Offline Peer Dialogue in Asynchronous Computer-Mediated Communication Activities for L2 Teacher Development

Introduction

Studies on second language teacher education (L2TE) from a sociocultural perspective indicate that it is crucial for teachers’ professional development that they engage in active negotiation with the social aspects of their teaching practice (e.g., Johnson, 2009; Kanno & Stuart, 2011). To promote active learning by student teachers, they need to engage in actual teaching practice that also incorporates reflective practice in order to become aware of the context of their teaching. However, most studies on teacher development have focused on the conditions of student teachers’ learning in the workplace, as pointed out by Miller (2009). Few studies approach the issue of how to provide the social and cognitive scaffolding needed in the L2TE program in order for pre-service teachers to be able to prepare themselves to participate more fully in their future teaching contexts.

This study attempts to utilize computer-mediated communication (CMC) to provide pre-service teachers of Japanese with the opportunity to engage in online tutoring practice with L2 learners of Japanese, combined with an innovative reflective practice, namely offline peer dialogue. By investigating the effectiveness of online tutoring practice incorporating this unique type of reflective practice — offline peer dialogue — this study will explore ways to enhance L2 teachers’ professional development through online engagement with L2 learners.