Balancing old and new: Integrating competency-based learning into CALL teacher education

Abstract

Washington State University, United States s.shahrokni@wsu.edu The idea of competency-based, or mastery, learning has been around for decades, but it has recently been receiving more global attention as a foundation for English language teaching and learning. Because technology use can be integral to the attainment of competency, language teachers who use computerassisted language learning (call) in their classrooms should be aware of the principles and practices that can lead to competency. This paper argues that, for this to happen, call teacher educators and other professional development providers need to use a competency approach to make sure that the teachers in their classrooms are as prepared as they can be to engage their English language learners (ells) actively in mastering language, content, and technology. After presenting this position, the paper provides a detailed definition and description of competency-based learning and suggests ways that it can be integrated into call teacher education. An outline of some of the benefits and challenges of this approach in teacher education completes the discussion in this paper.