Book reviews

CALL Environments: Research, Practice, and Critical Issues

J. Egbert and E. Hanson-Smith (Eds.); TESOL, Alexandria, VA, 1999, 523 pp,
US$39.95
The history of CALL is similar to that of many other eorts to introduce new
technologies into well-established instructional theories. An initial enthusiasm is
followed by mistrust and rejection, until gradually the acceptance levels of the new
technology rise due to its re-evaluation and integration into existing pedagogical
frameworks. The development of CALL has mostly taken place at the same time as
the communicative approach has been re-evaluated in the light of new concepts that
can best be subsumed under the heading of learner autonomy.
The task of writing a book on CALL is hampered by two factors in particular:
computer technology is evolving at such a speed that any printed book (with the
inevitable delay between writing and publication) often deals with technology that
has already been superseded by the time it is published. Secondly, learner autonomy
is still largely misunderstood as simply self-directed learning or as something that
learners already possess, not as a capacity that needs to be developed in learners. In
addition, many CALL publications, conferences, and programs are still dominated
by behaviourist approaches to learning, no doubt inuenced by the fact that these
are the easiest programs to produce.
The title of this book CALL Environments: Research, Practice, and Critical
Issues already suggests that it seeks to do more than report on isolated applica-
tions of computer tools to language learning. The articles deal with CALL as an
integrated learning environment, and this is one of the critical issues discussed at
various points throughout the book.
The back cover and preface summarize the authors' main approach to CALL.
They ``conceive of technology as support for a total environment for learning rather
than as a single tool or a source of information'' (p. ix). CALL is seen as an intricate
interplay between new concepts of language learning and new technology that in
many cases generates new forms of teaching and learning. The title, however, is
slightly misleading. As a target audience the authors mention ``teachers-in-training,
graduate and undergraduate students in TESOL methods courses, and classroom
practitioners'' (p. x). This orientation is conrmed in the articles throughout the
book. While some contributors make an eort to deal with CALL issues in general,
many articles clearly refer to an (American) ESL context.
System 28 (2000) 447465
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A general introduction outlines the purpose and basis of the volume by for-
mulating eight conditions for learning. These conditions also form the structure and
main headings for the 28 articles: Interaction; Authentic Audience; Authentic Task;
Opportunities for Exposure and Production; Time/Feedback; Intentional Cognition,
Learning Styles, and Motivation; Atmosphere; and Control. Each of these eight
sections begins with a ``Theory and Research'' article which gives a theoretical
overview of the eld, followed by articles on ``Classroom Practice'' which give
practical examples of classroom developments or projects, and nally one or more
articles on ``CALL issues'' that give a more practical orientation for educators who
are new to CALL, or organisational and curricular guidelines. All sections nish
with a number of tasks under the heading ``Explorations'', targeted at teachers-in-
training and intended to promote reection and to raise awareness of the issues in
the respective sections. The book concludes with a comprehensive bibliography and
a generous collection of appendixes, mostly containing contact addresses of software
companies, Internet resources, and CALL organisations.
It would be impossible to review all 28 articles here, so I will focus on the more
prominent chapters. In the introductory chapter, ``Computer-enhanced language
learning environments: An overview'', Egbert, Chao, and Hanson-Smith present the
book's structure and focus. They suggest eight conditions for optimal language
learning environments, based on current SLA research: ``1. Learners Have Oppor-
tunities to Interact and Negotiate Meaning'' (p. 3), ``2. Learners Interact in the
Target Language With an Authentic Audience'' (p. 4), ``3. Learners Are Involved in
Authentic Tasks'' (p. 4), ``4. Learners Are Exposed to and Encouraged to Produce
Varied and Creative Language'' (p. 5), ``5. Learners Have Enough Time and Feed-
back'' (p. 5), ``6. Learners Are Guided to Attend Mindfully to the Learning Pro-
cess'' (p. 6), ``7. Learners Work in an Atmosphere With an Ideal Stress/Anxiety
Level'' (p. 6), and nally ``8. Learner Autonomy is Supported'' (p. 6). Chapter 1 also
points to a particularly critical issue in CALL, the lack of empirical research, par-
ticularly in telecommunications projects, and provides guidelines and ideas as to
how this research might be conducted a useful overview that should be helpful for
teachers-in-training and prospective researchers alike.
Chapter 2, ``Theory and research: Interaction via computers'', introduces the rst
section on `Interaction'. Kreeft Peyton takes recent research into computer-
mediated communication (CMC) into account, and Egbert shows how classroom
