Usability Tests in CALL Development
Marie-Josée Hamel, Catherine Caws · CALICO Journal · 2010
This article discusses CALL development from both educational and ergonomic perspectives. It focuses on the learner-task-tool interaction, in particular on the aspects contributing to its overall quality, herein called ‘usability.’ Two pilot studies are described that were carried out with intermediate to advanced learners of French in two different CALL contexts: the Dire autrement and the Francotoile projects. Both projects are CALL prototypes currently at different stages of development and requiring testing with learners in order to verify that they meet their specific requirements. Innovative methods and tools enabling the observation and analysis of learner behavior were used. Preliminary results show true insights on the learner-task-tool interaction, hence providing significant information for CALL content and interface development.