented, yet simply organized” (p. 36)

EVALUATION

Technical Features:

Instructions for installing the CD-ROM are located on the back of the title page and trouble shooting information is found on the website (http://www.editions3d.ca/hockey). Installation is relatively simple and straightforward in spite of minor distractions such as being warned to close all Windows programs before installation and a suggestion to upgrade to the most recent version of QuickTime, even if the one already on the computer meets the program specifications. The program is somewhat slow to load but runs smoothly once it does. There are no delays in loading video clips, and one can move quickly from one section to another. This reviewer tested the program on 10 different occasions on two different PC platforms and never had any problem with crashes or stalls. Navigation is generally straightforward, once one gets into the program; however, it is not necessarily self-evident that to enter the program one should click on the picture of the hockey jersey shown on the first screen, rather than on the name of the program. Once in the program, a menu includes a “To Begin” button, and it is quite important that users not bypass this step since on the “To Begin” page learners select their level and receive a customized set of general directions and suggestions for working through the various “periods” in the program. A tool bar at the top of the screen allows users to select periods, and, once in a period, a drop-down menu allows them to choose a level. A tool bar at the bottom of the screen allows users to access the dictionary and notebook functions as well as help screens for each activity. The reviewer would also highly recommend that, when using the program for the first time, learners avail themselves of these help screens because they contain not just suggestions for using the material but, in essence, the directions for the activity, including how to register responses in some types of activities. For example, in the listen and match activities, users click on a speaker icon to hear the cue and then drag the icon to a box by the appropriate picture to respond. Without this information, learners might assume that they should click on the number next to the speaker icon to get the cue or try to respond by typing the item number in the box, leading to frustration and a sense that the program is not working.

Likewise, for the cloze activities, learners need to know that they must either use the tab key to navigate from one blank to the next or erase all of the asterisks that fill the “blank” before typing in the appropriate word. If any asterisks remain, their answer will be shown as incorrect during the verification phase, even if it is, in fact, correct.

Activities

Each CD-ROM is organized in the form of a hockey game, with first, second, and third periods. There are also sections entitled “zone” and “encounters.” The first period is a listening and observing phase as learners watch and listen to the entire (10 minute) animated film, as well as selected clips excerpted from the film.

Exercises presented in this period can be done by learners with limited literacy skills and include matching pictures to spoken words or sentences and oral multiple choice. The second period combines listening and reading as the text is presented side by side with the film. In this period, exercises are geared to three levels, named in keeping with the hockey context: PeeWee (false beginners), Junior (intermediate), and Pro (high intermediate to advanced). Within each level, activities include matching exercises (words to pictures and definitions), written comprehension questions, cloze activities, and plot puzzles, which ask learners to put sentences in order. The third period links listening, reading, and writing, as ideas from the film are expanded with additional texts related to hockey (e.g., hockey cards of famous players and a song that reflects the sport’s popularity) and other aspects of Canadian heritage (e.g., pages from the Eaton’s department store catalogue to illustrate fashion at the time of the story). “Zone” is a tasked-based, creative section with extended activities encompassing all skills areas. For example, learners are asked to create a “dream team” with players presented in the hockey cards from the third period and then to explain their choices, first orally and then in writing. Finally, “encounters” present biographies of the author of the story, the animator of the film, the translator of the story (from French to English), and a Quebec artist, as well as interviews with the author and the artist and a visit to the artist’s gallery to see some of his works depicting life at the time of the story. A multimedia dictionary is always available to learners, who need only to click on any word in the film’s script to gain access to the word’s definition, its pronunciation, and, where appropriate, a contextualized illustration. The dictionary also includes synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, and derivatives. Additionally, there is a notebook function with which students can take notes that they can then save to disk or print.

