CALL Research: Impediments to Success
Bio data
Le Thi Hong Vo
has worked in English language teaching for 10 years, mostly in
universities in Vietnam. I am particularly interested in English language curriculum
innovation evaluation, Computer-assisted Language Learning (CALL), using technology in
English teaching and how English language training can be improved with IT support. I
am also interested in how teachers’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs develop, influenced
by action research and in how these changes in their cognitions influence their classroom
practices to achieve improvement in English language teaching and learning.
I am currently a PhD student at Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of
Portsmouth, U.K. My research has involved identifying a gap between English education
at university and English requirement of graduates at the workplace and assisting
teachers to be reflective on their teaching practice by doing action research to contribute
to solve the problem.
Abstract
The advent of technologies in learning process is apparent. Computer assisted language
learning (CALL) is a new approach based mainly on the recent technologies of the twenty
first century.
CALL, as Levy (1997, p.1) defines, is “
the search for and study of applications of the
computer in language teaching and learning”.
CALL adds advantages to the language
class and offers students many chances to practice language learning (Brown, 2001). It
also presents language teachers with a clear challenge and a good opportunity for
change. Teachers are recently encouraged by school administration to gain competencies
of CALL to meet a number of requirements for tutoring online in order to better prepare
themselves for a successful delivery of computer-assisted learning courses and for
English education in general.
However, despite the efforts made by the school administration, there has been the lack
of effectiveness of CALL. This indicates a need to conduct research to identify the real
causes for the problem. The study on this issue, in its turn, faces difficulties to carry out.
This paper discusses the methodological problems encountered when designing,
conducting and reporting the research which attempts to identify the real causes for the
lack of effectiveness of CALL at the Center for Information Technology Development
(CITD), Vietnam National University.
This paper contends that the success of conducting a study on CALL depends on historical
research in support of CALL, teachers’ cognition o
f their role in assisting CALL and the
efficient support from the administration. The investigation of this issue was based on:
(1) a questionnaire on the teachers’ understanding of CALL and their experience in using
computer-assisted facilities in their English teaching at CITD; and (2) an interview with
the school administrators about CALL at CITD. The result from the study reveals some
significant issues that would support to enable research in the field.
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2014 CALL Conference
LINGUAPOLIS
www.antwerpcall.be
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