BAŞKENT UNIVERSITY
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION
2021, 8(1), 117-128 ISSN 2148-3272
Existing ICT Environment in EFL Classes and
EFL Instructors’ Use of ICT
Hazırlık Sınıflarındaki Mevcut BİT Ortamı ve İngilizce Öğretim
Görevlilerinin BİT Kullanımı
Aydan Irgatoğlu
a*
aAnkara Hacı Bayram Veli University, Ankara, Turkey
Abstract
This study aims to discuss the existing ICT environment in preparatory schools of two foundation universities in Ankara, EFL instructors’ use of ICT in their classes and the factors influencing the use of ICT. To this end, a descriptive study was designed and carried out with 190 EFL instructors working at preparatory schools of two foundation universities in Ankara. In the course of the study, relevant literature was reviewed, and two research instruments that would be used to collect the data were chosen accordingly. These instruments including a questionnaire for EFL instructors and unstructured interviews with 5 EFL instructo rs were used to collect data. The quantitative data collected through questionnaires were analysed through SPSS 22, and the qualitative data collected through the interviews with instructors were analysed through in depth content analysis technique for triangulation. The analysis of the data showed that although foundation universities are expected to be well-equipped, there are not enough ICT tools and internet access in the classrooms. Additionally, most of the instructors considered ICT as a valuable tool and used ICT mostly in classroom for drill and practice, explaining new knowledge and presentation of works while little communicative use of ICT was detected among the instructors. In terms of factors motivating EFL instructors to use ICT in their teaching, the opportunity of providing authentic materials was considered as the most motivating factor while, lack of technical support and encouragement, lack of computers and resources, and heavy pressure of exams were considered as the most preventing factors.
Keywords: Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), EFL instructors, ICT use in classes, ICT environment.
Öz
Bu çalışma, Ankara'daki iki vakıf üniversitesinin hazırlık okullarındaki mevcut BİT ortamını, İngilizce öğretim görevlilerini n sınıflarında BİT kullanımını ve BİT kullanımını etkileyen faktörleri tartışmayı amaçlamaktadır. Bu nedenle Ankara'daki iki vakıf üniversitesinin hazırlık okullarında görev yapan 190 öğretim görevlisi ile betimsel bir çalışma tasarlanmış ve gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışma süresince ilgili literatür gözden geçirilmiş ve verileri toplamak için kullanılacak iki araştırma aracı buna göre seçilmiştir. Veri toplamak için öğretim görevlilerinden anket aracılığıyla nicel veri toplanmış ve 5 öğretim görevlisiyle yapılandırılmamı ş görüşmeler içeren nitel görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Anketlerle toplanan nicel veriler SPSS 22 ile analiz edilmiş ve öğretim görevlileriyle yapılan görüşmeler yoluyla toplanan nitel veriler, derinlemesine içerik analizi tekniği ile analiz edilmiştir. Verilerin analizi, vakıf üniversitelerinin iyi donanımlı olması beklenmesine rağmen, sınıflarda yeterli BİT aracı ve internet erişimi olmadığını göstermiştir. Buna ek olarak, öğretim görevlilerinin çoğu BİT'i değerli bir araç olarak görmekte ve BİT'i çoğunlukla sınıfta alıştırma ve uygulama yapma, yeni bilgileri açıklama ve sunum yapmak için kullanmaktadır. Buna rağmen, BİT ‘in iletişimsel amaçlı kullanımının çok az tespit edilmiştir. Öğretim görevlilerini yabancı dil öğretim sürecinde BİT kullanmaya motive eden faktör olarak, BİT in özgün materyal sağlama fırsatı en motive edici faktör olarak kabul edilirken, teknik destek ve teşvik eksikliği, bilgisayar ve kaynak eksikliği ve yoğun sınav baskısı en engelleyici faktörler olarak değerlendirilmiştir.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Bilgi ve İletişim Teknolojileri (BİT), İngilizce öğretim görevlileri, sınıflarda BİT kullanımı, BİT ortamı.
© 2021 Başkent University Press, Başkent University Journal of Education. All rights reserved.
*ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE: Assist. Prof. Dr. Aydan Irgatoğlu, School of Foreign Languages, Ankara Hacı Bayram
Veli University, Ankara, Turkey. E- mail address:aydan.irgatoglu@hbv.edu.tr. ORCID ID:0000-0002-0773-4619. Received Date: June 21st, 2020. Acceptance Date: December 3rd, 2020.
