CALL Teacher Development In A Graduate Course

The ongoing education reform launched in 2002 by MOE (Ministry of Education) called on EFL teachers to integrate ICT (Information and Communication Technology) into the English language teaching. But the fact is few teachers are found ready to teach with technology; also sparse data-based studies are found on Chinese EFL teacher development. To bridge the gap in this area, this research addresses important issues in the relevant constructivist thought and practice. The purpose of this study is to explore a group of participants' learning experiences in a graduate CALL course in order to describe and understand their perceptions in relation to CALL teacher knowledge and skills, their development process and some key factors of influence. Qualitative case study method has been employed to collect and analyze the data from multiple sources, such as a background survey, the writer's observation notes, the participants' learning products and an end-of-course written interview. The major findings of the study are summarized as follows:Firstly, those participants have undergone important perceptual changes after semester-long project-based learning in the graduate CALL course. Their focus on technical knowledge and skills before taking this course has gradually shifted to pedagogical knowledge of and skills in technology integration while constructing their CALL projects. Meanwhile, constructivism-based "learning-by-doing" approach is found particularly suitable for the CALL teacher development, although such perceptual changes are not an easy process for most participants who have been long used to the "leaning-by-listening" approach only.Secondly, the participants have experienced both self-directed and cooperative learning in this web-based graduate course on CALL. The individual CALL project construction and the social learning processes of interaction and collaboration are two most important change elements for participants' development of their pedagogical and technical knowledge and skills; while participants' own learning theory in action and the instructor's modeling and scaffolding play vital roles in the process.Thirdly, other factors of influence include well-equipped CALL classrooms as well as technology breakdowns. The former is beneficial for enriching the technology experiences, while the latter makes the learning and development process rather painful, sometimes fruitless. Another facilitating factor is participants' personal commitment coupled with their time and resource limits.Based on the above findings, the researcher makes the following suggestions to improve similar CALL teacher development programs, including incorporating CALL projects into curriculum design, creating opportunities for computer-mediated communication, paying special attention to the negative impact of traditional teacher-centered beliefs and motivating learners to make commitment to their learning.