Since its inception in 1989, the CTI (Computer in Teaching Initiative) Centre for Modern Languages has been based in the Language Institute at the University of Hull, United Kingdom, and aims to promote and encourage the use of computers in language learning and teaching. The Centre provides information on how computer assisted language learning (CALL) can be effectively integrated into existing courses and offers support for language lecturers who are using, or who wish to use, computers in their teaching.
June Thompson, Manager of the Centre, answered my questions in his e-mail of
December 14, 1998.
ML: "How do you see multilingualism on the Internet?"
JT: "The Internet has the potential to increase the use of foreign languages, and our organisation certainly opposed any trend towards the dominance of English as the language of the Internet. An interesting paper on this topic was delivered by Madanmohan Rao at the WorldCALL conference in Melbourne, July 1998." [See details of the forthcoming conference book]
ML: "What did the use of the Internet bring to the life of your organization?"
JT: "The use of the Internet has brought an enormous new dimension to our work of supporting language teachers in their use of technology in teaching."
ML: "How do you see the future of Internet-related activities as regards languages?"
JT: "I suspect that for some time to come, the use of Internet-related activities for languages will continue to develop alongside other technology-related activities (e.g. use of CD-ROMs - not all institutions have enough networked hardware). In the future I can envisage use of Internet playing a much larger part, but only if such activities are pedagogy-driven. Our organisation is closely associated with the WELL project [Web Enhanced Language Learning] which devotes itself to these issues."
Hosted by the CTI Centre for Modern Languages and the University of Hull (United Kingdom), EUROCALL is the European Association for Computer Assisted Language Learning. This association of language teaching professionals from Europe and worldwide aims to: promote the use of foreign languages within Europe; provide a European focus for all aspects of the use of technology for language learning; enhance the quality, dissemination and efficiency of CALL (computer assisted language learning) materials; and support Special Interest Groups (SIGs): CAPITAL (Computer Assisted Pronunciation Investigation Teaching and Learning), a group of researchers and practitioners interested in using the computers in the domain of pronunciation in the widest sense of the word, and WELL (Web Enhanced Language Learning), which will provide access to high-quality Web resources in 12 languages, selected and described by subject experts, plus information and examples on how to use them for teaching and learning.
Internet Resources for Language Teachers and Learners offers several categories of links: general languages resources (centres and departments, dictionaries and grammars; discussion lists; distance language learning; fonts; journals; linguistics; lists and indexes; miscellaneous; newspapers and periodicals; organizations; resource sites; software; translation and interpreting); language-specific resources; multilingual language sites; search engines and indexes; and commercial language sites (audiovisual, language schools, resources and directories, software).