This article explores the future of language teaching in the light of recent developments. It is set against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic, which accelerated technology-related changes within the field. The article outlines factors that have contributed to a shift in the role of language teachers, followed by a depiction of the…

In line with the 2021 CALICO Conference theme "Global realities," we presented a plenary on how immersive virtual reality (IVR) could be used for second language learning by allowing learners to virtually travel around the globe via headset. The main affordances of virtual reality (VR) technology include immersing learners in an…

The widespread growth in availability and use of smartphones and tablets has facilitated an unprecedented avalanche of new software applications with language learning and teaching capabilities. However, little has been published in terms of effective design and evaluation of language learning apps. This article reviews current research about the…

The article is concerned with teaching language by utilizing social media from a social justice perspective. It makes an argument for taking a dialogic approach to pedagogy based on serendipity and contingent scaffolding. The article is inspired by a small but growing body of literature known as Critical Computer-Assisted Language Learning. First,…

This article revisits the TESOL Technology Standards for Teachers (TTST) and discusses the potential for their continued relevance 13 years after they were first promulgated (TESOL, 2008). To provide a historical backdrop, I first cover the development of the standards from the inside perspective of one of the six members of the team that created…

The pandemic in 2020 has profoundly impacted millions of people all around the world. We have experienced intense disruption in our daily lives. We have lost loved ones, jobs, motivation, and precious time that could have been used more productively. The pandemic did not distinguish between borders, race, or gender. It affected everyone but not…

In this paper, we review empirical research on language teaching at a distance, published between 2005 and 2010. After compiling a list of journals, we went through a multi-stage process of analyzing relevant studies. This overview of research is based on twenty-four articles. The content analysis of research studies led our inquiry on topics…

This article discusses CALL development from both educational and ergonomic perspectives. It focuses on the learner-task-tool interaction, in particular on the aspects contributing to its overall quality, herein called "usability." Two pilot studies are described that were carried out with intermediate to advanced learners of French in two…

From 1981 to today, the encouragement Jim Pusack and his colleague Sue Otto gave faculty to develop and/or implement CALL into the curriculum has been vital to our L2 teaching evolution. This article describes how their efforts evolved over the last two and a half decades and the ties that bind their efforts with today's CALL development.

The development of both the materials for an intermediate-level hybrid German writing course and the software in a virtual learning environment for the course may be viewed as activity systems. Viewing the individual components of each system as interrelated enables us to conceptualize the complexities of the development process, which goes well…

This article discusses the development and functionalities of an intelligent computer-assisted language learning (ICALL) system. By way of example, we describe "E-Tutor", an ICALL system for L2 learners of German that has been in use for a decade. Based on advancements in technology, user studies with L2 learners of German as well as feedback…

This paper presents a "didactic triangulation" strategy to cope with the problem of reliability of NLP applications for computer-assisted language learning (CALL) systems. It is based on the implementation of basic but well mastered NLP techniques and puts the emphasis on an adapted gearing between computable linguistic clues and didactic features…

This paper details the use of a free and access-controlled wiki as the learning management system for a four-week teaching module designed to improve the oral communication skills of Japanese university EFL students. Students engaged in repeated experiential learning cycles of planning, doing, observing, and evaluating their performance of a role…

This article presents the concept development, research programming, and learning design of a lexical processing web application, Virtual Vocabulary, which was developed using theories in both cognitive psychology and second language acquisition (SLA). It is being tested with first-year students of German at the University of Victoria in Canada,…

Writing assistance systems, from simple spelling checkers to more complex grammar and readability analyzers, can be helpful aids to nonnative writers of English. However, many writing assistance systems have two disadvantages. First, they are not designed to encourage skills learning and independence in their users; instead, users may begin to use…