English Language Journal Vol 4, (2011) 126-146 ISSN 1823 6820

Fusing CALL with SALL: the Good English Language Learner Community on Facebook As a Case in Point
Zarlina Mohd Zamari 1 Airil Haimi Mohd Adnan 1&2 1 Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Perak, Malaysia 2 English Language Self-Access Centre, Centre for Academic Development, University of Auckland, New Zealand

Abstract Even if computer aided language learning (CALL) and self-access language learning (SALL) have been widely talked about in ELT, the implementation of both has been erratic. Simultaneously, the expansion of information and communication technologies has led to a transformation in learning involving CALL and SALL. Today anyone, anywhere with access to a computer and the Internet is able to learn English independently. Due to this, one of us (Airil) started a virtual community named the Good English Language Learner (GELL) on the Facebook social networking platform to take advantage of all it has to offer towards achieving the pedagogical targets of CALL and SALL. More than half a year later with 2,500+ community members from 19 countries, the community is a site ripe for research into online English language learning. With the help of real examples from GELL on Facebook, we study the opportunities that social networks afford language learners and instructors by means of our own 5-point computer-aided self-access language learning (CASA-LL) framework. Using the CASA-LL framework we also investigate the present-day feel of online language learning and we underline both the positive and negative aspects of online English language teaching using GELL on Facebook as our case in point. Keywords CALL, SALL

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