English Foreign Language (Efl) Instructors’ and Teachers’ Perceptions Towards the Integration of Internet-Assisted Language Teaching (Ialt) Into Efl Instruction

Abstract

Although internet-assisted language teaching (IALT) has been recognised by the rapid progress of internet, there is a lack of published studies concerning the perceptions and perspectives of English Foreign Language (EFL) teachers on the integration of the internet into language learning and teaching. This study compares the differences between EFL university instructors' perceptions and state and private school EFL teachers' perceptions, towards the integration of internet-assisted language teaching (IALT) into EFL instruction. 82 participants took part in the survey and responded to the questions about their perceptions towards integrating internet-assisted language learning into EFL instruction, what types of internet resources they use to enhance language learning, and what kind of barriers prevent the use of the internet in EFL classes. A mixed-method approach, quantitative and qualitative, was administered in this study. The quantitative part of the research is a questionnaire with two sections, and the qualitative part is an open-ended questionnaire. Both quantitative and qualitative results demonstrate that although both instructors and teachers showed positive attitude towards IALT, the internet activities they used in the classroom were limited, and there were some barriers against internet use in the language classroom, such as limited time, limited computer facilities and certain technical problems. Highlights •Both instructors and teachers showed positive attitude towards IALT • EFL instructors seem to have more confidence in applying computer technology in their classroom • EFL teachers perceived managing internet use, technical problems, and internet illiteracy Literature ReviewInternet Use and Language Teaching Rico and Vinagre (2000) argue that the use of the internet can be interactive and cooperative with the help of e-mail, conferencing tools and newsgroup, a virtual group of learners can exchange knowledge, ideas and points of view on any number of topics. Therefore, the internet can increase EFL learners' motivation to learn the foreign language.Nevertheless, many factors have an effect on integrating internetassisted language learning into foreign language instruction successfully. According to Cuban (1993), there have been two barriers for implementation of technology in language teaching, namely: first-order barriers including external and institutionrelated problems; and second-order barriers including internal and teacher-related problems.

Factors Influencing Interaction in an Online English Course in Vietnam

“…The learners' views indicated that in order to make learning enjoyable, it was necessary to include songs, films and television series to the course content. This is in agreement with the result of other studies which indicated that enjoyment had a major impact on the long term study of learners (Yükselir, 2016;Wu et al, 2011). It is also supported by earlier studies which have shown that by watching TV shows, video clips and songs, together with doing interactive exercises, learners can be in control of their learning; at the same time, they feel more motivated (Wu et al, 2011).…”

“…Thus, instructors' application of various moderating strategies to create meaningful interactions might be more effective than required interaction (Ernest, Heiser & Murphy, 2013). However, this may be a big challenge to the instructors because of their lack of time (Park & Son, 2009;Yükselir, 2016).…”

“…Firstly, English lecturers in Vietnam often have a high teaching load (Le, 2011); thus, their online presence might have been limited to performing the required tasks. In other words, their lack of time might be among the inhibiting factors (Park & Son, 2009;Yükselir, 2016). Secondly, it might have been because of their different online teaching attitudes and behaviours accordingly: while some of the instructors were active in facilitating participation and replying to the learners' queries, others were not.…”

An Investigation of Student Satisfaction in an Online Language Learning Course

“…In other words, instructors should share high-quality messages to encourage learners' interaction (Ghadirian et at., 2017;Gómez-Rey et al, 2017). These findings support the conceptual premise to provide instructors with necessary pedagogical, social, and technical skills in online teaching (Yükselir, 2016). In addition, in Asian culture, learners view their teachers as a respectable authority, role model, and ultimate source of knowledge (Loi, 2016;Raymond & Choon, 2017).…”

Internet-Assisted Language Teaching: The Internet as a Tool for Personalised Language Exploration

“…Overall, the enormous potential of the Internet has gained considerable attention in internet-assisted language teaching, nevertheless, there is greater need for a solid background of research (Celik, 2013) since most of the available research focuses on teachers' and students' perceptions of its use (Dashtestani, 2014;Mollaei, 2013;Radovanović & Kraguljac, 2017;Rezaie & Sayadian, 2015;Shin & Son, 2007;Yükselir, 2016) and not so much research provides quantitative data on specific language skills development using specially made internet tools. It is a fact that the use of internet-assisted technologies come mainly with positive assessments; however, the quality of the tools and their utilisation varies and needs to be improved via professional development programs for internet-assisted language instruction (Celik, 2013).…”