Critical considerations for planning and implementing a CALL program

The field of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) has transformed dramatically—from the days of the behaviourist approach that dominated CALL in the 1970s to the dynamism of Interactive approach in the 1990s under the immense influence of information communication technology (ICT). Regardless of these periodic changes and improvements, successful implementation of CALL programs in schools decisively hinges on critical assessment and decisions that are undertaken by schools. As such, the responsibility of the technology adopters in this respect must reflect school’s aspirations and understandably, students’ abilities, interests and needs. This paper attempts to clarify these issues through a case study of implementation of CALL in an urban secondary school in Malaysia. The outcome of the case study establishes critical considerations that need to be arbitrated to successfully implement CALL programs for English language teaching (ELT) at the school level. (School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia)