A Question of Language Learning and Technology

[Shannon Sauro]

At the WorldCALL conference this past May, there was a session by an international
panel on the availability and use of technology for language teaching in several
countries (Egypt, Thailand, Iran, South Africa, and Ukraine) which started me
thinking.  Although I am familiar with certain uses of technology for language
teaching in certain contexts, specifically in American university foreign language
classes, I would be very interested in learning more about what sorts of technology
are available and being used for language teaching anywhere in the world and at
different levels.

Are there contexts in which the technology is ready and available but underutilized?

Four years ago, I visited a computer classroom dedicated to foreign language teaching
at a Japanese university, complete with more than 20 networked computers that also
included tiny cameras so that the teacher could view students' mouths during
pronuncation practice.  However, the person showing me this lab lamented that it was
primarily used by students checking their email betweem classes because most teachers
didn't feel comfortable using the technology during class.

What about the incorporation of CALL to alter attitudes toward minority languages or
for the teaching of endangered languages?

I am curious to hear how technology is or could be used in different contexts.


Shannon Sauro
University of Pennsylvania