Levy+article+summary

Michael Levy, Computer Assisted Language Learning: context and conceptualization. Oxford, Clarendon. 1997.

Contents: 1. Introduction -- 2. CALL in context I: a historical perspective -- 3. CALL in context II: an interdisciplinary perspective -- 4. Conceptualization I: the CALL literature -- 5. Conceptualization II: the CALL Survey -- 6. Emerging themes and patterns of development -- 7. A tutor-tool framework -- 8. On the nature of CALL.

Summary: "So far the development of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) has been fragmented. The points of departure for CALL projects have been enormously varied, and when the projects have been written up, they rarely refer to those that have gone before. Michael Levy addresses this shortcoming, setting CALL work into a context, both historical and interdisciplinary. He is the first person in the field to consider CALL as a body of work. He also aims to identify themes and patterns of development that relate contemporary CALL to earlier projects. The author goes on to explore how CALL practitioners have conceptualized the use of the computer in language teaching and learning. He achieves this through a detailed review of the literature, and through the results of an international CALL Survey, where key CALL practitioners from 18 countries respond to questions on aspects of CALL materials development. Drawn from this rich source of information on actual CALL practice, Michael Levy analyses and expands on a tutor-tool framework. He shows this to be of value for a better understanding of methodology, integration of CALL into the curriculum, the role of the teacher and learner, and evaluation." (Taken from http://copac.ac.uk/search?isn=0198236328&rn=1)

"A sense of the whole is imperative because in my view CALL practitioners and researchers have not really assimilated the work that has been done, nor appreciated its relevance for current work, a point also made by Last ( 1989: 14). Researchers have increasingly narrow specializations, and it is easy to lose sight of the broader picture. Moreover, CALL is interdisciplinary, and as such we need to be aware of developments in related disciplines. Other fields such as instructional design, artificial intelligence, and psychology will undoubtedly also have contributions to make. This is particularly important, I feel, because CALL abounds with one-off projects that are often not described in relation to other similar CALL projects, nor set in the broader context. A description can provide an appreciation of what has been achieved so far, and provide a sensible platform for a discussion of possible directions in the future" (Levy, 1997, p vii)

"CALL is a relatively new, interdisciplinary field of study that has been subject to the influence of a number of other fields and disciplines. In addition to the fields of computing and language teaching/learning, which one would expect to have an impact on CALL, real or potential influences in the development of the field have included elements of psychology, artificial intelligence, computational linguistics, instructional technology and design, and human-computer interaction studies (see Table 3.1). Many of these disciplines are relatively new in themselves, having developed very significantly since World War II; they each have their own perspective and frame of reference, they often overlap and interrelate, and the extent to which any one should influence the development of CALL has not been determined." (Levy; 1997, p 47)