This paper summarizes the research described in a PhD thesis (Pujolă, 2000) which
presents a description of how learners use the help facilities of a web-based multimedia CALL program,
called ImPRESSions, designed to foster second language learners’ reading and listening skills and
language learning strategies. The study investigates the variation of strategy use in a CALL environment:
Twenty two Spanish adult students of English worked with the program in four sessions and their computer
movements were digital-video screen recorded. Together with direct observation and retrospective questions
a detailed picture of learners’ deployment of strategies was drawn. As the emphasis was on the
process rather than the product, the description and analysis of the data focus on the observation of the
language learning strategies learners deployed when using the help facilities provided: Dictionary,
Cultural Notes, Transcript, Subtitles and Play Controls, Feedback and an Experts module specifically designed
to provide the language learner training component of the program. The qualitative analysis of the
data indicates that many variables have an influence on the amount and quality of the use of the help
provided by the program, from the learners’ individual differences to the fact that the CALL
environment may prompt learners to behave or work in a different way from a more conventional type of
learning. The results of the study provide information for future CALL material design and the type of
research offers new possibilities for CALL research methods.
The effectiveness of an interactive multimedia program to influence eating habits
