CALICO Journal, 26(3)

Software Reviews

J K So Yorb, J K Ka Yorb,
and J K Gb Yorb
Reviewed by

Olsye Adsol, Ph.D.

Yale University

Product Type:
Multimedia language and cultural courses

Language(s):
Yorb

Level:
Beginning, intermediate, and advanced

Activities:
Multiple choice, fill-in exercises; pronunciation, listening comprehension, tone practice, tran-
scription, and vocabulary learning

Media Format:
CD-ROM

Operating Systems:
Windows 95 or later; Macintosh OS 8.5 or later

Hardware Requirements:
Pentium III or equivalent (PC); 300 MHz G3 or equivalent (Mac); 64 MB RAM; no hard disk
space required (runs directly from CD-ROM); 8X CD-ROM drive; sound card; 16 bit video
card; 14 color monitor

Supplementary Software:
Internet browser (Internet Explorer or Firefox), QuickTime, and Shockwave player

Documentation:
Description of the software at http://www.geocities.com/yorubaonline

Price:
$50 per CD

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
J K So Yorb and J K Ka Yorb are companion CDs for the books that have the same
titles. J K Gb Yorb is based on a Yoruba classical novel le K. The programs are
recommended for beginning-, intermediate-, and advanced-level learners of Yoruba, respec-
tively.

CALICO Journal, 26(3), p-p 693-701. 2009 CALICO Journal

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CALICO Journal, 26(3) Software Reviews

J KA So Yorb is the program best suited for beginners. It is an 18-lesson course:

Lesson 1: Introducing oneself, Lesson 2: Family matters, Lesson 3: Activities, Lesson 4:
Housing, Lesson 5: Nationalities, Lesson 6: Personalities, Lesson 7: Trips, Lesson 8: Trans-
portation, Lesson 9: Clothing, Lesson 10: At the market, Lesson 11: Time, Lesson 12: Foods,
Lesson 13: Professions, Lesson 14: Ceremonies, Lesson 15: Daily routines, Lesson 16: African
Countries, Lesson 17: Directions, and Lesson 18: University of Ife. The programs homepage
has an image of a little girl dressed in Yoruba attire holding a musical instrument known as
skr in Yorb. It automatically plays a welcome video and has a link to the lessons (see
Figure 1).

Figure 1
J K So Yorb Homepage

J K Ka Yorb, designed for the intermediate level, is a 12-lesson course. Each les-
son is divided into monologue, vocabulary, grammar, dialogue, tone drills, reading, and poem.
Its homepage shows a welcome video by the software developer which plays automatically
(see Figure 2). It also has a link to the lessons; Lessons 1 through 5 are on CD1, and lessons
6 through 12 are on CD2.

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Figure 2
J K Ka Yorb Homepage

J K Ka Yorb also contains a welcome page with photographs of people of different

ages in Yoruba attire (see Figure 3).

Figure 3
J K Ka Yorb Welcome Page

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J K Gb Yorb, for the advanced level, is an 11-lesson course. Each lesson is

divided into Prelistening Activities, Interactions, Tone Drill and Culture. An optional item of
comprehension/matching/love poem is included in some lessons (see Figure 4).

Figure 4
J K Gb Yorb Homepage

EVALUATION
Technological Features
The software was tested on a Windows XP Professional Intel Pentium 4 processor, 1.64 GHz,
512 MB RAM. Each of the CDs plays directly from the CD-ROM drive. J KA So Yorb plays
in a web-based format, while J K Ka Yorb and J K Gb Yorb do not open in a web
browser. It is fairly easy to use the CDs. The homepage menu of J K So Yorb is easy to
navigate. It contains a link to home, lessons, about, and help. However, the homepage menus
for J K Ka Yorb and J K Gb Yorb are more challenging to navigate. Learners do
not have access to the main topic covered in each lesson from the homepages. As the reader
of this review can observe, the homepages for both J K Ka Yorb and J K Gb Yorb
are very similar.

The texts for the video contents are included on the same page with the videos. This
is a good aspect of the program to enable users to follow the texts of what the people in the

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videos are saying. The videos in each lesson are mainly macromedia/QuickTime compatible
videos. They appear in tiny windows, and the size of the videos cannot be enlarged. The
video format does not support full screen. Figure 5 shows a video example from J K Gb
Yorb.

Figure 5
Video Example from J K Gb Yorb

In general, the videos require improvement both in their size and quality.

Activities (Procedure)
Monologues
Each lesson in J K So Yorb has at least one monologue that is directly relevant to the
main topic of the lesson. Each monologue is accompanied by its text. Figure 6 shows the
monologue from lesson 8.

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Figure 6
Monologue from Lesson 8 of J K So Yorb

The fact that each monologue has its own text serves two purposes for learners. First,
learners can learn how to read on their own by reading the texts that are included with the
monologue. Second, they can read the texts along as they listen to the speakers in the videos,
which gives them the opportunity to listen to how native speakers of Yoruba pronounce each
of the words. This is especially useful to learners because of the importance of tones in the
language. The opportunity to listen to native speakers should help learners to train their ear
to hear the tones produced in the language.

Grammar
Each lesson has a grammar section which usually includes a grammar exercise. It would have
been helpful if the grammar examples were related to the main topic of the lesson. This would
enable the learners to know how the grammatical units are used in different contexts. It could
also be useful if there were some discernable reasons/criteria on why some grammatical
items are introduced rather than others.

Dialogues
Each lesson has at least one dialogue. This is indeed useful for the learners. Here, they can
see some of the verbal and nonverbal cues that are used in the language. If learners use the
dialogues appropriately, they could also improve their own speech. In some of the dialogues,
the materials that students learn are used in real-life contexts.

