Innovations in learning technologies for English language teaching
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
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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.
The diversification of CALL
CALL is no longer one subject; in fact, Arnó-Macià (2012) has argued that we are
now in the realm of a definite division between computer mediated communication
as one branch of the world of educational technology and ELT and CALL, as another.
I would argue for further sub-divisions of CALL, for the teaching and learning of
specific purposes languages as well as CALL for younger learners, and you will
find chapters on each of these areas in this book. We can also appreciate these
developments in the creation of special interest groups in organisations like
EuroCALL and CALICO.
In very recent times we have also seen a growth of overview articles in journals that
address these very specific domains. In Language Teaching there has been a recent
review of CALL for young learners (Macaro, Handley and Walter, 2012); in the Modern
Language Journal there was an overview of ESP (Arnó-Macià, 2012), which acted as
an introduction to a special issue. We have seen for a while more specificity in books
too, with Kern and Warschauer starting the trend with Network Based Language
Teaching (2000), Dudeney on the Internet and the Language Classroom (2000 and
2007), an ESP book on technology (Arnó, Soler and Rueda, 2006), O’Dowd on online
intercultural exchanges (2007), a book on social media in language learning (Thomas,
2009), Mawer and Stanley on digital games (2011) and an expected glut around
mobile learning in the next few years. However, there are still influential general
books in the field, for example, Levy and Stockwell (2006), Thomas, Reinders and
Warschauer (2013), this latter forming part of a series which is always a good sign
of a healthy field, as are second editions, for example Beatty (2010).
Issues of methodology and technology
Since computers started to be introduced in language learning (and in education in
general) people have rightly asked whether the investment we are making in these
technologies gives us value for money. As digital technologies have taken a hold
in society in general, this particular question is not asked quite so often, but it is
still important to make sure that the technologies that we have available are used
effectively. People are always tempted to try to make an argument for technology
having an impact on the development of pedagogy and in many cases we can see
that the use of technology has enabled teachers to re-think what they are doing.
We also see people trying to populate this domain by talking about notions like the
‘flipped classroom’, ostensibly a methodology that sees input as occurring at ‘home’
and physical classrooms being used as spaces to explore what has been presented
in the input. This is far from being a new idea, but these agendas are pushed for
a while and then disappear again. What is a contender for a methodology that is
central to the world of technology and language learning is that of blended learning
(Motteram and Sharma, 2009). We see this methodology still being developed, but
when handled best it is the most likely candidate for a starting point for getting
teachers to work with technology in their practice. It is still the case that most
teachers work in physical classrooms and looking at ways that these spaces can
be augmented with digital technologies is a very good starting point. In our recent
project for Cambridge University Press, Diane Slaouti, Zeynep Onat-Stelma and myself
added the idea of the extended classroom to the notion of blended learning (see
Chapter 3 for further discussion). An extended classroom is one that allows learners
to engage in material beyond the regular class period, so while a blended classroom
is looking at ways that an activity might be enhanced by a technology, we also see
technologies being used to make it possible to cover areas of the curriculum that
there is just not enough time for in the busy world of formal education, particularly
in primary and secondary schools. Thorne and Reinhardt (2008) have also proposed
the notion of ‘bridging activities’, which simplistically is about getting learners to talk
about how learners are using technology in their ‘out of class lives’ in the classroom.
Thorne and Reinhardt (2008) are interested in fan fiction, the sort of narrative
material that is created around digital gaming. What they propose is that teachers
encourage learners to bring this activity into the classroom with them and they use
it as the foundations of lessons.
The range of technologies
At the beginning of this introduction I talked about the range of technologies that
are now regularly used in classrooms throughout the world. In the research that I
mentioned above: Motteram, Onat-Stelma and Slaouti (2008), we surveyed teachers
8 | Introduction Introduction | 9
of adults about the technologies that they use with their learners and we saw a very
wide range. What we found was that it wasn’t always the case that new technologies
replaced old ones. In some cases, when a newer technology is not always available,
what drove teachers’ choices was the needs of the lesson and the perceived needs
of the learners.
In many of the teaching resource books that are produced, we do not get a real
insight into how teachers actually make use of the technologies to support the
learning outcomes of the classes. What we tried to do in the Cambridge project
and what we have tried to do here is to provide good examples of teacher practice
embedded in a broader understanding of what happens in the classrooms, so the
Cambridge project produced a series of detailed case studies of teacher activity
that you can find and read on the web (http://blogging.humanities.manchester.
ac.uk/CUP/). This book continues this trend, but it broadens the database of cases
on display. The CUP project focused on the adult world, whereas this book includes
chapters that discuss a wider and more detailed view of the world of ELT, which also
reflects the broader uses of technology in the world.
THANK YOU!!
