Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is defined as the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning. CALL has existed for 35 to 40 years and originally was located within behaviorism and "tutorial CALL" (Levy, 1997; Taylor,
1980). Language learning and CALL have, until – arguably – the last 2or
3 years, run through parallel.
In the early days, language was a behavior, student would learn this behavior by "listen and repeat" and of course, there were some very mechanical based exercises on the computer that reinforced that idea. So, the computer was looked at as a tutor teaching in some kind of a limited way that gives a corrective …show more content…
2Masoma
Some of the key defining features of traditional CALL includes: the use of a computer desktop, most of the scholars that discussed CALL implicitly or explicitly have the idea of student working on a desktop on one particular program, a grammar exercise or a listening exercise, in order to explicitly learn an aspect of a language. Very often, these ideas are realized in self-access centers or controlled classrooms. Call was considered motivating by its nature. For example, in 1980, Huw Jarvis (a senior Lecturer) was working in Kuwait and he would say to the student
"we're going to the computer room" and even though there were only 3 computers which meant that every 3 or 4 student will have to share one device, student would say "yes teacher computer yes". Knowing that they were going to use a computer was in itself a motivating experience for them. The role of computers outside the classrooms, in those days, was of course minimum, people did not have computers.
With the arrival of the communicative approach in language teaching it was obvious that CALL moved away from the "listen and repeat" towards a recognition that language is about cognition, thinking …show more content…
So, student working on a writing project would draft and get feedback on their work.
Sadly, the word processer is still over looked because if students want to operate successfully in a globalized world then they need to use word processing and need to seize the opportunity on the word processer. In language education, there is a huge number of simple things a teacher can do for hers/his students in the word processer such as ordering paragraphs for the cohesion and coherence topic sentences, drafting word process writing and student correcting each other's work and giving feedback.
Most of the key defining characteristics of CALL in the communicative phase remain the same but with more capacity for student-student interaction and recognition of the need to include content beyond grammar and vocabulary. Tutorial CALL had much improved and many tutorial exercises on The British Council and Cambridge
English Online websites. For example, Phonemic Hangman game.
With time the role of computer changed, it became a medium, it is no longer pair work inputted and outputted from the computer but