Teachers’ Roles In Computerassisted Language Learning In China

With the fast-paced changes brought about by globalization and technologicaldevelopment, TESOL professionals need to understand current socio-economicfactors and their influence on English language teaching (Warschauer,2000). Theindustrial societies of the past are giving way to a new post-industrial economic orderbased on globalized manufacturing and distribution; flexible, customized production;the application of science, technology, and information management as the keyelements of productivity and economy growth; and increased inequality betweenthose who control technological and media resources and those who lacktechnological access and know-how (Carnoy, Castells, Cohen&Cardoso,1993). Thisnew global economic order, termed informationalism by Castells (1996), firstemerged in the1970s following advances in computing technology andtelecommunications.Infrmationalism has presented new stimulus to economic, social, and culturaldynamics, which are very different from those of the industrial area and which areshaped by an overriding contradiction between the power of global networks and thestruggle for local identity (Barber,1995; Castells,1996; Friedman,1999). To put itsimply, international networks operating via financial markets, transnationalcorporations exert more and more influence on people’s lives, and the Internet startsto have an effect on traditional seats of authority and meaning, such as family,patriarchy, and nation. To react to the increasing power of global networks, people---as individuals and in collectives---make great efforts to control their identity anddefend what they see as essential of their own selves.Informationalism has had a significant impact on the field of TESOL though it is stillin its initial stage of rise. As one result, the communicative approach begin to dominate the field of English language teaching (at least in theory, if not in practice).International tourism, business, scientific exchange，etc. help to build a new networksociety which features the increased global contacts, and media places a premium onthe ability for communication in a lingua franca. Instead of achieving native-likeperfection, the emphasis of the communicative approach lays rather on functionalinteraction, which corresponds to the imperatives of the new society, where English isshared among many groups of non-native speakers rather than dominated by theBritish or Americans. This trend toward multinational integration, making use ofEnglish as an additional language, has developed most remarkably in Europe, andthus it is not surprising that the shift toward communicative language teaching aroseearliest and most prominently in Europe (see, for example, Council for CulturalCo-operation of the Council of Europe,1975). As this new stage of global capitalismexpands and develops, new changes will be posed to the English language teachingprofession. Computer assisted language learning (CALL) is one of such most strikingchanges.Meanwhile, within both general education and second language teaching field sincethe1960s, there has been a movement away from teacher-dominated modes oflearning to more learner-centered approaches. In fact, under the influence of thismovement, the unquestionable importance for language learning has been thedevelopment in recent years of learner-centered models of education. In a provocativearticle, Basanta (1996) states:“In recent years two parallel processes have been atwork, with the role of the learner being steadily upgraded, and that of the teachermoving in the opposite direction”. This can be seen from the fact that while books andarticles concerned with learner are in abundance, there is still little research on whatthe teacher brings to the process of second language education. However, this“learner-centeredness” movement does not deny the importance of the teacher, norimply that there is no role for the teacher in a learner-centered classroom, on thecontrary, it led to a reexamination of traditional teachers’ roles, for even the so-calledinnovative methods still require teachers to carry out particular roles in the classroom in order to facilitate the language learning processes which the method is designed toactivate. Similarly, learner autonomy is a welcome goal for education, but it does notmean the absence of the teacher in the learning process. For language teachers,“thereis a new, more evolved role which can be, if in some ways more challenging, alsomore exciting and fulfilling.”(Arnold2000) There are also clear signs todayshowing that the importance of the teachers’ roles in the language learning processeshave not diminished. This can also be seen in some of the publications on teacherdevelopment (Richards and Freeman1996; Woods1996) and the emphasis in currentsecond language acquisition studies on qualitative research in which teachers areactive participants or initiators.As the use of CALL grows worldwide (Fidelman,1998), ELT in China starts to meetthe challenge. However, there is still limited studies in the role played by languageteachers in computer assisted English language teaching/learning in China. And thispaper will try to rethink and redefine the role of the teacher in computer-mediatedEnglish education.Focusing on teachers’ roles, this dissertation analyzes the impact brought to ELT inChina by the development of modern science and technology after a retrospect intothe history of FLT, especially ELT in China. With the combination of theoretical andempirical studies, the thesis reveals the unavoidance of the changes of Englishlanguage teachers’ roles and puts forward ways to educate and help teachers to realizethese necessary changes.The whole dissertation is composed of six chapters, including the introduction at theoutset and conclusion at the end.Chapter1provides a general introduction of the background of the current researchand why the present topic is chosen. It includes those issues under question: whyfocusing on the teacher, definition of teachers’ roles and computer-assisted ELT, research objective and methodology. Only when we have a clear picture of whatpeople have done in this field can we develop our own topic, thus Chapter2and3delineate the background of the present study. Computer assisted language learning(CALL) is surveyed: it history, development and impact on ELT. Then, ELT in Chinain three major domains is reviewed: a brief summary of traditional ELT in China, thecurrent trends of computer-assisted ELT in China and the advantages anddisadvantages of the change as well. Therefore, this chapter will relates the languageteachers to computer-assisted ELT in China and explain the reasons of saying that it’sunavoidable for the teachers to better play their role in the new way of Englishlearning.Language teachers’ roles are re-examined in details after making a brief introductionof traditional teachers’roles in ELT in China, Chapter4will mainly focus on teachers’changing roles in computer-assisted ELT in China. It will also apply the results from apractical study to evaluate the changing role, thus paving the way for Chapter5.Chapter5provides a coherent framework for the field of ELT teacher education anddevelopment in China. This framework involves necessary adjustment because ofteachers’ changing roles, understanding the relationship between CALL and learnerautonomy, and the importance to support teachers in their changing roles. It alsoindicates that teachers are the essential part of CALL teaching and they have to betrained so as to cope with the roles of becoming their changing and new rolesmanagers and facilitators of the learning process.Chapter6is the conclusion. It includes the retrospect and prospect of the whole thesis,in which the author will summarize the themes of this dissertation, addresses itslimitation and points out the future study directions. In particular, it also suggests thatthere is a pressing need for an empirical as well as theoretical base for teacherdevelopment in this aspect. To sum up, it is worthwhile to point out that for some reasons, teachers’ role studieshave not received sufficient attention as they should have in our ELT circles.Researchers at home have lagged far behind their foreign counterparts in this field.The present study is nothing but a tentative attempt in such an academic background.Though the present study only involves a small research project, it does make aneffort to offer an introduction to the issue under discussion so that others might comeup with more valuable and insightful views on it.