History of CALL and MALL - ELT and Language Learning

Hello Readers!

History of CALL - [add also about MALL -Mobile Assisted Language Learning. Refer to article by Agnes Kukulska-Hulme and Lesley Shield + your experience of using Mobile phone for learning/teaching]

CALL is the abbreviation of Computer Assisted Language Learning.

CALL is an umbrella term which moves towards language learning and it includes several other approaches.

MALL is another abbreviation related to language learning which is Mobile Assisted Language Learning. According to a scholarly article written by Agnes Kukulska-Hulme & Lesley Shield, there are several devices which can be very useful in language learning. Mobile phones, MP3 Players, PDA means Personal Digital Assistants like Palmtops and similar gadgets.

English language teaching has become easy and more accessible because of the implementation of MALL. There are some models in which learners get pre created content from teachers through their WAP enabled MP3 players or in mobile phones and with the help of the audio file or text file, learners get the material and instruction about the task.

Experience of using mobile phone for learning

Mobile phones are boon to the learners. Nowadays many websites are creating mobile applications also so, rather than going to web surfing and finding websites for language learning, it became easier to access apps in mobile phones. There are hundreds of application for language learning. In the early years of computers and mobiles, much reliance had to be on the specialized language laboratories but in two decades MALL has evolved as whole new model for ELT and ELL.

This includes the use of mobile applications along with internet web pages specially designed for language learning. There are several mobile applications which supports our LSRW skills.

BBC Learning English is one of the famous language learning apps.

Thank You!