DEFINING A MODEL OF CALL

 DEFINING A MODEL OF CALL

If you say they are all examples of CALL, you are right. What exactly is computer-assisted language learning? Very specifically, CALL is software tools a designed to promote language learning (ICT4LT, 2001), but CALL can be looked at in broader ways, too. Twenty years ago, Levy (1997) described CALL as a field that covers “the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning” (p. 1), and this definition still applies. Simply, it means using chip-based technology to support language teaching and learning in some way. This definition applies to all languages, skill areas, and content.

Educators regularly introduce new terms to describe CALL, demonstrating that they are still exploring its boundaries and clarifying its components. Labels include computer-enhanced language learning (CELL), the more general technology-enhanced language learning (TELL), and specific applications such as computer-based language testing (CBLT) and computer-supported reading instruction (CRI). There are other ways to look at CALL, too. It began as software run on mainframe computers to provide learners with drills and other language practice. Since then, CALL has included many technologies: laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital audio recorders, wireless Internet access, local area networking, virtual environments, and more. It has expanded from using individual drill software to using the Internet and even virtual reality as a medium to support native and non-native speaker interaction.

Shahrokni, J. E. A. S. A. (s. f.). Defining CALL – CALL Principles and Practices. https://opentext.wsu.edu/call/chapter/defining-call/