A reality check on students' preparedness for 21st century CALL activities

Abstract

The information age requires students to develop and hone a different set of literacies in order to cope with information overload; to efficiently use technology to access, adapt and create knowledge; and to benefit from the networked society (Warschauer, 2003). Moreover, there is a growing trend today toward using new types of web applications (e.g., wikis and blogs) in language classrooms to provide students with meaningful language learning experiences. However, a 25 year history of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) research has provided little information regarding students' computer access and usage patterns, and the state of their computer literacy (Barrette, 2001; Winke & Goertler, 2008). This study investigated 389 university students who were learning English as a foreign language in relation to their computer ownership, usage patterns, and levels of perceived Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills. The study also explored how students perceived the usefulness of ICT in language learning and their interest in integrating ICT into the language classrooms. Findings from the questionnaire suggested that substantial training should be made available to students and that these aspects should be considered when designing and implementing CALL courses.