HISTORY OF CALL DEVELOPMENT

1 2016-2nd term
 HISTORY OF CALL DEVELOPMENT
• What are the factors that determine the
development of CALL?
• Development of CALL depended on:
• 1- Progress made in IT technology including both
hardware and software.
• 2- Advances made in language teaching methodology
• 3-Availability of all the above as well as educated
language teachers who are both willing to and
capable of CALL integration in their language teaching

2 2016-2nd term
 HISTORY OF CALL DEVELOPMENT
• CALL has developed gradually over the past thirty years.
• Mark Warschauer* (1996) divides CALL history into
phases of development as follows:
• 1-Behavioristic CALL
• 2- Communicative CALL,
• 3- Integrative CALL (Multimedia CD-ROM), and
Integrative CALL (Internet).
• The beginning of a new phase does not necessary mean
the end of programs and methods of the previous phase,
rather the old is included within the new (Warschauer,
1996).
3 2016-2nd term
• * See Mark Warschauer’s article
1-Behavioristic CALL
• The first phase of CALL, conceived in the 1950s and
implemented in the 1960s and '70s, was based on the
behaviorist theories of learning.
• Programs of this phase entailed repetitive language
drills and can be referred to as "drill and practice“.
• View of Language: Structural (a formal structural
system)
• English Teaching Paradigm: Grammar-Translation &
Audio-lingual
• Principal Use of Computers: Drill and Practice
• Principal Objective: Accuracy
4 2016-2nd term
• Characteristics:
• Repeated exposure to the same material is believed to
be beneficial or even essential to learning.
• A computer is ideal for carrying out repeated drills,
since the machine
• 1) does not get bored with presenting the same
material
• 2) it can provide immediate and non-judgmental
feedback.
• A computer is used as a tutor, presenting material and
feedback on an individualized basis, allowing students
to proceed at their own pace and freeing up class time
for other activities.
5 2016-2nd term
• Example :
• PLATO System (Programmed Logic for Automatic
Teaching Operations)
• PLATO was designed and built by the University of
Illinois and functioned for four decades and the last
production PLATO system did not shut down until
2006.
• Mainly used for extensive drills, explicit grammar
instruction, and translation tests.

6 2016-2nd term
7 2016-2nd term
2- 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.
• It focuses more on using forms (content) rather than on the
forms themselves
• View of Language: Cognitive (a mentally constructed system
through interaction)
• English Teaching Paradigm: Communicative Language Teaching.

8 2016-2nd term
• Principal Use of Computers: Communicative
Exercises (to practice language use; non-drill format)
• Principal Objective: Fluency
• Characteristics:
• 1- Grammar is taught implicitly rather than explicitly.
• 2- Computers are used to stimulate discussion,
writing or critical thinking. Students are encouraged
to generate original utterances rather than just
manipulate prefabricated language.
• 3-The programs avoid telling students that they
are wrong and are flexible to a variety of student
responses.
9 2016-2nd term
• 4-Computers are used as a tool (e.g., word processors,
spelling and grammar checkers) and the target
language is used exclusively.
e.g. Storyboard, Text reconstruction, Cloze exercises.

10 2016-2nd term
 3- Integrative CALL (1990s –present)
• Integrative approaches to CALL are based on two
important technological developments of the last decade
: multimedia computers and Web-based CALL (on the
Internet)
• View of Language: Sociocognitive (developed in social
interaction through discourse communities)
• English Teaching Paradigm: Content-based & ESP/EAP
• Principal Use of Computers: Authentic Discourse (to
perform real-life tasks)
• Principal Objective: Agency (*definition: "the satisfying
power to take meaningful action and see the results of
our decisions and choices" Murray, 1997, p. 126)
11 2016-2nd term
• Multimedia:
• Multimedia technology - exemplified today by the
CD-ROM.
• CD-ROM which allows a variety of media (text,
graphics, sound, animation, and video) to be
accessed on a single machine.
• Multimedia entails hypermedia.
• Multimedia resources are linked together and
learners can navigate their own paths simply
by pointing and clicking a mouse.

12 2016-2nd term
 Characteristics:

A) Multimedia CALL
• 1- They create a more authentic learning environment
using different media.
• 2- Language skills are easily integrated through
multimedia.
• 3- Students have a high degree of control over their
learning through hypermedia.
• 4- It facilitates a principle focus on the content without
sacrificing a secondary focus on language form.

13 2016-2nd term
B) Web-based CALL
• A) CMC –(Computer-Mediated Communication )

• 1- It provides authentic synchronous (Simultaneous,

e.g. MUD’s (multi-user domains)) and asynchronous
(Not Simultaneous, e.g. E.mail) communication
channels. Language learners can communicate
directly, inexpensively, and conveniently with other
learners or native speakers of the target language at
any time and in any place.
• 2- CMC can be carried out in several forms; it can be
one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-one.

14 2016-2nd term
• B) The Web – ( the Internet)

• 1- Students can search through millions of files

around the world within minutes to locate and
access authentic materials exactly tailored to their
own personal interests.

• 2- Students can use the Web to publish their texts or

multimedia materials to share with partner classes or
with the general public.

15 2016-2nd term