Description:
Language teachers' competencies in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) are a crucial factor affecting their own implementation of CALL. However, there is still a concern that many language teachers are not adequately prepared to make effective use of CALL or to identify and evaluate potential CALL solutions. This can be the result of many different factors and raises the question of how to train teachers to develop their CALL knowledge and skills to a greater degree.
The discussion of approaches to training language teachers in the use of technology adopted in areas of Australia, the UK and the US provides valuable insights for those already involved in this area, and inspiration for those who have some interest in carrying out this kind of training, but as yet have little or no experience. This book explores the current status of CALL teacher education and discusses issues and challenges CALL teacher educators face in their own contexts. Specifically, it looks at postgraduate CALL courses offered at different universities to find ways of improving CALL teacher training. It represents the first overview of a topic that is relevant to most postgraduate courses in Applied Linguistics or TESOL across the globe. The use of technology for language learning and teaching is increasingly common but, as is so often the case, training for teachers in how to use that technology remains limited, to a large extent by lack of expertise among trainers.
Brief description: Jeong-Bae Son, PhD, is Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics and TESOL in the School of Linguistics, Adult and Specialist Education at the University of South Queensland, Australia.
Review Quotes: In an ideal world, CALL would be invisible or at least normalized. CALL courses would be irrelevant. Since we are not living in such a world, this book comes as a welcome eye-opener for teacher educators. It shows an inspiring range of possibilities, in a delicate balance between theory versus practice, technological versus non-technological activities, using versus creating materials, formative versus summative assessment, hardware versus software requirements, and teacher versus student initiative.