Guided by theory? An investigation of teachers’ beliefs about TELL and CALL at a university in Japan

Abstract

Before the 2019 COVID pandemic, universities in Japan had been slow to transition from paper-based to digital methods and materials. In addition, the most applicable theories for teaching and learning languages with digital technologies had not been considered deeply by many university teachers, and their beliefs about these theories had not been thoroughly investigated. This paper presents an investigation of the theoretical beliefs of English teachers at a university in Japan. It evaluates the extent to which these beliefs are in accordance with established theories of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and Technology Enhanced Language Learning (TELL). The investigation shows that English teachers at Japanese universities are guided by established theories of CALL and TELL to some extent, but such theoretical considerations are constrained by more pragmatic ones. Although teachers do not necessarily perceive there to be a significant difference between theories of traditional and digital language teaching and learning, there may be a need to reassess the theoretical underpinnings of traditional language teaching methodologies in the post-COVID word of hybrid and blended education.