MICROCOMPUTERS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING: A CASE STUDY ON COMPUTER AIDED LEARNING

2 2 Computer aided learning (CAL) is a powerful educational innovation that has great potential for the improvement of teaching and learning. Books and articles on instructional methods relevant to K-12 computer use are available in abundance. In the last few years, a growing body of professional literature has become available on the subject of school computer use. This includes information from a major national survey on the instructional uses of computers (Becker, 1986), findings from a substantial number of experimental and quasi-experimental studies on computer-assisted instruction (Becker, Existing quantitative research on CAL does little to illustrate links to classroom learning. Research findings provide little clear methodological or policy guidance on how to optimize the instructional effectiveness of computers in the schools. Available survey research provides a general picture of how microcomputers are used in the participating schools, but surveys seldom provide detailed examples illustrating the programs sampled that could make the statistical profile more apprehensible. Experimental and quasi-experimental studies present evidence on the effectiveness of CAI as an instructional intervention in mathematics instruction, but may have limited curricular significance because of limits on generalizability beyond a specific experimental treatment. Studies on the "effectiveness" of technological interventions have also been questioned because existing research seldom demonstrates statistically significant findings. Solomon and Gardner have suggested that this may be due to a lack of sensitivity to concomitant changes affecting instructional settings where experimental research was conducted. They call for a more tentative or heuristic approach to inquiry on CAL that can lead to the discovery of instructionally significant questions for future research (Solomon and Gardner, 1986). Among available naturalistic studies on CAL are case studies and other qualitative research on instructional computing programs in a variety of settings and curricular domains. These studies provide detailed perspectives on the instructional use of computers in schools that have significance for the planning and implementation of new programs and for the integration of microcomputers as a component of instruction throughout the traditional curriculum. Contextually explicit naturalistic research on 3 3 instructional computing provides heuristic models of policy and practice that allow practitioners to critically examine alternative implementation strategies and curricular applications. Choices can then be made about the acquisition and use of microcomputer applications (Blomeyer, 1988). The case study described here will examine instructional applications of microcomputers as a curricular innovation in foreign language teaching. Language teachers generally use textbooks, workbooks, audio tapes, films, …