Implementing C A L L in an

EFL context
Metin Timuc
xin

Introduction

Advances in technology require teachers and administrators to review

their curricula, approaches, and educational tools, and at the same time
lead them to consider the possibility of incorporating technology into
their teaching. However, the success of implementing new technologies
into any teaching/learning environment relies heavily on the level of
commitment and engagement of the related parties. The transformation
process also necessitates change management skills. The acceptance of
transformation cannot and does not take place instantly or by the touch
of a magic wand.
Computer assisted language learning (CAL L ) involves the use of technology
in the form of computers, and a transformation process in the institution
where the implementation actually takes place. Therefore, CA LL should
be perceived as an interdisciplinary issue (Levy 1997) entailing strategies
for managing the change alongside the knowledge of the use of computers
for educational purposes, and language teaching methodologies.
Despite the growing interest among scholars in CA LL , it can be said that
there is a gap between the available literature on the use of computers
and technology for teaching purposes and experience of the actual
implementation process in E F L context. This article presents a case study
which aims at relating the findings to the implementation of relevant
change processes. It is an empirical enquiry, the starting point of which
is the collection of data through pre- and post- questionnaires and
interviews.

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Not only the teachers but also the administrative boards of many educational
institutions are keen on the idea of adopting technology for teaching purposes.
However, the process of implementing new technologies and managing
radical changes is far from being a straightforward operation. The successful
implementation of new technologies requires considerable effort especially by
the administrative people involved. This paper presents a case study of the
implementation of an E F L innovation in the form of CALL (Computer Assisted
Language Learning) in a Turkish State Universitys E F L Preparatory School. It is
argued that teachers should be engaged participants in the change process and
that this increases the chance of successful implementation of the innovation
concerned.

Nature of the
innovation

That was the time the author of the present article was sent to the university
to fulfil a compulsory service stemming from a scholarship. Upon my
arrival, I was assigned the task of implementing C A L L in the university.
Although C A L L seemed to be a good solution for the problems of the
existing programme to me too, apparently there had not been any
consultation with the teachers or students regarding the C A L L issue.

The change process

Clearly, for the policy makers of the university the focus was on the object
of change rather than the process, i.e. on the what of the innovation
rather than the how (Karavas-Doukas 1998: 26). Multi-media software
accompanied by a parallel course book had already been purchased. As
the study guide of the software suggests, the foremost objective of the
CAL L software and accompanying textbooks is to develop students
communicative competence and to encourage student-centeredness. The
only training provided to teachers to introduce the innovation, on the other
hand, had been a 5-day seminar given by the software provider. According
to the administrative board everything had been made available for a
successful EFL programme. However, as Jones (2001: 361) points out CAL L
cannot be regarded as a self-access operation; teachers are needed to drive
the process and teachers involvement and commitment are essential.
Needless to say, in the research setting change was imposed on the teachers
and a certain resistance was inevitable.
As Markee (1997: 14) also suggests, in such cases change agents must
seek other ways of managing change that involve securing teachers
participation and consent. Consequently, having seen the picture before
my intervention in the implementation process, as soon as my actual
intervention started I decided to seek other ways to enable the teachers
to participate actively in the dissemination process, and to build a bridge
between the innovation and the teachers who were initially expected to
return to their classroom and manage change (Karavas-Doukas 1998: 35).
The key to successful change is the improvement in relationships between

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The setting where the C A L L implementation took place is the English

Preparatory School of a state university in Turkey. The school has been
offering a 34-week intensive E F L teaching course to incoming students
since 1995, and each year approximately 400 students are enrolled on the
programme. However, an evaluation of the programme revealed that it
was not very successful. According to the departmental records for the
academic year 19992000, 31 per cent of the enrolled students failed due
to their low rate of attendance (80 per cent attendance is required for the
programme), and in a survey conducted by the administrative board of
the university among all the teachers in 2001, EFL teachers complained
about the low level of attendance and concentration in their classes. In
the students survey, on the other hand, the students in the preparatory
programme generally complained about dull classes and follow the
course book attitude of teachers. In order to improve the quality of the
programme, the administrative board and the foreign languages unit of
the university decided to adopt C A L L at the beginning of the academic
year 2002.

all involved and not simply the imposition of top down reform (Fullan
2001a).
In order to decide about the strategies to enlist the teachers involvement
in the implementation process and to see whether they liked the
experience, some data were collected both prior to the exposure to
CAL L and after it.
Tools for data collection included two sets of questionnaires. The first
questionnaire was administered before the implementation and included
three main parts: the teaching experience of the teachers, the teachers
perception of CA LL , and their expectations from the management. The
second questionnaire (adapted from Levy op. cit.) was designed to find out
the teachers evaluation of actual practice in the research setting. The second
questionnaire was administered a week before the end of the 34-week
teaching programme. In addition, all the teachers were interviewed at
the end of the teaching programme through semi-structured interview
questions. The interview included questions to obtain the teachers personal
views on successful C A L L implementations and practices. All the
interviews were audio recorded and transcribed by two research assistants
separately, with the transcriptions being cross-checked.

