Taiwanese Elementary School Teachers’ Computer Literacy and Use: Implications for Language Teaching Training Programs

Abstract

In response to a government imperative to integrate computer-assisted language learning (CALL) into teaching, elementary schools in Taiwan have received an increasing supply of technology equipment and training since the late 1990s. This study explored the efficacy of these efforts for improving technology instruction in schools by surveying 32 experienced in-service Taiwanese elementary school teachers on their perceived computer literacy skills, on the factors affecting their computer use in the classroom, and on their attitudes towards CALL. At the time of the survey, the teachers were attending an EFL teaching certification program. Their responses revealed that despite their positive attitudes towards CALL activities, institutional and individual factors hindered their actual computer use. These findings continue to stress the importance of language teacher development programs in CALL at the local level. They also provide additional support for the need to provide contextualized practice with technology in language teacher education programs.