Language Teachers' Experiences of Informal CALL Professional Development in a Self‐Initiated Virtual Community of Practice

ABSTRACT When formal support for technology integration is limited, in‐service foreign language teachers may rely on informal professional development (PD) pathways to address immediate pedagogical and technological needs. This qualitative phenomenological study explored how university‐based in‐service foreign language teachers described their experiences of informal computer‐assisted language learning (CALL) PD within a self‐initiated virtual community of practice (VCoP) during the transition to online teaching. Guided by the question of how participation in a self‐initiated VCoP contributed to teachers' perceived CALL‐related professional learning and online teaching practices, the study drew on semi‐structured interviews with 12 teachers of English, French, German, and Arabic. Interview data were analyzed using a Moustakas‐informed phenomenological procedure to identify shared meanings across participants' lived experiences. Findings suggest that teachers experienced the VCoP as an informal, peer‐supported learning space shaped by a shared need to respond to limited formal CALL training during the rapid shift to online teaching. Participants described collaborative resource‐sharing, peer feedback, experimentation with digital tools, and emotional support as central to their learning, and many reported perceived changes in their use of digital tools and in the pedagogical dimensions of their CALL‐related practice. The study also identifies peer‐scaffolded professional learning as a recurring feature of the VCoP experience, through which teachers supported one another's problem‐solving and reflective practice. These findings may inform CALL teacher education and PD design in contexts where formal PD provision is limited, but should be interpreted in light of the study's single‐site, small‐sample, and interview‐based design.