LESSON (2)TECHNOLOGY AND LANGUAGE

LEARNING

Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL)

WHAT IS CALL?

CALL stands for "Computer Assisted Language Learning".

It is defined as "the search for and study of the application of the computer in language teaching and learning"

BEGINNING OF CALL

The idea of using the computer in teaching language dates back to the 1950s.

However, the first real application of the computer in teaching language was in the 1960s and 1970s.

CALL , CALI & TELL

The term CALI (Computer-assisted language instruction) was in use before CALL since the 1950s.

CALI fell out of favour among language teachers as it appeared to imply a teacher-centred approach (instructional), whereas language teachers are more inclined to prefer a student-centred approach, focusing on learning rather than instruction.

CALL , CALI & TELL

In the 1980s, the communicative approach to language teaching changed the focus from teaching and instruction into learning.

The whole process changed into CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) as it provided a highly interactive and communicative support for the four skills and the use of multimedia, CD-ROMs and the internet.

CALL , CALI & TELL

In the 2000s different types of technology were presented besides computers and the Post-communicative approaches to teaching and learning effected the advance of TELL (Technology Enhanced Language Learning).

NATURE OF CALL

of CALL is essentially a tool that helps teachers to facilitate the language learning process.

It can be used to reinforce what has been already been learned in the classroom or as a remedial tool to help learners who require additional support.

The design of CALL materials generally takes into consideration principles of language pedagogy and methodology, which may be derived from different learning theories (e.g. behaviourist, cognitive, constructivist) and second language learning theories.

GENERAL HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

CALL dates back to the 1960s, when it was first introduced on university 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). 

GENERAL HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

The advent of the microcomputer in the late 1970s brought computing within the range of a wider audience, resulting in a boom in the development of CALL programs and a flurry of publications of books on CALL in the early 1980s.

THREE PHASES OF CALL

The history of Call is usually divided into three phases: Behavioristic CALL

Structural CALL Restricted CALL

Communicative CALL Open CALL

Integrative CALL Integrated CALL

BEHAVIORISTIC CALL (STRUCTURAL CALL, RESTRICTED CALL)

The first phase of CALL It was conceived in the 1950s and

implemented in the 1970s and 1980s, It was based on the then-dominant

behaviorist theories of learning. Programs of this phase entailed repetitive

language drills. Drill and practice courseware is based on the

model of computer as tutor. In other words the computer serves as a vehicle for delivering instructional materials to the student.

BEHAVIORISTIC CALL (STRUCTURAL CALL, RESTRICTED CALL)

The rationale behind drill and practice is briefly put as follows: Repeated exposure to the same material is

beneficial or even essential to learning A computer is ideal for carrying out repeated

drills, since the machine does not get bored with presenting the same material and since it can provide immediate non-judgmental feedback

A computer can present such material on an individualized basis, allowing students to proceed at their own pace and freeing up class time for other activities

BEHAVIORISTIC CALL (STRUCTURAL CALL, RESTRICTED CALL)

Based on these notions, a number of CALL tutoring systems were developed for the mainframe computers which were used at that time.

One of the most sophisticated of these was the PLATO system, which ran on its own special PLATO hardware, including central computers and terminals.

The PLATO system included vocabulary drills, brief grammar explanations and drills, and translations tests at various intervals.

BEHAVIORISTIC CALL (STRUCTURAL CALL, RESTRICTED CALL)

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, behavioristic CALL was undermined by two important factors. First, behavioristic approaches to language

learning had been rejected at both the theoretical and the pedagogical level.

Secondly, the introduction of the microcomputer allowed a whole new range of possibilities. The stage was set for a new phase of CALL.

COMMUNICATIVE CALL (OPEN CALL)

The second phase, Communicative CALL, is based on the communicative approach that became prominent in the late 1980s and 1990s. 

In the communicative approach the focus is on using the language rather than analysis of the language, and grammar is taught implicitly rather than explicitly. It also allows for originality and flexibility in student output of language.

The communicative approach coincided with the arrival of the PC, which made computing much more widely available and resulted in a boom in the development of software for language learning.

COMMUNICATIVE CALL (OPEN CALL)

The first CALL software in this phase continued to provide skill practice but not in a drill format, for example: paced reading, text reconstruction and language games, but the computer remained the tutor.

In this phase computers provided context for students to use the language, such as asking for directions to a place, and programs not designed for language learning such as Sim City, Sleuth and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? were used for language learning.

Criticisms of this approach include using the computer in an ad hoc and disconnected manner for more marginal aims rather than the central aims of language teaching.

INTEGRATIVE CALL (INTEGRATED CALL)

The third phase of CALL, Integrative CALL, starting from the 2000s, tried to address criticisms of the communicative approach by integrating the teaching of language skills into tasks or projects to provide direction and coherence.

It also coincided with the development of multimedia technology (providing text, graphics, sound and animation) as well as Computer-mediated communication (CMC).

CALL in this period saw a definitive shift of the use of the computer for drill and tutorial purposes (the computer as a finite, authoritative base for a specific task) to a medium for extending education beyond the classroom.

INTEGRATIVE CALL (INTEGRATED CALL)

Multimedia CALL started with interactive laser videodiscs such as Montevidisco (Schneider & Bennion 1984) and A la rencontre de Philippe (Fuerstenberg 1993), both of which were simulations of situations where the learner played a key role.

These programs later were transferred to CD-ROMs, and new role-playing games (RPGs) such as Who is Oscar Lake? made their appearance in a range of different languages.