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1. Introduction
Technology, especia lly Informa tion a nd Communica tion Technologies (ICT), is growing fa st, so ma ny countries ha ve been trying to promote technology by ma king investments to implement ICT into va rious fields a s much as educa tion. ICT is considered a s the ba sis of modern society a nd a n importa nt instrument for inducing educa tional reforms by tra nsforming students into productive knowledge workers (Pelgrum, 2001). The qua lity of educa tion can be boosted by integra ting ICT into educa tion system. As a result, recently, the use of ICT in cla ss ha s become a necessity a nd governments encoura ge the integra tion of ICT in their educa tional policies to tra nsform cla ssrooms into intera ctive lea rning environments a nd keep pa ce with ra pidly developing field knowledge a s well a s imp rove the sta nda rds of educa tion.
According to OECD (2005), the qua lity of tea chers is the most importa nt fa ctor which influences student lea rning a nd a chievement. As a result, students will benefit from ICT only if instructors themselves a re a ctively involved in the process a nd feel sense of ownership of reform. Equipping schools with technology for a desira ble educa tion does not gua ra ntee effective educa tion (Durdu & Özden, 2019). Instea d, it becomes the role of the instructors to provide opportunities for a n efficient lea rning a tmosphere by integra ting technology effectively in cla sses to motiva te students, a ccess a uthentic resources, a nd prompt a utonomy.
The use of ICT is very common a t universities, a nd lots of resea rch studies ha ve been conducted on this issue . However, most of them rega rded founda tion universities a s fully equipped a nd ignored tha t sa mple. For insta nce, Çakıcı (2016), conducted a research study to shed light on how ICT contribute to English learning process and help identify the fa ctors influencing the success implementa tion of ICT a nd ignored the university sa mple. Simila rly, in their resea rch study, Zengin a nd Aksu (2017) a imed to portra y a synthesis of educa tional resea rch in Turkey in terms of technology integra tion into foreign la ngua ge tea ching a nd lea rning in Turkey a nd a ga in ignored the university sa mple while focusing on English La ngua ge tea ching a nd ICT integra tion. Also, Gökta ş, Gedik, a nd Ba yda ş (2013) conducted a resea rch study on the ena blers a nd ba rriers to the use of ICT in prima ry schools in Turkey a nd they a lso ignored the university sa mple. While most of the resea rchers focused on the prima ry sc hool a s sa mple, Gökta ş, Yıldırım, a nd Yıldırım (2009) conducted a resea rch on the m a in ba rriers a nd possible ena blers of ICTs integra tion into pre-service tea cher educa tion progra ms. Although they focused on university sa mple they did not give any informa tion a bout the existing ICT environment in founda tion universities a nd rega rded universities a s fully equipped. Therefore, this study focuses on the existing ICT environment in prepa ra tory schools of two founda tion universities in Anka ra , the use of ICTs by EFL instructors in their cla sses a nd the fa ctors influencing the use of ICT.
This study tries to find a nswers to the following resea rch questions:
1. Wha t is the existing ICT environment in prepa ra tory schools of two founda tion universities in Anka ra ? 2. How do instructors use ICT in their cla sses?
3. Wha t a re the fa ctors influencing the use of ICT by instructors?
2. Review of Literature
This section presents some informa tion a bout wha t ICT is, the usa ge a nd a dva ntages of ICT a nd some ba rriers encountered in integra ting ICT in educa tion.
2.1. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
New technologies ha ve been developed ra pidly recently a nd the need for a term referring to these new technologies led the rise of the term ICT. The term ICT is defined a s va rious resources a nd tools tha t a re used to discover, sprea d, collect a nd control the informa tion, a nd communica te (Tinio, 2003). Additiona lly, a ccording to ISTE (1999), ICT consists of the use of computer ha rdwa re a nd softwa re, the networks, a nd a host of devices tha t convert informa tion into genera l digita l forma ts.
There a re three essentia l ra tiona les for ha ving the knowledge of ICT (OECD, 2001). The first one is economic. ICT skills a re necessa ry for employa bility. The second ra tiona le is sociologica l since in this era , ICT is a necessa ry tool for pa rticipa tion in society. The la st one is peda gogica l, a s it helps to increa se the brea dth a nd richness of lea rning (Göktaş, 2006).
