ComputerApplications toEFL/ESL:An overview

C B S or ComputerBased Testing is one of the many wayscomputers are used at present;

In 1935, in the USA, thecomputer was used for testingfor the first time. Multiple-choice tests were thepreferred type (though notprecisely for teaching English).

The acronym C A L L is

used to make reference to the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning.

From its appearance in the1960s, the history of CALL embraces ELT’s and computer’s history and evolution

The Three Stages of CALL

Though CALL has developed gradually over the last 45 years, this development can be categorized in terms of three distinct phases:

Behavioristic CALL

Communicative CALL

Integrative CALL

Behavioristic of Structural CALL

CALL started in the 1960s withan approach on behaviorism, which was the pedagogicalschool of the moment. Computers were exclusive of universities (as regards education)

CALL started in the 1960s withan approach on behaviorism, which was the psycho-pedagogical school of themoment. Computers wereexclusive of universities (as regards education)

This phase wasstructural because thefocus of the programswas on the form of thelanguage.

The PLATO system was one of the most sophisticatedtutoring software designs of the time

The advent of new technologyand a shift in ELT insightbrought about the end of Behavioristic CALL.

ELT researchers thought thatthe purpose of the languageand of language teaching wascommunication rather thanlanguage form.The ‘Drill and Practice’ technique was called ‘Drill and Kill’

Communicative CALL

Developed in the 1980s and early 1990s, the focus was set on using the language rather than analysis of the language, and grammar is taught implicitly rather than explicitly

The PC (Personal Computer) was theinnovative technology.

The introduction of the microcomputeroffered new possibilities.

A point was made onCognitivism (cognitive mental structures).Activities and exercises werecommunicative in the firstplace.

Software designed forcommunicative purposes

included benefits like:

Students could generate original utterances.

Programs do not judge and evaluate(behavioristic).

Flexibility to students’ response.Creation of a more natural environment

with genuine language.

Examples of these programsinclude courseware for paced reading, text reconstruction,language games, word processors, spelling and grammar checkers, desk-top publishing programs, and concordancers.

That is, integrating the teaching of language skills into tasks or projects to provide direction and coherence.

The integrative CALL of the 1990s

Two important technologicaldevelopments providedthe scenerio for a more

integrative use of computers: Multimedia

and the Internet.

By means of the CD-ROM text, graphic, sound, animation and video were accessible in a single machine.Hypermedia (linking sources) was also a powerful resource.

Advantages were representedin:

more authentic learningenvironmentmore easily integrating skillsmore self control of learningfocus on contents withoutsacrificing the language.

With the Integrative CALL learners develop their socio-cognitive skills (in social interaction) by means of authentic discourse.

Some examples of applicatios of this phase include interactivevideodiscs like:MontevidiscoExpodiscA la Rencontre de PhilippeWho is Oscar Lake?

They were all simulated situationsin which the learners play a role.

Fortunately, the lack found in Multimedia, namely, the needto integrate meaninful and authentic communication intoall aspects of the languagelearning curriculum, came tobe met by electroniccommunication and theInternet.

In 1992, the World Wide Web waslaunched reaching general use in 1993. For the first time, language learners could communicate directly, inexpensively, and conveniently with other learners or speakers of the target language 24 hours a day, from school, work, or home.

Some of the most important uses in the 1990s in ELT were:E-mail (not much exploited byteachers)Synchronous chat, for example, Daedalus InterChange, a synchronous discussion tool forreal-time written conversationsDigital videos

This is considered the

greatest impact on

language learning.