“CALL” computer assisted

language learning.
Víctor Manuel Gallego Espinosa*

Abstract
CALL is an acronym in English which can be translated as “Computer Assisted Language
Learning”. That technique has been supported and used by uncountable learners of Lan-
guages through last years and it is based on the increasing use of Internet, Multimedia and
new technologies, as a part of a didactic resource inside the classroom. CALL takes its part
in the Language teaching traditional pedagogy, presenting all kind of virtual tools for tea-
chers and students of a Foreign Language; helping the process of formation for being much
more personalized, interesting and attractive.

Key Words: Computer, teaching, learning, language.

El computador como instrumento para el aprendizaje de un idioma

Resumen
CALL es un acrónimo en inglés que puede traducirse como “el aprendizaje de un idioma
con la ayuda del computador”. Dicha técnica ha sido sustentada y usada por innumerables
estudiosos de los idiomas durante los últimos años y está basada en el incremento del uso
de internet, multimedia y de nuevas tecnologías, como recurso didáctico dentro del aula.
CALL hace su aporte a la pedagogía tradicional de los idiomas, presentado todo tipo de he-
rramientas virtuales para profesores y estudiantes de un idioma extranjero; ayudando a que
el proceso de formación sea mucho más personalizado, interesante y atractivo.
Palabras Claves: Computador, enseñanza, aprendizaje, lenguaje.

Fecha de Recepción: Abril 8 de 2008 Fecha de Aprobación: Mayo 14 de 2008

*Especialista en Lingüística Aplicada a la Enseñanza del Inglés, U. Gran Colombia. 2007. Docente Escuela Tecnológica Instituto Técnico Central.
[email protected]

42 Escuela Tecnológica Insituto Técnico Central

 1. Introduction

Learning English and using computers seem to be one of the most important goals
in Colombian education during last years. Some authors suggest that there are some
kinds of illiteracy in Colombia and around all over the world and they can be classified
in three levels: Reading- Writing, computers use and using a second or third language.
It is in that scenario where nor only education but specifically languages are joined to-
gether with the purpose of involving the learner in languages and technologies such a
need to face new challenges in the modern world. Moreover, and it was in that context
where CALL (computer assisted language learning) was born and began to be applied
and used to languages. It is CALL the tool that modern teachers must use in order to
be more effective in their classes. It involves as many choices as the creativity of the tea-
cher can work for instance: presentation, reinforcement, assessment, teaching, learning
and so on, as the following definition taken from a virtual encyclopedia, suggests:

“CALL is an acronym for Computer Assisted Language Learning. CALL is a growing

field in ILT (Information and Learning Technology) with a wide selection of applications;
reference works, study and research tools available as well as plenty of applications targeted
at specific English language exams.” Wikipedia (2006).

2. Definition

In general, CALL can refer to any language learning • Students interacting with one another and a
or teaching that involves the computer in a signifi- teacher through a computer (online class).
cant way. CALL can be:
• A teacher using a single computer and large
• One student on one computer with interactive monitor or data projector for class instruction.
software.

• Two or three students on one computer with CALL environments can be a classroom, a com-
interactive software. puter lab with the teacher present, a computer
lab with students working independently, or stu-
• Students on computers interacting with other dents working at a public computer, at home, or
students (computer-mediated communication). elsewhere. The microcomputer has been a central
element of this for the past few decades, although
• Students on computers working with web-ba- notebook computers and even cell phones are be-
sed language content. ginning to be utilized.

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In his overview, Levy defines computer assisted the computer as a tutor, although it gives students
language learning (CALL) broadly as “The search choices, control and interaction. Another CALL
for and the study of applications of the computer model used for communicative activities involves
in language teaching and learning” (Levy, 1997a, p.1) the computer as stimulus, as in programmes that
stimulate writing or discussions, and which may
not be specifically designed for language learners.
3. The history of CALL Finally, communicative CALL also uses the compu-
ter as a tool, in programmes that do not provide
Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) is language material, but enable the learner to un-
not a new development in language teaching, as it derstand and use the language, such as word pro-
has been used since the 1960s and 70s. However, it cessors, desktop publishing, spelling and grammar
still lacks research methods and a clear theoretical checks programmes, as used for instance in pro-
foundation. (Chapelle,1997). cess writing.

