The recent history of the teaching of grammar, both for first- and second-language learning, has produced highly polarised and acrimonious debate. The repercussions have extended beyond the boundaries of linguistics into the social and political domain. The present generation of foreign-language undergraduates has been profoundly (if unknowingly) affected by this debate, as reflected in their approach to the learning of grammar, and any consideration of the methodology of language teaching, including that of CALL, must take account of it.

In the world of the 1990s, linguistic and traditional discipline boundaries are breaking down. Consequently, many companies and organisations are faced with considerable communication problems, including a growing need for translation. It has recently been estimated, for instance, that the number of pages translated in Western Europe in 1986 was 100 million; by 1987 this was said to have increased to 160 million. A number of factors have contributed to this growth in demand. Product cycles are shorter, requiring more frequent updating of documentation; documentation has become more complex, concomitant with the increasing complexity of technology; companies have begun to realise that multilingual markets are generally bigger than monolingual ones; and large companies are themselves often transnational.

Over the past two years, the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Wollongong (Australia) has developed a range of software, primarily for use with beginner foreign language students. This article looks at the project from three angles: a brief survey of CALL software produced; discussion of some of the elements which have combined to make the project successful; comments on the integration of CALL into the teaching program.

Several Modern Languages departments and Directors of Language Centres have approached the CTI Centre for Modern Languages for advice on networking CD-ROMs. Tim Hooton of Aston University has dealt with many of these queries on our behalf, and it is hoped that this article will prove useful to others who may be considering this issue.

This article examines the extent to which CALL and Communicative methodology are compatible. Although attempting to be relevant to language teaching in general, it is written from an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) perspective and considers only the British tradition of the Communicative Approach.

The issues relating to the application of technology to the teaching and learning of modern languages are far from simple. Such a wide range of disparate disciplines is involved that appropriate and effective solutions can only result from a cohesive integration of the diverse skills, expertise and experience that they encompass.

In this paper we describe the development of a teaching aid for the intensive study of Arabic text samples. To do this, we consider it more useful to adopt the standpoint of the Human-Computer Interface (HCI) engineer, rather than the educational theorist.

Most of the HCI problems we have encountered spring from unique features of the task domain (which is what HCI practitioners call the restricted world in which the computer-assisted worker lives and moves). All real-world applications have unique features. Not infrequently these loom large enough to dominate the design effort. By discussing what are admittedly unique features of the present project, we shall nevertheless cast light upon the general requirement for appropriate HCI tools and techniques in present-day teaching media. We also aim to share our experience of using HyperCard, running on the Apple Macintosh computer, as a course-authoring system.

In October 1992, I was awarded funding by the Edinburgh University Enterprise Centre for a ninemonth project entitled ‘The Development of Self-Directed Learning using Computers and Satellite TV’. The aim of the ‘computers’ half of the project was to find ways of getting first-year students to spend more time working by themselves on the quality of their written French.

Under the new Teaching & Learning Technology Programme, funded by the UFC/HEFC, the CTICML Modern Languages Consortium has been awarded the sum of £435K for the year from August 1992, with the expectation that further funding will be available over the following two years, bringing the total to £1.33m. The following account describes the background to the Consortium, the rationale behind it, and the outcomes expected from it.