Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is one of the several innovations brought in the field of second or foreign language teaching. It, in the words of Levy (1997:1), is “the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning.” The application of computers in language teaching started in the 1950s. When we see CALL historically, we can clearly find three distinct phases. These phases are found to have been determined with the approaches and methodologies of language teaching dominant at that time. The early period of CALL was dominated with behaviorism, psychological school of learning and structuralism, linguistic school which were in power in the 1950s and 1960s. The impact of these schools in second or foreign language teaching remained unchallenged until the seventies. Audio-lingual method which emphasized language learning as a matter of habit formation employed the then computer technology in the field of second or foreign language teaching.
The second phase of CALL starts only after behaviorism in learning and structuralism in linguistics were challenged. After 1960s, audio-lingual method lost its faith in maintaining communicative goals of language teaching in the learners. On the one hand, mentalist or cognitive school came as a reaction of behaviorist psychology and on the other, generativist school of linguistics led by Noam Chomsky came as a reaction of structuralism. Similarly, in the early 70s, Halliday brought his functional linguistics claiming that language should be studied in terms of the function it does in communicative contexts. In the 1980s, there came notional syllabus in language teaching. They all paved the way for the development of communicative approach in second or foreign language teaching. The goal of language teaching under this approach was to enhance the communicative ability in the learners. So CALL was guided by that goal and used for maintaining communicative ability in the learners. This period of CALL remained till 1990s.
The third phase of CALL starts with the several criticisms that were laid on communicative approach of language teaching. No doubt, communicative approach had a number of weaknesses. To address such weaknesses, integrative approach of language teaching was introduced and so happened in the use of technology. There were innumerable innovations like animation, graphics, and so on in technology too. Development of different forms of multimedia and internet system paved the way for the development of integrative CALL in the history of CALL. Language teachers started using such innovations to facilitate their teaching and learners learning activities. This phase of CALL is much dominant in the field of using computer technology in language learning.
As mentioned above, CALL has encountered many ups and downs. Now it has been proved that it is a must for language learning and teaching. It is not the end but a powerful means for teacher and learners for carrying out any tasks. It is also a powerful source of knowledge. As Busa in her article ‘New Perspectives in Teaching Pronunciation’ expresses, ‘CALL applications offer individualized environment where learners learn at their own pace making autonomous decisions on the order of study topics, lesson reviews, lesson repeats, etc’. Similarly, as Julia Gong claims in her article ‘ The Employment of CALL in Teaching Second/ Foreign Language speaking Skills’, CALL provides highly motivating environment for the learners. As she says, learners feel away from the psychologically threatening environment of the classroom when they learn through CALL. Finally I want to conclude that CALL is the boon of the twenty-first century and we should use it as much as we can in our teaching learning process.
References:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/Writings/Papers/CAllELTJ88.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-assisted_language_learning
http://www.etthillside.co/up/files/article4.doc
http://www.openstarts.units.it/dspace/bitstream/10077/2850/1/bus%63%AO.pdf.
www.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/research/resources/student_res/postscriptsiles/vol3/_1_gong1.pdf.
Thank you all.
Kamal
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