History of CALL

Definition of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL).

Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is perceived as one of the alternatives for teaching and learning of language which consist of assisting, guiding and assessing the achievement of the pupils with the help of technology as the central element of communication. CALL is clearly explained according to Levy as, “the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning”.

History of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL).

The origin of CALL was traced back to the 1960’s and it was mainly focused onto the university level in late 1970’s. The PLATO project in the University of Illinois in 1960 is the important significant of the emergence of CALL during those days which was used at various levels of competency.  Later then, personal computer (PC) emerged in 1970’s that later result more audiences and contributes towards the advancement of CALL.Before computer assisted language learning (CALL), it was known as computer assisted language instruction (CALI) that was more towards teacher-centered (instructional) rather than student-centered approach. This situation was unlikely favorable by the teachers as they would love to focus more on the students which means focusing more on learning rather than instruction. From this CALL began to replace CALI in the early 1980’s. From the readings, it can be understood that there are 3 historical phases of CALL based on their pedagogical and methodological approach:

1) Behaviorist CALL - Implemented 1960's-1970's2) Communicative CALL - 1970's-1980's3) Integrative CALL - 2000's

Behaviorist CALL emphasize on the behavior learning model based on the theory of Behaviorism by B. F Skinner. This theory emphasize on the stimulus and repetition according to Skinner's famous research which is the reward and punishment method. The role of the computer is to be the tutor in teaching and providing input for the students. From this, the students will be listening to the computer for the input that will be gained in learning the language. Language is seen as a system of structurally related elements for the coding of meaning. For some of the reasons, the computer is programmed to be the tutor under several assumption made by the Behaviorist. They believe that learners are passive in a way that the learners are totally zero the moment they enter the class. For them, the learners have no experience or background knowledge at all about anything and everything that they are learning are totally new to them. From this, they learn new information in response to a properly structured environment and this leads them in creating a conducive environment. There are some of the Structuralist whom shared the same view as the Behaviorist; Fries, Lado, and Bloomingfield. They perceive language learning in the form of: dialogues, pattern drills, grammar translations and audio lingual teaching to produce automatic, correct response to linguistics stimuli. They are understood to emphasize linguistics product rather than the process. 

The second phase is the Communicative CALL (1970's-1980's) take computer as the pupil by the means that the pupils interact with each other and the computer is considered as one of them as well. The emergence of personal computer (PC) in late 1970's enable more people to be a part of this advancement of study. This phase is against the Behaviorist in the 1980's as they encourage the discovery learning, rejecting the argument by the Behaviorist that the learners are passive. This phase is more interactive and it promotes the construction of new knowledge known as problem solving. The computer is more towards learner-centered approach that emphasize more towards the understanding of the students rather than giving instruction. The discovery learning focuses on the use of forms rather than the forms themselves as it encourage the students to apply the forms in problem solving and discussions. The grammar was taught implicitly as students produces their own utterances. However, there are some limitations when this phase actually led teachers to be away from students and the students will be working independently and this undermine collaborative demand. 

Finally is the Integrative CALL (2000's) where the emphasize are more on multimedia and internet. This phase is where the technology is integrated into language learning process. Greater emphasis was given on the authentic use of the language such as how people actually used the language (native speaker or non-native speaker). The computer is used as the tool or medium to complete the task. From this, students and teachers could interact with each other via computer and utilizing the programs and software for language teaching and learning. 

Reflection.

From the Islamic point of view, the creation of CALL plays a significant role as a medium of da'wah together with the advancement of the technology. With CALL, Muslim students may learn foreign language better and they could make use of the electronic environment to Islamize the knowledge they had gained with the help of CALL. With CALL, the language study would be much easier, simpler and better as this will encourage more Muslim youngsters to learn foreign language other than their mother tongue. The same method could be applied to Arabic language where non-native Arabic speakers could easily make use of CALL to grasp the new language.