Foreword
Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is an academic multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary field which connects language learning and teaching to computer technology. Generally speaking, the role of CALL is to make insights drawn from areas of language, learning, teaching, and technology relevant to decision-making in language learning pedagogy. In this sense, CALL mediates between theory and practice.
This book Computer Assisted Language Learning: Theory and Practice is a work covering key issues in technology and foreign language learning and teaching. The book is divided into two sections: Theory and practice. The section on theory includes twelve chapters with topics commonly referred to in the literature of CALL, and the section in practice has four chapters focusing on using technology for actual practice in the four language skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing). Attempts have been made to identify various technologies and software programs that might be regularly used in the classroom setting for all EFL students to improve their learning. Each chapter provides the reader with an overview of one of the areas of the field.
As a teacher of CALL, I have been teaching CALL courses since 2014 to MA and PhD students in computer assisted language learning courses. The book is the result of my years of experience in the CALL courses. Therefore, the book is intended for a diverse audience in applied linguistics, but is firmly directed to MA students in TEFL. The book might also be useful for teachers, graduate students, researchers, and practitioners to familiarize themselves with the field.
I take responsibility for the contents of the book, including its flaws.
Hassan Soleimani
Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics and TEFL
Payame Noor University