COMPUTER-ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING: CONTEXT ANDCONCEPTUALIZATION.Michael Levy. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997. Pp.xv + 298. $26.00 paper.

Abstract

In the book Computer-assisted language learning: Context and conceptualization, Levy sets out in the preface to (a) “circumscribe Computer-Assisted Language Learning [CALL] for the purpose of teaching it” (p. xi), (b) build on previous work rather than being led by technological innovation, and (c) “understand better the relationship between theory and application” (p. xi). Two hundred thirty-two pages later (plus 66 pages of appendices and references), it is clear that the book delivers its promise. The author bases the book on previous work and addresses a perpetual problem in CALL—reinventing the wheel. Moreover, Levy links the history of CALL with the present and combines a very thorough literature review with survey data about CALL materials development.