Nowadays, audiotape based language labs are gra- The current approach is integrative CALL, which is
dually being replaced by language media centers, based on multimedia computers and the Internet.
where language learners can use multimedia CD These technological developments have brought
ROMs and laser discs, access foreign language do- text, graphics, sound, animation and video to be
cuments on the world wide web, and communi- accessed on a single inexpensive computer. The-
cative with their teachers, fellow classmates, and se resources are all linked and called ‘hypermedia’,
native speakers by electronic mail. If language tea- enabling learners to navigate through CD-ROMS
ching has become more exciting, it has also beco- and the Internet at their own pace and path, using
me considerably more complex. (Kern R.,2000). a variety of media.

We can divide the development of CALL into three 4. Characteristics

distinct phases (Warschauer, 1996): Behaviorist,
communicative and integrative. Strength of CALL is its ability to create a situation
in which learners working alone or in groups can
interact with the learning materials and reference
Behaviorist CALL was implemented in the 1960’s materials. This interactivity puts the learning ele-
and 70’s, when the Audio-lingual method was ments under learner control. This control allows
mostly used, and provided students with drills and learners as individuals to approach the material
practice. This model used the computer as a tutor, with their own agendas, and their own actions.
presenting drills and non-judgmental feedback. Learners using CALL are not or should not be pas-
sive; they should need to think about the language,
engage with it and to respond to it. The active and
Based on the communicative approach, communi- involved learner is thought to be a better learner.
cative CALL focuses more on using forms rather Interactivity within a CALL environment can take
than on the forms themselves. The communicati- a variety of forms, choosing the learning materials,
ve CALL programmes provide skill practice in a using the references sources, checking comprehen-
non-drill format, through language games, reading sion of language input and reacting to feedback of
and text reconstruction. This approach still uses one’s productive efforts. The interactivity of CALL

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should provide learners with such opportunities • Experiential learning.
to check, clarify, and confirm their understanding.
• Motivation.

CALL can be used in a variety of ways within diffe- • Enhanced student achievement.
rent learning situations. As mentioned above, use
as a self access resource is one of the most com- • Authentic materials for study.
mon and obvious. These materials can be linked
into courses, syllabuses, assigned to learners for • Greater interaction.
homework or as follow up activities to work un-
dertaken classroom sessions. CALL reference ma- • Personalized education.
terials can also be used by teachers to help in their
lesson preparation, providing texts, sound, digital • Independence from a single source of information.
video, grammar or vocabulary exercises that can
be used in class. • Global understanding.

5.2 Disadvantages
5. Advantages and disadvantages • Financial barriers.

CALL has much to offer English language teachers • Availability of computer hardware andsoftware.
and will have more to offer in the future. We can-
not, let us guide ourselves just as if we were blind • Technical and theoretical knowledge.
by the seductive and powerful technology that
CALL represents. It is vital to develop and main- • Acceptance of technologies.
tain a critical eye on it.

5.1 Advantages 6. Student and teaches’s role

• Provides an opportunity for real communica- Teachers or students interested in CALL can get
tion and community. involved in a number of different ways. Here are
some possibilities.
• Improves personal confidence.

• Encourages students to overcome writin • As researchers: into second language acqui-

apprehension. sition, human-computer interaction, what wor-
ks for CALL.
• Powerful self-access facility.
• As consumers of CALL software for class use
• It gives a new role to teaching materials. or building web activities into course work

• Materials are adapted to the requirements of • As directors, helping students find and use
each learner. supplementary CALL materials or web resources.

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• As managers of computer-mediated commu-
nication among learners in and out of class. 8. Methodology

• As software or web developers, either According to the experience, teachers do not stick
“from scratch” or adding new materials to rigidly to a single theory of language learning, nor
existing templates. do they employ a single methodology to put into
practice the various theories in which they subs-
• As coaches to help students develop soft- cribe. It is recommended Reuven Feuerstein’s pro-
ware, websites, and general computer literacy. posal on cognitive Modifiability and instrumental
enrichment (Prieto Ma.Dolores, 1986), particularly
• As CALL experts for your program, helping in reference to the expression of abilities which
other teachers and administrators with CALL are manifested in the stages of: ENTRY, ELABO-
implementations As CALL professionals, RATION AND EXIT.
consulting on external projects, doing soft-
ware reviews for journals, making conference
presentations, writing papers, interpreting and Entry phase: The purpose of this phase is to in-
applying CALL research, and/or providing input troduce the theme and to see how the perceptive
to the field at large. motor skills will work with it. Some warming up
activities are going to help students for understan-
ding better the topic. Then, teacher and students
will be interacting about the topic in the classro-
7. Techniques om, before using the computer. After, students will
practice their basic or previous knowledge and will
Each technique can be taught, considering the share some questions with the teacher in the other
computer roles and its applications: part of the class. Activities will motivate students
to learn the new topic and at the same time, they
• Computer as a tutor: Programs designed will be developing skills to identify the future task.
for teaching grammar, Listening, Reading, Text
reconstruction, Vocabulary, Writing and Com-
prehension. Students will enjoy the work, because they will
make it in different ways and teacher will guide
• Computer as stimulus: The computer as them as a motivator. Students also will be using all
stimulus category includes software, which is, kind of skills in order to identify the topic, to deve-
used not so much as a tutorial in itself but to lop it and relate it to new possibilities as multime-
generate analysis, critical thinking, discussion, dia and internet. Through all the process students
and writing. will be using, identifying, comparing and classifying
multiple information prepared by the teacher.
• Computer as tool: The most common use of
computer as tool can be summarized as Word
processing, Grammar checkers, Concordances, Elaboration phase: The main objective of this
Collaborative writing, Reference, Internet and phase is to use the computer (CALL) as a tool, to
Authoring. learn, practice and enjoy at the same time about a
specific topic.

