Final Paper

Hi teacher, taking into account the instruction posted on the course blog "write a double-spaed,four page-long paper,which presents a critical discussion of concepts related to CALL/CMC and their impact on the language teaching profession and your own teaching practice" I wrote my final paper.

Here it is:

CRITICAL DISCUSSION ON CALL: IMPLICATIONS FOR LANGUAGE TEACHING IN COLOMBIA

By César Augusto Garcia

Undoubtedly, the use of technology especially computer one has increased significantly since the last decades. Nowadays, it is quite common to see people using computers and smartphones everywhere both for personal and academic purposes. It is also known that education has been implementing computer technology in classrooms to foster knowledge acquisition for a long time. This approach is widely recognized as ICT (information and communication technologies) applied to specific disciplines such as math, science, language, music and so on. On the other hand, there are some experts who claimed that in the case of language teaching there is a specific field: computer-assisted language learning (henceforth CALL) and related concepts such as CMC (Computer-mediated communication) and Web 2.0 which have been ongoing for the last decades; however, there is still a sort of misconception concerning this field. In this sense, it is paramount to understand these concepts and the possible implications for language teaching in Colombia.

In the recent past, the concepts of CALL and CMC have taken an important and leading role in terms of the delimitation and improvement of the field for foreign/second Language Teaching and Learning. In this regard, Arnold, N. & Ducate, L. (2006) state that CALL is an exceptional field of action for language teaching compare to other disciplines. Beatty (as cited by Arnold, N. & Ducate, L. 2006) outlines that "CALL is any process in which a learner uses a computer, and as a result, improves his or her language". It means that CALL is a more appropiate term for computer technology application in language teaching. 

CALL is also a valuable arena for research. David Crystal (2004) coined the term Netspeak to refer to the language that people use to communicate through email, chat groups,virtual worlds and the web in general. Most of the research work done so far has been focused on the analysis of this type of discourse under psycholinguistic,sociocultural and ecological tenets.

Thus, ICT seems to be an umbrella term for computer technology use in education generally speaking. From my experience, I have noticed that in Colombia most of the language teachers refer to ICT instead of CALL. Besides CMC and CALL, it is necessary to define what Web 2.0 is. Concerning this key term Carr, D; Crook, C.,Noss, R., Carmichael, P. & Selwyn, N. (2008) point out that " Web 2.0 is an umbrella term for a host of recent internet applications such as social networking, wikis, folksonomies, virtual societies, blogging, multiplayer online gaming and mash-ups". In other words,Web 2.0 entails social networking and the interaction of people within these virtual environments both synchronous and asynchronous. In addition, to the concepts it is vital to delve into the benefits and drawbacks of the implementation of CALL especially in developing countries.

There are various reasons why CALL used has risen considerably in language teaching. Firstly, the advantages that it supposed for language teaching and learning in terms of students’ engagement.  Gone are the days which teachers used to spend the whole class writing on the chalkboard while the students copy without any student-student interaction. The new century brings a wide range of opportunities for teachers and students to interact using technology. Therefore, students feel more motivated when they have the chance to interact within the new devices for personal and academic drives. According to Arnold, N. & Ducate, L. (2006) CALL fosters student-student interaction rather than the traditional teacher-centered approach which enable students to use language in a more natural way. In addition, the web provides a vast collection of appealing materials for teachers and students. Furthermore, language testing is facing a new trend which computers have a determinant role to improve the traditional testing system. Chalhoub-Deville, 2001; Chalhoub-Deville & Deville, 1999; Fulcher, 1999; Jamieson, 2005. (as cited by Carr, N.T, 2011) argue that “These advantages have usually taken the form of more engaging test tasks, greater ease of delivering multimedia content, more visually attractive tests, facilitated test delivery and scoring, and increased testing efficiency”.

