An Introduction to the Use of CALL in China：Focusing on Learners

1 Introduction

The era of the 21st century has been viewed as the era of information knowledge and technology.Technology has enjoyed an important role in the development of a society for all.Technology has expanded its profound influence not only on the commerce，industry and general communication among others but also education. This indicates that the value of CALL could be closely related to the value of autonomy，and therefore，it may be worth introducing CALL into other cultural contexts which among others would include - China.

Indeed，a great deal of efforts has been devoted into the adaption and application of CALL in China during the past decades.

Therefore，concerning this essay，the full attention will falls upon the role of learners and learner training in CALL，particularly in the context of China.

This essay will start with an overview of the current issues concerning CALL in China，including its advantages along with its disadvantages.This would be followed by a discussion on the undergoing changes of the learners’ role resulting from the adaption of CALL.

2 CALL in China： Pros and Cons

It is notable that CALL has been widely applied in college or university level of education in China.On the other hand，with the rapid development of computer technology and growing interests in implementing the CALL in foreign language teaching and learning in China，the traditional way of foreign language teaching and learning has been challenged.Consequently，changes have been prompted lately by the Ministry of Education toward the college English language teaching and learning.This highlights the essential role of computers and the Internet in language instruction，thus，CALL becomes a burning issue nowadays.As a new as the implementation of CALL is in China，it is inevitable that it would follow forecasts envisaging a variety of expected alongside unexpected outcomes.

Benefits of CALL.

English language teaching and learning in China，could be viewed as having certain systemic challenges，due to the big class size （usually 60 students working together in the same class），the time constraints （45 minutes for each class and 10 classes per week before college-level education； 4 hours per week in college-level education），the distance constraints （educational outcomes largely vary from place to place），and the relatively limited resource，since English among other languages are taught and learnt as foreign languages in China without a target language use environment.

In the perspective of learners，those methods would be seen as motivations which massively trigger their interests in learning language，in terms of learning in a more active way.They can feel abstract knowledge as more vivid，authentic，and understandable.Therefore，the teaching and learning change from teacher-centered to learner-centered and autonomous learning is more likely to be expected.

3 Learner’s role in CALL：Undergoing changes

As defined by Cameron （1999： 2），CALL mainly aims to “improve the learning capacity of those who are being taught a language through computerized means”.This highlights that CALL is vital，particularly in language learning，rather than teaching.Therefore，it is reasonable to focus this essay on the discussion of learners in CALL.

3.1 Learner’s needs analysis

According to the attitudes research targeted in Chinese college students conducted by He and Fan （2004） and Chen，Shao and Zheng （2005），it is indicated that a greater number of students would agree on the dissatisfaction of the traditional teacher-centered and chalk- and blackboard-mediated way of teaching and learning.The traditional way of learning English as a foreign language in China，would be characterized as rote learning，in relation to learning in a simple memorized approach.

However，it is also worth mentioning that the learners’ needs of CALL might vary from person to person，and the variation might be due to several factors，among others the understanding of computer technology，the ability of applying the computer technology，the capacity of information selection，along with the perception of relatively new methods of teaching and learning which are involved in CALL.This might，in turn，lead to the demanding of learner training which will be discussed in the following section.

3.2 Fostering learner autonomy

While the role of learners is changing from recipient to agent of learning，it would seem prudent in this context to address the issue of autonomous learning and learner autonomy.

It is noticeable that those potentials for promoting learner autonomy are closely related to the dramatically increasing needs of CALL and the change of the learner’s role.Frommer （1998： 218） points out that CALL can provide learners with more exposure to a foreign language and culture，and create an interesting，anxiety free learning experience. Exposure indeed means more authentic materials and learning contexts of the target language，as well as authentic interaction，such as e-mail interaction and online chats with peers or even native speakers.

Nonetheless，concerning the fact that the learners’ needs vary due to various factors，and learners instead of teachers，play a central role in language learning in CALL，the ability of developing learner autonomy could vary accordingly.Thus，learner training seems necessary and could be expected to be helpful to foster learner autonomy，and enhance foreign language learning.

4 Learner training for efficient use of CALL

As it may be taken for granted that，Chinese learners，are deeply rooted in and accustomed to teacher-centered education.

Apart from learner training for autonomous learning，in respect to the use of CALL applications which are especially required to be efficient，in order to produce more positive learning outcomes，learner training for computer technology related skills is also highly recommended.

Those principles could be adapted and served in learner training in China as fundamental matters，and should be principally considered.First，learners should be trained to be capable of critically selecting and employing the information on Internet.Secondly，learners should be trained to be more aware of the copyrights of the on-line materials.Last but certainly not least，learners should be guided by teachers，school administrators，and parents，in case of overusing or misusing the computer technology.

5 Conclusion

In conclusion，then，on the one hand，it is acknowledged that the Computer-Assisted Language Learning has been widely studied during past decades （Blin，2009； Hubbard，2009； and Levy，1997； etc.） and it enjoys an increasing interest in integrating computer technology with classroom pedagogy in China （Fan，2004； Feng，2006； and Li，2007； etc.）.On the other hand，the benefits along with the drawbacks result from the implementation of CALL in China have also been discussed.

It implied that to make use of CALL both in class and out of class could provide learners with opportunities for accessing various authentic materials，learning content as well as spontaneous interactions in target language using environment.

Therefore，this leads to a range of considerations of learner training，including，computer technology and CALL application related skills training，training for strategies，such as authentic materials and information selection，training for being aware of copyrights of online stuff，as well as training for learner autonomy.

Hence，learners’ learning progress would be kept in suitable tract in CALL，avoiding the possible negative or unexpected outcomes，and eventually ending up with efficient learning.

References

[1]BLIN，F.Call and the development of learner autonomy： Towards an activity-theoretical perspective.In： HUBBARD，P.（ed.） Computer assisted language learning （Vol.4）[J].London： Routledge，2009.

[2]CAMERON，K.Introduction.In： CAMERON，K.（ed.） CALL： Media，design，and applications[J].Lisse： Swets & Zeitlinger，1999.

[3]CHEN，J.cong fuzhu zouxiang zhudao （Computer assisted teaching or autonomous teaching）[J].Computer Assisted Foreign Language Education，2005，104：9-13.

[4]HUBBARD，P.Learner training for effective use of CALL.In： HUBBARD，P.（ed.） Computer assisted language learning（Vol.4）[J].London： Routledge，2009.

[5]JIA，Y.Multiple roles of the teacher in CALL[J].US-China Foreign Language，2007，5：60-63.

[6]KERN，R.G.Technology，social interaction，and FL literacy.In： MUYSKENS，J.A.（ed.） New ways of learning and teaching： Focus on technology and foreign language education[J].Boston： Heinle & Heinle，1998.

[7]THE MINISTRY of EDUCATION.College English Curriculum Requirements （For trial inplementation）[M].Beijing： Qinghua University Press，2004.

作者簡介

劉林林（1987—），女，碩士，講師，單位：宜賓職業技術學院，主要研究方向高等教育、英語教學。

項目來源：宜賓職業技術學院2018年度院級教改項目。項目名稱：“翻轉課堂”教學模式在高職院校英漢翻譯課程中的實踐探究。項目編號：ybzyjg1842。