EUROCALL Research Policy Statement

EUROCALL, CALICO, IALL

Joint Policy Statement arising from a Research Seminar on CALL

30 April to 1 May 1999
University of Essen, Germany

Introduction

Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is a relatively new and rapidly evolving academic field that explores the role of information and communication technologies in language learning and teaching. It includes a wide range of activities and initiatives in materials development, pedagogical practice, and research. CALL as a field began when the limitations of the computer narrowly limited the pedagogy that could be implemented with it, and consequently some people still believe that CALL refers only to drills and mechanical exercises. Today, however, CALL includes highly interactive and communicative support for listening, speaking, reading and writing, including extensive use of the Internet. Materials development, pedagogy and research have developed in intellectual sophistication to the point where the status of CALL as an academic field of studies requiring special consideration should be seriously considered. CALL is no longer either a straightforward pedagogical application of a new medium, nor simply a practical extrapolation of theoretical work in some other discipline.

CALL is sometimes regarded simply as a sub-section of Computer Assisted Learning (CAL), but because CALL deals specifically with language learning it is both inherently multidisciplinary and academically substantive. It can be said to belong to the field of Applied Language Studies and, within that, is most closely related to Second Language Acquisition (SLA), which is itself a rapidly evolving discipline. CALL and SLA are related to sociolinguistics, pragmatics, discourse analysis, and psycholinguistics. In addition, CALL is related to work in education, computer science, natural language processing, cognitive science and psychology, linguistics, cultural studies, and media/communication studies. It is influenced by, and in turn influences, theory and research in all these related fields.

The aim of this document

This document has been drafted by a group of twenty CALL theorists, researchers, developers and practitioners from Europe and the USA in order: (i) to establish a clearer understanding for departments, institutions, professional associations and decision-making bodies of the range of activities represented in the field, and (ii) to provide an organised and consistent perspective on the rubrics under which these activities should be evaluated. Assessment and academic recognition of work in CALL presents difficulties not only because of the rapid evolution of the field but also because of the emergence of new theoretical and methodological paradigms.

CALL work can be categorised as research, development, and practice. Research may be separate from development, in that a researcher may explore the effects of using technology-based tools or materials developed by others, e.g. formative evaluations, or may focus entirely on theory development. In CALL the progression often begins with pedagogical practice or learner needs driving the development of technology-based materials, techniques, or environments. This development effort may then later lead to research, which in turn may or may not be used to generate theoretical implications. Nonetheless, in establishing criteria for evaluating CALL work for purposes of academic recognition and reward, it is important that the distinctions between these activities be clearly articulated.

Academic standards in CALL

In CALL the term development may refer to the creation of pedagogical materials (including design, programming, and incorporation of actual lesson content), or the development of tools and applications into which others can insert language content. In academic contexts where the development of pedagogical materials is typically not rewarded, CALL development is often portrayed as research especially when it is based on previous research and/or includes formative research, in which the materials are tried out on learners and feedback is sought as part of the developmental process. Conversely, however, some research projects exploring the feasibility or validity of technology use in language learning are labelled as development when funding agencies explicitly proscribe research because they want to support the creation of immediately applicable pedagogical materials. Appropriate evaluation of CALL development work depends crucially on the recognition that not only technical expertise and pedagogical expertise are required – both of a high order – but that in addition this work is a kind of professional activity that is without precedent in the field of language education, and not simply more time-consuming than creating exercises or reading materials. Evaluation of such work must be done by those who can distinguish the levels of expertise required.

When research is mentioned in connection with CALL, the assumption is usually that the term refers to studies of the efficacy of technology use in a language learning task that would otherwise be undertaken without it. Data collection and analysis in CALL research may be qualitative or quantitative, experimental or ethnographic, and is published in CALL journals and those of related fields, which naturally include very respected Web-based journals. Crucially, of course, CALL research also includes developmental and prototypal computing. CALL research is moving into new areas, drawing on theories from related fields and creating its own theoretical and methodological paradigms. It is indeed a sign of maturity that CALL has now standardised its terminology, identified its points of reference, and includes a significant number of sub-branches of activity. The design expertise required is of an entirely different kind than that involved in the development of conventional pedagogical materials.

An example of CALL research that is recognised as academically valid is the use of data collected while students are using technology-based materials to confirm or disprove hypotheses generated by SLA theory, whether sociolinguistic or psycholinguistic. This kind of CALL research can contribute to the development of CALL theory itself, i.e. to the understanding of how technology use actually changes the process of language learning, and is thus a crucial part of the paradigm shift needed to establish CALL as a discipline in its own right. In fact, the process orientation of much current SLA theory and research depends crucially on CALL research.

The evaluation of pedagogical practice, materials development, and research in CALL can be based on assessment mechanisms as objective as those used in other fields, but it requires an understanding of the particular challenges of CALL that is not yet widespread in language departments and academic institutions. Interdisciplinarity and paradigm shifts always make evaluation problematic. This document attempts to set out some of the crucial considerations.

Draft 6.0, 13 October 1999