Building the future by looking to the past: the evolution of research strands in influential CALL papers

Abstract

To trace the evolution of research strands in published Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) papers over time, a corpus of 426 highly-cited papers in four major CALL journals (ReCALL, CALL, LL&T, and CALICO Journal) was compiled and coded using NVivo 12. All identified aspects of technology-mediated language learning and teaching were collected to produce a comprehensive list of 690 recurring research strands and then, by adopting a constant comparison method, were merged to form 119 unique research strands. The top 10 alone represent almost half of all research strands: Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC), writing, vocabulary, feedback, evaluation, learning environment, telecollaboration, design, speaking, and grammar. This paper provides the rationale for the study along with the methodology for data collection and analysis, with a particular focus on the dominant and intermediary strands to inform future CALL publications.