Learner Fit

The activities are varied and pedagogically sound, especially in the first two periods and for the first two skill levels. There is a good progression between the levels in terms of moving from a focus on individual words to whole sentences (or groups of sentences) and from responses that echo what is said verbatim in the film or the question to responses that synthesize and extrapolate. The Pro level is more problematic. First, except for the length of the cloze passages and the frequency of use of some vocabulary items in the matching and cloze activities, many of the activities at this level do not seem to be significantly more challenging linguistically than their counterparts at the Junior level. There are other issues as well that are likely to make the Pro level a less positive and productive experience for learners. For example, the “hockey” activity that is part of the second period is not based on material from the film/story and requires detailed knowledge of hockey’s history—which is not presented until the third period. The help screen for this activity does mention that, if necessary, learners can seek information to help them answer the questions in the “stars” section, but there is no link nor even any mention of where that section is located. The “clothing” activity in the second period is problematic in a different way since many of the items in this matching activity (e.g., middy shirt, helmet, and sweater with reindeer pattern), while historically relevant (i.e., representative of the time of the story), do not appear in the film and are not words that the target audience (young Canadians and new Canadians) are likely to know or need to know.

The activities in the third period are not ranked by skill level, and many are too long (14 pages of text about hockey, its history, and its famous players) and/or too difficult for learners at the PeeWee level and may be too arcane for young learners (e.g., texts on the symbolism of the rocking chair or the metal stove). There is, nonetheless, something for everyone in this period: pictures, bios, and stats of hockey greats; a 1970’s song accompanied by printed lyrics; a replica order form from the Eaton catalogue; short texts discussing various aspects of Canadian cultural heritage; and an opportunity to hear the author read the first paragraph of the story. However, effective use of the CD-ROM’s “third period” would require considerably more advanced planning and direction from the instructor (facilitated by the Teacher’s Guide) than the earlier periods. Likewise, the “encounters” section with its bios and interviews may be too difficult for PeeWee and even some Junior learners. Non-Canadians who are unfamiliar with the sounds of Quebec French may also find the artist Marcel Dargis a bit difficult to understand. Nonetheless, the gallery visit requires only minimal literacy skills and provides a visually satisfying introduction to Canadian folk art and a particular period in Quebec cultural history.

During a given “period,” the activities for any given skill level can be completed in any order and repeated as desired. For all of the matching activities the visual cues reshuffle, making repeat visits to those activities more interesting. Each activity has “verify,” “erase,” and “start over” options, and, for the listening comprehension activities, useful hints are provided if students mark an incorrect answer. Most of the activities are designed to be done individually, although the “dream team” activity from the “zone” section could be done in pairs or groups, providing speaking practice, which is otherwise found only in the Let’s Talk section. (There are 40 questions on the English CD-ROM; for the French version, the questions are provided only in the Teacher’s Guide).

Given the film’s subject (a young boy who idolizes hockey’s great Maurice Richard) and era depicted (1940s), the material is quite male centric. There is only one female character in the film—the main character’s French-speaking mother who does not understand the problem when the hockey jersey she has ordered for her son from the Anglophone Eaton’s department store catalogue turns out to be from the hated Toronto Maple Leafs, not the adored Montreal Canadiens. Nonetheless, one of 14 pages in the third period introduction to hockey’s history is dedicated to women’s hockey, and five of the 31 “stars” featured in the hockey cards are female. Also, since many male students complain about the overly feminized content of most introductory French courses, having a supplement that appeals to them could be a plus.

Teacher Fit

This CD-ROM is successfully learner centered (Fromer, 1997; Kern, 2000): learners can progress at their own pace (Tucker, 2000 ), repeat activities as needed/desired, and challenge themselves by trying activities at a higher level. In addition, learners do not just receive information or practice certain language skills, they also do things like create a “dream team,” which promotes discovery learning (Noblitt, 1995) and which reflects an interactive rather than a passive conception of the liberal arts (Lanham, 1993). There is enough structure to provide learners with a sense of direction and accomplishment and enough variety to keep them interested and engaged.

