In both SLA and CALL (computer-assisted language learning) research, a new perspective may be found in ecological approaches, e.g., van Lier (2004), who takes an ecological world view and applies it to language education. Ecology broadly studies organisms in their relations with their environment. Van Lier’s approach thus incorporates many different perspectives with regard to language learning, e.g., sociocultural theory, semiotics, ecological psychology, and the concepts of self and identity. Key constructs in this approach to language learning are affordances and scaffolding, with an affordance defined as the relationship between an organism and something in the environment that can potentially be useful for that organism. Technology is viewed as a source of affordances and learning opportunities for language learners. Appropriate scaffolding, i.e., help from peers, teachers, or technology itself, might also be necessary, and this is a core feature of telecollaboration.

Ecological Approaches to SLA and Technology (Leo van Lier): Ecological approaches to SLA are premised on a holistic view of human-world interrelations and the notion of affordance-effectivity pairings that help to better understand human activity and functioning. To many educators, technology and ecology are irreconcilable opposites. Yet, educationally speaking, they turn out to be perfectly compatible. This presentation examines the ways in which the Internet is an emergent resource, a social tool, and a multimodal repository of texts. The ecological affordances of CALL will be illustrated in terms of activity through, with, at and around computers.