The 17th International Conference of the Asia Association of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (AsiaCALL), in association with VLTESOL, was hosted by Van Lang University (VLU) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on January 22-23, 2021. AsiaCALL is a research and professional association dedicated to bringing people together in research and professional ventures. It is also committed to enabling everyone to have access to new knowledge and encouraging collaboration in new technology-based ventures relating to language education. To this end, it has always been successful in finding ways of bringing together researchers and practitioners from all over the world, and Asia in particular, with no regard to status, income, or experience to attain the highest levels of intellectual and cultural diversity as a way of enriching the field of technology and language learning.

2021 is no exception, and it is made more challenging by the Covid-19 pandemic that is sweeping the world. Covid-19 has touched the lives of a huge number of people, and its aftermath will impact the lives of all inhabitants of the planet, perhaps forever. This is why Covid-19 has been incorporated into the conference theme. We note that many people have devoted their time and energy to analyze the situation and arrive at conclusions about how to ensure good language education given the limitations on travel and contact that we all have to endure. This year's theme was "CALL in Asia and the World in the COVID and post-COVID eras: Innovative Scholarship, Practical Solutions, Enhanced Sustainability." The AsiaCALL community responded strongly to this challenge through its various research agenda. Indeed, we are very proud to have received 110 abstracts from a little more than 200 authors covering the entire range of topics specified in the conference theme. Of course, these 200 authors come from Vietnam but also from 14 other countries, and every continent. They truly represent the intellectual and cultural capital and diversity that defines our existence and enriches us all. All full papers were reviewed in a double-blind process. Thirty-nine papers were selected for the Proceedings published through Atlantis Press, and sixteen were placed in the AsiaCALL Online Journal.

Six Keynote and Plenary Speeches were presented by (1) Professor Dr. Andrew P. Lian, Professor of Foreign Language Studies, Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand; Ho Chi Minh City Open University, Vietnam; Professor Emeritus, University of Canberra, Australia; President of AsiaCALL, (2) Professor Dr. M. Rafael Salaberry, Mary Gibbs Jones Professor of Humanities; Research Director, Center for Languages and Intercultural Communication, Rice University, USA, (3) Dr. Phan The Hung, Dean, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Van Lang University, Chair of AsiaCALL2021 and VLTESOL, (4) Associate Professor Dr. Pham Vu Phi Ho, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Van Lang University, Vietnam, Vice-President for Administrative Affairs of AsiaCALL, (5) Dr. Ania B. Lian, Senior Lecturer in Education, College of Education, Charles Darwin University, Australia, Vice-President of AsiaCALL for Research and Innovation, (6) and Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Vu, Vice-Rector, Hoa Sen University, Vietnam.

In closing, I should like to express AsiaCALL's heartfelt gratitude to all who helped make this conference possible, from the workers on the ground to the conference's principal organizers. In particular, I wish to thank Van Lang University for making its wonderful facilities available both physically and virtually. Without Van Lang University's support, this conference would certainly not have happened. Very special thanks indeed also go to Associate Professor Dr. Pham Vu Phi Ho from the Faculty of Foreign Languages of Van Lang University, who organized every aspect of this conference, and Dr. Phan The Hung, Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Van Lang University. We are honored that he accepted to be the Chairman of AsiaCALL2021. In that capacity, he has played a critically important part in creating the best possible environment for the conference. Sponsors are of great importance, too, and we wholeheartedly recognize their continuing support for AsiaCALL.

Finally, I wish to thank the participants. You are the most important people here as you are the very lifeblood of any conference or association. Congratulations on choosing to connect with AsiaCALL2021, and may your deliberations and friendships, both old and new, grow to be warm and fruitful. We look forward to reading, in these Proceedings, your significant contributions to AsiaCALL2021.

Professor Dr. Andrew P. Lian
President of AsiaCALL