Glossary of CALL Terms
The following is a glossary of terms used in CALL; many of these terms are dealt with more fully in the ICAL CALL Certificate course.
Antivirus Security Software
a program that checks whether a computer has been infected by viruses, spyware, or other malware
Authorable
programs that enable the user to change and adapt the materials for their own needs, as opposed to closed programs that are ready made and cannot be changed
CALL
computer assisted language learning
Concordancer
a program which rapidly scans texts to show where and how certain words and phrases occur (whereas a dictionary shows the meaning, a concordancer shows the use)
Configuration
settings on the computer, e.g. the programs installed, the sound, the size of fonts on the screen, the number of users who can use it, the availability of programs to those users
DTP
desktop publishing enables a small business or an individual to produce professional-quality materials on the premises inexpensively and quickly without the need for outside typesetting or printing facilities
electronic mail – A system for sending and receiving messages electronically over a computer network, as between personal computers
Forums
a medium for open discussion or voicing of ideas on a website, for example, see the ICAL Forums
Hardcopy
a printed version, on paper, of a document or file (as oppose to a version of a file stored on a disk drive)
Hardware
the physical equipment which makes up a computer, e.g. the monitor, the keyboard, the mouse, etc (q.v. Software)
Install
To add a program to a computer. For example, if you buy a new CALL program to test Phrasal Verbs it will probably arrive on a CD. You put this in the computer and it copies certain files over to your computer and then configures your computer to run the program properly. This is installation.
Key pals
email pen pals
Local Copy
A website is usually housed on a server connected to the internet. You will need an internet connection to see it. However, you can also download the entire website (or just the relevant pages) to your computer and have what is called a local copy. You can access this at any time you need without having to be connected to the internet.
Mailing Lists
a group who share information using open or public emails; some mailing lists (such as the ICAL mailing list) are like newsletters which offer regular information through a well formatted email whilst others allow each user to send comments and questions to all other members of the list (q.v. forums)
Malware
short for malicious software, is software designed to infiltrate a computer system without the owner's informed consent
Monitor
another word for screen, the piece of hardware that is used to display visually what is being generated by the computer. These are not permanent images
Network
a computer network is a set of computers or devices that are connected with each other to carry on data and share information
Server
a powerful computer which controls the network
Software
the programs installed on a computer, e.g. Firefox, Microsoft Word, Outlook Express, etc (q.v. #hardware Hardware)
URL
An URL is the address of a page or website; it can be seen by checking the top bar of the browser. For example, the URL of this page is:
http://icalweb.com/wiki/index.php?title=Glossary_of_CALL_Terms
The URL of the ICAL website is:
http://icalweb.com
USB Flash drive
USB flash drives are compact file storage devices to save your information externally; the end of the flash drive is inserted into the USB port on the computer
USB port
a USB port is an interface on the computer that enables you to connect a Universal Serial Bus (USB) device
User Friendly
when something is fairly simple to use and understand, in such a way that the user feels comfortable with it immediately, it is user friendly; compare this to user unfriendly for example when a manual is written in very complicated terms which a layman can't understand easily
Video Clip
a short piece of video shown on a computer, e.g. ICAL Videos
