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Forty or fifty years ago CALL started of as CALI with the last acronym standing for “instruction” instead of “learning” this however fell out of favor by most teachers at the time since most language teachers preferred a student-centered approach, focusing on learning rather than instruction. Only about thirty years ago did the term CALL replace CALI which also focused more on self assistance over following instruction which in turn is why this is being re-incorporated more effective today. However I believe the use of computers and online information is still quite underused, for example, I personally learned most of my knowledge on the Japanese language online, starting off with learning their phonetic chart in the fashion of how the Japanese learn it themselves, along with the kanji, and other culture oriented knowledge to help get a better ‘feel’ for the language, such as from children’s stories, folklore and even music, this is all from learning online, while I have to admit I had to follow certain instruction from the various sites I have found for learning techniques and my own comparisons between the different data bases, it was mostly just assistance. On another note, I used to have a part time job of reading scripts for a company reviewing steroids and food supplements, I’m bringing this up because occasionally I would run into words that you cannot find in a traditional dictionary, most likely would be in a medical dictionary instead, I simply searched online how to pronounce these complex words and in no time at all, there it is, its even on Youtube, much as with almost everything else nowadays. The knowledge database of the internet grows exponentially as time passes, by, such is the way of technological advancement, and already on our smart phones we have multiple apps and even software on our computers that are specifically made to aid in language learning. In fact it may seem that technology is starting to replace positions of various employees, especially in the customer service aspect of businesses. However while it’s possible that A.I. may replace the teacher, I personally do not believe that the majority will accept that, we as teachers are still quite necessary for the learning of students who are not as inclined to self studying as some of us may be, we are the ones who can direct them to the utilization of the correct apps, or sites, or programs, if they did not know themselves before hand, we are the ones who manage the special groups and other students who were obliged to study a language. Everything from checking your progress can done with the help of a computer, you can connect with your teacher and classmates online, in fact teachers already do teach English and other languages online. If you had a classroom, of course learning how to set up an OHP is quite important, but simply bringing your laptop with you is enough, if you were teaching a small group of students with a number of less than ten, you could move around, also if all else are unavailable, bringing handouts and simply linking sites to the students through their social media accounts would be perfect homework. While its true that not all countries are as technologically advanced as we would like them to be, that is when the more traditional approach with materials and learning aides would be most beneficial, but again, we are in the modern day, and nowadays almost everyone knows how to use a computer or a smartphone for the most basic functions, yes there are special cases, but for the most part, we can simply teach them. There is so much CALL can offer us today, this is why I strongly believe that its utilization is paramount. In conclusion, it would be folly if we did not fully utilize the potential of CALL into our teaching structure, while its true that certain traditional approaches and materials still hold up today, just as society evolves, so should our methods to match the ever changing field of teaching and learning. I did not name the essay ‘is way of the future’ because the future is now. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-assisted_language_learning
