O n f e r e n c e

Bio data 
Michael W. Marek
is a professor of Electronic Media in the Department of 
Communication Arts, Wayne State College, Wayne, Nebraska, USA. His interest in CALL 
instructional design stems from his media background in creating multimedia interactive 
materials for specific audiences and his expertise in educational psychology. His recent 
journal publications include 
CALL Journal
, 
Educational Technology and Society
, 
System
, 
and other CALL-related journals. In 2013 he led American students on a ten-week study 
abroad experience in Taiwan and Mainland China. He teaches hands-on media courses, 
as well as writing and marketing communications via social media. 
 
Wen-chi Vivian Wu
is a professor of the Department of English Language, and director 
of CALL R & D Center at Providence University in Taiwan. She has published extensively 
in CALL related journals. Her recent research areas include application of technology in 
instruction, CALL, mobile learning, teaching assistant robots, English for Specific 
Purposes, learner motivation for English as a global language, and learner-centered 
instruction. Over the past few years, she has integrated international experiences into 
her conversation and writing courses linking her students with college students and 
university professors in America. 
Abstract 
Leaders in the CALL field are urging a long-term focus for technology planning and 
instructional design, but the vast majority of published CALL studies report on year-long, 
semester-long, or even shorter tests of technology. This paper explores the interplay 
between long-term sustainable CALL instructional design and the short-
term “one
-
off” 
tests of CALL technology using a framework of constructivism, task-based instruction, 
and sustainable design.
Dörnyei (2014) called for CALL educational programs to employ holistic instructional 
designs that are based on long-term instructional outcome goals. Colpaert (2012) 
suggested that rather than studying the 
differences
that result from the use or non-use 
of a particular technology, researchers should better work to understand the 
affordances
provided by the technology. He said that instructional designers need to understand the 
ability that the technology provides to enhance an overall instructional design. Kennedy 
and Levy (2009) spoke disparagingly of what they called “one
-
off” projects that do not 
stand the test of time and advocated that technology choices should be long-term 
projects as opposed to short-term tests, hence the term 
sustainable design
.
The key inquiry question of this paper is: “What is the role of short
-term technology tests 
in developing long-
term sustainable CALL instructional designs?”
The authors conclude that the CALL profession needs shorter-term projects that help 
determine the affordances and pitfalls of specific technology applications in order to help 
understand which technologies best serve students.

---

-250- 
2014 CALL Conference 
LINGUAPOLIS
www.antwerpcall.be 
The profession also, however, urgently needs strategic development of long-term CALL 
resources that address specific goals for student outcomes. Shorter-term projects are 
often easier to conduct, given the pressure to publish, causing the CALL profession as a 
whole to sometimes exibit what psychologists call a Performance Orientation as opposed 
to a more beneficial Mastery Orientation. 
The authors offer recommendations about how short-term experimentation should 
dovetail with long-term strategic technology design for CALL.