Computer Assisted

Language Learning:
an Introduction

Three Phases of CALL

Though CALL has developed
gradually over the last 30 years, this
development can be categorized in
terms of three somewhat distinct
phases:
behavioristic CALL
communicative CALL
integrative CALL.

Behavioristic CALL

The first phase of CALL, conceived in the 1950s and implemented

in the 1960s and '70s, was based on the then-dominant
behaviorist theories of learning. Programs of this phase entailed
repetitive language drills and can be referred to as "drill and
practice" (or, more pejoratively, as "drill and kill").
Drill and practice courseware is based on the model of computer
as tutor .In other words the computer serves as a vehicle for
delivering instructional materials to the student. The rationale
behind drill and practice was not totally spurious, which explains
in part the fact that CALL drills are still used today. Briefly put,
that rationale is as follows:
Repeated exposure to the same material is beneficial or even
essential to learning
A computer is ideal for carrying out repeated drills, since the
machine does not get bored with presenting the same material
and since it can provide immediate non-judgmental feedback

A computer can present such material on an

individualized basis, allowing students to
proceed at their own pace and freeing up class
time for other activities
Based on these notions, a number of CALL
tutoring systems were developed for the
mainframe computers which were used at that
time. One of the most sophisticated of these
was the PLATO system, which ran on its own
special PLATO hardware, including central
computers and terminals. The PLATO system
included vocabulary drills, brief grammar
explanations and drills, and translations tests at
various intervals.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s,

behavioristic CALL was undermined
by two important factors. First,
behavioristic approaches to language
learning had been rejected at both
the theoretical and the pedagogical
level. Secondly, the introduction of
the microcomputer allowed a whole
new range of possibilities. The stage
was set for a new phase of CALL.

Communicative CALL
The second phase of CALL was based on the
communicative approach to teaching which
became prominent in the 1970s and 80s.
Proponents of this approach felt that the drill and
practice programs of the previous decade did not
allow enough authentic communication to be of
much value.
communicative CALL:
focuses more on using forms rather than on the
forms themselves;
teaches grammar implicitly rather than explicitly;
allows and encourages students to generate
original utterances rather than just manipulate
prefabricated language;

does not judge and evaluate everything

the students nor reward them with
congratulatory messages, lights, or bells;
avoids telling students they are wrong and
is flexible to a variety of student
responses;
uses the target language exclusively and
creates an environment in which using the
target language feels natural, both on and
off the screen; and
will never try to do anything that a book
can do just as well.

critics of behavioristic CALL contend that all CALL

courseware and activities should build on intrinsic motivation
and should foster interactivity - both learner-computer and
learner-learner.
Several types of CALL programs were developed and used
during this the phase of communicative CALL. First, there
were a variety of programs to provide skill practice, but in a
non-drill format. Examples of these types of programs
include courseware for paced reading, text reconstruction,
and language games .
In these programs, like the drill and practice programs
mentioned above, the computer remains the "knower-ofthe-right-answer" thus this represents an extension of the
computer as tutor model. But - in contrast to the drill and
practice programs - the process of finding the right answer
involves a fair amount of student choice, control, and
interaction.

In addition to computer as tutor, another CALL

model used for communicative activities involves the
computer as stimulus .
In this case, the purpose of the CALL activity is not
so much to have students discover the right answer,
but rather to stimulate students' discussion, writing,
or critical thinking. Software used for these purposes
include a wide variety of programs which may not
have been specifically designed for language
learners, programs such as Sim City, Sleuth, or
Where in the World is San Diego.
The third model of computers in communicative CALL
involves the computer as tool. In this role, the
programs do not necessarily provide any language
material at all, but rather empower the learner to
use or understand language. Examples of computer
as tool include word processors, spelling and
grammar checkers, desk-top publishing programs,
and concordancers.

Of course the distinction between these models is

not absolute. A skill practice program can be used
as a conversational stimulus, as can a paragraph
written by a student on a word processor.
Likewise, there are a number of drill and practice
programs which could be used in a more
communicative fashion - if, for example, students
were assigned to work in pairs or small groups
and then compare and discuss their answers (or,
as Higgins 1988, students can even discuss what
inadequacies they found in the computer
program) In other words, the dividing line
between behavioristic and communicative CALL
does involves not only which software is used,
but also how the software is put to use by the
teacher and students.

On the face of things communicative CALL

seems like a significant advance over its
predecessor. But by the end of the 1980s,
many educators felt that CALL was still
failing to live up to its potential (Critics
pointed out that the computer was being
used in an ad hoc and disconnected
fashion and thus "finds itself making a
greater contribution to marginal rather
than to central elements" of the language
teaching process.

