Quelles machines pour enseigner la langue

This paper first presents a history of Computer-Assisted Learning (CAL), setting its origins in the 1920s with the invention of mechanical learning machines. The use of the computer then allowed the development of different types of language learning activities: comprehension tasks, simulations, etc. However, without the contribution of natural language processing (NLP), these activities are of limited use. We address the problem of the integration of NLP in CALL systems while summing up the challenges this integration has to overcome today and synthesize the workshop presentations. These presentations deal with a range of issues from error detection and correction to the extension of electronic dictionaries through the implementation of comprehensive language learning tools. We will see that the key to the integration of NLP in CALL is in the pluridisciplinary work between didacticians, IT and NLP specialists.