LINC and CLIC: Looking Back, Looking Forward

Singh, D., & Blakely, G. (2012). LINC and CLIC: Looking Back, Looking Forward. INSCAN Special Issue on Settlement Language Training, (Spring), 7–11.

Retrievable From: http://torontonorthlip.ca/sites/torontonorthlip.ca/files/v24_se.pdf

This article provides a very useful overview of the history and development of language training in Canada since the inception of federally funded Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) and Cours de langue pour les immigrants au Canada (CLIC) in 1992. The article also addresses the increasingly important role of learning technologies in language training and the opportunities for extending the reach of programming through the use of online and blended learning to maximize the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of language training across the country.

Evaluating computer technology for language learning

Chapelle, C. (2010). Evaluating computer technology for language learning. Contact, 36(2), 56–62.

Retrievable From:

http://www.teslontario.net/uploads/publications/researchsymposium/ResearchSymposium2010.pdf

This article presents a review and evaluation of research on the effectiveness of technology in second language teaching and learning. The article draws on studies that compared classes using technology and those that do not, surveys of instructors’ and learners’ opinions about the use of technology in language learning, and discourse analysis of learners’ performance in a computer-assisted environment. The author points to the difficulties and complexities of establishing the factors that support successful language learning and cautions that claims made by developers of commercial software for language learning  need to be verified  “on the ground” by observational research on students’ use of technology and on actual reports from instructors and students on their use of technology.