Reviewed by Lily Compton, Iowa State University

This book is in the Cambridge Applied Linguistic Series,  focuses on the latest works in applied linguistics directly relevant to language teaching and learning.  As computers open up more opportunities for communication between learners and teachers and among the learners themselves, the field of CALL has moved into a time when network-based language teaching (NBLT) has become the natural next step. This publication offers ten chapters exploring the concepts and practices of NBLT, with a special focus on three main areas, content, interaction and multimedia networking.

Traditionally, CALL has been associated with self-contained, programmed applications such as tutorials, drills, simulations, instructional games and tests. The new side of CALL, NBLT, however, is accomplished by using computers which are connected to one another in either local or global networks and the emphasis is on the communication between humans.

In Chapter 1," Introduction: Theory and practice of network-based language teaching," Mark Warschauer and Richard Kern describe the three theoretical perspectives in language learning, which are the structural, cognitive and sociocognitive perspectives and suggest that the change in language teaching is more of a complex overlapping of the three movements than a polar shift from structural to communicative. They add that the shifts in perspectives on language learning and teaching are parallel to the developments in technology and CALL programs. As technology shifts from the mainframe to the personal computer, the role of computer shifts from a "computer as tutor" to a resource and tool for learning. However, the development of computer networks has shaped new teaching and learning paradigms, making computers the new medium of local and global communication through  asynchronous and synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) and a source of authentic materials through globally linked hypertext and hypermedia in the World Wide Web (WWW).

Chapter 2, "Sociocollaborative language learning in Bulgaria," and Chapter 3, "On-line learning in second language classrooms: An ethnographic study," describe studies that focus on the overall content of NBLT in foreign and second language contexts. In Chapter 2, Carla Meskill and Krassimira Ranglove conduct a longitudinal evaluation on a redesigned Bulgarian EFL curriculum that takes a more sociocollaborative approach to learning, shifting from teacher-centered to student-centered which emphasizes the learners' participation in meaningful and authentic communicative activities with the help of technology. They report on the process of the revised curriculum that includes a response-based approach to literature where learners actively relate their personal experiences to the text they read. Technology is no longer the master but a slave used as a tool and resource to stimulate and support off-line thinking, discourse and learning, shifting the traditional role of the instructor as the sole knower to sources of knowledge beyond the classroom. The study shows that the sociocollaborative approach  motivates learners to take charge of their learning, leading to better performances in reading and vocabulary, grammar, writing and oral-skills. In Chapter 3, Mark Warschauer reports the findings of a 2-year ethnographic study of on-line learning in four college language and writing classrooms in Hawaii. His findings suggest that the beliefs of each teacher and the general outlook of the institution, rather than the Internet, shape the teaching methods and the role of technology. The study also indicates that students view electronic literacy as essential and complementary to their general learning purposes. Warschauer emphasizes the need to view the Internet as a potential resource for on-line communication in language and writing classes instead of allowing the Internet to prescribe a teaching method. Electronic learning activities should therefore reflect the authentic need for communication.
 

Chapters 4, 5 and 6 cover studies that focus on the role of interaction in second language learning. In Chapter 4, "Negotiation in cyberspace: The role of chatting in the development of grammatical competence," Jill Pellettieri uses a focused descriptive methodology to investigate the use of synchronous network-based communication (NBC) to promote written interaction and negotiation of meaning. Her study demonstrates that task-based synchronous NBC can foster the negotiation of meaning that pushes the learners to focus on both meaning and form, leading to significant improvement in grammatical competence. In Chapter 5, " Writing into change: Style shifting in asynchronous electronic discourse," Boyd Davis and Ralf Theide focus on asynchronous electronic discourse to investigate how L2 writers imitate or accommodate their writing styles through their asynchronous interactions with L1 writers. Their findings show that L2 learners are aware of differences between their target language and their first language and such awareness is reflected in the emulation of their L1 counterparts' writing conventions. They suggest that student awareness of syntactic complexity and lexical density is a prerequisite for learning. Chapter 6, "Computers and collaborative writing in the foreign language curriculum," by Jean Marie Schultz describes how peer review sessions through a computer network help L2 writers and her study indicates that the students' level of ability, the type of activity and the mode of communication (whether face-to-face or computer-based) are intricately interlinked. She believes that verbal characteristics in the face-to-face format encourage the generating process but produces even more superior progress in writing when placed in tandem with the visual characteristics of the computer format

The next three chapters, "Networked multimedia environments for second language acquisition," by Dorothy Chun and Jan Plass,  "An electronic literacy approach to network-based language teaching," by Heidi Shetzer and Mark Warschauer and "Task-based language learning via audiovisual networks: The LEVERAGE project," by Christoph Zähner, Agnès Fauverg and Jan Wong focus on multimedia in NBLT. In Chapter 7, Dorothy Chun and Jan Plass look at the use of networked hypermedia environments to promote the acquisition of second language competencies and skills. They attempt to combine stand-alone multimedia environments and text-based networking environments to describe a web-based project that reflects a network multimedia environment. Since immediate access to authentic material through hypermedia environment alone does not guarantee language learning, it is crucial to understand how learners process, retain and integrate information into their L2 competence. Therefore, they raise issues concerning the design of such environments taking into account the theory of second language acquisition (SLA).  In Chapter 8, Heidi Shetzer and Mark Warschauer reemphasize the need for electronic literacy to ensure successful language learning. They include a discussion of an electronic literacy framework in three broad, overlapping areas of communication, construction and research and suggest classroom activities for each area. They conclude by examining research implications for such a framework. In Chapter 9, Christoph Zähner, Agnès Fauverg and Jan Wong focus on the use of audiovisual networks in the task-based learning of French. They discuss some theoretical assumptions that formed the basis of the LEVERAGE project. Their findings indicate that broadband telecommunication networks that support high quality audiovisual together with the appropriate tasks, a shared written tool and access to an adviser, can lead to successful collaborative interaction and language learning.

Finally, Chapter 10, "Is networked-based learning CALL?" by Carol Chapelle, covers the history of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and the issues throughout the history of CALL. She discusses the six main recurring themes in CALL literature, which are the need for CALL evaluation, CALL as "method" versus "media", features of CALL activities, the relationship between CALL and SLA research, the role of CALL in the classroom and the sociocultural issues of CALL. She suggests in her conclusion that NBLT is part of the evolution of CALL based on how NBLT relates to each of the six recurring themes.

This collection of research will be of interest to language educators, linguists, curriculum designers, researchers and graduate students in CALL programs who wish to identify how language learning and teaching is being reshaped by synchronous and asynchronous communication through computer networks. The descriptive and empirical studies explore issues of how NBLT, in line with educational theory and theory of SLA, can be used effectively to promote language learning. These studies also identify significant research issues and draw helpful pedagogical implications for language learning and teaching.
 

Lily Compton is a graduate student in the Department of English at Iowa State University. She is currently on the M.A. TESL/Applied Linguistics program. She graduated with her B.Ed. TESL from University College of Chichester and taught English as a Second Language in Malaysia for four years. Her interest areas include CALL and non-native Englishes.

E-mail: nkerli@iastate.edu

Created on 01/31/01
Last modified on 03/10/01