CALL

CALL
by jim Duber

Several years have passed since the "Computers and Language II" conference at Sheffield City Polytechnic (England). Although pre-dating the Pentium and Power PC, the ten descriptive essays from this conference, which constitute Computers and Language, are relevant today. Each essay relates to the pragmatics of CALL applications in higher education. The text offers practical advice and details essential information for adopting, adapting and authoring CALL programs.

For the most part, the essays depict the successful combination of computers and courses in Language for Specific Purposes (LSP). Whether for business purposes or cultural and linguistic analysis, hypertext and hypermedia applications are shown to be effective supplements to traditional forms of second-language teaching. Not intended to supplant the capable instructor, computer-mediated instruction is well suited to providing the learner with a suite of exercises which, when constructed well, offer structured and intensive practice in target-language skills. Of course, it is most important, as far as modern languages are concerned, to develop the learner's communicative competencies. Not surprisingly, many of the authors describe techniques and programs specifically designed to teach oral/aural and whole-language skills.

Language instructors, CALL laboratory personnel, program administrators, and software designers will find the discussions insightful and directly applicable to many of their own circumstances. While most of the articles in Computers and Language consist of examinations of CAI applications for modern European languages, many, if not all, of the conclusions, recommendations, and warnings can be generalized to other language families. Interestingly enough, two of the articles deal with the use of computers in teaching Medieval French and Latin. Another presents the pros and cons of offering new students the use of the Oxford Concordance Program for purposes of text analysis. Other papers touch upon client needs, software design and selection, and staffing and maintaining a CALL lab. There is even a report on a course in which students are required to participate in the authoring of interactive multimedia teaching materials.