Serious work using computers to support language teaching and learning began in the 1960s, but it was not until the beginning of the 1980s when microcomputers began to proliferate that groups of practitioners began forming professional groups and a formal identification of the field occurred. Although the early promise of computer-assisted language learning (or ‘CALL’), to revolutionize second-language learning has not been met, the past quarter century has seen a fascinating range of growth. This is not only because of lessons learned from research and practice, but also due to the rapid and continuing shifts in the technology itself.
Nominally a branch of applied linguistics, 'CALL' is truly interdisciplinary, drawing its core concepts not only from linguistics, but also from computer science, speech engineering, psychology, sociology, second-language acquisition, and general education.
This new four-volume title from Routledge will allow 'CALL' practitioners, researchers, and students to easily access the best and most influential foundational and cutting-edge scholarship. The is also a comprehensive introduction to critical concepts in 'CALL' for applied linguists and language educators interested in the growing role of technology in second-language acquisition.