Diffusion of technological innovation in a foreign languages unit in Turkey: a focus on risk-aversive teachers

Abstract

Taking advantage of Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations Theory, which suggests that adoption of a specific innovation is critically influenced by the way the adopters receive it, this article aims at presenting the implementation process of such an innovation in the form of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in an English as a Foreign Language teaching context. Conceptualised as interview research, the study used an open-ended protocol and spontaneously generated probes to seek teachers' profiles involved in the CALL uptake. Applying Hagner and Schneebeck's adaptation of Rogers' 'adopters' characterisation scheme, it was discovered that risk-aversive teachers dominated the group of teachers involved in the implementation. This article also defines some of the strategies employed during the implementation process to meet the teachers' needs, and encourage their involvement in the actual CALL uptake.