ICT utilizes different methods of a pplica tion a nd delivery metho ds. For insta nce, a dva nces in technology ha ve led the wa y to the method of sha ring knowledge loca lly a nd interna tionally via Electronic Lea rning (E -Lea rning), blended lea rning a nd dista nce lea rning. E-lea rning is defined a s a lea rning process ena bled by th e use of digita l tools, the internet a nd digita l lea rning content (Asa bere & Engua h, 2012). It involves some forms of intera ctivity, which includes online intera ction between students a nd tea chers (Asa bere & Mends-Brew, 2012). It ha s a lot of a dva ntages such as
ba rrier, a nd ena bling lea rners to lea rn a nytime a nd anywhere. In a ddition to e-lea rning, a nother term tha t is brought by the use of ICT is blended lea rning which is defined a s the integra tion of fa ce-to-fa ce cla ssroom communication with online lea rning experiences (Ga rrison & Ka nuka , 2004). As e -lea rning, blended lea rning a lso ha s lots of pros such a s providing peda gogica l richness, socia l intera ction, cost effectiveness, persona l a gency, a ccess to informa tion, a nd ea se of revision (Osgurthope & Gra ha m, 2003).
In Turkey, currently, most of the cla sses a t universities a re equipped with ICT tools a nd instructors a re expected to use them effectively. On beha lf of the la test developments in ICTs, instructors a nd students ha ve a cha nce to a ccess to technology ea sily a t universities. Despite the fa ct tha t a ll instructors a re expected to use ICT effectively to promote lea rning, using technology in cla ssroom does not depend hea vily on them. This shows the importa nce of the present study a s it tries to find out how ICT tools a re used by instructors working a t prepa ra tory schools of two founda tion universities.
2.2. ICT in Education
For the time being, a wide ra nge of technologies such a s virtua l rea lity, videoconferencing, ha ndheld computers, digita l ca mera s, World Wide Web, a nd digita l libra ries a re a ll integra ted in ICT for educa tion (Ma thevula and Uwizeyima na , 2014). Litera ture review ha s shown tha t the qua lity of softwa re a nd ha rdwa re, a daptation to cha nge, ba ckground ICT knowledge, the a bility of using technology, commitment to professional lea rning, school a nd na tional polices affect teachers’ decisions to use ICT in their classes (Buabeng-Andoh, 2012; Göktaş, 2006).
Integra ting ICT into educa tion is very beneficia l for students. According to Roblyer a nd Edwa rds (2000), there a re five rea sons to integra te technology into educa tion. The first rea son is motiva tion. It is necessa ry for ta king the a ttention of the lea rners, ena bling students to be productive, a nd increa sing the sense of self -control. The second rea son is unique instructiona l ca pa bilities. By the help of those ca pa bilities, the students ma y be linked to informa tion sources a nd lea rning tools. Those ca pa bilities a lso ena ble students to visua lize problems a nd solutions a nd give instructors a cha nce to tra ck the progress of the students. The third rea son is the support for new instructiona l a pproa ches. It is importa nt for coopera tive lea rning, sha red intelligence, problem solving a nd higher-level skills. The next one is increa sed tea cher productivity. Instructors ca n ha ve a n opportunity to do more productive a ctivities a nd provide more a ccura te information quickly. ICT use a lso lets instructors produce ma teria ls more quickly. The la st one required skills for a n informa tion a ge. To be a ble to use ICT in educa tion technolo gy litera cy, informa tion litera cy a nd visua l litera cy a re necessa ry. As a result, there is a common expectation that all na tions should embra ce the informa tion age and a growing convergence between the economic, social, and pedagogical rationales (Göktaş, 2006).
University tea chers a re expected to be rea dy for cha llenges a nd cha nges tha t a re brought by the technology which ca uses the evolution of la ngua ge lea rning a nd tea ching techniques. Before technologica l developments in educa tion, instructors used to use coursebooks, OHPs, ta pe recorders, bla ckboa rds, etc. However, with technologica l developments a nd investments in educa tion, they ha ve become more knowledgea ble on using technology to introduce la ngua ge skills in their cla sses (Pea cock, 2013).
2.2.1. Advantages of using ICT in education
The use of ICT in educa tion ha s ha d a n impa ct on tea ching a nd lea rning a ctivities beca use it ha s increa sed the flexible process of delivering educa tion to ensure ea sy a ccess of knowledge both by students a nd instructors. ICT in educa tion prepa res lea rners for lifelong lea rning a nd improves the qua lity of educa tion continuously (Jewell, 2006). Using ICT in educa tion ha s a grea t number of a dva ntages such a s increa sing lea rner a utonomy a nd control, improving foreign la ngua ge skills, providing a lea rner-centred lea rning environment, enga ging lea rners a ctively in learning process, providing real authentic contexts and materials, developing confidence in learners’ own language a bilities, providing intera ction between instructo rs a nd lea rners, meeting a ffective needs of lea rners a nd providing feedba ck (Yilma z, 2015). When these a dva ntages a re ta ken into considera tion, it ca n be cla imed tha t ICT in educa tion helps lea rners to improve their a ca demic performa nces a nd provides curre nt lea rning a nd resea rch ma teria ls for instructors.
