CALL Research in Iran: An Integrative Review of the Studies between 2007 and 2019

Abstract

Many countries all around the world have significantly contributed to the development of the multidisciplinary field of computer-assisted language learning (CALL). Thus far, several international reviews have demonstrated a worldwide view of CALL. However, the analysis of the development of CALL in individual countries, especially the highly contributing countries, is still under-researched in the related literature. The Islamic Republic of Iran has been identified as one of those contributing countries for which there is no record of the trends of CALL. Accordingly, the present integrative review tried to investigate how the field has been developed from its official emergence in 2007 up to 2019 in Iran. A total of 687 publications were scrutinized regarding the publication year, types of research, highly/poorly studied topics, key theories/models, context and sample participants, and key technologies. Contrary to many publications and the overall increasing trend of CALL, fluctuations in the number of publications resemble an unsteady trend of CALL in Iran. Extensive focus on quantitative methods and adult language learners at universities and language institutes, the repetitive study of some specific topics, lack of theoretical basis for the studies, and lack of studies on teachers and languages other than English are found as central concerns in Iran-based CALL. Based on the findings, we offered some implications to support transferring emergent CALL to established CALL in Iran.