Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions of Learning a Foreign Language Online: Preparing Teachers to Work with Linguistic, Cultural, and Technological Diversity

Due to the continuing linguistic and cultural diversity among K-12 students in the US and across the Englishspeaking world and the increasing influence of digital technologies on learning, this qualitative study explores pre-service teachers’ perceptions of learning a foreign language online, and how such experience influence teaching linguistically, culturally, and technologically diverse students in the U.S. Participants comprised 35 teacher education students, all of whom took a 9-week online Chinese language/culture course designed specifically for pre-service teachers. Surveys with closed and open-ended questions were conducted before, during, and after the course. Data were collected online and then coded and analyzed. The participants’ responses suggested that: 1) new forms of online learning were engaging to teacher-learners with diverse learning styles, prior technological experience, needs and goals; 2) the pre-service teachers perceived that online foreign language learning during their teacher education program enhanced their linguistic, cultural and technological awareness; and 3) the participants felt that they benefited from being prepared to work with linguistic, cultural, and technological diversity in classrooms. This study has implications for similar contexts around the world. DOI: 10.4018/ijcallt.2012040103 International Journal of Computer-Assisted Language Learning and Teaching, 2(2), 30-44, April-June 2012 31 Copyright © 2012, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. New London Group, 2000). These trends lead to a growing need for teachers to gain experience in language and culture as well as exposure to new forms of digital learning. However, pre-service teachers may not have expertise in teaching linguistically and culturally diverse students or with the use of digital technologies in classrooms (Zeichner, 1992). Many monolingual English teachers, particularly in the US, may lack linguistic and cultural awareness that helps them to understand the obstacles that English language learners can experience in mainstream classrooms. Not having grown up in the digital age or with technology in their classrooms, some teachers may also lack the technological awareness to facilitate all students’ learning (Sharp, 2011). Teacher educators might be able to help pre-service teachers better serve linguistically and culturally diverse students in the digital age if more were known about changing pre-service teachers’ understandings of culturally, linguistically, and technologically diverse students. By gathering data on how pre-service teachers experience learning a foreign language as well as online learning and how they plan to apply their experiences to their future classrooms, this study begins to fill a gap in the literature. This study uses a qualitative methodology to explore native-English-speaking pre-service teachers’ perceptions of learning a foreign language online and whether they perceive this experience enhances their linguistic and cultural awareness as well as technological awareness so that they will be more prepared to teach linguistically and culturally diverse students in a digital age. The study begins with a review of the literature on two important educational trends, focusing on challenges and possibilities for teachers and students. This is followed by a presentation of the methodology and results, and the study concludes with discussion and implications for research and practice. LITERATURE REVIEW Two Trends Among 21st Century Learners The two trends of a continuing increase in the linguistic and cultural diversity of students in K-12 classrooms and the influence of digital technologies on 21st century learners are having crucial impacts on education, especially in the case of ELLs (Crawford, 2004; Egbert, 2009; New London Group, 2000). Influences of these trends and the resultant teachers’ challenges are discussed below. Linguistic and Cultural Diversity According to Perez (2004), linguistically diverse refers to “students whose first language or home language is either a language other than English or a language other than the middleclass, mainstream English used in schools” (p.6) while culturally diverse refers to “students who may be distinguished by ethnicity, social class, and/or language” (p.6). Literature from the past several decades shows a large increase in the number of linguistically and culturally diverse students in US classrooms (Crawford, 2004). For example, the U.S. minority population, increased from 86.9 million to 111.9 million between 2000 and 2010, which represented a growth of 29 percent. One influence of the continuing diversity of population is the increasing number of linguistically and culturally diverse students. The English language learners among this population can experience many challenges in mainstream classrooms (Herrell & Jordan, 2008; Perez, 2004). Some students with limited academic preparation and/or confidence may experience cultural shock (Cushman, 2007). Due to limited English proficiency, some others may struggle in mainstream classrooms and not achieve even after many years in school (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2008). These students do 13 more pages are available in the full version of this document, which may be purchased using the "Add to Cart" button on the product's webpage: www.igi-global.com/article/pre-service-teachers-perceptionslearning/67124?camid=4v1 This title is available in InfoSci-Journals, InfoSci-Journal Disciplines Library Science, Information Studies, and Education. Recommend this product to your librarian: www.igi-global.com/e-resources/libraryrecommendation/?id=2