2.2.2. Barriers of integrating ICT in education
Although implementing ICT in educa tion is very a dva ntageous, there a re some ba rriers encountered in integra ting it. The most importa nt hindra nce is tha t there a re not a dequa te investments in equipment, infra structures, and resources. Institutions often ignore or ca nnot cover the cost of budgets tha t a re needed to implement the infra structure, resources, etc. (Ra ba h, 2015). Additiona lly, some of the school build ings a re not constructed for insta lling ICT. The most importa nt ba rrier of integra ting ICT in educa tion is ina dequa te knowledge of instructors. Due to the continuous
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development in technology, most of the instructors do not ha ve a dequate skills necessa ry t o use new technology in their cla sses Moreover, due to the fa ct tha t instructors a re used to tea ching without ICT, they a re expected to have problems while implementing ICT in tea ching. The rea son of it ma y be not ha ving enough ICT tra ining or fa cing cha llenges in a ccessing ICT fa cilities (Kirkwood, 2013).
Simila rly, Ertmer, Addison, La ne, Ross, a nd Woods (1999) cla ssified the ba rriers of integra ting ICT in educa tion into two prima ry ca tegories a s extrinsic a nd intrinsic ba rriers. Extrinsic ba rriers consist of not ha ving a dequate resources, a dequa te tra ining, technica l support, a nd time, while intrinsic ba rriers consist of tea cher beliefs, visions of technology integra tion, a nd views a bout tea ching, lea rning, a nd knowledge.
Mehlinger a nd Powers (2002) delinea ted the ba rriers of effective ICT integra tion a s la ck of vision a nd pla nning, ina dequa te support, wea k equipment infra structures, not ha ving a dequa te a ccess to technology, la ck of incentives, ignoring professiona l development, a nd la ck of money. In a ddition to those ba rriers, USDE (2000) identified ba rriers a s not enough computers (78%), not ha ving enough time to lea rn how to use computers or the Internet (82%), and la ck of time for using computers in cla ssroom (80%). Simila rly, Mümta z (2000) sta ted that there were three fa ctors tha t a ffected the use of ICT a s insufficient time to ma na ge ICT, limited resources of schools a nd la ck of computers a nd softwa re in the cla ssroom.
Ta king these into considera tion, this study a ims to discuss the existing ICT environment in prepa ra tory schools of two foundation universities in Ankara, EFL instructors’ use of ICT in their classes, and the factors influencing the use of ICT.
3. Methodology
In this pa rt, the resea rch design of the study, the pa rticipa nts, da ta collection instruments, da ta a nalysis techniques will be discussed.
3.1. Research Design
Universities a re expected to contribute to society by boosting economy, contributing to the vita lity of the communities a nd developing tolera nt a nd well-educa ted societies by using technology. Especia lly founda tion universities ha ve invested in educa tion by equipping their cla sses with ICT tools. While most of the universities a re equipped with ICT, successful integration of ICT into curriculum depends on instructors’ use of technologies as pra ctitioners. As a result, this study a ims to present a n overview of most recent ICT environment in two founda tion universities in Anka ra , to investiga te the implementa tion of ICT, a nd to find out the fa ctors influencing instructor s’ use of ICT.
Within this descriptive study, for tria ngula tion, mixed method resea rch wa s ca rried out, a nd two resea rch instruments were used to collect both qua ntitative a nd qualita tive da ta. As it is known, the most common a nd well-known a pproach to mixing different methods is the Tria ngula tion design (Creswell, Pla no Cla rk, et a l., 2003). The a im of using mixed method resea rch design is to bring together the different strengths of qua ntita tive a nd qualita tive designs. In this wa y, qua ntita tive sta tistica l results a re directly compa red a nd contra sted with qua lita tive findings (Creswell, Pla no Cla rk, et a l., 2003). In this study, the qua ntita tive da ta were collected by mea ns of a questionna ire a dministered to a sa mple of 190 instructors working a t prepa ra tory schools of two founda tion universities in Anka ra a nd da ta were a na lysed through sta tistica l a na lyses. Besides, qua lita tive da ta were collected through interviews with five instructors and a na lysed through in depth content a na lysis technique in the light of the review of litera ture.
