Abstract

Computer-related technology has become an integral part of modern-day society and education. Student teachers must acquire the training necessary to use computers as an instructional tool in their future Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) classrooms. The objectives of this research were (1) to identify and describe student teachers' computer-training needs (attitude, skills, knowledge, and opportunities for role-modeling) in order to facilitate the use of computer technology in their teaching, and (2) to assess the impact of a "Computers in Language-Learning" course, which utilized a need-based methodology, in meeting the computer-training needs of student teachers. Recommendations for student-teacher computer-training include offering more frequent and higher-quality modeling among faculty and supervising teachers, adopting a technology-infusion model, continuing to revise and apply the needs-based methodology to the Computers in Language-Learning course, assessing learners' needs, and integrating the Quebec Ministry of Education (MEQ) guidelines. Further research is required in order to address the limitations of the current research (e.g. a lack of statistical testing in Study 1, small sample sizes, no comparison groups) and to validate the findings