Embedding Digital Literacies in the Language Teacher Education Curriculum

Pre-Service and In-Service Teachers’ Perspectives

Authors

  • Mimi Li Texas A&M University-Commerce
  • Meixiu Zhang Texas Tech University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.25987

Keywords:

digital literacy, collaborative reading, reading for writing, digital multimodal composing, infographic

Abstract

This article reports an empirical study on embedding digital literacies in the language teacher education curriculum with pre-service and in-service teachers enrolled in a graduate-level language teaching method course. Two different types of technology-mediated collaborative tasks were implemented, one being collaborative reading for writing using Perusall and Google Docs, and the other being collaborative infographic composing using Canva. The analyses of the participants’ semi-structured individual interviews revealed multiple benefits of digital practices that the pre-service and in-service teachers perceived, including enhancing content learning, providing cognitive scaffolding, fostering communication/collaboration skills, fostering creativity, enhancing learning motivation, improving pedagogic skills, and developing digital literacy skills. They also reported detailed plans or practices for implementing digital pedagogy using the same technology tools, adopting similar tasks, and extending the digital tasks. This study contributes to the underrepresented research domain on digital pedagogy for language teacher training.

Author Biographies

  • Mimi Li, Texas A&M University-Commerce

    Mimi Li, PhD, is Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics/TESOL at Texas A&M University-Commerce. Her research areas include second language writing, computer assisted language learning, and language teacher education. Her work has appeared in peer-refereed journals such as Journal of Second Language Writing (JSLW), Computer Assisted Language Learning, Language Learning & Technology (LLT), System, Language Teaching, Language Teaching Research, and Journal of English for Academic Purposes. She has authored/co-authored three scholarly books and currently serves as Associate Editor of JSLW and LLT.

  • Meixiu Zhang, Texas Tech University

    Meixiu Zhang (PhD, Northern Arizona University) is Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics at Texas Tech University. Meixiu’s research focuses on second language writing, corpus linguistics, and language pedagogy. In addition to publishing a co-edited book with John Benjamins, Meixiu’s work has appeared in journals such as Computer Assisted Language Learning, Language Teaching, Modern Language Journal, Journal of Second Language Writing (JSLW), Corpora, Language Teaching Research, System, Language Awareness, and Register Studies. She also serves on the editorial board of JSLW.

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Published

2024-10-25

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Li, M., & Zhang, M. (2024). Embedding Digital Literacies in the Language Teacher Education Curriculum: Pre-Service and In-Service Teachers’ Perspectives. CALICO Journal, 41(3), 273-296. https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.25987