Computer-assisted language learning (CALL), known as computer-assisted learning (CAL) in British English and computer-aided language instruction (CALI) and computer-aided instruction (CAI) in American English, is, per Levy (1997: p. 1), "the exploration and study of computer applications in language teaching and learning."Levy, M. (1997). CALL: Context and Conceptualisation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. CALL embraces a wide range of information and communications technology "applications and approaches to teaching and learning foreign languages, ranging from the traditional drill-and-practice programs that characterized CALL in the 1960s and 1970s to more recent manifestations of CALL, such as those utilized virtual learning environment and Web-based distance learning. It also extends to the use of corpora and concordancers, interactive whiteboards,Schmid, Euline Cutrim. (2009). Interactive Whiteboard Technology in the Language Classroom: Exploring New Pedagogical Opportunities. Saarbrücken, Germany: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller. computer-mediated communication (CMC),Lamy M.-N. & Hampel R. (2007) Online communication in language learning and teaching, Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. language learning in virtual worlds, and mobile-assisted language learning (MALL).Shield, L., & Kukulska-Hulme, A. (Eds.). (2008). Special edition of ReCALL (20, 3) on Mobile Assisted Language Learning.
The term CALI (computer-assisted language instruction) was used before CALL, originating as a subset of the broader term CAI (computer-assisted instruction). CALI fell out of favor among language teachers, however, because it seemed to emphasize a teacher-centered instructional approach. Language teachers increasingly favored a student-centered approach focused on learning rather than instruction. CALL began to replace CALI in the early 1980s (Davies & Higgins, 1982: p. 3).Davies G. & Higgins J. (1982) Computers, language and language learning, London: CILT. and it is now incorporated into the names of the growing number of professional associations worldwide.
An alternative term, technology-enhanced language learning (TELL),Bush M. & Terry R. (1997) (eds.) Technology-enhanced language learning, Lincolnwood, Illinois: National Textbook Company. also emerged around the early 1990s: e.g. the TELL Consortium project, University of Hull.
The current philosophy of CALL emphasizes student-centered materials that empower learners to work independently. These materials can be structured or unstructured but typically incorporate two key features: interactive and individualized learning. CALL employs tools that assist teachers in facilitating language learning, whether reinforcing classroom lessons or providing additional support to learners. The design of CALL materials typically integrates principles from language pedagogy and methodology, drawing from various learning theories such as behaviourism, cognitive theory, constructivism, and second-language acquisition theories like Stephen Krashen's monitor hypothesis.
A combination of face-to-face teaching and CALL is usually referred to as blended learning. Blended learning is designed to increase learning potential and is more commonly found than pure CALL (Pegrum 2009: p. 27).Pegrum M. (2009) From blogs to bombs: The future of digital technologies in education, Perth: University of Western Australia Press.
See Davies et al. (2011: Section 1.1, What is CALL?).Davies G., Walker R., Rendall H. & Hewer S. (2011) Introduction to Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). Module 1.4 in Davies G. (ed.) Information and Communications Technology for Language Teachers (ICT4LT), Slough, Thames Valley University [Online]: http://www.ict4lt.org/en/en_mod1-4.htm See also Levy & Hubbard (2005), who raise the question Why call CALL "CALL"?
History
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). 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.
Dozens of CALL programs are currently available on the internet, at prices ranging from free to expensive, and other programs are available only through university language courses.
