Welcome note from Dr. Gerard Louis, Pro Vice-Chancellor & Dean of HELP University

Welcome to the GLoCALL Virtual Conference, 2021!

This conference was meant to happen last year as an in-person conference but the global pandemic changed all our lives. In more ways than one, it changed the way educators and teachers the world over approached teaching and learning. GloCALL as an organization has been about promoting the use of computer technology to make language learning more effective. The pandemic has seen to it that rather than promote the use of technology in teaching, it has become imperative that technology is used, regardless of whatever reservations or resistance educators may have had in the past regarding its use. It has taken close to 70 years or more, since Computer Assisted Language Learning came into existence in the 1950s, for all those involved in language teaching and learning to finally embrace this approach. As the saying goes, never waste a good pandemic!

Over the last 20 months, Language teachers and academics at all levels have experimented and researched innovative ways to use of technology to deliver lessons virtually. Others had to find ways to manage or create online assessment tools that replaced the more traditional forms of pencil and paper in person assessments, while ensuring the same academic rigour in those assessments. Still others looked at the challenges and level of engagement of online learning and its impact on the well-being of its learners. These are just some of the areas of exploration and study that participants to this year’s conference will have the opportunity to listen to. We are also extremely delighted that we have such an international panel of presenters from so many different countries share their research findings and experiences with computer assisted learning over this period of the pandemic. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Assoc. Prof. Goh Lay Huah, Dr. Anna Nirmala, my colleagues from the Departments of Education and English as well as members of the GLoCALL International Committee who have worked tirelessly to put this conference together. Thank you all for joining us at HELP University, Malaysia for GLoCALL 2021 and we look forward to welcoming you virtually soon.