Toward an Ecological CALL: Update to Garrett (1991) BARBARA A. LAFFORD Arizona State University School of International Letters and Cultures P.O. Box 870202 Tempe, AZ 85287-0202 Email: barbara.lafford@asu.edu This introduction to the 2009 Modern Language Journal Focus Issue uses the lens of an ecolog- ical perspective on the acquisition of second languages to provide additional insights into the contributions by various computer-assisted language learning (CALL) scholars to this update on Garrett (1991), “Technology in the service of language learning: Trends and issues.” After providing a thematic overview of the trends and issues discussed by Garrett (1991, this issue) and the other contributors, I discuss the most salient themes and controversies mentioned by the Focus Issue authors, including CALL and second language acquisition theory, empirical research and CALL, creation and use of CALL materials and technologies, social networking, assessment, the need for teacher training, and professional rewards. This introduction con- cludes with a section on the future of CALL as an independent field and with a look at future research and practical applications of CALL. THE THEME OF THE FIRST MODERN LAN- guage Journal (MLJ ) Focus Issue (91, 2007), “Sec- ond Language Acquisition Reconceptualized? The Impact of Firth and Wagner (1997),” fo- cused on ideas raised by Firth and Wagner (1997) regarding the theme of cognitive versus social approaches to the study of second language ac- quisition (SLA). In my introduction to that issue, I suggested that the adoption of a dialectical ap- proach (Ellis & Larsen-Freeman, 2006; Lantolf, 2007) “that calls for a unified organic synthesis of the insights derived from both cognitively and socially oriented SLA research” (Lafford, 2007a, p. 751) would allow scholarship from both tradi- tions to inform what we know about the dynamic interplay of multiple factors that affect an indi- vidual’s acquisition of a second language (L2) in various contexts of learning. In that same Focus Issue, Block (2007) dis- cussed two fields of study that could assist SLA scholars in their investigation of the cognitive and social factors involved in language acquisition: re- The Modern Language Journal, 93, Focus Issue, (2009) 0026-7902/09/673–696 $1.50/0 C 2009 The Modern Language Journal search on language learning in study-abroad con- texts and computer-mediated communication. The first of these topics was explored by the next addition to the MLJ Focus Issue/Monograph se- ries, Celeste Kinginger’s (2008) monograph Lan- guage Learning in Study Abroad: Case Studies of Americans in France . This study used both formal assessments (quantitative test scores of general language abilities from the Test de Franc ¸ais Inter- national, role-plays, and a Language Awareness In- terview) and qualitative data from journals, inter- views, and researcher observations to investigate the relationship among particular linguistic out- comes, individual factors, and the sociocultural context. This 2009 Focus Issue explores an issue related to the second topic discussed by Block— computer-assisted language learning (CALL)— and revisits issues brought to light by Nina Garrett in her 1991 article “Technology in the Service of Language Learning: Trends and Issues.” Egbert’s (2005) definition of CALL as “learners learning language in any context, with, through, and around computer technologies” (p. 4) seems to reflect the usage of this term by most Focus Is- sue authors. Garrett (this issue) also notes the use of the term technology-enhanced language learning