Synopsis
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. This book is intended for researchers and teachers in Applied Linguistics with an interest in Computer-Assisted Language Learning, particularly those want a detailed overview of the field or who are involved in a CALL project.
Review
This is an important new book, providing much needed perspectives on the progress of CALL to date, and laying a foundation for a reconsideration of the theoretical and pedagogical frameworks of this challenging field. (Dr James Garton, Griffith University, ON-CALL Vol.11 No.2 1997)
This book ... should be a very useful reference tool for those involved in developing and using computer programs to augment language teaching and language learning. (Jim Stahl, Vanuatu Group, Notes on Linguistics)
Students and prospective teachers should have a much clearer idea, after reading this book, of what computers can and canot do for language learners...Though Levy's book seems to be aimed at the graduate school market, where it fills a genuine gap, it will also be welcomed by the typical CALL 'enthusiast'...the new CALL practitioners and researchers for whom the book has been written will be grateful for this lucid summary of a series of highly complex topics...Successful in its aim of providing students of CALL with an idea of what it is and what needs to be done...Levy allows us to see more clearly what is worth retaining and developing and what should be jettisoned...The amount of information and the range of references are impressive. Michael Levy's book is thus set to be, for the time being, the standard work on the subject. (Computer Assisted Language Learning)
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