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Vocabulary
Each of the lessons has a subsection on vocabulary. These are directly related to the main top-
ic of the lesson and are usually in the form of matching, fill-in-the-blank, and multiple-choice
exercises. For example, in lesson 8 of J K So Yorb, learners are given eight images that
are directly related to transportation, the main topic of the lesson. Learners are required to
identify each image.

Tone practice
Each lesson has a subsection in which students can practice Yoruba tones. Learners are given
the opportunity to type a word that is dictated by the software developer. The main problem
with this is that most of the learners do not have fonts to type the words correctly. The soft-
ware developer provides a font that can be downloaded and installed in order to view the texts
correctly. However, this does not in any way help learners when they have to type with the
Yoruba diacritics (e.g., the underdots representing tone marks). However, giving students the
opportunity to try a hands-on approach to writing the words is a step in the right direction.

Culture
Each of the lessons has a subsection on culture. Learners are introduced to the culture of the
Yoruba people through various cultural activities in video clips.

Teacher Fit (Approach)

The J KA So Yorb and J K Ka Yorb CDs are appropriate companions to the textbooks
of the same titles by the same author. They are rich in culture and cultural activities. This is
especially good since learners need more than linguistic competence before they can be said
to be competent in a language (Krasner, 1999). However, their corresponding grammar con-
tent could be reworked. It would be better if grammatical units are introduced before they are
used in a monologue/dialogue. The texts could also be more authentic (Widdowson, 1990;
Mishan, 2005). For example, Yoruba genitive markers are not used in the text as they are
normally used in everyday speech.

As mentioned above, J K Gb Yorb is based on the classical Yoruba novel le K

and a movie of the same title. Excerpts were used from the movie. These were divided into
smaller clips. In short, it covers the main events in the movie. It is much thinner in grammar
content than J KA So Yorb and J K Ka Yorb. This might be due to its focus on a liter-
ary work. Its main advantage is that it encourages cultural conversation among learners.

Learner Fit (Design)

The J KA So Yorb, J K Ka Yorb, and J K Gb Yorb CDs would be of great benefit

to learners who use them because their contents are detailed, systematic, and clear. The J
KA So Yorb and J K Ka Yorb CDs are especially useful to learners who use the text-
books that have the same titles. The main topics that are covered in each of the lessons in the
two CDs are exactly the same as the main topics of the lessons in the textbooks.

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The level of the vocabulary that is used in each lesson is appropriate for the level that
it was intended for. The same could be said about the appropriateness of the level of the
grammar subsection.

The CDs rank very low with respect to response handling. Whereas, J KA So Yorb
prompts users sometimes to enroll online for feedback there is no immediate feedback for
them for many of the exercises in the J KA So Yorb and J K Ka Yorb CDs. The most
critical example of this can be found in the subsections on tone drills. The software developer
dictates certain words that the learners are required to write down in the boxes provided.
However, there is virtually no way for the learner to know whether they are doing well in the
exercises. This limits their ability to use the CDs without the help of their instructors. The only
exercises for which learners can get an immediate feedback are those that involve multiple
choices.

I believe that the CDs can be adapted to the age/level of the learner. Each CD targets
a designated level. J KA So Yorb is for beginners, J K Ka Yorb is for intermediate
learners, and J K Gb Yorb is for advanced learners.

The CDs have a lot of images and videos that would appeal to visual learners. In ad-
dition, their interactive format also appeals to independent learners. The format is also useful
for learners who desire to use the CDs individually and in groups. In short, the format gives
the learners complete control of where to start and what to do at any point in time. However,
there is little or no room for an instructor to modify the contents of the CDs.

SUMMARY

The J KA So Yorb, J K Ka Yorb, and J K Gb Yorb CDs could offer a very attrac-
tive package to learners through images, videos, and interactive texts. They are useful for
learners who also use the textbooks that have the same titles. Indeed, the J KA So Yorb
and J K Ka Yorb CDs are highly recommended for learners who plan to go to the Ful-
bright Yoruba GPA in Nigeria. They would provide all the foundations needed for fulfilling a Yo-
ruba conversational experience. Note though that although the CDs are meant to accompany
the textbooks that have the same names, they are in fact sold separately and independently
of the textbooks.

SCALED RATING
(1 low-5 high)

Implementation Possibilities: 4
Pedagogical Features (relative to evaluation parameters): 4.3
Sociolinguistic Accuracy (typos, grammatical errors, stereotypes): 4
Use of Computer Capabilities (multimedia bells & whistles): 4.3
Ease of Use (student/teacher): 4.2
Overall Evaluation: 4.2
Value for Money: 4.5

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REFERENCES

Krasner, I. (1999). The role of culture in language teaching. Dialog on Language Instruction, 13(1-2),
79-88.

Mishan, F. (2005). Designing authenticity into language learning materials. Bristol: Intellect.

Widdowson, H. (1990). Aspects of language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

PRODUCER DETAILS
Antonia Ytnd Folrn Schleicher (c/o NALRC)
Department of African Languages and Literature
University of Wisconsin
1402 Van Hise
1220 Linden Drive
Madison WI 53706
Phone: 608 262 6537 (Office)
608 265- 7906 (NALRC)
Email: [email protected]

REVIEWERS BIODATA
Olsye Adsol, Ph.D. teaches Yoruba at Yale University. He is also the assistant director of
the NSF funded African Languages Anaphora Project at Rutgers University.

REVIEWERS ADDRESS
Olsye Adsol
African Studies
34 Hillhouse Avenue
New Haven, CT 906520
Phone: 203 432 1166
Email: [email protected]

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