The perceptions of foreign language teachers of CALL Sibel Tatar & Senem Yıldız August 2010 ATEE-Budapest

Background efforts for the improvement of computer aided instruction in primary & secondary level education in Turkey initiated and still continuing for the last 10 years the use of computer technologies is still limited and not without its problems many teachers or administrators basically use computers for personal communication when technology is available, teachers do not have adequate skills to effectively integrate them into their classes.

Purpose of the study The purpose of this study is to explore whether foreign language teachers at private schools in İstanbul have adequate training in integrating computers into language teaching, to investigate if, for what purposes, and in what forms they use computer technologies in their classes.

Research questions What are foreign language teacher’ attitudes towards CALL? How much experience do teachers have in CALL? For what purposes and in what forms do they use computer technologies in their classes? How much access do teachers and their students have to computer technologies and what are the barriers to CALL integration? What kind of support do they receive from their respective institutions?

Methodology: Data collection & analysis descriptive study that investigates the perceptions of 97 foreign language teachers of computer technologies in language teaching quantitative data through a questionnaire and qualitative data through face-to-face or interviews questionnaire “Approaches of Foreign Language Teachers to Computer Assisted Language Learning” adapted from Levy (1997) six of the participants interviewed questionnaire consisted of 23 open-ended, 17 closed, and 2 likert-type items questionnaire responses described in terms of frequency and percentages, open-ended items categorized under common themes

Methodology: Participant profiles 97 foreign language teachers working at eight (private) primary and high schools in Istanbul 83 females & 14 males age range 91 teach English-6 teach German 78 has BA, 19 has MA (completed or ongoing) 56 teachers-Faculty of Education graduate 25 teachers-Faculty of Letters graduate 16 teachers-graduate of other departments Average experience-9 years Average student per class-19 Average teaching load per week- 21 hours

Opinions on role of computers in language learning abcdefgh (a)A tool (e.g. word processing) (b)An expert system (c)A surrogate teacher (d)A useful provider of mechanical language practice (e)A complement to classroom instruction (f)A means of raising awareness (e.g. visual representation of sounds) (g)A database of textual and visual materials (h)An aid to communication (e.g. electronic mail)

Findings: Experience in CALL (a) I have taken at least one CALL course as a student. (b) I read about CALL. (c) I have attended a seminar, conference and/or workshop on CALL. (d) I have taken an introductory course on CALL. (e)I have examined and evaluated at least one commercial software package. (f)I have developed my own materials using a CALL authoring package (g)I have participated in design and/or development of at least one CALL software package (h)I regularly design, develop and write CALL software programs.

Findings: Experience in CALL Items on the questionnaire a b c d e f g h

Findings: Experience in CALL 66 teachers responded to an open-enden item on when and under what circumstances they began to be interested in CALL: when I took a CALL class during undergraduate studies during the preparation of projects using computer technologies at the university after I started teaching attending to a seminar or course during my position in my previous workplace taking a CALL class during my MA studies

Findings: Most frequently used aspects of CALL Teachers most frequently use computers to: improve student vocabulary. Find or write exercises to make students differentiate between certain sounds in the target language (12) preparing exercises (8) using software, especially the ones that come with the textbook (7) making presentations for students or making students present using tools such as Power Point, Word Processor (7) having students search on the web (5) student evaluation (3) assigning students homework or assigning them tasks to be completed out-of-class for self-improvement (3) materials development (3)

Findings: Most frequently used aspects of CALL According to teachers, students most frequently use computers for: searching on the web and preparing projects (10) improving language skills through using computers’ visual/aural/interactional multimedia features (8) presenting through PowerPoint and similar programs (5) learning language through using software (4) learning language through playing computer games (3) preparing for tests and practicing drills (3) fast and convenient access to authentic language material (daily broadcasts, TV shows, etc.) (2)

Findings: Teacher access to computer technologies Teacher access to multimedia computers yesnodon’t know

Findings: Student access to computer technologies Student access to multimedia computers yesdon’t know no

Findings: Barriers to CALL integration (a) Inflexible curriculum (b) Students lack IT competency (c) Mixed abilities (d) Lack of resources (e) Restricted access to computers/CALL (f) High student numbers in language classes (g) Lack of information about using computers in language learning (h) Scheme of work unavailable (i) Lack of encouragement from school administration (j) Students lack motivation (k)Lack of time (l)Lack of commitment from colleagues (m) Other reasons (Please specify)

Findings: Barriers to CALL integration (d) Lack of resources & (k) Lack of time Barriers to CALL integration abcdefghijkl

Findings: CALL support by the institution 65 teaches out of 88 stated that they never received any training on CALL in their schools

Summary of findings: positive attitude towards computer technologies and computer technology perceived as a tool that complements teaching. very few participants received training on how to integrate computer technologies. most common use of computer technologies is preparation of in-class exercises and tests for students. most common reasons for not being able to effectively use CALL are restricted access to computers/CALL and lack of time. teachers do not receive enough CALL support from the institutions they work for.

Pedagogical implications Total Cost of Ownership needs to be taken into consideration for successful integration of computer technologies (Total Cost of Ownership includes all the cost of maintenance, update, required license, etc. in addition to the purchasing of computers). Increased in-service training opportunities for teachers on CALL is required

Reference Levy, M. (1997). Computer assisted language learning: Context and conceptualization. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Questions & Comments Sibel Tatar