English teachers’ attitudes toward computer-assisted language learning Farid Bordbar, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran The purpose of this study is to explore the reasons and factors behind
teachers’ use of computer technology in the classroom. This study also
explored teachers’ attitudes toward computer and information
technology and how they apply their practical computer-assisted
language learning experience and knowledge to their language
teaching. We tried to find out if they are looking for ways to continue
their professional CALL development. Participants in this study were 83
high school English as Foreign Language teachers who had knowledge
and experience of using computer for the purpose of learning and
teaching English. Surveys and interviews explored how participants
learn about CALL activities; how what they learned in their MA course
about CALL interacts with their current teaching contexts; the factors
that influence whether or not they use technology in their classrooms;
and how they continue to acquire and master new ideas in CALL. The
findings support previous research on technology teacher education
(Joy Egbert & Trena M. Paulus, 2002) as it suggests that teachers who
use CALL activities are often those teachers who had experience with
CALL prior to teaching; that lack of time, support, and resources
prohibits the use of CALL activities in some classrooms; and that
colleagues are the most common resource of new CALL activity ideas
outside of formal coursework. The findings also suggested that almost
all the teachers had positive attitudes toward computer use in the class.
The results also point to the importance of Teachers’ vision of
technology itself, their experience with it, their level of computer skill
and competence, and the cultural environment that surrounds its
introduction into schools and English institutes in shaping their
attitudes toward computer technology. Implications for teacher
education are that teachers learn better in situated contexts, and

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                                                                               technology courses should be designed according

COOPERATIVE LEARNING METHODS

Let’s not forget that Each of us can do Something , but None of us can do Everything !

Cooperative learning methods -- instructional techniques in

which students work in small groups to help one another learn academic content -- are among the most effective teaching methods known. They are increasingly being used at every grade level, in all subjects, and in all kinds of schools and communities .

There are many forms of cooperative learning now in use. The most extensively evaluated of these are Student Team Learning methods .

The basic idea behind the Student Team Learning techniques is that when students learn in small , carefully structured learning teams and are rewarded based on the progress made by all team members, they help one another learn, gain in achievement and self-esteem, and increase in respect and liking for their classmates, including their mainstreamed classmates and classmates of other ethnic groups.

All Student Team Learning methods have been compared

to traditional methods and have been found to produce the following outcomes:

1- Enhanced academic achievement for high, average, and

low achievers

2- Improved race relations and other social relationships.

3- Greater acceptance of mainstreamed students.

4- Improved self-esteem.

5- Better attitudes toward the subject and toward school in

general.

6- Improved time-on-task.

Why use Cooperative Learning ?

Students and Teachers need strategies for helping them turn diversity into a positive force .

Cultural and linguistic diversity in the student population has profound implications for education. The learning climate of the classroom is affected by the nature of the interactions among students. In a culturally diverse classroom, students reflect a variety of attitudes toward and expectations of one another's abilities and styles of behavior. Without structures that promote positive interactions and strategies for improving relationships, students remain detached from one another, unable to benefit

from the resources their peers represent. Teachers and students need strategies that manage cultural and linguistic diversity in positive ways, strategies that channel peer influence into a positive force for improving school performance. Furthermore , to reach students from diverse cultural backgrounds, teachers need multiple alternatives to the prevalent pattern where teachers do most of the talking and directing in the classroom .

As for language acquisition , students need the maximum amount of time possible for comprehending and using a language in a low-risk environment in order to approach the language proficiency level of their peers.

Cooperative learning provides the structure for this to happen. Teachers should consider the question, "What is the best use of my students' time?" With approximately thirty students in a classroom who can interact and negotiate meaning, a teacher needs to take advantage of this environment for language acquisition. Reading and writing answers to questions can be done at home, thereby providing more time in the classroom for interactive, cooperative structures in which students are learning from each other.

Thus, all students can receive maximum practice in language and interpersonal skills necessary for participation in higher education or the job market.