The Great Method in Combining Technology (CALL)

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What is CALL?

Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is defined as an approach to language teaching and learning in which the computer is used as an aid to the presentation, reinforcement and assessment of the materials to be learned, usually including a substantial interactive element. Levy (1997:1) defines CALL more succinctly and more broadly as "the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning".

The main objectives of CALL is to find ways for using computers for the purpose of teaching and learning the language. It uses the computer technologies to promote educational learning which

includes word processing, presentation packages, guided drill and practice, tutor, simulation, problem solving, games, multimedia CD-ROM, and internet applications such as e-mail, chat and the World Wide Web (WWW) for language learning purposes. There are several terms associated with CALL, which they are Computer-Aided Language Learning (CALL), Computer-Assisted Language Instruction (CALI) and Computer-Enhanced Language Learning (CELL). The first two terms generally refer to computer applications in language learning and teaching, while CELL implies using CALL in a self-access environment (Hoven, 1999).

A Brief History of CALL

CALL's origins can be traced back to the 1960s. Up until the late 1970s CALL projects were confined mainly to universities, where computer programs were developed on large 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). In the late 1970s, the arrival of the personal computer (PC) brought computing within the range of a wider audience, resulting in a boom in the development of CALL programs and a flurry of publications. Early CALL favoured an approach that drew heavily on practices associated with programmed instruction. This was reflected in the term Computer Assisted Language Instruction (CALI), which originated in the USA and was in common use until the early 1980s, when CALL became the dominant term. There was initially a lack of imagination and skill on the part of programmers, a situation that was rectified to a considerable extent by the publication of an influential seminal work by Higgins & Johns (1984), which contained numerous examples of alternative approaches to CALL. Throughout the 1980s CALL widened its scope, embracing the communicative approach and a range of new technologies.

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Interactivity

The term interactivity in the context of CALL has traditionally been associated with human-computer interaction - the stimulus / response / feedback paradigm - involving the use of a range of stimuli (text, images, audio or video), learner responses using a range of input devices (keyboard, mouse, touch screen or speech) and various types of feedback (text, images, audio or video). More recently the term interactivity has been "trivialised to simple menu selection, clickable objects or linear sequencing" (Sims 1996:1) and even to "passive" types of interactivity, such as interacting with a digital TV set by pressing the red button on a remote control device and pressing the number keys.

Why Would We Need to Use CALL in Our EFL Classrooms?

Because technology becomes increasingly ubiquitous, it is expected from the teachers to integrate it into the language classes. This means not only bringing technology into the classroom, but offering learners technology–enhanced options outside the class time.

There are some reasons why ELT teachers use CALL:

1. Computers can do some of the work of the teacher and provide great assistance to the learner even without the presence of the teacher (Pennington and Steven, 1992).
2. New technologies have seen computers become smaller, faster, and easier for the teacher to use (Evy, 1997). At present, well-designed CALL software is readily available to the teacher.
3. Technologies allow computers to do multimedia applications, incorporating video, sound, and text, and this capacity allows the learner to interact with both the program and other learners. (Felix, 1998).
4. The computer offers great flexibility for class scheduling and pacing of individual learning, choosing activities and content to suit individual learning styles. (Oxford and others, 1998)
5. The computer can provide a meaning-focused, communicative learning environment, which serves the purposes of communicative language teaching.

There are some Principles of Using and Designing CALL Programs in Language Learning and Teaching: 

1. student/learner-centeredness (to promote learner autonomy)
2. meaningful purpose
3. comprehensive input
4. sufficient level of stimulation (cognitively and affectively)
5. multiple modalities (to support various learning styles and strategies)
6. high level of interaction (human-machine and human-human)

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Uses of CALL in English Language Teaching

This section gives a brief overview of how CALL has been used or can be used for the purpose of language learning and teaching. The use of CALL can be divided as follows:

1. Computer as Drill and Practice
2. Computer as Tutor
3. Computer as Simulation/Problem Solving
4. Computer as Game
5. Computer as Tool for ELT teachers and learners
6. Applications of Internet for ELT

Tips in Using CALL

The following are tips for ELT teachers in using CALL:

1. Use CALL to serve educational purposes. Teachers should not jump in the bandwagon just because other people do. Many teachers use CALL because it is a new technology (like the language lab used to be about 30 years ago) without considering whether it serve or gives true value to educational objectives.
2. Do not isolate CALL from the rest of the curriculum. Try to integrate CALL with other subjects or disciplines in the curriculum. Using CALL across the curriculum will make it more integrative.
3. Consider CALL as one of many learning resources. Teachers should try to incorporate other learning resources and materials such as books, magazines, video, audio tape, with their teaching.
4. Choosing appropriate CALL software for the learner, such as age, need, and interest is important. Software evaluation guides are important tools for the teachers in choosing suitable software.
5. Using CALL is not the end in itself. Follow-up activities are also important. A lot of lessons end when CALL finishes in class. In fact, follow up activities such as group discussion, writing assignments, searching for more data from other learning sources e.g. interviews, and surveys are also important.
6. Do not expect that all students in class would enjoy working on the computer. A lot of students prefer human interaction (such as student – teacher or student – student ) than with the computer. Teachers should provide alternative activities for those students who prefer traditional learning approaches.
7. Do not expect that all students can work easily with the computer. Many students take much longer to learn certain skills such as using the keyboard, the mouse, etc., while other students pick up these skills easily. Teachers must be patient and willing to help the slow groups.
8. Try to incorporate a variety of activities on CALL such as desktop publishing (e.g. word processing), e-mail correspondence, web publishing (e.g. home pages, newspapers), chats and moos, and web based assessment.
9. Do not expect that teaching with computers would be easy for all teachers. It can be exhausting or may require a lot of preparation such as setting up the computer lab, preparing suitable software and materials (printed and online), including follow up activities. Team work seems to be the best solution for implementing CALL in school.

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CONCLUSION

The CALL method is very good idea to teach students in this modern and spohisticated era which almost everone use many technology products to share the information in their communication, so I think that it may give the advantages of teaching English to students because it may help the students learn how to use the technology in appropriate way to share the information globally. Actually, nowadays young generations tend to pay their attention to the up-to-date technology such as internet, gadgets, and computers. They may get interested to the technology because it may provide them the dream world as what they expect, so they may feel be spirited to reach what they want although it is not real. That may be positive ones to stimulate their responses to reach their own dream world, but it also can be the negative ones if they may not be able to control themselves to use the technology. In short, I am afraid if the technology makes them lazy or just follow the unreal goals, but I believe that it can be avoided if we, as the user of the technology, manage it to help our activities. We should control the technology, not be controlled.

However, CALL is still flexible to teach the students in some condition such as via internet using Skype to make a conversation between a teacher and a student. It may allow the student to ask the difficult materials and the teacher can give his/her students a kind of feedback. In addition, CALL can provide communicative meaningful language learning environments by combining the hardware, the software, and the internet to build the communication although the distance is far. In the end, the CALL method is very useful and helpful method to attract students to learn the knowledge.

Source:

1. http://www2.nkfust.edu.tw/~emchen/CALL/unit1.htm
2. http://constructivisminelt.wikispaces.com/Constructivism+and+CALL
3. http://web.warwick.ac.uk/CELTE/tr/ovCALL/booklet1.htm
4. https://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/gpg/61
5. http://e-teachingweb.blogspot.com/2014/04/language-teaching-technology-class_16.html
6. http://www.ict4lt.org/en/en_mod1-4.htm