History of CALL (part 1)

'myriad teachers have seen students hauled into language labs, or have seen radios, TVs, film projectors, cassette recorders and programmed teaching machines hauled into the classroom, and hauled out back again, without noting the wondrous learning gains expected'

Dunkel, P. (1987). Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and computer-assisted language learning (CALL): Past dilemmas and future prospects for audible CALL. MLJ, 71, 250-260.

Hi everyone,
please feel free to continue contributing on the topic of autonomy... but it's also time to move on too.

The next topic I'd like to deal with is the history of CALL. This will be very brief - possibly only one or two posts. It is important to be able to look at technology and EAP from a historical perspective. Many of the claims and enthusiatic annoucements that have accompanied the introduction of a new technology have been unfounded. One could say that technology in the classroom can be characteristed as a succession of bitter disappointments. One could also argue that lessons are not being learned from the past - interactive whiteboards, VLEs, mobile technology are all subject to hyberbole and gushing enthusiasm. Drunk on technology? Perhaps, but when sober the results of technology-enhanced language learning seem less promising. Having said that, it seems unfair to single out technology for this type of criticism. One could say the same about methodology ... the silent way, communicative language teaching, task-based learning, the post-method approach, grammar-translation have all been greeted as revolutionising teaching and learning and largely fail to live up the commercial and academic rhetoric.

So, it's important for us to take a brief look at how technology has developed - it should help take a more objective stance toward the technology that is being peddled by companies, promoted by universities and analysed by academics. I'd like you to read the following articles (as and when you have time):

The use of technology for second language learning and teaching: a retrospective

This is a really thoughtful article examining all sorts of technology that has been used in teaching for more than a century.

Computer Assisted Language Learning: an Introduction

Mark Warschauer examines the evolution of CALL in three phases corresponding to changes in educational theory. A very neat and concise history.

EuroCALL: history of CALL

This document provides a visual and textual account of the history of CALL. Worth a look, however, it did strike me that an organisation such as EuroCALL could do much better at using technology when presenting this. It is very poorly presented!