Teacher Beliefs about Chinese Character Acquisition via Computer-Assisted Language Learning: A Multiple Case Study

Teacher beliefs have received substantial attention particularly in Chinese as a world language context due to the Chinese language proficiency challenges, Chinese character complexity, and cultural barriers. With the development of cutting-edge technology, Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) has played a pivotal role in Chinese language acquisition, empowering learners with interactive tools, online resources, immersive experience, and more that enhance Chinese language learning. However, there have been limited in-depth research exploring teacher beliefs about Chinese character acquisition via CALL. This multiple case study drew upon the theoretical framework of language teacher cognition (Borg, 2015). The research questions included: 1) What are teachers' beliefs and perceptions about character acquisition via CALL? 2) How do teachers implement CALL when teaching characters? 3) What benefits and challenges do teachers perceive when incorporating CALL in character acquisition? This study comprised three secondary Chinese teachers in the United States. These teachers located in various regions, with a diverse teaching experience. Data were collected via Zoom, including first individual interviews about teacher's perceptions and stated practices, classroom observations, second individual interviews about teacher's perspectives on benefits and challenges of characters acquisition via CALL, and a focus group discussion where teachers sharing their knowledge, experiences, and beliefs. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the qualitative data. The findings suggested that teachers view CALL as valuable, beneficial, enhancing student engagement in character acquisition which have evidenced in the literature (e.g., Chen et al., 2013; Hsiao et al., 2015; Zhan & Cheng, 2014). Moreover, the teachers also believed that CALL increased their productivity and reduced their workload. Nonetheless, challenges such as limited access to CALL resources and insufficient training have been identified (e.g., Zhang et al., 2014). The study's outcomes contribute to Chinese language education, provide insights for effective CALL integration in character acquisition, and provide pedagogical implications to various stakeholders. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]