Pietro Gentile

Book Review

Due date: 31/01/2002

Book reviewed:

Computer Applications in Second Language Acquisition
Cambridge Applied Linguistics Series

Carol A. Chapelle

2001
ISBN 0-521-62646-3
228 pp.

Cambridge University Press
Cambridge, UK

Computer Applications in Second Language Acquisition belongs to the Cambridge Applied Linguistics series, which includes some of the latest works in applied linguistics particularly relevant to language learning and teaching. The book can be considered a sort of scholarly summation of history, research and current theories in the field of language learning, and the author’s main aims are twofold: 1) to state what important contributions to the teaching and learning of second languages have come from computer technology and 2) to propose theory-based criteria for evaluating Computer-assisted Language Learning (CALL), Computer-assisted Language Testing (CALT), and Computer-assisted Second Language Research (CASLR).

On the first page of the first chapter, Historical foundations of CASLA (Computer-assisted Second Language Acquisition), Chapelle points out how the place of computers in second language teaching has evolved from the 1980s to the present day. The initial concern about “whether computers should even be used” had become, by the 1990s, a concern about “how can the computer best be used” and finally, today, has developed into an acknowledgement of the need for communicative competence to include electronic literacies. In the rest of the first chapter, the author outlines the historical development of CASLA through five phases, related to the advancement of technical resources (mainframe computers, microcomputers, sophisticated microcomputers, local area networks, the Internet). By examining the main features of CASLA from the 1950s up to date, she provides any newcomer with the necessary background information to the field. In particular, when dealing with the learning and teaching opportunities offered by the Internet as a means of communication, she remarks how detailed electronic records of student communication make it possible, both for teachers and researchers, to gather extensive and reliable data which can be used to assess and evaluate learners’ performances under various conditions.

In the second chapter, The context and challenge for CASLA, Chapelle examines the relationship between CASLA and related fields, such as corpus linguistics, artificial intelligence, computational linguistics and educational technology, all of which have benefited considerably from computer technology and can, in their turn, contribute to the development of SLA (Second Language acquisition) theory and practice. Nonetheless, CASLA research questions have a unique focus, which consists in identifying “theoretically and empirically based criteria for choosing among the potential design options and methods for evaluating their effectiveness for promoting learners’ communicative ability” (p. 42).

The “meat” of the book is, in my opinion, in chapters 3 and 4, which deal with CALL and CALT respectively. In chapter 3, such CALL activities as computer-assisted classroom discussion, microworld, text analysis, storyboard, and concordancing, are described and discussed in the light of an increasing need for evaluation criteria. Chapelle makes the point that these should be based on “a theory concerning ideal cognitive and socio-affective conditions for instructed SLA” (p.45). She makes these conditions correspond to the five guidelines proposed by Skehan (1998) for implementing successful task-based instruction: 1) choose a range of target structures; 2) choose tasks which meet the utility condition; 3) select and sequence tasks to achieve balanced goal development; 4) Maximize the chances of focus on form through attentional manipulation; 5) use cycles of accountability (1998: 32). Of these five guidelines, the author considers the fourth to be the crucial one, and she goes on to explain the eight conditions that affect allocation of attention: 1) modified interaction; 2) modified output; 3) time pressure; 4) modality; 5) support; 6) surprise; 7) control; 8) stakes.

CALL tasks are also considered on the basis of their appropriateness in terms of language learning potential, learner fit, meaning focus, authenticity, positive impact and practicality. According to the author, all these evaluation criteria need to apply to CALL software, CALL teacher-planned activities and the empirical evaluation of learners’ performance. However, she makes it clear that the ideal conditions for SLA are very complex and context-dependent; therefore it is difficult to apply the same criteria in the same way to different learning situations, though one of the suggested qualities of CALL tasks appears to be essential in every situation, namely their language learning potential.

In chapter 4, Chapelle uses Bachman and Palmer’s (1996) test usefulness framework to suggest how computer-assisted tests should be evaluated. In her view, the main feature of good CALT testing should be validity, which depends on how appropriately a test is used in view of its stated purpose in specific learning and teaching circumstances. What is central, in test evaluation, is construct validity, while the other evaluative issues, provided by Bachman and Palmer, namely reliability, authenticity, interactiveness, positive impact, and practicality, are regarded by the author as secondary. Chapelle proposes two stages in test analysis: a logical evaluation of test design and an empirical evaluation of test performance. For the latter, she makes use of the same framework proposed by Bachman and Palmer (1996), though stating that, as in the case of materials evaluation, these criteria are context-dependent. The same construct validity criterion is difficult to determine and teachers need to evaluate usefulness case by case. In this chapter, therefore, more than offering recipes for constructing or evaluating good tests, Chapelle points out the many variables involved in language testing and concludes that “in short, examination of CALT in 2000 demonstrates that many…questions…about how to improve both theory and practice in language testing through the use of computers still remain”(p. 131).

In chapter 5, Computer-assisted SLA research, the author focuses on the main contributions of computer technology to CASLR, presenting the results of her review of research into this field and again proposing a list of criteria for evaluating research methods. According to Chapelle, there are two fields of investigation for CASLR: the effects of instructional conditions of learning, and assessment. For both fields, she proposes evaluation criteria, some of which are the same as those proposed for CALL and CALT evaluation. In the final chapter of the book, Directions for CASLA, the author outlines some future developments for CALL, CALT, and CASLR by discussing some themes which overlap among the three fields. Finally, she stresses the need to develop software tools which, while allowing authentic learning to take place, will permit automatic recording of data to be used for CALT and CASLR testing.

The book is not intended to be a practical guide for classroom teachers, since there are no practical suggestions or teaching ideas in it; nonetheless, it is effective in providing different categories of readers (teachers, scholars, university students, etc.) with a wide understanding of the main issues related to computer applications in second language acquisition, on the assumption that “anyone concerned with second language teaching and learning in the 21^st century needs to grasp the nature of the unique technology-mediated tasks learners can engage in for language acquisition and how such tasks can be used for assessment” (p.2).

References:

Skehan, P (1998). A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning. Oxford University Press.

Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. S. (1996). Language testing in practice. Oxford University Press.