Grammar Made Easy

French professor and CIAT collaborate to create interactive, online tutorials

Dr. Katia Sainson eased her French students' difficulty at learning grammar by developing interactive tutorials for Blackboard.

Learning English grammar is tough enough, but imagine the difficulty of acquiring and successfully using a foreign language's grammar.

Dr. Katia Sainson's Intermediate French II class poses this challenge. The class, which reviews grammar learned in elementary French courses, depends on students to refresh their memory out-of-class so that they can use class time to expand on their comprehension of the language rules.

Thanks to a tool created with the help of the Center for Instructional Advancement and Technology (CIAT) students now have a useful tool to prepare for class.

Sainson and CIAT staff member John Perrelli developed interactive grammar presentations for Blackboard. Students review lessons that correspond to information in their textbooks, and complete activities and assessments that let them and Sainson know if they are on the right track. Each presentation contains explanations of the grammar lesson in English, supplemented with audio and text.

"Previously, when my students only used the textbook, I found that they might glance at the page and say, 'Oh, I remember that,' and not really delve into the lesson," she says. "The online grammar presentations' format is more efficient in conveying the information.

"Using the textbook was a passive experience. The online experience is more interactive."

In addition to aiding students with grammar, Sainson says the presentations, which were recorded with her voice, also help with French pronunciation.

Perrelli worked closely with Sainson over spring semester 2004 to translate her ideas into a finished product using Macromedia FlashMX. FlashMX is authoring software that allows designers to create animation and special effects, adding sound and interactivity.

Sainson says her students are benefiting from the tutorials, and the flexibility they have in accessing them is a plus.

"They make students feel more secure when coming into class because from the presentations you immediately get a sense of if you understood or not," she says. "Students can also use them anytime--off campus, on campus, at 2 a.m. if they want."

Sainson says these benefits are part of the reason she has made all of her classes Web-enhanced. Over the past four years CIAT has also helped her create online listening comprehension exercises, videos of native French speakers and pronunciation recordings.

"CIAT has been one of the single greatest resources I've had at Towson," she says. "[It's] a phenomenal resource."

For more information about CIAT, go to the center's home page at www.towson.edu/ciat, or visit its Faculty Lab, located in Cook Library, room 405.