7.2.2 Beliefs and Challenges

Ultimately, what teachers believe about learning will influence their reaction to OLEs. These beliefs about learning will affect teachers in all subject domains and not only in the areas of FSFL. However, the findings of this study suggest that there are beliefs particular to FSFL which present certain challenges to effective use of OLEs. These beliefs relate to the prevalence of the English language on the Internet. Online, students have access to materials in both French and English. However, they often have access to more English sites than to French ones and the English sites are more easily accessed by them than are the French ones. This dominance of English on the Internet appears to result in beliefs that may discourage some teachers from using OLEs.

The type of beliefs that may present a challenge are:

1. The Internet is dominated by the English language. (e.g. There are not enough French sites for students to use);
2. Students prefer to access sites in their native tongue. (e.g. Teachers have to spend considerable time monitoring and controlling to ensure that students use only French sites because they try to sneak in English sites);
3. The level of French in OLEs is too difficult. (e.g. Students do not have the word recognition skills or the necessary vocabulary to take advantage of sites);
4. Learning language skills and computer skills simultaneously is unproductive. (e.g. Problems become compounded when students are using a language not their own to work online).

These challenges may not play as great a role in the case of study in other areas such as English as a second language or in the study of other subject areas such as Math or Science. If we consider as an example the case of Chinese students learning English, concerns about students accessing Chinese sites as opposed to English sites are less likely to surface because of the present-day comparative domination of the Internet by English. Teachers who are preoccupied with students’ use of English sites may either avoid incorporating use of OLEs or they may constrain students’ use through a highly didactic preselection of sites which will limit students’ control and realization of their own goals for learning. Such restrictions may prove to be both unfortunate and unnecessary. In the category of beliefs related to the advantages of use of OLEs, many of the excerpts emphasized the large number of sites which teachers believe are available for use in the teaching of French. Yet, why do other teachers believe there are insufficient sites? Should teachers be concerned that students will access or "sneak in" English sites instead of French ones? Teachers’ underlying beliefs related to language acquisition which may be influenced by the Direct Method may result in unnecessary restrictions on the use of English. Is it more effective to allow some use of English rather than limit online use altogether because of a concern that students may not always use French? It is not the purpose of this study to provide answers to such questions. However, teachers’ beliefs about the use and presence of English in OLEs might, no doubt, benefit from further investigation to ensure that teachers are not evolving beliefs that will actually prevent them from effectively exploiting OLEs.

Studies in this area might assist in the development of an understanding of the impact of the use of English sites by students of FSFL as they work online. What happens when we constrain students’ use to French only? Likewise, in what ways, in what contexts and in what amounts will use of the students’ native language in OLEs negatively affect development of FSFL skills? Once we have some answers to these questions, professional development sessions might address the issue of students’ use of their native language while learning French in OLEs. Other ways in which the challenge of use of English online may be dealt with would be through the creation of intranets or learning environments for dedicated use by FSFL teachers and students. This study considered teachers’ beliefs about teaching FSFL in OLEs. However, further studies might wish to explore teachers’ beliefs in relation to the teaching of FSFL using intranets.