Reflection (Week 6)

CALL materials can be developed from certain theories of learning or from a specific problem. I believe that both kinds of materials are equally effective if they are applied to the right context.

I believe that the type of English is being taught to the students could be a factor deciding on the choice of CALL programs. For example, if a teacher is teaching English for a specific purpose, say, workplace English, the behavior and the problems of the learner could be context-specific. If a CALL program of which the materials are designed based on a specific problem, the fit between the CALL and the actual context could be better. However, I do not mean that CALL materials designed from general learning theories are useless in this example. Learners of workplace English are English learners as well. They must have the characteristics of general English learners. When they have problems that all English learners have, CALL materials developed from learning theories could be a choice to help them.

How can one get that right context for a CALL program? Evaluation of the CALL program chosen is the key. With careful evaluation, the teacher will know what areas of the CALL programs chosen need modification. This will probably results in a best fit between the CALL and the learning context.