Abstract:

This paper discusses issues surrounding the development and implementation of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) at the curriculum- and program-levels. The Japanese program at the University of Alberta has introduced CALL courseware in language courses including those with multiple sections. An evaluation was conducted at the initial implementation stage to measure the success of the project. The results of the evaluation indicated that students and instructors were positive towards the curriculum reform through the implementation of CALL technologies. However, several issues also arose during the integration process. We found that the seamless integration of technologies was difficult to achieve, especially in dealing with a language like Japanese which requires additional software to display and input the idiographic characters. Our experience also underscores the importance of student support in the implementation stage. Special consideration should be taken to achieve a good "fit" between pedagogy and technology. Moreover, each instructor's understanding and sharing of his or her view of the CALL integrated instruction was found to be vital for a program-level CALL implementation. The University of Alberta case serves as an example and benchmark for others planning to conduct a similar project.

Author: Kaori Kabata, Grace Wiebe, Tracy Chao