O n f e r e n c e

 
Organization 
 
Scientific Committee 
The Editorial Board of the CALL Journal 
Programme Committee 
Jozef Colpaert, editor of the CALL Journal (Taylor & Francis) 
Mike Levy, Phil Hubbard and Glenn Stockwell, associate editors of the CALL Journal 
(Taylor & Francis) 
Conference Manager 
Ann Aerts, University of Antwerp - L
INGUAPOLIS
, Belgium 

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-11- 
2014 CALL Conference
LINGUAPOLIS
www.antwerpcall.be 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
INVITED KEYNOTE SPEAKERS 

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-12- 
2014 CALL Conference
LINGUAPOLIS
www.antwerpcall.be 
Piet Desmet 
KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium 
[e-mail] 
The Siren CALL of Technology. Back to Pedagogical Basics! 
Bio data 
Piet Desmet is Full Professor of French and Applied linguistics and Computer-Assisted 
Language Learning at KU Leuven and KU Leuven KULAK. He coordinates the iMinds-
research team ITEC (
Interactive Technologies
), focusing on domain-specific educational 
technology with a main interest in language learning & technology. He leads a range of 
research projects in this field devoted amongst others to the integration of HLT into CALL 
and to the effectiveness of adaptive and personalized learning environments. He is the 
National Representative of EUROCALL for Belgium. 
Abstract 
One of the main contextual challenges every CALL researcher and practitioner is 
confronted with is the widespread and somewhat naive idea that since teens are all born 
as digital natives and since technology has be
come mainstream, today’s education is 
technology-driven or is not. Policy makers, civil society and parents tend to conceive of 
education as one of the most conservative institutions to the extent teachers are not yet 
unanimously convinced of the evident benefits of the large-scale use of digital solutions. 
However attractive may be the sirene call of technology, technology is nothing more than 
a means to an end. So let’s move beyond the (Ed
-)Tech Hype and rather focus on 
perceived usefulness, actual use and learning effectiveness of technology-enhanced 
language learning. It’s all about pedagogical quality and added value.
The central aim of 
this presentation is to offer a series of concrete use cases in which technology does make 
the difference from a pedagogical point of vue.