The program offers a high level of linguistic and cultural authenticity (Beatty, 2003). In fact, the real strength of the CD-ROM is its integration of culture and language learning (Schofer, 2002). In addition to its target audiences, American high school and college students in beginning and intermediate French or ESL courses would enjoy the content and benefit from the listening and reading skills practice presented in an integrated cultural context. Even for those with little knowledge of Quebec or of hockey, the material is accessible and engaging: as author Roch Carrier points out in his interview in the “encounters” section, Le chandail de hockey/The Hockey Sweater raises questions about cultural and personal identity that transcend the particular group (young boys) and era (mid-twentieth century) depicted. For more advanced learners, the CD-ROM is also a wonderful resource for cultural exploration as it presents varied and in-depth information on Quebec cultural heritage and the sport of hockey within the unifying context of the animated film. It could thus be integrated into a wide variety of courses at different levels, either as a stand-alone curriculum unit or as a supplement to enhance reading skills or cultural knowledge, as well as to provide a window onto the French language in its multidialectal richness (Auger & Valdman, 1999).

There is a certain gender bias—or at least certain gender stereotypes (that young males are obsessed by sports and women cannot or do not understand this obsession)—inherent to the story on which the CD-ROM is based, but the authors of the CD-ROM have done their best to work around that by including female hockey players in the “hockey stars” cards.

The Teacher’s Guide does not speak to the program’s theoretical or methodological assumptions. It does, however, provide a print copy of all of the content from the CD-ROM, with additional marginal notes, suggesting topics for discussion, games, possible group and individual research projects, and related web sites.

SUMMARY

The Le chandail de hockey/The Hockey Sweater programs represent a visually appealing, linguistically and culturally authentic learning tool and cultural supplement. The popular and engaging story/animated film on which it is based provides an accessible context for practicing language skills and exploring hockey and related aspects of Quebec’s cultural identity. The CD-ROM allows learners to proceed at their own pace and to work at their own level, providing opportunities for them to challenge themselves when and as they wish, and offering regular and useful feedback beyond the mere indication that an answer is correct or incorrect. This reviewer has taught the story and shown the film in courses at both the beginning and advanced intermediate levels and welcomes the addition of this program to her collection of instructional tools.

SCALED RATING

Implementation Possibilities: 4Pedagogical Features: 4Sociolinguistic Accuracy: 5Use of Computer Capabilities: 5Ease of Use (student/teacher): 5/4Overall Evaluation: 4.5Value for Money: 4.5

REFERENCES

Auger, J., & Valdman, A. (1999). Letting French students hear the diverse voices of Francophony. Modern Language Journal, 83, 403-412.

Beatty, K. (2003). Teaching and researching computer-assisted language learning. London: Pearson Education Limited.

Caws, C. (2007). [Review of Le chandail de Hockey CD-ROM]. Language Learning & Technology, 11, 29-37. Retrieved April 2, 2008, from http://llt.msu.edu/vol11num3/review2

Fromer, J. (1997). Cognition, context, and computers: Factors in effective foreign language learning. In J. Muyskins (Ed.), New ways of learning and teaching: Focus on technology and foreign language education (pp. 199-223). Boston: Heinle.

Kern, R. (2000). Literacy and language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Lanham, R. A. (1993). The electronic word: Democracy, technology and the arts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Noblitt, J. S. (1995). The electronic language learning environment. In C. Kramsch (Ed.), Redefining the boundaries of language study. Boston: Heinle.

Schofer, P. (2002). Text as culture: Teaching through literature and language. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt.

Tucker, H. (2000). The place of the personal: The changing face of foreign language literature in a standards-based curriculum. ADFL Bulletin, 31, 53-58.

PRODUCER'S CONTACT INFORMATION

Authors: Donna Mydlarski, Penthes Verena Rubrecht, Dana M. Paramskas, André Bougaïeff, and Larry Katz

Developer/distributor:Editions3DWeb: http://www.editions3d.ca/hockey

REVIEWERS' BIODATA

Laurey Martin-Berg is a Distinguished Lecturer in the Department of French and Italian and Faculty Affiliate in the Second Language Acquisition doctoral program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She chairs the French department’s second and sixth semester language courses and is the co-author of Paroles, a first-year textbook program, and Images, an advanced intermediate cultural reader.

REVIEWERS' CONTACT INFORMATION

Dr. Laurey Martin-BergDepartment of French and Italian618 Van Hise Hall1220 Linden DriveUniversity of Wisconsin-MadisonMadison WI 53706Phone: 608 262 3941Fax: 608 265 3892Email: lmartinb@wisc.edu