1. CALL Unit 1 - Introduction This presentation has been created to summarize the main ideas of this unit. Created by Miguel Carballo. Reference: Levy, Michael (1997).Computer-Assited Language Learning (Oxford: Oxford University Press)

2. Computer-Assisted Language Learning -What’s CALL? -CALL may be defined as the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning. In other words, the different ways of using the computer for teaching and studying a language.

3. Creating new CALL materials? If you’re thinking about creating new CALL materials, either privately or commercially, you should know you’ll be facing some issues to consider before you get started. Here’s a list: Points of departure Software Hardware

4. Things to take into account while creating new CALL materials: Points of departures Top-down approaches centred upon a theory of language or language learning. Bottom-up approaches are the ones that uses the computer to address a particular classroom problem. Other points of departure might include a learning strategy. Software The type of programming language we will be using may depend on the interface that we want our application to have. There is wide range where to pick out from: C, C++, Visual Basic, HTML, VRML, Flash or Java. Hardware Some CALL materials are discarded when the next model of computer comes along, because of incompatibilities of the new video cards, processor, etc…

5. In addition to the fields of language teaching and learning, real or potential influences in the development of CALL have included aspects, that often overlap and interrelate, such as: Human-Computer Interaction & Computational Linguistics Artificial Intelligence Psychology

6. Conceptualization of CALL The term of conceptualization is used as a label to identify the mental picture a CALL author or a teacher has when envisaging the use and role of the computer in CALL materials. A team of researchers used a number of components “indicators”, each considered to represent a key factor that needed to be examined if the phenomenon as a whole were to be understood.

7. Here’s a list of indicators that serve to relate how CALL is conceptualized: Language teaching and learning philosophy Role of the computer Point of departure Hardware and software Role of the teacher (as contributor) Development process Role of the teacher (as author) Materials developed Indicators

8. Describing indicators A CALL author’s view of language teaching and learning are held to influence how that author conceptualizes CALL. The role of the computer contributes to the conceptualization in many ways, the most important distinction being whether the computer’s role is directive or non-directive. The point of departure describes the CALL author’s declared starting-point for a project. The Hardware and software are considered to shape what it is or not possible in a CALL project. The development process is included as an indicator because of the way it may vary the initial conceptualization. The ways in which CALL authors translate their knowledge of language teaching and learning is a complex and multifaceted process.