Experiences with CALL

As an L2 teacher, I have been in touch with some uses of CALL.  My favorite perk is the access to work anywhere where a computer is available; now even where internet is available, including handheld devices.  I think students have a larger opportunity to come into contact with the language and practice reading, writing, and listening.  The great this is sometimes they get direct feedback. However, sometimes these assignments are too mechanical and could have easily been completed without a computer.  Some instructors just transfer the information onto a computer and call it CALL. Another downfall, which is slowly emerging, are programs or activities for the development of speaking skills. It is definitely a hard area to find a program which gives you quick feedaback, understandably since there are so many dialects in a language.

I think many of these porgrams are effective but the instructor has to be able to follow-up and make it more meaningful.  CALL is great, but not everything out there is. We need to be able to pick out the good from the bad. As teaching assistants we do not always have the opportunity to do so. The administration who sometimes have not been in touch with the beginning of language learners in years do the choosing of programs, and not always in benefit of the student or T.A.