Innovation in Language Learning

Within any educational establishment the development of the use of CALL happens in phases. These phases are often driven by staffing serendipity - colleagues with an interest in CALL enthuse each other and innovation naturally follows on. Then staff leave, momentum is lost, and CALL falls into the doldrums until the cycle begins again.

The Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages invests in the sustainability of its CALL programme by offering all members of the Faculty the opportunity to complete a practical and theoretical qualification in Digital Humanities specifically tailored to the needs of teachers of language and literature. Senior professors and newly appointed junior Language Teaching Officers have all completed the course, as have many undergraduate and graduate students. 

By embedding our Certificate in Humanities Computing for Languages (CHUCOL) in our curriculum we are able to maintain a critical mass of suitably-qualified and motivated Faculty members to keep our CALL programme moving forward. Course participants’ initial confidence with technology varies hugely but everyone gets something from the course. CHUCOL is assessed by means of weekly coursework and two major projects the second of which results in the development of a significant online resource to support teaching in a given language or, for example, for a particular undergraduate course.

Students are encouraged to use Open Source solutions wherever possible resulting in some remarkably content-rich, sustainable and affordable solutions that colleagues can then modify for their own needs.

The Faculty appreciates that teaching staff have many demands on their time and the course is optional, so ubiquitous access to the materials using a variety of devices is essential as are effective means for online communication between staff and students throughout the course.

The investment necessary to maintain CHUCOL is not insignificant in terms of specialist staff time and resources within the Faculty and our Computing Service, but the Faculty believes the course represents time and money well-spent as the benefits to the institution and individuals within it are substantial.