The role of technology and technology training in language teachers’ professional development in the private sector

Abstract

Although the importance of teacher education in CALL has been studied in recent years, how language teachers learn technologies at their workplace and whether the education helps them advance their careers are not yet fully understood. With technology integration becoming a popular teaching approach and the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) implementing the project “National Foreign Language Project 2008-2020” in Vietnam, it is necessary to study these two subject matters to provide sufficient support on both micro and macro levels, which hopefully may help boost their confidence and enhance their occupational development. Moreover, regardless of the high number of Vietnamese teachers of English in the private sector in Ho Chi Minh City, little is known about how they incorporate technology and its importance to their career pursuit. Therefore, to gain more insight, a case study focusing on the private sector was employed using a mixed-method approach. Data collected from classroom observations and semi-structured interviews were analyzed thematically. A questionnaire survey later was administered to lend more support to the final findings. Final results suggested that although teachers found the provided technologies challenging sometimes, they expressed their enthusiasm toward the learning process. They also regarded their institution not only as a workplace but also as a community where they learn about technology integration from their colleagues and enhance their future career prospects. Lastly, the relationship between teacher education in technology and professional development is also evident on three different levels, namely individual, peer, and institutional levels.