Dear CALL-IS colleagues,

What does CALL mean nowadays? What was once called computer-assisted language learning has grown far beyond computers and welcomed all the technology that came after that. Should it have another name? Should it be TALL? After all, we talk now about technology-assisted language learning. Or would it be MALL, for multimedia-assisted? Whatever the name, the essence of the interest section (IS) remains.

Now that technology is ubiquitous, what is the need for a CALL-IS? I would say CALL-IS members are what make CALL-IS necessary—they are the first ones to try new technology and to think of novel ways it can be used in teaching. They help make technology invisible, so that ESL/EFL teachers and learners can focus on what matters.

Though you may argue there are other reasons for CALL-IS to exist, their roots would all end up in CALL-IS members. Their willingness to share knowledge and technology in the Electronic Village and Technology Showcase events at the TESOL convention is what makes CALL-IS relevant. And that is why it is important that, when TESOL introduces strands for the 2019 TESOL convention, CALL-IS members be prepared to take up this new concept.

TESOL created an Interest Section Task Force in 2015 that would make recommendations to strengthen these member communities. One of the recommendations is the creation of Communities of Practice (COPs), formed by professional learning networks (PLNs) and Interest Sections (ISs), which would substitute for Interest Sections and Forums, making them more dynamic and less bureaucratic, convention-related member communities. (Read this blog post by then TESOL President Dudley Reynolds for more information.)

CALL-IS has always welcomed changes and advances. And nothing changes faster than technology nowadays. The new format for COPs is the change CALL-IS faces now. That is why it is important now to know what CALL stands for and how it will continue to make a difference in and to the TESOL community. That is why CALL-IS members need to be prepared for the changes.

It will be great to hear from CALL-IS members and friends in response to the first question in this letter: What does CALL mean nowadays?

Best regards,

Claudio Fleury

Claudio Fleury is an EFL teacher at Casa Thomas Jefferson, Brasília, Brazil.