Exploring Learners' CALL Experiences: A Reflection on Method.

While there has been discussion in the literature concerning the need to identify research methods appropriate to the investigation of computer-assisted language learning (CALL), what appears to be missing is an examination of the effectiveness of particular methods in specific circumstances. This article reflects on a configuration of methods—personal language learning histories, journals, video observation, interviews, and pre/post-language proficiency tests—used to explore the experiences of 23 French second-language learners as they worked independently with an interactive video program. While any one of these methods did not necessarily yield a lot of information, configured as a network they produced data which provided not only a picture of the learners' experiences from their point of view but the kind of information deemed crucial to further research and development in the field. In this case, the data suggested alternate theoretical directions, offere d insights into the learners' metacognition,...