Monica Ward's main area of interest is CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning). Within CALL, Ms. Ward is specifically interested in CALL for Endangered Languages and the integration of Computational Linguists techniques into CALL.

CALL materials have been developed and used for the world's major languages (e.g. English, French, German). However, CALL development can be complex and require multi-disciplinary skills including linguistic, pedagogical and programming skills. There are over 6,000 languages in the world today but the vast majority of them are in danger of disappearing. Ms. Ward has developed a template for the development of a CALL program for endangered languages that enables people working with endangered languages to develop CALL materials. She has used the template to produce a CALL program for the Nawat (Pipil) language of El Salvador.

Ms. Ward is interested in Computational Linguistics (CL) and the use of Natural Language Processing (NLP) in the language learning process. She is particularly interested in the use of XML technologies and linguistic databases, learning process, in general, and CAI (Computer Assisted Instruction). Her current research includes investigating the potential of CL techniques in CALL in primary schools in Ireland (specifically for Irish). She is also working on a multi-dimensional cross-classification model for CL and CALL.