Globalization and Localization Conference 2010

The Globalization and Localization (GLoCALL)

Conference 2010 in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia from
December 1-3 was an incredible opportunity to meet
fascinating scholars from around the world. Jungtae
Kim and I had the privilege of representing KAMALL at
this exciting conference this year, which was co-hosted
by APACALL and PacCALL.

The beautiful weather and warm welcome we

experienced set the stage for a remarkable conference.
For a destination conference such as this, it was Jungtae Kim in front of the conference hotel
remarkable that so many international academics not
only attended this year, but seem to do so each year. One only has to experience GLoCALL
once to understand this. The conference has the feeling of a small family and each conference in
a family reunion. And just like a family reunion, we ate well and heard many great stories.

With over 50 presentations, there was a little of

something for everyone. Jeong-Bae Son presented
Robot assisted language learning: an introduction,
which provided an overview of how robots are being
developed and implemented to support language
learning, primarily in Korea. Leslie Opp-Beckman’s
plenary, E-Teachers, E-Presence, and E-Volving
Practices, focused on the need for and methods of needs
analysis for the effective development and assessment of
distance learning programs. Andrew Ross and Stephane
Jeong-Bae Son (APACALL President), Jungtae
Charitos put on a pair of workshops, Google apps for Kim, Daniel Craig, Siew Ming Thang (PacCALL
education: Moving beyond course management systems, President), and an Iranian scholar after our
supporting the Conversational framework and Digital presentation
storytelling: Tools and techniques for language and
culture learning, focusing on the use existing, free technologies for digital storytelling. Jozef
Colpaert’s plenary, Designing for Motivation in CALL: What Do Language Learners Have in
Common?, focused on the need to account for personal goals as well as pedagogical goals in the
design of learning experiences. Lastly, an interesting use of the iPhone for ethnographic research
was presented by Penelope Coutas, Good looking with technology: The iPhone and ethnographic
research in CALL.

The conference wasn’t all about academic presentations,

though. The organizers put together a remarkable show
and dinner after the first evening. Dinner featured some
excellent karaoke performances and traditional
Malaysian dancers in addition to stellar cuisine. This
gave us the opportunity to relax and meet some very
interesting people. To wrap up the experience on the

1
Saturday following the conference, the organizers provided a tour to beautiful Mount Kinabalu
for those who remained in Kota Kinabalu. It was a long ride to the mountain, but the sights were
well worth it.

GLoCALL really is a world class conference with world class people. GLoCALL 2011 will be in
the Philippines, I suggest you go experience it for yourself.

Daniel A. Craig is currently an assistant professor at Sangmyung University in Seoul, South

Korea. He is also a Ph.D. candidate at Indiana University in Language Education and
Instructional Systems Technology. His research interests include instructional technology,
distance education, computer-assisted language learning, and teacher education/professional
development. Dan can be contacted at dan@danielcraig.com.