Knowing the
teachers

The total number of teachers involved in the implementation process was

14 and a pre-questionnaire (see Appendix 1) was administered to all of
them. The results of the questionnaire, which was administered prior to the
CAL L exposure to find out their attitudes towards CA LL , revealed that
the majority of the teachers (86 per cent) thought that the chance of the
project being a success was extremely slim. The rest (14 per cent) thought
that it might be successful, but it needed a lot of work. Moreover, the
teachers, who shared 11 years of teaching experience on average between
themselves, with 22 years of E F L teaching the most and 2 years the least,
had an obvious fear that they might be replaced by computers. The main
reason for being apprehensive about the use of computers was the lack of
student-teacher interaction they thought C A L L would impose.
Before the actual implementation process, this simple attempt to find out
the views of the teachers turned out to be very helpful in determining the
strategies to be applied during the transformation. It was obvious that
teachers needed convincing and assurance that their involvement was an
important part of the project, and there was no secret agenda to replace them
with computers. It was also revealed by the survey that the teachers as
individuals needed extra support and assurance that they were not the only
ones uncomfortable with the idea of implementing technology for teaching
purposes, since they had a fear of being outcasts during the innovation
because of their lack of computer skills.

Implementation
process

In order to meet the apparent need for some viable strategies to engage
the teachers with CAL L , activities and approaches were decided on a
fortnightly basis. Every other two weeks, activities such as interviews with
the students, building up teams to facilitate support material for the existing
software, sessions to monitor the students progress, discussions on the
necessity of teachers to drive the C A L L process and setting criteria for

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Investigating the
innovation
Data collection tools

a possible recruitment of future EFL instructors, and sessions to share

their concerns with their colleagues were organized and put into practice.
For the student interviews, teachers were paired and they interviewed
each others classes through scheduled interview questions. After
completing the interview and sorting out their notes regarding the
interview, the teacher pairs were required to give each other feedback,
especially on the way the students perceived the importance of the
existence of teachers in C A L L .

Although this particular response may be interpreted as an indication that

these staff were still fearful of losing their jobs and wanted to emphasize
their continued importance to the whole operation, I believe that it is
actually the students feedbackreported in the following sectionsthat
made the teachers realize the importance of their contribution to the
process. These responses made clear that the teachers felt more involved
than they initially thought they would be in the process.

Results and
discussions

However pleasing these responses were for the implementation of CAL L ,

for the purpose of this article it was more important to focus on the reasons
for such a shift in teachers views. To this end, the teachers were asked in the
post questionnaire to choose from a list of items that might be considered to
be important factors for making them involved in the implementation of
CAL L . (They were allowed to select more than one.)
As is shown in Figure 1, the most salient feature is that preparing support
material made the teachers feel involved much more than other factors
(13 responses out of possible 14). I believe that this is mainly because of the
fact that in their traditional type of teaching this is what they usually do;
preparing handouts and appropriate worksheets, etc. Therefore, in an
environment full of technological devices which they are not very familiar
with, this is where they might tend to think their contribution can be made.
Evans (1996: 50) calls this process being emotionally and cognitively
complex and emphasizes that people must be helped to link the new
with the old, to see the future not as disconnected from the past but as
related to it.

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A week before the end of the 34-week teaching programme, a postquestionnaire (see Appendix 2) was distributed among the teachers and the
teachers were also interviewed through scheduled interview questions.
Results revealed that despite the initial reluctance towards CA LL displayed
by the teachers, towards the end of the programme they seemed to begin
to change their views. When the teachers were asked to rate the success
and efficacy of the current C A L L practice, they rated it as quite successful
(total rating score of 110, out of possible 140). At the end of 33 weeks of CAL L
experience the teachers were also given the chance to evaluate the role of
the teacher during the implementation process. According to the responses
the teachers gave to the questionnaire, the majority of them (total rating
score of 104 out of possible 140) stated that the role of the teacher is
essential. In addition, among the 14 teachers involved, 10 teachers said
that C A L L is worthwhile with the presence of the teachers.

