How in-service language teachers become effective users of CALL for online teaching and learning : a case study of their development processes in a transformative online teacher training and development course

Abstract

The design of courses for training teachers in the use of technology for language learning is a continuing focus of interest in the teacher training community, and standards have been proposed regarding the skills and knowledge that teachers need in order to use technology with their learners. However, the issue is not only what teachers need to know and can do with technology, but how teacher training courses can be created in ways as to help teachers to both implement technology effectively and keep pace with technological advances. Evidence about the process of developing those skills and knowledge is therefore central to the design of teacher training courses which are both effective and sustainable, in the sense of being adaptable to different contexts and changes in the technology. This thesis directly engages with the transformative processes experienced by language educators learning how to use technology for online language teaching. By examining how teachers develop their CALL competence for online language teaching, it is possible to suggest strategies to improve models for teacher professional development in CALL. This investigation is a case study of 8 in-service English language teachers in Chile who participated voluntarily in a guided online training and development course for Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) during 8 weeks. This course supported the teachers’ integration of theory, practice and reflection and was delivered via the virtual learning environment Moodle. The design of the course was based upon four main components, namely socio-constructivism, transformative learning, the community of inquiry model and the skills for online language teaching. Evaluative instruments such as pre- and post-course online questionnaires and interviews, the teachers’ log files and discussion forums and blogs posts in Moodle were applied to collect data. These data were analysed using Content analysis and descriptive statistics in order to uncover the teachers’ developmental processes. ii The findings of this study highlight the relevance of both collaborative and individual reflection to developing CALL skills and knowledge in CALL teacher education. The presence of an online tutor was also identified as key to promoting teaching presence in the online course. Additionally, the results suggest that a spiral rather than a linear of pyramid model provides a better representation of how the teachers developed their CALL skills and knowledge for online language teaching. The outcomes show that the teachers improved their understanding of using online resources and gained the confidence they needed to apply that technology effectively in their language courses, a process that the study refers to as the development of ‘digital self-esteem’. Based on an in depth consideration of the developmental processes revealed in this study, proposals are made for further research and recommendations are made for improvements to the design of the online training and development course.