JALTCALL, the JALT (Japan Association for Language Teaching) SIG (special interest group) for Computer-Assisted Language Learning is a nonprofit organisation focussed on technology in language learning. The SIG was formed in the early 1990s by a small group of educators who saw the great potential for using computers in language education. Since then, a myriad of technologies has evolved, and the computer is no longer the only, or even the main, focus of the SIG. Our goal is to encourage and disseminate research into both the practical applications and the theoretical issues that are connected with new (and older) educational technologies. We hope you will read the JALTCALL Journal that comes out 3 times a year (see the archives on this website) and join us at our annual conference or our Teaching’n’Technology workshops (held the day before the annual JALT International Conference in November).
Officers
President – Robert Swier
Treasurer – Michael Phillips
Membership Chair – Sammy Woldeab
Program Chair – Brian Teaman
Publications Chair – Todd Cooper
Publicity Chair – Bradley Irwin
Journal Editor – Glenn Stockwell, Nobue Tanaka-Ellis
Web Administrator – Luc Gougeon
Japanese Language Coordinator – Natsuho Mizoguchi
Grants Officer – Michael Hofmeyr
PanSIG Liaison – Brian Gallagher
Member at Large – Paul Daniels, Robert Remmerswaal, James York
Our History
This SIG (originally called the N-SIG) was formed in the 1990s. If you’d like to know a little more about how we began, read these messages from our co-founders.
Kazunori Nozawa, Co-founder and the first Chair
Since many members were interested in the field of CALL, we were very enthusiastic to form an N-SIG to share information and ideas. After a year-long effort, a petition of its official formation was sent and CALL N-SIG was officially approved at the ExCom in January 1993 and started its active involvement and contribution. Special thanks go to Kenji Kitao, Bob Shaw, Steve McGuire, Shuji Ozeki and other former officers who were always supportive and helped a lot from the beginning.
David Kluge, Co-founder, first Program Chair and the Second Chair
Japan, the land of technology, was slow in joining the CALL revolution, pretty much just entering it in 1990 or so. In 1992 Kazunori Nozawa, professor at Toyohashi University of Technology, saw the need for a network to help people who are interested in CALL to share their knowledge, experience, problems, and questions. He unflaggingly worked to collect 50 members so that the CALL group could be officially recognized as a JALT entity in 1993. In our first year we put out several newsletters and held a conference on computers and composition. In our second year we put out some more excellent newsletters, published the proceedings of the conference, held a software fair, participated in several regional conferences, and most exciting, we started our own Internet list for EFL in Japan, JALTCALL. In our third year we put out some excellent newsletters, held a software fair, provided 3 days of excellent CALL programming at JALT’s international conference, JALT95, and at regional conferences, and started our electronic journal, JALTCALL-EJ. In the meantime, we grew from 50 members in 1993 to about 250 members in the beginning of 1996.