Teachers’ Attitudes toward the Use of e-portfolios in Speaking Classes in English Language Teaching and Learning

Abstract

E-portfolios have been used in English language teaching (ELT) to assess and improve writing skills. They can also be used to assess and improve speaking skills. Though the attitudes of students toward the use of e-portfolios in speaking classes are known to be positive, teachers' attitudes toward this method is unknown. Therefore, this study aims to find out the attitudes and perceptions of teachers toward implementing the use of e-portfolios in speaking classes. As it is a small-scale qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were carried out with four listening and speaking teachers who use e-portfolios in their listening and speaking classes. The interviews were content analysed. The results indicated that teachers, like students have positive attitudes toward the implementation of e-portfolios in speaking classes, though there are some challenges to overcome.

Male and female language teachers' technology integration differences in elementary schools in the United Arab Emirates

“…Furthermore, several studies found significant positive relationships between perception of teachers and their computer use level (Kobak & Taskin;2012;Korumaz & Karabiyik, 2014;Hüseyin, 2014;Yastibas & Cepik, 2015;Yungwei & Lee, 2015;Rafieea & Purfallah, 2014;Kavanoz Yüksel, & Ozcan, 2015). The successful results of the uses of technology in the education sector have recently encouraged decision makers and educators to allocate more budget to introduce and utilize sophisticated devices to improve learning outcomes.…”

Use of ePortfolio as Integrated Learning Strategy in Computer Integrated Manufacturing Online Course

“…For instance, ePortfolios are commonly used in English language teaching (ELT) courses, as a part of writing skills assessment; recently, the possibility of incorporating ePortoflios into speaking courses has also been explored (Yastibas & Cepik, 2015;. Other applications are noted in performing arts education, such as history of music classes (Dunbar-Hall, Rowley, Brooks, Cotton, & Lill, 2015), health sciences (Endacott et al, 2004;McCready, 2007), or foreign language education (Tanaka, Yonesaka, & Ueno, 2015).…”

“…Many students recognize that ePortfolios allow them to determine where they stand in terms of their career goals and to check how much they have learned about some new process (Yastibas & Cepik, 2015). Others reported an improvement in decision-making, goal-setting, and planning skills (Ambrose et al, 2014).…”

“…However, ePortfolios can challenge both students and teachers since their successful application is related to the students' technology proficiency (Yastibas & Cepik, 2015). Another potential obstacle arises when considering that students might not share the instructor's attitude regarding the value of ePortfolio assignments (Yastibas & Cepik, 2015).…”

“…Another definition of ePortfolios describes them as "the product, created by the learner, a collection of digital artifacts articulation experiences, achievements and learning" (Gray, 2008). It presents someone's ideas, evidences, reflections and feedback through an assembly of digital artifacts (Yastibas & Cepik, 2015). This purpose-centered process allows a student to present his or hers ability or to document the learning process, actively demonstrating that learning has happened (Koraneekij & Khlaisang, 2015;McCready, 2007).…”