The field of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) has developed and evolved rapidly over recent years. It now includes a wide range of new technologies of communication and information (ICTs) applied to the field of language learning. A closer examination reveals a steadily increasing level of specialization, particularly in efforts to refine the underlying philosophy and principles that support CALL design, evaluation, research, and practice. CALL has grown along both the horizontal and vertical axes: it has become a rich and diverse area of work with considerable depth. The richness and diversity is the result of many factors, which include the number and range of technological tools available with the potential for the use of CALL applications; an increasing understanding of how languages are learned; environmental factors that lead to a variety of properties, resources and objectives for different language learners in different settings, and particular challenges or qualities of the target language (Levy and Stockwell, 2006:2)
