The history of CALL

Introduction:

     Long time ago the use of computers in language teaching was not of a big deal. Recently, computers become very important tool as language learning assistant. The General Introduction by Philip Hubbard presents an overview of the foundation of CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning). The author starts with a definition of CALL:

"Beatty offers the following characterization: ‘a definition of CALL that accommodates its changing nature is any process in which a learner uses a computer and, as a result, improves his or her language’ (2003:7)." . So,  in Beatty’s sense CALL does not lead to improving language directly, but rather to improving the learning conditions in some fashion.

The foundations of CALL:

     The foundation of this field includes the conceptualization of research, design, and evaluation. In this stage there have been two different points of views considering the use of computers in teaching second language. The first one criticizes this field as being overly ‘technology driven’ at the expense of theory, research and pedagogy. The second one criticizes the field for being connected to general education more than focusing on how well the language will be learned.

The history of CALL:

     In the 1960s, computers have been used for language teaching. However, the history of CALL can be divided into three stages: behavioristic CALL, communicative CALL, and integrative CALL. Each stage identifies a specific level of technology and pedagogical approach.

1)  Behavioristic CALL:

     The behavioristic Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) started as an idea in the 1950s. However, that idea put into practice in the 1960s and 1970s. This mode of CALL

featured repetitive language drills, referred to as drill—

and-practice. In this type, the computer was seen as a mechanical tutor in which students cannot get feedback and they cannot learn as a group.

2)  Communicative CALL:

     Communicative CALL, occurred in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In that period of time, the behavioristic approaches to language teaching were being rejected at both the theoretical and pedagogical level, and when new personal computers were

creating greater possibilities for individual work. The main concept of this stage was to teach students to concentrate on the deep information rather than superficial ones. However, the main focus was not on the technology, but rather on the team work among students while using the computers.

3)  Integrative CALL:

     By the late 1980s and early 1990s, the communicative CALL was criticized because the computers was still separated from the action of language learning. That led to the emergence of the integrative CALL as a new concept for using computers in language learning. This perspective aims both to unify the different learning skills (Reading, Writing, listening, and speaking), and also integrate technology

more fully into the language learning process. This approach focuses more on technology as an outstanding process of language learning and use.

References:

·         Hubbard, P.,  (2010, January). GENERAL INTRODUCTION: Foundations of CALL, Stanford, America.

·         Healey, D., & Warschauer, M. (1998). State of the art article. Computers and language learning: an overview, 31,57-71.

summarized by:( Wejdan Ibrahim)