Using a teacher support group to develop teacher knowledge of Mandarin teaching via web conferencing technology

Abstract

Due to its continuous advancement, web conferencing technology is increasingly being integrated into foreign language education; thus, teachers are able to carve out a niche by providing learners with an opportunity to learn a foreign language at a distance without time and space constraints. However, little is known about the relationship between foreign language teachers’ use of web conferencing technology and their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). This study therefore aims to assist Mandarin as a foreign language (MFL) teachers to develop their TPACK of web conferencing teaching, and a teacher support group is used to facilitate the TPACK development of four MFL teachers. The data related to assessing their TPACK development are derived from an online meeting, reflective reports, and individual interviews. The results indicate that the teachers’ TPACK grew due to increased awareness of the affordances and constraints of web conferencing technology in an MFL teaching environment. They understood how to enhance learners’ input, expand their interaction, and facilitate their production via the use of Internet resources such as multimedia and web-based applications. The teachers also acknowledged that the teacher support group had played an instrumental role in developing their TPACK of teaching MFL via web conferencing technology. The implications and limitations of the study are also presented.

Keywords:

• technological pedagogical content knowledge
• web conferencing technology
• Mandarin as a foreign language
• teacher support group

Acknowledgements

We would like to extend our thanks to Mandarin Training Center of National Taiwan Normal University. Also, gratitude goes to the Academic Paper Editing Clinic, National Taiwan Normal University.

Additional information

Funding

This research is partially supported by the “Aim for the Top University Project” of National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU), sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Taiwan, R.O.C. and the “International Research-Intensive Center of Excellence Program” of NTNU and National Science Council, Taiwan, R.O.C. [grant number NSC 103-2911-I-003-301].

Notes on contributors

Jun-Jie Tseng

Jun-jie Tseng is an assistant professor in the Department of Foreign Languages at National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan. His research interests include computer-assisted language learning and foreign language teacher education.

Yu-Jen Lien

Yujen Lien is a PhD student in the Graduate Institute of Information and Computer Education at National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan. He majors in technology and Chinese language teaching.

Hao-Jan Chen

Hao-Jan Howard Chen (PhD, University of Pennsylvania) is a professor at the Department of English at National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan. His research interests include second-language acquisition, computer-assisted language learning, and corpus linguistics. His research website is: http://llrc.eng.ntnu.edu.tw.