Keywords

Computer-assisted Language Learning, CALL evaluation, language learning

Abstract

Searching prestigious Computer-assisted Language Learning (CALL) journals for references to key publications and authors in the field of evaluation yields a short list. The American Journal of Evaluation—the flagship journal of the American Evaluation Association—is only cited once in both the CALICO Journal and Language Learning and Technology (Blyth & Davis, 2007). Only two articles in these journals have cited Robert Stake, Robert Yin, Daniel Stufflebeam, Michael Scriven, or Michael Patton, five of the most influential evaluators of our generation. Prestigious CALL journals lacked references to formal evaluation literature, which provides a wealth of information regarding effective evaluation processes.

We reviewed prominent CALL evaluation frameworks and literature in formal evaluation. A comparison of CALL evaluation with formal evaluation showed some gaps in CALL evaluation. Practices and insights from the field of evaluation would benefit CALL researchers and practitioners with regard to conducting systematic evaluations that report evaluation findings that other researchers and practitioners find useful. The proposed evaluation framework includes common evaluation tasks conducted by evaluators in the field of formal evaluation to produce a workflow model for designing and conducting evaluations in CALL. Implications for CALL evaluators and stakeholders indicate several areas for improvement in CALL evaluation.

Original Publication Citation

McMurry, B., West, R. E., Rich, P., Williams, D. D., Anderson, N. J., & Hartshorn, K. J.,(2016). An evaluation framework for CALL.TESL-EJ,20(2), 1-31.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2016-8

Publisher

TESL-EJ

Language

English

College

Humanities

Department

Linguistics

University Standing at Time of Publication

Assistant Professor

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Linguistics Commons

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