There have been several attempts to document the history of CALL. Sanders (1995) covers the period from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s, focusing on CALL in North America.Sanders R. (ed.) (1995) Thirty years of computer-assisted language instruction, Festschrift for John R. Russell, CALICO Journal Special Issue, 12, 4. Delcloque (2000) documents the history of CALL worldwide, from its beginnings in the 1960s to the dawning of the new millennium.Delcloque P. (2000) History of CALL [Online]: http://www.ict4lt.org/en/History_of_CALL.pdf Davies (2005) takes a look back at CALL's past and attempts to predict where it is going.Davies G. (2005) Computer Assisted Language Learning: Where are we now and where are we going? [ Online]: http://www.camsoftpartners.co.uk/docs/UCALL_Keynote.htm Hubbard (2009) offers a compilation of 74 key articles and book excerpts, originally published in the years 1988–2007, that give a comprehensive overview of the wide range of leading ideas and research results that have exerted an influence on the development of CALL or that show promise in doing so in the future.Hubbard P. (2009) (ed.) Computer-assisted language learning, Volumes I-IV, Routledge: London and New York: http://www.stanford.edu/~efs/callcc/ A published review of Hubbard's collection can be found in Language Learning & Technology 14, 3 (2010).Language Learning & Technology (2010) 14, 3, pp. 14–18 [Online]: http://llt.msu.edu/issues/october2010/index.html
Butler-Pascoe (2011) looks at the history of CALL from a different point of view, namely the evolution of CALL in the dual fields of educational technology and second/foreign language acquisition and the paradigm shifts experienced along the way.Butler-Pascoe M. E. (2011) "The history of CALL: the intertwining paths of technology and second/foreign language teaching", International Journal of Computer-Assisted Language Learning and Teaching (IJCALLT) 1, 1: 16–32: http://www.igi-global.com/ijcallt
See also Davies et al. (2011: Section 2, History of CALL).
Typology and phases
During the 1980s and 1990s, several attempts were made to establish a CALL typology. A wide range of different types of CALL programs was identified by Davies and Higgins (1985),Davies G. & Higgins J. (1985) Using computers in language learning: a teacher's guide, London: CILT. Jones and Fortescue (1987),Jones C. & Fortescue S. (1987) Using computers in the language classroom, Harlow: Longman. Hardisty and Windeatt (1989)Hardisty D. & Windeatt S. (1989) CALL, Oxford: Oxford University Press. and Levy (1997: pp. 118ff.). These included gap-filling and Cloze programs, multiple-choice programs, free-format (text-entry) programs, adventures and simulations, action mazes, sentence-reordering programs, exploratory programs—and "total Cloze", a type of program in which the learner has to reconstruct a whole text. Most of these early programs still exist in modernised versions.
Since the 1990s, it has become increasingly difficult to categorise CALL as it now extends to the use of blogs, wikis, social networking, podcasting, Web 2.0 applications, language learning in virtual worlds and interactive whiteboards (Davies et al. 2010: Section 3.7).
Warschauer (1996)Warschauer M. (1996) "Computer-assisted language learning: an introduction". In Fotos S. (ed.) Multimedia language teaching, Tokyo: Logos International [Online]: http://www.ict4lt.org/en/warschauer.htm and Warschauer & Healey (1998) took a different approach. Rather than focusing on the typology of CALL, they identified three historical phases of CALL, classified according to their underlying pedagogical and methodological approaches:
Behavioristic CALL: conceived in the 1950s and implemented in the 1960s and 1970s. Communicative CALL: 1970s to 1980s. Integrative CALL: embracing Multimedia and the Internet: 1990s.
Most CALL programs in Warschauer and Healey's first phase, Behavioristic CALL (1960s to 1970s), consisted of drill-and-practice materials in which the computer presented a stimulus and the learner provided a response. At first, both could be done only through text. The computer would analyse students' input and give feedback, and more sophisticated programs would react to students' mistakes by branching to help screens and remedial activities. While such programs and their underlying pedagogy still exist today, behaviouristic approaches to language learning have been rejected by most language teachers, and the increasing sophistication of computer technology has led CALL to other possibilities.
The second phase described by Warschauer and Healey, Communicative CALL, is based on the communicative approach that became prominent in the late 1970s and 1980s (Underwood 1984).Underwood J. (1984) Linguistics, computers and the language teacher: a communicative approach, Rowley, Massachusetts: Newbury House. 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. 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.
The third phase of CALL described by Warschauer and Healey, Integrative CALL, starting from the 1990s, 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 from 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. Multimedia CALL started with interactive laser videodiscs such as Montevidisco (Schneider & Bennion 1984)Schneider E.W. & Bennion J.L. (1984) "Veni, vidi, vici, via videodisc: a simulator for instructional courseware". In Wyatt D.H. (ed.) Computer-assisted language instruction, Oxford: Pergamon. and A la rencontre de Philippe (Fuerstenberg 1993),Fuerstenberg G. (1993) A la rencontre de Philippe: Videodisc, Software, Teacher's Manual and Student Activities Workbook: Yale University Press [Online]: http://web.mit.edu/fll/www/projects/Philippe.html 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.