Integrating technology-mediated language learning tasks into the young learner English as a foreign languageclassroom

Abstract This article presents findings from a case study within a broader research project that explored the impact of a teacher education module on the development of six pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) competencies for integrating technology-mediated language learning tasks into young learner English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms. Conducted over a 15-week undergraduate course, the module followed the principles of a sociocultural approach to L2 teacher education ( Johnson, 2015 ) and was offered consecutively for two semesters at a German university specializing in teacher education. Specifically, this article spotlights the development of Julia, one of the participants, detailing her evolving understanding of technology-mediated language learning tasks through various assignments within the module. The objectives of the study were: first, to trace Julia’s evolving understanding of the concept of technology-mediated language learning tasks and, secondly, to discuss how the teacher education activities created space for strategic mediation that facilitated her learning processes. Data were collected through in-depth individual interviews, video-recorded school lessons, audio recordings of seminar sessions, and analysis of an 80-page reflective report submitted by Julia. The findings indicate Julia’s shift from solely concentrating on technology to recognizing the crucial role of pedagogical design in maximizing technology-mediated task-based language teaching (TBLT) benefits.