work can be transformed into activities involving several learners interacting. Carol
Chapelle provides the theoretical basis for the section on ``Authentic Task''. She
emphasises the importance of authenticity in a CALL task, which she views in terms
of one part of context theory, the notion of eld or frame. She denes authentic
classroom tasks as ``those that are most like natural communication outside class''
(p. 103). However, in the following chapters both Healey and Hanson-Smith blur
Chapelle's denition of authenticity: ``Drill-and-practice activities in a content area
might be termed authentic tasks, as they are often the type of activity students are
expected to perform in school subjects without reference to language teaching or
learning functions'' (p. 138). Still, Hanson-Smith's arguments for task-based and
content-based activities reects current approaches to language teaching, and her
448 Book reviews / System 28 (2000) 447465
examples of simulations and other virtual reality tools oer a fresh look at on-line
communication and collaboration.
Lloyd Holliday provides an excellent introduction to the next section, on
``Opportunities for Exposure and Production''. He maintains that a number of
interactional factors are necessary to facilitate further modied comprehensible
output by the learner. Some CALL software does not provide this interactional
support (reected in his highly critical account of the pre-programmed feedback in
many drill exercises), and many teachers are not aware of its necessity. Hanson-
Smith and Buell, in the following chapters, both present a huge number of programs
and Internet resources, but again within an American ESL context, and pedagogical
frameworks for their implementation are only mentioned in passing.
Chao introduces the section on ``Time/Feedback''. The chapter presents an over-
view of recent approaches in educational assessment, based on learner-centred and
process-oriented approaches, and shows how computers can give teachers and lear-
ners more tools to make these ideas work. An equally good practical implementa-
tion of its principles is found in the following chapter by Egbert, which looks at
CALL-supported classroom activities for student assessment.
Soo sets the tone for the section on ``Intentional Cognition, Learning Styles, and
Motivation''. The chapter explores why learning styles are important to language
teaching, reviews various types of learning styles, and considers their implications
for the computer-assisted classroom. Ngeow gives a practical account of how com-
puter software and collaborative projects can be used to support students' awareness
of their own learning styles and dierences to other learners.
Johnston introduces the section on ``Atmosphere'' with a chapter on ``Theory and
research: Classroom atmosphere''. He proposes a set of concepts to open a dialogue
on classroom atmosphere in language teaching. In Chapter 22, Lonnie Turbee pre-
sents an overview of chat and MOO environments and explains dierences. Although
this is a good introduction to MOO technology, she does not add signicantly to the
large number of similar articles (Warschauer, 1995, 1996). It is not clear, moreover,
how this article relates to the introduction or indeed theme of the section.
The next and nal section of the book deals with the concept of ``Control''.
Deborah Healey introduces the section with ``Theory and research: Autonomy in
language learning''. Her portrayal of the concept of autonomy is very one-sided.
While she denes autonomy in terms of the autonomous language user (although
largely ignoring a social or Vygotskian perspective on autonomy), the issues around
the autonomous language learner are for the most part ignored, although the sup-
port of awareness, reection, and self-assessment is central to learner autonomy
(and an integral part of work on autonomy by Holec, Little, Legenhausen or Dam,
whose work is not mentioned here). Some of Healey's claims about learner auton-
omy are unclear. She seems to understand autonomy as simply self-direction; but
exposing students to many dierent resources alone will not make them autono-
mous. Her structure of four settings for autonomous learning is misleading: it is
dicult to see what programmed learning has in common with autonomy.
Wachman in Chapter 25 presents good and important examples of authorable and
authoring software, and discusses how they can help learners to become more
Book reviews / System 28 (2000) 447465 449
autonomous. Ruth Vilmi describes distance education activities for autonomous
learners. She seems to focus on what autonomous learners have used rather than
how Internet resources can help them to become more autonomous. It is misleading
to assume that autonomy is a given, not a capacity that needs to be developed. In
that sense, her article is of little help to teachers. Some other aspects of autonomy
are equally unclear. To do drills just because ``many students like them'' (p. 431)
does not justify their usefulness. Characterising e-mail partnerships as ``keypalships''
(p. 434; cf. Gaer in Chapter 6) and MOO encounters as ``games'' (p. 435) ignores the
fact that many of these partnerships, if not supported by processes of reection and
awareness, will not become eective learning partnerships (Little et al., 1999;
