State of the Art : The Effectiveness of CALL

この短いレポートはCALL(Computer Assisted Language Learning)の有用性に関するものである。一般に,この領域での研究はまだ不足しているが,動機づけ・リーディング・リスニングの三つの分野に関しては,最近色々な研究結果や実践報告が出されている。ここでは,それらについて検討し,報告する。

A lot of money is spent on Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). But is it an effective use of money? Do multitudes of hardware and software really help students improve their foreign language abilities? The answers to these questions seem to be "yes," yet very little research has actually tried to measure the benefits of various CALL activities. The main reason for the lack of findings is that research design and controls are very complicated. Researchers need to account for learner backgrounds and goals, teacher abilities and expectations, and measurement techniques, to name just a few variables. There has also been a lack of research simply because the field of CALL is so new. In any case, let us briefly look at recent CALL research and activities with respect to three areas of foreign language acquisition: motivation, writing, and listening.