Integrated Model towards Computer Assisted Language Learning Acceptance: Empirical Case Study of Saudi Universities

Maximum utilization of technology in all fields of life including language education by a country has become inevitable to survive in the competitive world. Saudi government has already invested a lot of efforts and public finance to adopt modern teaching practices using Information Communication Technology (ICT) to supplement English Language Teaching (ELT) in Saudi Arabia. The present study applies Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a theoretical model to explore the effects of different factors on the attitudes of teachers towards using Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in the language learning contexts of Saudi Arabia. The current study investigates the effect of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use on the attitude and intended usage behavior of Saudi English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers towards using CALL. In addition to these two factors borrowed from TAM, three other variables: social influence, facilitating conditions and management support are added into the model. To test the hypothesized model, this study applied a quantitative questionnaire survey approach with participants chosen randomly from 10 different universities in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A total of 421 valid responses received through online questionnaire from the teachers were used for the analysis to achieve research objectives and hypotheses testing. Structural Equation Modeling Analysis was employed to analyze the data. The findings of this study are found very encouraging and provide sufficient support to the proposed model of the study, which was consisting of TAM as the foundation theory. According to TAM, postulation perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use both are two significant elements that determine attitude and intended usage behavior. These hypotheses were found significant, thus provided external validity to the TAM postulations. In addition, the findings suggested that social influence, management support, and facilitating conditions are important factors that influence individuals’ intended behavior towards CALL usage