The author in this article speaks about CALL and gives us an introduction ,including a brief history of CALL and he also speaks about the recent trends( CD-ROMS, DVDs ,the Web). He presents the professional associations dedicated to CALL.
First, he provides a definition of CALL, which is an approach to language teaching and learning in which the computer is used as a tool or even an aid to the presentation, reinforcement and assessment of the teaching or learning material. The author also agrees on Levy's definition ,that CALL is the search for and the study of the applications of the computer in language teaching and learning. Then ,he mentions the history of CALL ,which can be traced back to the 1960s. It actually started in the universities. The first important project was thePLATO project in the Illinois university.
I think the development of CALL goes along with the development of the computer.
The programs started on large mainframe computer but in the 1970s the arrival of personal computer (PC) brought a boom in the development of CALL. The main focus at that time was on the practices associated with programmed instruction. This was reflected in computer assisted language instruction (CALI),which started in USA and was in common use until the early 1980s. At that time there was a lack of imagination and skill In the programmers part ,until the arrival of Higgins and Johns in 1984. In the 1980s CALL embraced the communicative approach.
The author makes a comparison between traditional CALL and explorative or modern CALL. The traditional programs focused on the teacher rather than the learner .It presentedsome kind of stimulus in which the learner should respond toit. Ii is in the form of text presented on the computer screen and the learner respond to it by entering the answer on the keyboard. Traditional CALL involved discrete error analysis and feedback.
The explorative CALL favored a learner-centered approach rather than teacher-centered. This approach is characterized by the use of concordance programs in classrooms.
The personal computers were unable of presenting images and recording voice at the same time, but after combining those computers with a 12-inch videodisc player this problem was solved. This was the beginning of the multimedia CALL. The result was the development of interactive videodiscs. The same technique in those videodiscs was adapted for the multimedia personal computers (MPCs), which incorporated CD-ROM drives in 1990s. CD-ROM was first used to store texts and later to store sounds, still images and videos. Then came the Digital Video Disc (DVD).
Most CALL programs fall into the category of multimedia CALL. In1992 the World Wide Web was launched and offered huge potential in language learning and teaching .
CALL authoring programs offer a do-it-yourself approach to call. It was designed to be used by language teachers who have no knowledge of computer programming.
There are different professional associations of CALL. The World Call considered an umbrella association of associations. And there are many different associations around the world.
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