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According to Reuven Feuerstein’s proposal on cog-
nitive Modifiability and instrumental enrichment 9. References
(Prieto Ma.Dolores, 1986) the following elements 9.1 Resources
should be included during the process: Content,
operations, kind, complexity, level of abstraction,
level of efficiency, identification, differentiation, 1. For Listening Comprehension
mental representation, mental transformation,
comparisons, classification and decoding. • World Radio Network:
www.wrn.org/audio
• Weekly Idioms:
Exit phase: After last two phases students will be www.comenius.com/idiom
ready to build, change and recreate the knowledge • Funny Short Animations in Flash:
about the topic. To do that, some more activities www.flashring.com
will be given to develop which can be done during
the class or later. Those activities will be guided by
the teacher and supported with some extra mate- 2. For Reading Comprehension
rial as worksheets and related tasks to be develo-
ped at home. • BookWeb : www.ambook.org/
• Children’s Web Literature Guide:
www.ucalgary.ca
8.1 Resources • Fluency Through Fables:
www.comenius.com/fable
a) Programs especially designed for En-
glish language learning: There are exercises
thought for beginners, intermediate and advan- 3. For Writing
ced students. For this, a number of programs
are used. Gapmaster, Matchmaster, Choi- • Cultural Topics-Advanced Reading and Writing:
cemaster, Testmaster, Storyboard, Text- http://darkwing.woregon.edu
mixer, Wordstore, Dynamic English, Ellis • Writing OWLs:
mastery, English Discoveries Network, www.umass.edu/english
Rosetta stone, and Vocabulary Games.

4.Tests on the Web

b) Ludicrous programs: Some examples of
this kind of programs are Computer Scrabble, • ALTE(The Association of Language
Hangman, Wheel of Fortune and The Secret of Testers in Europe): www.edunet.com/alte/
the Monkey Island. • ILTA(International Language Testing Association):
www.surrey.ac.uk
• University of Cambridge Local Examinations
c) Word Processors: Word processors can be Syndicate: http://vanlang.com/vli
used to create an endless number of exercises
in English -filling in the gaps; rearranging disor-
dered paragraphs in a text; replacing incorrect
words by the corresponding correct ones.

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5. For Grammar Teaching and Learning 7. For Newspapers

• Cutting Edge Grammar: • BBC: www.bbcnc.org.uk/index

www.chorus.cycor.ca • CNN: www.cnn.com
• Daves ESL Quiz Page: • Financial Times, The: www.ft.com
www.pacific.net • New York Times, The: www.nytimes.com
• General Grammar: • Times, The(U.K.): www.the-times.co.uk
www.englishpage.com • Weekend Independent, The (Brisbane, Austra-
• Grammar in Spanish: lia): www.uq.oz.au
www.mansioningles.com
• Basic Grammar in Spanish:
www.aulafacil.com

6. For Dictionaries and Encyclopaedias

• Dictionary of Technical and Natural English:

http://crnvmc.cer/FIND/DICTIONARY
• Roget’s Thesaurus: gopher://gopher.dlu.dr
• The Oxford English Dictionary Online:
www.oed.com
• Encyclopaedia Britannica:
www.-pf.eb.com:189
Wikipedia: www.wikipedia.org

9.2 Books and others

Roldan Hugo, Guide N.1. Basic Theoretical support for Computers use in education. (2005)

Chapellea. Carol, Computer Applications in Second Language acquisition. Cambridge University Press. 2001.

Warschauer and kern Richard. Network based Language Teaching: Concepts and practice. Cambirdge
University Press. 2000.

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