O n f e r e n c e

Wearing the designers’ hat
 
Designing effective CALL activities is not necessarily a skill common to language 
teachers. Many teachers reported feeling overwhelmed when designing CALL activities in 
their language programs. But, why do those feelings of uncertainty and lack of 
confidence appear? In the 
present study, teachers’ answers included lack of
proper 
training that allows them to design activities and material that is theoretically founded 
and that can fulfill not only theirs but also, their students´ expectations. CALL’s recent 
influence in lan
guage learning has raised teachers’ interest; however, one of their 
principal concerns is knowing about the necessary components a CALL activity should 
have in order to achieve instructional objectives. Teachers reported five features 
important to CALL activities: interactions among students, opportunities to co-operate 
and collaborate as members of a group, process scaffolding in order to allot sufficient 
time to guide students through the activity and knowledge construction, however, they 
agree that not all of their present CALL activities hold these principles. Carreño (2013) 
argues that whenever CALL activities are to be implemented, educators should think not 
only about the results, but about the knowledge construction process that successful 
CALL entails. What is more, time should not be considered a constraint but rather a 
resource that enables students to gradually adapt to the dynamics of the activity 
resulting in a positive outcome. Similarly, she states that teachers´ follow-up to 
students’ learnin
g cannot be done hastily; rather they should be able to constantly 
monitor students’ actions and interactions, as they encourage them to continue working 
on each stage of knowledge construction.
When facing challenges, teachers should feel confident as decision-makers and problem-
solvers when unexpected situations arise. One way teachers may solve problematic 
issues is to solicit help from co-workers who have experience designing and 
implementing CALL activities. Another alternative could be to participate in training that 
focuses on reflection and a systematic analysis of success and failure, examining those 
aspects that have impeded a more positive outcome, and capitalizing the strengths that 
allowed teachers to fulfill the goals. This will not only help teachers to gain self-efficacy, 
but will also provide sufficient evidence to judge effectiveness (measured at the technical 
and pedagogy levels) to reach improvement, enhance resourcefulness and, impact 
“student motivation” (Gilbert, 1996, p. 12).
Teachers should be provided with strategic opportunities to develop their CALL practices. 
In our study, the analysis of teachers´ responses disclosed that access to appropriate 
CALL was often restricted and unsuited the needs of their students. They reported being 
required to use a specific tool in their platforms that may not have been the most 
pertinent for the goals of their instructional contexts. Thus, institutions should guarantee 
availability and support sources to avoid discouraging teachers attempting to include 
technology in their classes. It is also important to think about the technological tools 
available so that these are congruent with students’ language necessities. If the CALL 
activities developed each term were stored and available for review and adaptation, 
language teachers in the process of course development could refine and use them.

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-129- 
2014 CALL Conference 
LINGUAPOLIS
www.antwerpcall.be 
This bank of resources could also be managed by a specialized group of teachers who are 
knowledgeable in CALL, while the general faculty is engaged in providing suitable 
materials to feed each language level inventory.
Finally, data revealed the importance of carrying out a needs analysis before designing 
any course/activity to assure that teachers provide instruction and activities that 
maximize their language learning.