The JALT Computer Assisted Language Learning Special Interest Group (JALTCALL SIG) is home to teachers and researchers who are curious about what happens when classroom practice meets digital technology. It specialises in everything from generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) implementations to virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), interactive and virtual environment (IVE), language apps, chatbots, and more. As one of JALT’s oldest and, currently, its second largest SIG (after College and University Educators [CUE]), we bring together educators from across Japan and around the world with a simple question: How can technology genuinely help our learners?
JALTCALL’s roots go back nearly 35 years. Starting in 1992 with the minimum 50 signatories, the group was originally known as the CALL N-SIG and was officially approved as a SIG in January 1993, thanks largely to the efforts of Professor Kazunori Nozawa, who became the first leader of the SIG, and other founding officers. By 1996, the group had grown to about 250 members and remains above 200 to the present.
The early focus on sharing practical experience and supporting colleagues continues to shape who we are today. What has not changed is our ongoing shared core belief that effective pedagogy must lead the application of technology, not the other way around. We therefore aim to create spaces where members can share practical classroom ideas, report on research, and discuss both the possibilities and the challenges new tools bring. Our events and publications are open: JALT or SIG membership is not required to attend, present, or submit, though we naturally encourage people to get more involved with our SIG.
Our ongoing mission is to support all teachers at all levels who are trying to make sense of technology in language learning and teaching. Collaboration is therefore a key part of our identity. JALTCALL regularly works with other SIGs and local chapters in addition to international CALL partners (https://jaltcall.org/worldwide-call/). For example, we regularly collaborate with SIGs like Listening, Vocabulary, and Teacher Development, and we have co-hosted online events with other groups, such as the EUROCALL AI SIG.
The most visible part of our activity is the annual JALTCALL conference. Over three days, participants join research presentations, hands-on workshops, forums, and poster sessions. Our upcoming conference, JALTCALL 2026: “Prevail or Fail?” (https://jaltcall2026.edzil.la/), will be held at Konan University’s Nishinomiya Campus from 12–14 June 2026. Under this theme, we invite educators, researchers, and technologists to explore how digital tools, pedagogical innovations, and AI are reshaping language teaching and learning in an age of rapid change and uncertainty. We are especially interested in honest stories of projects that prevailed, failed, or are still evolving.
Beyond events, our publications provide another key avenue for members to share their work. The JALT CALL Journal (https://jaltcall.org/jaltcall-journal/), now indexed twice as a Scopus Q1 journal, offers a venue for high-quality research articles in technology-based language learning. For more practical and exploratory work, our newer publication, JALTCALL Trends (https://jaltcall.org/jaltcall-trends/), features work-in-progress reports, classroom narratives, interviews, and think-pieces aimed at helping teachers bridge the gap between deeper theory and practical day-to-day practice. Both publications actively encourage contributions from experienced researchers and teachers who may be publishing for the first time.
In addition, we maintain a web presence (https://jaltcall.org/), an active newsletter, a newly commenced podcast (https://jaltcall.org/podcast/), and social media channels (Facebook, Twitter (X), LinkedIn, and YouTube) to help members stay informed and connected between conferences. These spaces are used to announce events, highlight member projects, and share resources. They also function as informal support networks, where teachers can ask questions, troubleshoot new tools, or find potential collaborators for a project or study.
Ultimately, JALTCALL is less about gadgets and more about community, though arguably, all learning and teaching is now inextricably CALL-based in some way. We are a group of teachers trying, sometimes imperfectly, to use technology in order to make language learning more engaging, equitable, and effective. We warmly welcome anyone who shares that goal to join our events, read and write for our publications, and help us continue the conversation about what CALL can look like in the years ahead. To that end, please feel free to contact us via our website (https://jaltcall.org/about/). We look forward to hearing from you.
