At the annual TESOL convention in San Francisco in 1980, interested and curious participants attended Joan Jamieson's and my workshop introducing the use of computer software for teaching English as a second language (ESL). Joan and I had intended the workshop as a demonstration of existing ESL teaching software with an explanation of how such software is written and used in the curriculum. As newcomers to the profession, we had probably accepted uncritically the fact that the computer was used for teaching in the ESL program where we worked. We were therefore intrigued by questions from the audience about whether the computer should be used for language teaching. Various forms of this question – whether or not computers should be used for language teaching – were echoed throughout the following decade, but during the 1990s the question gradually changed from ‘Should the computer be used in second language teaching?’ to ‘How can the computer best be used in language teaching?’ As we enter the 21st century, everyday language use is so tied to technology that learning language through technology has become a fact of life with important implications for all applied linguists, particularly for those concerned with facets of second language acquisition (SLA).

Forward-looking members of the profession have suggested that the nature of communicative competence has changed in a world where communication occurs with computers and with other people through the use of computers.