Donaldson and Ko tter, 1999). When she says that ``once they have acquired the
basics, students need to practice in real situations'' (p. 441), she reects exactly
the kind of separation between language learning and language use that practi-
tioners of autonomy have been trying to avoid (Dam, 1995). Finally, an implication
that ``[a]utonomous learning [is] made possible by technology'' (p. 440) disregards
the importance of interplay with pedagogical frameworks: autonomy can be
achieved without the help of technology, but not without processes that encourage
reection and the development of awareness.
The conclusion by Carla Meskill, ``20 minutes into the future'', returns to some of
the principles of the rst chapter and provides an outlook on what can be realised in
the future. In her vision, the computer is a vital tool for collaboration and commu-
nication between students and students and students and teachers, as well as
between experts around the world. She makes the vital point that teachers also need
to develop mechanisms for exchange and reection (one aspect of teacher auton-
omy, as explored by Tort-Moloney, 1997).
The book ends with a comprehensive list of references, a variety of useful and up-
to-date appendixes, with many organisations, URLs, and postal addresses of orga-
nisations and software companies, and a list of contributors (unfortunately, without
contact addresses). As with other books, it may be better to publish URLs sepa-
rately on a web page, so that they can be updated by the authors or publisher as
necessary. No index is provided, which makes it dicult to read the articles selec-
tively.
How can this book be evaluated as a whole? The collection of articles is a useful
introduction to CALL in the ESL context (with an American focus), but in some
respects of limited usefulness to European CALL contexts. Some sections within the
book are well-structured (Sections 4, 5, 6), whereas others lack coherence (Sections 7
and 8). The state of CALL technology presented is reasonably up to date. The book
describes many useful practical implementations of CALL relevant to task- or
content-based approaches, but the treatment of learner autonomy is at best incom-
plete, and in some articles misleading.
That said, it may be unfair to expect an even level of quality and coherence in such
a comprehensive collection. The collection is often thought-provoking and a good
example of `new' CALL that tries to move away from computerised drill exercises in
a behaviourist tradition towards collaborative and participatory learning environ-
ments based on a framework of learner autonomy. Together with the clear overall
450 Book reviews / System 28 (2000) 447465
structure, comprehensive reference section, and research questions, it is a good
course-book for teachers-in-training, especially in an ESL context.
References
Dam, L., 1995. Learner Autonomy 3: From Theory to Classroom Practice, Authentik, Dublin.
Donaldson, R.P., Ko tter, M., 1999. Language learning in cyberspace: teleporting the classroom into the
target culture. Calico 16.4, 531557.
Little, D., Ushioda, E., Appel, M.C., Moran, J., O'Rourke, B., Schwienhorst, K., 1999. Evaluating tan-
dem language learning by e-mail. Report on a bilateral Project. CLCS Occasional Paper No. 55.
Dublin: Trinity College, Centre for Language and Communication Studies.
Tort-Moloney, D., 1997. Teacher autonomy: a Vygotskian theoretical framework. CLCS Occasional
Paper No. 48. Trinity College, Centre for Language and Communication Studies, Dublin.
Warschauer, M. (Ed.), 1995. Virtual Connections: On-line Activities and Projects for Networking
Language Learners. University of Hawaii Second Language Teaching and Curriculum Center,
Honolulu, HI
Warschauer, M. (Ed.), 1996. Telecollaboration in Foreign Language Learning. University of Hawaii
Second Language Teaching and Curriculum Center, Honolulu, HI.
Klaus Schwienhorst
Centre for Language and Communication Studies,
Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
Grundkurs U

bersetzen Deutsch-Englisch Richard Humphrey; Klett, Stuttgart, 1998,

176 pp.
Translation: U

bersetzung Emily Purser and Linda Paul; Cornelsen, Berlin, 1999, 196
pp.
Translation is still widely used as a method of language teaching/learning at the
beginning of the 21st century, notwithstanding the fact that what became known as
the grammar-translation method encountered considerable opposition as early as the
late 19th century (cf. Stern, 1983, p. 454). One of the probable reasons for this is that
whilst language teaching and its perceived aims have no doubt changed considerably
during the last century and a half, so has the role that translation has played in
language learning.
Obviously, the use of translation is limited to groups of students who have
a native language in common, or at least considerable competence in a shared
language, thus making it inappropriate for the classes of students of varied
nationalities that account for a signicant part of the EFL/ESL sector. Never-
theless, translation still plays a very important role in modern language teaching,
particularly for advanced learners at university level. One of the reasons for the
PI I : S0346- 251X( 00) 00023- 00022- 1
Book reviews / System 28 (2000) 447465 451