COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING (CALL)
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1. What is CALL?
Definitions of CALL:
- Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) was the expression agreed upon at the 1983 TESOL convention in a meeting of all interested participants. This term is widely used to refer to the area of technology and second language teaching and learning despite the fact that revisions for the term are suggested regularly (Chapelle, 2001, p. 3).
- Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) may be defined as the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning (Levy, 1997, p.1).
- Given the breadth of what may go on in computer-assisted language learning (CALL), a definition of CALL that accommodates its changing nature is any process in which a learner uses a computer and, as a result, improves his or her language (Beatty, 2003, p. 7).
- CALL has come to encompass issues of materials design, technologies, pedagogical theories and modes of instruction. Materials for CALL can include those which are purpose-made for language learning and those which adapt existing computer-based materials, video and other materials (Beatty, 2003, pp. 7-8).
2. A Brief History of CALL
CALL's origins can be traced back to the 1960s. Up until the late 1970s CALL projects were confined mainly to universities, where computer programs were developed on large mainframe computers. The PLATO project, initiated at the University of Illinois in 1960, is an important landmark in the early development of CALL (Marty 1981). In the late 1970s, the arrival of the personal computer (PC) brought computing within the range of a wider audience, resulting in a boom in the development of CALL programs and a flurry of publications. Early CALL favoured an approach that drew heavily on practices associated with programmed instruction. This was reflected in the term Computer Assisted Language Instruction (CALI), which originated in the USA and was in common use until the early 1980s, when CALL became the dominant term. There was initially a lack of imagination and skill on the part of programmers, a situation that was rectified to a considerable extent by the publication of an influential seminal work by Higgins & Johns (1984), which contained numerous examples of alternative approaches to CALL. Throughout the 1980s CALL widened its scope, embracing the communicative approach and a range of new technologies. CALL has now established itself as an important area of research in higher education: see the joint EUROCALL/CALICO/IALLT Research Policy Statement: http://www.eurocall-languages.org /research/research_policy.htm. See also the History of CALL website: http://www.history-of-call.org/
3. Why Would We Need to Use Call in Our Efl Classrooms?
As technology becomes increasingly ubiquitous, it is expected from the teachers to integrate it into the language classes. This means not only bringing technology into the classroom, but offering learners technology–enhanced options outside the class time.
The reasons why ELT teachers use CALL:
v Computers can do some of the work of the teacher and provide great assistance to the learner even without the presence of the teacher (Pennington and Steven, 1992).
v New technologies have seen computers become smaller, faster, and easier for the teacher to use (Evy, 1997). At present, well-designed CALL software is readily available to the teacher.
v Technologies allow computers to do multimedia applications, incorporating video, sound, and text, and this capacity allows the learner to interact with both the program and other learners. (Felix, 1998).
v The computer offers great flexibility for class scheduling and pacing of individual learning, choosing activities and content to suit individual learning styles. (Oxford and others, 1998)
v The computer can provide a meaning-focused, communicative learning environment, which serves the purposes of communicative language teaching.
4. Types of CALL Programs
CALL programs/materials include (from ICT4LT Module 1.4):
² CALL-specific software: applications designed to develop and facilitate language learning, such as CD-ROMs, web-based interactive language learning exercises/quizzes (see CD-ROM examples for language learning)
² Generic software: applications designed for general purposes, such as word-processors (Word), presentation software (PowerPoint, see an e-book made by students "Many Moons"), and spreadsheet (Excel), that can be used to support language learning (see examples of usingExcel for language learning & teaching) *Also see Microsoft Office Online Templates)
² Web-based learning programs: online dictionaries, online encyclopedias, online concordancers, news/magazine sites, e-texts, web-quests, web publishing, blog, wiki, etc.
² Computer-mediated communication (CMC) programs: synchronous - online chat; asynchronous - email, discussion forum, message board
5. Types of CALL Activities
Multiple-choice & true/false quizzes:
l gap-filling exercise/cloze
l Matching
l re-ordering/sequencing
l crossword puzzles
l Games
l Simulations
l writing & word-processing
l concordancing
l web quests/searching
l web publishing
l online communication (synchronous and asynchronous)
6. What Computers Can and Can’t “Do” (based on Meskill, 2002, p. 122)
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Reflection:
According Beatty (2003) CALL is defined as ‘any process in which a learner uses a computer, and as a result, improves his or her language’. It is essentially a tool that helps teachers to facilitate the language learning process. It can be used to reinforce what has been already learned in the classroom or to help learners who require additional support. There are some kinds of CALL programs, CALL activities, and also some kinds of CALL that can be applied in the classroom. As we know that CALL is important and gives many advantages for the the teachers as well as the learners. However, there are also some limitations of using CALL in the classroom that should be considered so that the implementation of of will be effective.
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