These critiques of CALL dovetailed with broader

reassessments of the communicative approach to
language teaching. No longer satisfied with
teaching compartmentalized skills or structures
(even if taught in a communicative manner), a
number of educators were seeking ways to teach
in a more integrative manner, for example using
task- or project-based approaches . The
challenge for advocates of CALL was to develop
models which could help integrate the various
aspects of the language learning process.
Fortunately, advances in computer technology
were providing the opportunities to do just that.

Steps toward Integrative CALL:

Multimedia

Integrative approaches to CALL are based on two

important technological developments of the last
decade - multimedia computers and the
Internet.
Multimedia technology - exemplified today by the
CD-ROM - allows a variety of media (text,
graphics, sound, animation, and video) to be
accessed on a single machine. What makes
multimedia even more powerful is that it also
entails hypermedia. That means that the
multimedia resources are all linked together and
that learners can navigate their own path simply
by pointing and clicking a mouse.

Hypermedia provides a number of advantages for

language learning.
First of all, a more authentic learning environment is
created, since listening is combined with seeing, just
like in the real world.
Secondly, skills are easily integrated, since the variety
of media make it natural to combine reading, writing,
speaking and listening in a single activity.
Third, students have great control over their learning,
since they can not only go at their own pace but even
on their own individual path, going forward and
backwards to different parts of the program, honing in
on particular aspects and skipping other aspects
altogether.

Finally, a major advantage of hypermedia is

that it facilitates a principle focus on the
content, without sacrificing a secondary
focus on language form or learning
strategies. For example, while the main
lesson is in the foreground, students can
have access to a variety of background
links which will allow them rapid access to
grammatical explanations or exercises,
vocabulary glosses, pronunciation
information, or questions or prompts which
encourage them to adopt an appropriate
learning strategy.

An example of how hypermedia can be used for

language learning is the program Dustin which is being
developed by the Institute for Learning Sciences at
Northwestern University
The program is a simulation of a student arriving at a
U.S. airport. The student must go through customs,
find transportation to the city, and check in at a hotel.
The language learner using the program assumes the
role of the arriving student by interacting with
simulated people who appear in video clips and
responding to what they say by typing in responses. If
the responses are correct, the student is sent off to do
other things, such as meeting a roommate. If the
responses are incorrect, the program takes remedial
action by showing examples or breaking down the task
into smaller parts. At any time the student can control
the situation by asking what to do, asking what to say,
asking to hear again what was just said, requesting for
a translation, or controlling the level of difficulty of the
lesson.

Yet in spite of the apparent advantages of hypermedia for

language learning, multimedia software has so far failed to
make a major impact. Several major problems have surfaced in
regarding to exploiting multimedia for language teaching.
First, there is the question of quality of available programs .
While teachers themselves can conceivably develop their own
multimedia programs using authoring software such as
Hypercard (for the Macintosh) or ToolBook (for the PC), the fact
is that most classroom teachers lack the training or the time to
make even simple programs, let alone more complex and
sophisticated ones such as Dustin. This has left the field to
commercial developers, who often fail to base their programs
on sound pedagogical principles. In addition, the cost involved
in developing quality programs can put them out of the market
of most English teaching programs.

Beyond these lies perhaps a more

fundamental problem. Today's computer
programs are not yet intelligent enough to
be truly interactive. A program like Dustin
should ideally be able to understand a
user's spoken input and evaluate it not
just for correctness but also or
appropriateness. It should be able to
diagnose a student's problems with
pronunciation, syntax, or usage and then
intelligently decide among a range of
options (e.g. repeating, paraphrasing,
slowing down, correcting, or directing the
student to background explanations.

Multimedia technology as it currently exists thus

only partially contributes to integrative CALL.
Using multimedia may involve an integration of
skills (e.g. listening with reading), but it too
seldom involves a more important type of
integration - integrating meaningful and authentic
communication into all aspects of the language
learning curriculum. Fortunately, though, another
technological breakthrough is helping make that
possible - electronic communication and the
Internet.

Steps toward Integrative CALL: The

Internet
Computer Mediated Communication (CMC), which has

existed in primitive form since the 1960s but has only

became wide-spread in the last years, is probably the single
computer application to date with the greatest impact on
language teaching. [
For the first time, language learners can communicate
directly, inexpensively, and conveniently with other learners
or speakers of the target language 24 hours a day, from
school, work, or home. This communication can be
asynchronous (not simultaneous) through tools such as
electronic mail (email), which allows each participant to
compose messages at their time and pace, or in can be
synchronous (synchronous, "real time"), using programs
such as MOOs, which allow people all around the world to
have a simultaneous conversation by typing at their
keyboards. It also allows not only one-to-one
communication, but also one-to-many, allowing a teacher or
student to share a message with a small group, the whole
class, a partner class, or an international discussion list of
hundreds or thousands of people.