Building a team

Another striking feature of the teachers responses is their fondness for

discussions and meetings with their colleagues and the administrator. Since
these meetings were organized not to give instructions about driving the
CAL L process but to share mutual problems encountered during the
process, apparently the teachers felt that their views and concerns were
valuable, and the administrator was keen to identify the problems and
willing to take necessary steps for improvement. During the scheduled
interviews one of the teachers said it was really good to learn that I was not
the only one who thought the change that C A LL promises to bring is going
to be too much for me to handle. Eight teachers noted that although the
school did not have a tradition of a team-work approach, they liked the
attempts to act like a team. Two teachers said that to make the C A LL project
a success, building a strong teacher community is a must. As a sign of
interest and desire to get better, four teachers expressed their desire to attend
conferences on CA LL and to see the institution provide subscriptions to
relevant E FL journals. Obviously, sharing their views, no matter how
negative they might be, made them realize that there is no need to be
anxious about being an outcast in the group. It was also very pleasing to
observe the desire to improve themselves professionally.

Involvement in
monitoring and
feedback

Although many C A L L software programs come with a learner

management system which allows the administrators to monitor the
students progress and records, it seems that it is a good idea to involve the
teachers in the monitoring procedure. In the research setting, for example,
the teachers were asked to evaluate a simple student feedback form in which
students are asked to write down the things they like in the program and

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figure 1
Important factors for
teacher involvement
(n 14)

things to see changed or added to the program. In order to facilitate and

cultivate a peer feedback culture in the research setting, every teacher was
asked to evaluate a class other than his/her own and report on the findings
in a staff meeting. This, I believe, allowed the teachers to feel that the human
touch is always required and among the duties they are expected to fulfil,
there are not extraordinarily different assignments from those they were
doing in their before the C A L L teaching.

It is also interesting to note that the seminar given by the software provider
was given a noticeably low rating. This might be due to the fact that these
seminars were given at the very beginning of the implementation process
and this was without a doubt the time when the teachers felt the threat
of being replaced by computers the most. On the other hand, this might
partially be because of the nature of these seminars in which there is usually
an agenda of emphasizing the merits of the software, and most of the time
such an agenda fails to address the existing worries of the instructors
who are going to take part in the dissemination. However, this is a crucial
point to address for the administrators since they will definitely need the
support and involvement of these instructors.

The role of the

administration

In the post-questionnaire, the teachers were also asked to evaluate the

attitudes and expectations of the administration for the successful
implementation of CA LL . The rating of 112 out of possible 140 suggested
that it is very important. When they were asked to note the items that might
be considered to be important factors and contribute to the process,
attempts to make the teachers involved, and efficiency in organizing team
work topped the list.
As can be seen in Figure 2, the teachers appreciated the attempts to
make them involved in the process most, and according to a great majority
of them efficiency in organizing team work is also important for the success
of the CAL L project. Half of the teachers thought that institutional interest
and realistic expectations on the part of the administration are important
factors. These are all related to the human side of the issue, and it is striking
to note that the teachers did not rate level of provision of computing facilities
very highly; only 3 of the teachers stated that this is also important. Clearly,
the teachers were much more concerned about their initial fears of change,
and they most appreciated the attempts to make them feel that C A L L
practice at the research setting had not been designed to make teachers
disappear from the E F L environment for good.

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Eleven of the 14 teachers said that evaluating students feedback forms

helped them to feel involved. Having evaluated the students feedback, the
teachers reported the need for better extramural activities such as having
a cinema club showing original soundtrack films, and organizing stage
performances that include prep school students. One teacher reported the
need to have a mobile whiteboard in the class where computers are
located to give students clearer instructions at the beginning of each
lesson. More importantly the teachers reported that students expressed
the importance of the presence of teachers and face to face interaction in
their classes.

Conclusion

The C A L L experience in an E F L context reported above by no means

constitutes a comprehensive investigation. However, during the process it
was observed that once an institution decides to go through a certain change
process, it is important to discover the felt needs of the professional
community involved, and as Hagner and Schneebeck (2001: 6) argue,
before the transformation process, administrators must be able to
determine what mix of teacher group the institution has. The choice of
engagement strategy depends on this important element of institutional
readiness information.
It is very likely that people who are assigned the task of implementing CAL L
and the change it brings, will find out that what the teachers need is
recognition of their needs. At this stage it is crucial to develop a high degree
of empathy and rapport with the group in question. Therefore, dissent
should be seen as a potential source of new ideas and breakthroughs (Fullan
2001b: 74), bearing in mind that resistance itself is not the subject matter
but working with it is the key. Successful implementation also requires a
clear educational vision that building up a strong, committed professional
community may take time, and it is essential to constantly search out areas
for improvement.
Finally, as Markee (op. cit.: 180) also suggests, innovation is always a highly
context-specific phenomenon and there will always be a need for further

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figure 2
Factors contributing to
the implementation
process (n 14)