Moreover, Goldman, Cole & Syer, 1999; Smith, 2008 (as cited by Hani, N, 2014) argue that CALL “Not only has it been found to facilitate student learning, but it has also been found to develop students' ability to learn independently, analyze information, think critically, and solve problems”. Hence, autonomous learning gives the impression to go hand by hand with CALL; it is owed to the fact that most of the activities are assigned to do at home. Besides, the interaction using several learning sites and software provides the chance to develop higher-order thinking skills such as understand, apply, evaluate and create. In my opinion, CALL has many advantages for language teaching regarding motivation and autonomous learning due to its everyday use and interactive tools. Nevertheless, there are still different reasons why CALL is not being implemented properly in our local context.

Lai,C & Kritsonis,W (2006) point out that “the use of computer still has its limitations and weaknesses, such as financial, isolated, and knowledge required issues”. Despite the fact that technology used has increased dramatically since the last decade, there are still a great number of people lacking access. According to some estimates 40% of the world population has access to computers. It is also known that 75% belongs to developed countries while 25% represents the developing countries. Then, access is one of the main barriers for CALL implementation.

Among the barriers for implementing CALL, the widespread internet use in Colombia has been a fact. Vega (2013) highlights four main reasons for the lack of access: infrastructure, services, applications, and users. As it is acknowledged CALL require internet access most of the times. Thus, Colombian language teachers face a pronounced obstacle when implementing CALL not only in the classroom but also as an extensive activity.

In addition, CALL requires more than access to be efficiently applied. It is essential to have the infrastructure with language labs that are certified and have constant maintenance. The teachers and the students need training before implementing any kind of software or device in the classroom. The administrative, teachers and learners must evaluate the software and/or learning environment and the procedures before, during and after the implementation to assure that there are the ideal resources and training.

Nedal Hani (2014) conducted a research project to explore the main advantages and disadvantages for Jordanian language teachers. Table 1. shows the main findings of the study.  In Colombia, there are not studies on this regard, which is a great chance for further research.

In conclusion, the purpose of this essay was to discuss the concept of CALL, CMC and Web 2.0 taking into account the lack of knowledge and the misunderstanding of ICT in the local context. It is also intended to open a debate concerning the implications of implementing CALL in Colombia. There is still a huge research gap in this arena which might have valuable insights for future language teaching. Thus, language teachers are called to adopt a documented position towards the way to implement CALL in their lessons. Personally, I consider this is a must in education in order to overcome the new challenges that this century is posing to education and society.

Appendices

References

Arnold, N. & Ducate, L. (2006) (Eds.).  CALL: Where are we and where do we go from here? In       Calling on CALL: From theory and research to new direction in foreign language (pp. 1-       20). San Marcos, TX: CALICO. Monograph Series 5

Carr, N. T. (2011). Computer-based language assessment: Prospects for innovative assessment.     In N. Arnold & L. Ducate (Eds.), Present and future promises of CALL: From theory and         research to new directions in language teaching (2nd ed., pp. 337-373). San Marcos, TX:            Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium (CALICO)

Carr, D.,  Crook, C., Noss, R.,  Carmichael, P. & Selwyn, N. (2008) Education 2.0? Designing the web for teaching and learning: a commentary by the technology enhanced learning phase   of the   teaching and learning research programme. Teaching and learning research        programme. London: Institute of Education, University of London.

Crystal, D. (2004). Language and the Internet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hani, N. (2014). Benefits and Barriers of Computer Assisted Language Learning and Teaching in the Arab World: Jordan as a Model. Recovered from http://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/tpls/vol04/08/11.pdf

Lai, C. C. & kritsonis, w. A. (2006). The Advantages and Disadvantages of Computer Technology in Second Language Acquisition.  Recovered from file:///D:/Informaci%C3%B3n%20disco%20viejo/Downloads/call%20advantages%20and%20disadvantages.pdf

Vega, D. (2013). Colombia’s Digital Agenda: Successes and the Challenges Ahead. Recovered from http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GITR/2013/GITR_Chapter2.1_2013.pdf