| While many studies have demonstrated the advantages of using computer technology in foreign language classrooms, many post-secondary foreign language (FL) teachers still remain reluctant to use technology in instruction. Even when teachers do use technology, critiques have indicated that it is oftentimes used merely to replicate traditional classroom learning environments instead of transforming them.;Teachers' educational beliefs play an important role in the way teachers perceive and use technologies in classrooms. In order to support post-secondary FL teachers' effective classroom technology use, it is imperative that teacher educators increase their understanding of teachers' beliefs about teaching/learning and technology/teaching with technology.;The overall purpose of this multiple case study was to find out how post-secondary FL teachers' beliefs about teaching/learning and technology/teaching with technology are interrelated and how these relationships impact FL teachers' practice with technology. Using Green's (1971) framework to explore teachers' belief system in depth, the results of the current study demonstrate the significance of investigating how teachers' beliefs are held in addition to what their beliefs are. The deep analysis of three post-secondary FL teachers' belief system about teaching/learning and technology/teaching with technology shed light on how each teacher's belief interacts with each other in a complex manner within their system, and how such interactions between beliefs impact teachers' actual instructional practices with technology in significant ways. Findings from this study underscore the need for technology oriented professional development programs to focus primarily on challenging teachers' deeply held beliefs if they are to successfully help post-secondary FL teachers implement technology in ways that closely align with the constructivist principles espoused by the field of Learning Technologies. |
