Foreword
Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is an academic
multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary field that 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 on 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 Ph.D. 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
VII
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
2021