Computer Mediated Communication allows users

to share not only brief messages, but also lengthy
(formatted or unformatted) documents - thus
facilitating collaborative writing - and also
graphics, sounds, and video. Using the World
Wide Web (WWW), students can search through
millions of files around the world within minutes
to locate and access authentic materials (e.g.
newspaper and magazine articles, radio
broadcasts, short videos, movie reviews, book
excerpts) exactly tailored to their own personal
interests. They can also use the Web to publish
their texts or multimedia materials to share with
partner classes or with the general public.

It is not hard to see how computer-mediated

communication and the Internet can facilitate
an integrative approach to using technology.
The following example illustrates well how the
Internet can be used to help create an
environment where authentic and creative
communication is integrated into all aspects of
the course.

Students of English for Science and Technology in La Paz

Mexico don't just study general examples and write
homework for the teacher; instead they use the Internet
to actually become scientific writers (Bowers 1995;
Bowers 1996). First, the students search the World Wide
Web to find articles in their exact area of specialty and
then carefully read and study those specific articles . They
then write their own drafts online; the teacher critiques
the drafts online and creates electronic links to his own
comments and to pages of appropriate linguistic and
technical explanation, so that students can find additional
background help at the click of a mouse . Next, using this
assistance, the students prepare and publish their own
articles on the World Wide Web, together with reply forms
to solicit opinions from readers. They advertise their Web
articles on appropriate Internet sites (e.g. scientific
newsgroups) so that interested scientists around the world
will know about their articles and will be able to read and
comment on them. When they receive their comments (by
email) they can take those into account in editing their
articles for republication on the Web or for submission to
scientific journals.

The above example illustrates an integrative

approach to using technology in a course based
on reading and writing. This perhaps is the most
common use of the Internet to date, since it is
still predominantly a text-based medium. This will
undoubtedly change in the future, not only due to
the transmission of audio-visual material (video
clips, sound files) World Wide Web, but also due
to the growing use of the Internet to carry out
real-time audio- and audio-visual chatting (this is
already possible with tools such as NetPhone and
CU-SeeME, but is not yet widespread.

Nevertheless, it is not necessary to wait for further

technological developments in order to use the
Internet in a multi-skills class. The following example
shows how the Internet, combined with other
technologies, was used to help create an integrated
communicative environment for EFL students in
Bulgaria - students who until recent years had little
contact with the English-speaking world and were
taught through a "discrete topic and skill
orientation.These Bulgarian students now benefit from
a high-tech/low-tech combination to implement an
integrated skills approach in which a variety of
language skills are practiced at the same time with
the goal of fostering communicative competence.
Their course is based on a collaborative, interpreted
study of contemporary American short stories,
assisted by three technological tools:

Email communication. The Bulgarian students correspond by

email with an American class of TESOL graduate students to
explore in detail the nuances of American culture which are
expressed in the stories, and also to ask questions about idioms,
vocabulary, and grammar. The American students, who are
training to be teachers, benefit from the concrete experience of
handling students' linguistic and cultural questions .
Concordancing. The Bulgarian students further test out their
hypotheses regarding the lexical and grammatical meanings of
expressions they find in the stories by using concordancing
software to search for other uses of these expressions in a
variety of English language corpora stored on CD-ROM.
Audio tape. Selected scenes from the stories - dialogues,
monologues, and descriptions - were recorded by the American
students and provide both listening practice (inside and outside
of class) and also additional background materials to help the
Bulgarians construct their interpretation of the stories.
These activities are supplemented by a range of other classroom
activities, such as in-class discussions and dialogue journals,
which assist the students in developing their responses to the
stories' plots, themes, and characters - responses which can be
further discussed with their email partners in the US .

Conclusion

The history of CALL suggests that the computer can serve a

variety of uses for language teaching . It can be a tutor which
offers language drills or skill practice; a stimulus for discussion
and interaction; or a tool for writing and research . With the advent
of the Internet, it can also be a medium of global communication
and a source of limitless authentic materials .
But as pointed out by Garrett (1991), "the use of the computer
does not constitute a method ". Rather, it is a "medium in which a
variety of methods, approaches, and pedagogical philosophies
may be implemented" (p. 75). The effectiveness of CALL cannot
reside in the medium itself but only in how it is put to use .
As with the audio language lab "revolution" of 40 years ago, those
who expect to get magnificent results simply from the purchase of
expensive and elaborate systems will likely be disappointed . But
those who put computer technology to use in the service of good
pedagogy will undoubtedly find ways to enrich their educational
program and the learning opportunities of their students .

Computer Assisted Language Learning:

an Introduction
by Mark Warschauer

Please cite as:

Warschauer M. (1996) "Computer Assisted Language Learning: an Introduction". In
Fotos S. (ed.) Multimedia language teaching, Tokyo: Logos International: 3-20.