Innovations in learning technologies for English language teaching

Introduction

Gary Motteram

In this early part of the 21st century the range of technologies available for use in language learning and teaching has become very diverse and the ways that they are being used in classrooms all over the world, as illustrated in this book, have become central to language practice. We are now firmly embedded in a time when digital technologies, the focus of this book, are what Bax has referred to as ‘normalised’ (2003, 2011) in daily life in many parts of the world, although not amongst all people as there are digital divisions everywhere (Warschauer, 2003), and still not always in the world of education. However, digital tools, or what I will describe in Chapter 7 as ‘technical cultural artefacts’ have long been a feature of the world of education (Bates, 2005), and particularly language education (Salaberry, 2001). These digital tools are, of course, central in what I would argue is the established and recognised field of computer assisted language learning (CALL), but are also increasingly a core part of English language teaching (ELT) in general.

People continue to debate the use of the term CALL itself, asking whether it is still relevant. Levy and Hubbard making the argument for (2005), whilst Dudeney and Hockly (2012) are rather less convinced. In a world where we increasingly see laptops, tablet computers, or mobile phones as the technology of choice, it might be argued that we are at a tipping point when this common term will soon disappear. However, in this chapter at least I will refer to the discipline as CALL, because along with the names of the different special interest groups and the predominant journals in the field, this continues to be the most common referent. A useful definition of CALL comes from Levy: ‘the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning’. (1997: 1) and this is what this book presents, albeit in a new way of thinking about the field. This fresh approach sees it as one that has significantly diversified, illustrates real practice with a considerable number of authentic case studies and then in the final chapter shows how CALL makes an increasingly significant contribution to the general world of ELT.

CALL has its origins in the development of the first mainframe computers (Levy, 1997; Beatty, 2010; Davies et al., 2013) and articles about the use of computers in language education started appearing in earnest in the 1980s, over 30 years ago, at the same time as early desktop computers started to make an appearance. At the time of going to press there are 11 organisations listed in the entry on CALL on Wikipedia starting with the Asia Pacific Association for CALL (APACALL) and ending with WorldCALL, an umbrella group which runs an overarching conference every five years (in 2013 in Glasgow). There are also a number of dedicated journals that focus on the field of technology and language learning including: CALICO, CALL, International Journal of Computer Assisted Language Learning and Teaching, Language Learning and Technology and ReCALL. CALL is also written about in journals that take a more general focus on technology in education, for example, Computers in Education, or the British Journal of Educational Technology and arguably more significantly for the general acceptance of the discipline, there 6 | Introduction Introduction | 7 are a number of journals in the language teaching field that also regularly feature articles on CALL. English Language Teaching Journal (ELTJ), arguably one of the most influential practitioner oriented journals in the TESOL field, in a recent special issue has an article by Dudeney and Hockly (2012) in which they review the 30 years of technology in language teaching, and Nicky Hockly continues a tradition started by David (Diana) Eastment in each issue of producing a short article on technology in language learning. In the special issue of ELTJ just mentioned, the topic is mobile learning. You will also see other general language journals referenced throughout this book.

CALL has then moved from being a niche field practised by a few early adopters, to being mainstream and arguably having significant impact with two of the journals mentioned above, Computers in Education and Language Learning and Technology being ranked in the top 20 most influential journals in education.

You can download this publication in pdf format from the link below:

http://englishagenda.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/attachments/british_council_innovations_in_learning_technologies_for_elt.pdf

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