The interaction between CALL and Endangered Languages (EL) is an under-researched and under-exploited field. It is perhaps no surprise that this should be the case as CALL in the EL context has to address additional requirements and deal with extra constraints over and above those that prevail in mainstream CALL. This article introduces the topic of Endangered Languages and lists two classifications for Endangered Languages (Terralingua, 2000; Unesco, 1993). It outlines why a language becomes endangered and why it is important to save ELs. It identifies the special constraints that prevail in the EL CALL situation. These constraints determine the EL CALL requirements. In a case study, a software template and suggested syllabus have been developed for the production of CALL materials for ELs. A working example of courseware developed using the template is presented. Finally, the cultural dimension of EL CALL is outlined.

In the rapidly changing scholarly communications landscape, article processing charges (APCs) have emerged as a complex issue with many implications for libraries. This paper explores the role of library consortia in relation to article processing charges (APCs) based on the results of a survey of international library consortia. The issues, challenges, and risks identified by respondents are discussed, as well as some of the potential larger implications of libraries" and library consortia"s involvement in this area.

There are many CALL resources available today but often they need to be adapted for level or culture. CALL practitioners would like to reuse currently existing material rather than reinvent the wheel, but often this is not possible. Thus, they end up building CALL material, both language content and software, from scratch. This is inefficient in terms of CALL practitioners’ time and as Felix (1999) points out, there is no point ‘doing badly’ what has already been done well. Why can’t we reuse what already exists? Often the language content is hard-wired in the software and cannot be modified or the CALL material comes as an executable which is hard or impossible to change. Authoring tools can provide a degree of flexibility, but often focus on particular parts of the language learning process (e.g. interactive exercises) and the associated language content cannot, in general, easily be exported into other formats and presentation software. One solution to this problem is provided by XML technologies. They provide a strict separation between data and processing. Thus, three types of reuse are possible: reuse of the data processing engine (i.e. the XSL processing files), reuse of the language content structure (i.e. the XML data files) and reuse the linguistic resources (i.e. the language content). In this paper, an example is given of a CALL template that has been developed using XML technologies. The template provides a structure into which the language content can be slotted and a processing engine to act upon the data to create CALL material. The template was developed for the production of CALL materials for Endangered Languages (ELs), but could be used for MCTLs (Most Commonly Taught Languages) and LCTLs (Less Commonly Taught Languages) also. It has been used to develop a language learning course for Nawat (a language of El Salvador), Akan (a Ghanaian language) and Irish, demonstrating the reusability of the language content structure as well as proving the reusability of the processing engine provided by the template. A further reusable feature is the ability to create courseware in different media (Internet, CD and print) from the same source language content.

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This paper considers the additional uses of CALL in the Endangered Language (EL) context. It briefly reviews ELs and reports on CALL for ELs in general. It then reviews the extra uses of CALL for ELs; these include changing negative attitudes towards the language, arousing interest in the language and contributing to language maintenance and documentation. In order to demonstrate the benefits of CALL for an EL, three examples are presented. Each of the ELs discussed in this paper could be considered to be on a different scale on the Fishman (1991) Scale for an EL. The first CALL application discussed is a program for Irish for primary school children. Irish is a Celtic language and is only regularly used by about 10,000 speakers in Ireland. The main aim of the program was to try to increase the children’s motivation to study Irish, which is a compulsory subject in schools in Ireland. The second application is a literacy program for Tojolab’al, a Mayan language spoken in Chiapas, Mexico. Tojolab’al could be considered to be a relatively stable language (30,000–40,000 speakers out of an ethnic population of about 80,000 people), but it has very few literate speakers. The idea of this project was to develop CALL courseware to teach literacy, beginning with the letters and then progressing to words and phrases. The third example is CALL courseware for Nawat, an Uto-Aztecan language of El Salvador. The remaining 150 speakers of Nawat are mainly elderly and illiterate and this courseware aimed to document and develop courseware for the language, while the remaining speakers were still alive. The paper concludes with lessons learnt for ELs in general from these three specific examples. It surmises that despite the difficulties involved in the CALL for EL context, if a pragmatic approach is adopted, CALL materials can have positive social benefits, which probably outweigh its contribution to language learning in the short-term. The effort involved in CALL for ELs is definitely worthwhile.