English as a Foreign Language Teachers’ Techno-Cultural Awareness Levels and Self-Reported Competencies

Abstract

Introduction: In line with technological developments, many educational institutions offer students and teachers technical opportunities to benefit both inside and outside the schools. From the perspective of utilizing technology for a more effective language learning and teaching process, the present study aims to reveal techno-cultural awareness levels and self-reported competencies of secondary school English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers working in Turkey. Methods: A total of 36 secondary school teachers participated in the study, and data were collected through a questionnaire and focus group interview. The focus group interview was conducted after the quantitative data analysis so that the quantitative data results guided the focus group interviews. Results: The study’s findings show that participants have positive attitudes towards using technology in EFL classes However, most participants still feel they are not competent enough to utilize it for instructional purposes. In this context, all participants agree that the education they received during pre-service and in-service training offered by the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) is insufficient. Discussion: The results obtained from data analysis are in parallel with some other studies. According to the findings, pre-service teacher training programmes need to be developed in line with the needs and expectations of teachers and learners regarding the use of technology in language teaching. Furthermore, it is suggested that teachers should be supported with much more comprehensive in-service training programmes to keep them up-to-date. In this regard, professional development programmes based explicitly on improving teachers’ technological awareness would motivate them to teach and significantly impact their self-reported capabilities. Limitations: This study was limited to 36 participants working in secondary schools in the same province. Therefore, the results cannot be generalized to all language teachers. Furthermore, the data collection process was carried out using questionnaires and focus group interviews. Conclusions: What makes this study significant is that teachers are central to the research. From this point forth, the current study results reveal the analysis of the data obtained from a small province of Turkey. However, the study shows significant and representative results because the teachers included in the study are individuals with the same educational levels. They have graduated from different universities in Turkey, and their working environments somewhat reflect Turkey’s working environments. Considering the differences between teachers’ positive attitudes towards technology utilization in EFL classes and their capabilities, it is argued that in-service and pre-service training programmes should be reviewed to overcome these deficiencies and keep up with the new developments.