CALLUnit 1 - Introduction

This presentation has been created to summarize the main ideas of this unit.Created by Miguel Carballo.

Reference: Levy, Michael (1997).Computer-Assited Language Learning (Oxford: Oxford University Press)

Computer-Assisted Language Learning

- What’s CALL?

- CALL may be defined as the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning. In other words, the different ways of using the computer for teaching and studying a language.

Creating new CALL materials?

If you’re thinking about creating new CALL materials, either privately or commercially, you should know you’ll be facing some issues to consider before you get started. Here’s a list:

• Points of departure• Software• Hardware

Things to take into account while creating new CALL materials:

In addition to the fields of language teaching and learning, real or potential influences in the development of CALL have

included aspects, that often overlap and interrelate, such as:

Conceptualization of CALL

The term of conceptualization is used as a label to identify the mental picture a CALL author or a teacher has when envisaging the use and role of the computer in CALL materials.

A team of researchers used a number of components “indicators”, each considered to represent a key factor that needed to be examined if the phenomenon as a whole were to be understood.

Here’s a list of indicators that serve to relate how CALL is conceptualized:

Describing indicatorsA CALL author’s view of language teaching and learning are held to influence how that author

conceptualizes CALL.

The role of the computer contributes to the conceptualization in many ways, the most important distinction being whether the computer’s role is directive or non-directive.

The point of departure describes the CALL author’s declared starting-point for a project.

The Hardware and software are considered to shape what it is or not possible in a CALL project.

The development process is included as an indicator because of the way it may vary the initial conceptualization.

The ways in which CALL authors translate their knowledge of language teaching and learning is a complex and multifaceted process.