Influencing the Instructional Design Strategies of New Teachers: Foreign Language and Technology Teacher Education

Abstract

Fulfilling the national technology expectations for educators has become an important issue for many U.S. teacher‐training institutions. This article presents the foreign language education program at Wake Forest University as an example of how a content‐focused curriculum can be enhanced by a supportive technology program. An emphasis on content, research, and practice supported by integrated, state‐of‐the‐art technology prepares graduates of the foreign language education program to lead twenty‐first century classrooms.

Technology integration for teaching and learning Spanish in elementary schools: voices of designers, teachers and students

“…Branaman and Rhodes (1998) (Pufahl, Rhodes, & Christian, 2000). To meet the growing interest in foreign language learning in the elementary schools in the United States, and to teach foreign languages to children using computer-assisted language learning (CALL) as a complementary approach to classroom teaching, CALL for children needs to be informed by recent research trends in technology and education that encourage teacher professional development in the use of technology in learning and teaching (Cunningham & Redmond, 2002;Davis & Thompson, 2005;; President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology, 1997;Thompson, 2005).…”

“…Teacher preparation and teacher development programs that infuse technology often require teachers to integrate technology strategies in FLES through project-and content-based studentcentered CALL activities. The literature shows some leading programs that require teachers to reflect on their practice using CALL in FLES settings as well as demonstrate an understanding of the connections between national standards in foreign language curriculum and technology standards (Cunningham & Redmond, 2002;Moeller & Park, 2003).…”