Final revised version received September 2004

References
Evans, R. 1996. The Human Side of School Change.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Fullan, M. 2001a. The New Meaning of Educational
Change (3rd edition). New York: Teachers College
Press.
Fullan, M. 2001b. Leading in a Culture of Change.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Hagner, P. R. and C. A. Schneebeck. 2001. Engaging
the faculty in C. A. Barone and P. R. Hagner (eds.).
Technology-Enhanced Teaching and Learning: Leading
and Supporting the Transformation on Your Campus.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Jones, J. 2001. C A LL and the responsibilities of
teachers and administrators. ELT Journal 55/4:
3607.
Karavas-Doukas, K. 1998. Evaluating the
implementation of educational innovations: lessons
from the past in P. Rea-Dickins and K. P. Germaine

Appendix 1
Pre-questionnaire

(eds.). Managing Evaluation and Innovation in

Language Teaching: Building Bridges. New York:
Longman.
Levy, M. 1997. Computer-Assisted Language Learning:
Context and Conceptualization. Oxford: Clarendon
Press.
Markee, N. 1997. Managing Curricular Innovation.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
The author
Metin Timuc
xin holds an MA and a PhD, both
obtained from the University of Nottingham (UK),
and currently is the Head of the Foreign Languages
Department at Sakarya University, Turkey. His
research interests include E F L teaching
methodologies, curriculum management and
leadership, CAL L applications in EFL context, use of
literature in E F L context, and literary stylistics.
Email: mtimucin@sakarya.edu.tr

1 Male h

Female h

2 How many years of E F L teaching experience do you have?

--------------------------------------------------------------------3 Have you ever taken part in a CAL L (Computer Assisted Language
Learning) Project?
Yes

No h

4 Please tick the appropriate box.

C A L L project in your institution:
a stands a very good chance to be a success
b stands a very slim chance to be a success

Implementing C A L L in an E F L context

h
h

269

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research regarding the way in which different innovations have been

designed, implemented, and maintained. However, as is argued in this
article, administrators and boards of educational institutions must
acknowledge the need for staff support to help them handle change
properly. It is vital to create opportunities to make the teachers use what they
have been doing and take advantage of what they are familiar with (for
example, assigning them to prepare support materials, given the chance to
evaluate feedback forms, etc.), instead of asking them to forget everything
they have been doing for so long and adopt a completely novel way of
teaching instantly. There is no doubt that change will occur in the course of
time, but enabling the change to occur with the support of teachers is far
more effective than just imposing an innovation on teachers. An innovation
can only flourish if the teachers become vigorous, engaged participants, and
if the teachers realize that there will be continuous attempts to make them
integral parts of the novel system.

c might be a success but it requires a lot of hard work

d will definitely be a success
e stands no chance at all

h
h
h

5 Do you think that adapting C A L L in your institution brings advantages

to EFL teaching? If yes, please state these advantages.
6 What might be disadvantages of adapting C A L L for EFL teaching
purposes at your institution?
7 What should be the role of the administrators involved for a successful
CA LL implementation?
8 Other things to include:
A Teachers role
1 How important do you believe is the role of the teacher in the successful
implementation of Computer Assisted Language Learning (C A L L )?
Not important
1

Very important
4

10

2 Is CALL worthwhile WITH the teacher present, or WITH OUT the teacher
present, or both?
h

WITH

WITHOUT

BO TH

3 Should language teachers write support materials to increase the effect of

software programs?
h

YES

NO

4 Is it a must for language teachers to know a lot about computers and

programming to make the C A L L process a success?
h

YES

NO

5 Below is a list of items that might be considered to be important factors

for making you involved in the CA LL practice. Please tick the box(es)
that you think contributed to the process. You may select more than one.
a preparing support material
b discussions and meetings with your
colleagues and administrative person
c face to face interviews with your fellow students
d training sessions given by the IT department
e evaluating students feedback forms
f seminars given by the software provider
g other (please specify)

h
h
h
h
h
h
h

6 How would you rate the success and efficiency of current C A L L practice
at your institution?
Not successful
1

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Metin Timucxin

Very successful
4

10

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Appendix 2
Post-questionnaire
(Adapted from Levy
1997)

B The management
1 How important do you believe are the attitudes and expectations of the
administration or management of the institution to the successful
implementation of C A L L ?
Not important
1

Very important
4

10

2 Below is a list of items that might be considered to be important factors

for the successful implementation of CA LL . Please tick the box(es)
that you think contributed to the process. You may select more than one.
level of provision of computing facilities
level of institutional interest
efficiency in organizing team work
realistic expectations of the administrator
predictability of support from the administration
attempts to make the teachers involved
level of commitment of the administration to the
efficacy of CAL L
h other (please specify)

Implementing C A L L in an E F L context

h
h
h
h
h
h

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a
b
c
d
e
f
g

h
h

271