Integrated Call Approach To Course Design For English Majors

The present study was undertaken to find out a new approach to course design from a different perspective of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) for the construction of a new design model especially for language courses of English majors in China. Such a different perspective refers to the Integrated CALL, which suggests a state of"normalization"in which the technology should be invisible and"truly integrated into a (language) classroom or into an institution or into a particular (language) teacher's practice"(Bax 2003: 23). Such a new course design approach refers to an attempt to guide language teachers to truly integrate the worldwide widely used Microsoft Office applications software and China's most popular free instant messaging computer program QQ into designing their own courses in a systematic way. The guidelines to be stated are composed of a flow chart for formulating the process and a modeling course package for managing the products, both of which work together to construct a new course design model for college language teachers in the 21st century. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to confirm the Integrated CALL approach, modify the established course design theories, and construct a new course design model; and to provide practical solutions to the existing problems in technological factors in teaching language courses and teaching methods used for English majors in China.The dissertation grows out of a dual concern for the Integrated CALL approach and the frameworks approach as well as the systematic approach to course design along with theories on design-based research (DBR) in CALL as well as performance based assessment for English teaching. More specifically, the frameworks approach highlights the product while the systematic approach focuses on the process. Thus, the research questions are addressed for present study as follows: 1. Both the product and the process are essential to course design, so in what ways can the frameworks approach and the systematic approach mesh to design a frameworks-based course in a systematic way?2. According to the Integrated CALL, technology is involved and made invisible, so in what ways does it function for such meshing purposes?3. If such a meshing approach is used, what process should be followed? And what products can be seen?4. What features does the new approach have, so the present study has theoretical and practical value for language teaching and learning for English majors in China?To answer the above questions, a case study of the RPW course for junior English majors was conducted in School of Foreign Languages and Cultures (SFLC), Ningxia University, from late February till early July 2009. Qualitative study was dominant for a holistic view of the process of designing the course.Results show that two phases are formulated to implement the integrated CALL in course design: the first is the design of a flow chart with a dual concern of the frameworks approach and a systematic approach via the computer and the Internet; and the second phase is the construction of a hierarchical structure for the package. The flow chart is designed to consist of six components, thereby leading to the six stages, which seem to have little difference; however, changes do occur when Microsoft WORD and Excel documents are produced in each of the stages and further processed and wrapped into a modeling course package in the second phase. The modeling course package is designed at four levels at minimum because it is quite possible to extend the structure to the fifth level, or even the sixth depending on the teacher's own need for classification. Such a course package is characteristic of systematicness, adaptability, and feasibility. Thus, with a flow chart and a modeling course package working together, a"flow chart + course package"model is well constructed as the final product for course design by using such an approach.The dissertation, therefore, comprises six chapters in all. Following the first Introduction chapter, Chapter 2 outlines the theoretical groundings for present research. Chapter 3 is an overview of previous studies of CALL and course design, especially those concerning language courses for English majors in China. Chapter 4 contributes to the case study to reveal the ways of integrated CALL implementation in designing the RPW course, so background goes first and then methodology is described in terms of subjects and the context, design and procedures, and data collection and analysis. In the section of results and discussion, the first phase of designing a flow chart is elaborated. Chapter 5 is then particularly dedicated to the second phase, a modeling course package. Finally, Chapter 6 is a conclusion, which depicts two implications of the present study: the first is for language teachers, who, in using the model, should function as both designer and researcher for their own classroom instruction, construct their own course design model and provide themselves with information for reflection as well as their colleagues with data for further research. The second is that if language courses for English majors all have their models constructed, they will be likely to link to each other in one way or another and then form the continuum of English learning in the four-year course, thereby leading to more systematic approaches to both teaching and learning.Considering the limitations of the present study, it is expected that a quantitative study can be conducted in the form of experiments across a larger scale to validate the findings in the present study, so the guidelines for the model can be confirmed and / or clarified; and the results from such experimental studies can be more satisfactory and more likely to be applied to more language courses for English majors. Moreover, future research on a"flow chart + course package"model can be conducted cross-sectionally on more language courses if possible. Only with more studies of more types with more courses and larger numbers of participants involved, can such a"flow chart + course package"model make sense to improving the teaching and learning of language courses for English majors in China.