Whither CAI? The need for communicative courseware

Abstract

This article expresses our concern that computer-assisted instruction may be subject to the same fate as the language laboratory unless the courseware offered reflects current trends in language learning. We then go on to criticize current courseware available for language teaching as structure-bound and reflecting the audiolingual approach of the 1960s. We also criticize the tendency to use computer-generated enhancements to cover up essentially trivial or meaningless language exercises. The second half of the article reports on the work done by the authors in computer-assisted language instruction at Concordia University, Montreal, including the results of a questionnaire given to students. A number of insights and recommendations are summarized.