Computer-assisted Language Learning — The Times They Are A-Changin’ (original) (raw)
Related papers
2009
The current study provides guidance for both junior computer-assisted language learning (CALL) researchers as they decide on the most appropriate forms and placement of scholarly activity and also for decision makers attempting to evaluate the scholarly activity of these CALL researchers in their quest for promotion and tenure. In this study, data from 35 online surveys from established CALL researchers were examined to determine their expert opinions on the quality of CALL-specific and general applied linguistics journals. These scholars were also asked to list the criteria they used to rank these journals and comment on the types of scholarly activity most beneficial to junior CALL scholars. Results suggest that the single most important element in the scholarly dossier of a CALL researcher is a series of refereed scholarly articles in highly ranked, peer-reviewed journals. A clear qualitative hierarchy of both CALL-specific and general applied linguistics journals emerged from the data. The data also show that scholars agree that the “best” journals for CALL research are those that reflect the highest quality of relevant articles and those that make a significant contribution to the field. Markedly less important to these CALL experts in determining journal quality are those more “objective” measures of quality such as acceptance rate, impact factor, and circulation.
Does CALL Have an English Problem?
This paper asks whether CALL has an English problem. It surveys the empirical studies published in four English language international CALL journals during the four year period (2012-2015) to see whether there was an upward trend in the overall number and proportion of studies investigating English as a target language. For 2012 and 2013, the proportion of English to studies of other languages was roughly equal. But published studies on English in 2014 and 2015 showed a noticeable increase. It then explores three cases in which an overemphasis on English fails to capture the cognitive and social issues around the use of technology for learning and teaching other languages. These include, for instance, the cognitive complexity of typing in character-based languages relative to typing in alphabetic languages, the culturally situated nature of feedback made available to learners using writing software, and teachers of languages other than English questioning the relevance of CALL for their local context. CALL journals both represent and shape the field, and when the vast majority of studies published in prominent international CALL journals explore primarily English as the target language, then this may suggest that computer-assisted language learning is becoming synonymous with computer-assisted English learning.
Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics
Paradigm has been shifted from face to face to online teaching and learning. This paper is written with the COVID-19 pandemic in mind where it delves into the opportunities and challenges faced by Nepalese teachers taking virtual classes in the context of Nepal. The major purpose of this study is to explore the Secondary English teachers' experiences in teaching English during the pandemics. For this, we interviewed four teachers of the Kathmandu district who had been taking online classes. Their experiences were analyzed through a constructive approach. The findings suggested that the teachers were quite positive and optimistic towards teaching virtually despite the lack of adequate training, consistent internet services, regular power supply, and suitable devices. Further, it explored that the participants had taken the online mode of teaching as one of the best options as it opens several optimistic doors to both teachers and students though they realized that there were challenges to teaching virtually.
This article provides an argument for closer multilateral alliances between the emergent and loosely-bound international community of educational researchers who are working in areas related to Digitally Supported Communicative Language Teaching and learning (herein DSCLT). By taking advantage of the communications revolution that is currently reshaping the world, internationally aligned investigators can foster new knowledge, technology, and practices that develop improved teaching strategies and policies appropriate to our rapidly changing times. Beginning with a brief overview of the impact that technology has had on education and post-2000 nascent research areas related to DSCLT, this article goes on to examine whether or not the impact of research is geographically bound, and if so, how transnational alliances can be useful in bridging gaps in the continuum of knowledge-building. Finally, the potential gains that could stem from an enhanced collaboration between international research communities are examined, although admittedly such endeavors are not without challenges.
This is a tremendously exciting time to be a language educator, applied linguist, or language technology specialist in part because technology has come to mediate all manner of professional, recreational, interpersonal, and educational activity. As Bryan Smith and I noted in a recent publication (Thorne & Smith, 2011), second and foreign language researchers and educators have long recognized the potential of digital technologies to provide access to input, practice, and rehearsal (audio recordings, video, tutorials, drills, mini games), to amplify possibilities for meaningful and creative expression (text and media processing), to extend existing and create new opportunities for interpersonal communication (synchronous and asynchronous messaging, online intercultural exchange), to collaborate in (often) linguistically rich multiparty interaction in the 'wild' (i.e., naturally occurring and non-institutionally located online environments and communities), and to construct relevant presentations of self in digital media environments. Indeed, independent of the issue of successful integration of technologies into formal educational spaces, late modernity is increasingly defined by the seeming ubiquity of mediated engagement as a routine and unmarked dimension of life activity.
ReCALL, 2014
The edited volume, Computer-Assisted Language Learning: Diversity in Research and Practice, offers a unique and informative look at diversity in language learning instruction and research. From diversity in the range of technology to diverse contexts to diversity of learners, this edited volume aims to reach a wide range of audiences including researchers, educators, and graduate students. Each chapter in the book points to the diversity of CALL and serves as a strong reminder that technology use alone is not an effective tool for language instruction. To help instructors reflect more on theoretically sound technology use into their teaching, Diversity in Research and Practice presents ten chapters (including an introduction and conclusion) that focus on various aspects of diversity in CALL. There is also a useful list of abbreviations at the beginning of the book and a list of websites and glossary at the end. The organization of the chapters provides readers with insights that further their understanding of diversity in the context of CALL and how it can help move foreign/second language instruction in innovative and pedagogically sound directions. In Chapter 1 (the Introduction) the book's editor, Glenn Stockwell, gives an up-to-date overview of current technology use both in and out of the classroom. He discusses diversity in terms of its potential to alter the way in which CALL is viewed in that it ''may include diversity in the technologies, diversities in the environments in which CALL is used, diversity in the pedagogies employed, diversity in the users of CALL, and diversity in the methods used to research and further our understanding of CALL'' (p. 1). Robert Fischer, in Chapter 2, looks at what students do when using CALL and the diversity of strategies and usage patterns that emerge from tracking data. He highlights the importance of tracking data, which can provide direct observation of what students do in various CALL environments. After providing an overview of the