3.2. Participants
190 EFL instructors pa rticipa ted in this descriptive study. Additiona lly, five instructors were interviewed . Interviewee sa mple consisted of some of the instructors who did not respond to the questionna ire. Only five instructors pa rticipa ted in the interviews since the other instructors were not willing to be interviewed. All of the pa rticipant interviewees volunteered to ca rry on the interviews. The following ta ble demonstra tes the genera l cha ra cteristics of the pa rticipa nts.
Table 1. General Characteristics of the Participants (f=190) f % Age 20-30 98 51,57 31-40 48 25,26 41-50 32 16,84 51-60 12 6,31 Gender Fema le 145 76,31 Ma le 45 23,68
Tea ching Hours per Week 5-11 65 34,21
12-18 103 54,21
19-21 22 11,57
Yea rs of Tea ching Experience 1-5
6-10 11-15 16-20 20-more 43 22,63 58 30,52 26 13,68 51 26,84 12 6,31
Aca demic Qua lifica tions BA 120 63,15
MA 65 34,21
PhD 5 2,63
Genera l Cha ra cteristics of Interviewees (f=5) Fema le 3 60 Ma le 2 40 BA 2 40 MA 2 40 PhD 1 20
As shown in Ta ble 1, 98 of the pa rticipa nts were a ged 20 -30, 48 of them were 31-40, 32 of them were a ged 41-50 a nd only 12 of them were 51-60. One hundred a nd forty-five of the pa rticipa nts were fema les, while 45 of them were ma les. One hundred a nd three of the pa rticipa nts ha d 12-18 tea ching hours per week, 65 of them ha d 5 to 11 tea ching hours a nd only 22 instructors ha d more tha n 19 tea ching hours per week. As for yea rs of experience, 33, 15% of the instructors ha d more tha n 16 yea rs of tea ching experien ce, 44, 2% ha d six to fifteen yea rs' experience, a nd 22,63% ha d less tha n six yea rs' experience. In terms of qua lifica tions, 63,15% of the pa rticipa nts ha d ba chelor's degrees, 34,21% of them ha d ma ster's degrees while only 2,63 % of them ha d PhD degrees.
As Ta ble 1 suggests, two of the interviewee instructors were ma les while the others were fema les. In terms of qua lifica tions, 2 instructors ha d ba chelor's degrees, 2 of them ha d ma ster's degrees in ELT a nd 1 of them ha d PhD. Additiona lly, 3 volunteered interviewee instructors, I1., I2., I3., were from University A, 2 of them, I4 a nd I5 were working a t University B.
3.3. Data Collection Instruments
To collect da ta for this descriptive study, two resea rch instruments, a questionna ire a nd a n interview, were used. Both of them were equa lly importa nt for the study since they complemented ea ch other a nd provided relia ble da ta. Da ta wa s collected during 2018-2019 a cademic yea r. This resea rch wa s conducted with instructors who volunta rily pa rticipa ted in the study. The da ta were collected before 2020 considering ethica l issues a nd in a ccorda nce with ethical rules. Pa rticipa nts were informed a bout the purpose a nd complia nce of the resea rch in a ccorda nce with confidentia lity principles. Consent form wa s obta ined from the pa rticipa nts.
3.3.1 The Questionnaire
One of the instruments used in this descriptive study wa s a structured questionna ire which wa s prepa red to collect da ta a bout the ICT environment in prepa ra tory schools of two founda tion universities in Anka ra , the ICT skills of instructors a nd the fa ctors influencing the instructors’ use of ICT in their cla sses.
The questionnaire used in this study was adapted from Li Li and Steve Walsh’s study (2010). The questionnaire consisted of three pa rts. The first pa rt wa s a cover letter which a imed to expla in the purpose of the survey and encoura ge pa rticipa tion by sta ting tha t their responses would be held in strict confidence. The second pa rt wa s Pa rt I which aimed to gather personal data. There were five questions prepared to identify the respondent’s personal, a ca demic a nd work cha ra cteristics. The third pa rt consisted of seven questions which a imed to ga ther informa tion a bout the current ICT environment a nd the use of ICT in EFL cla sses. Also in tha t pa rt, nine items were used to find
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out the motiva ting fa ctors of using ICT in cla ssroom. Additiona lly, there were seven fa ctors tha t prevent ICT use of instructors. Fina lly, in the la st pa rt, the respondents were offered tha nks for their contribution.
3.3.1.1. Piloting Phase
During the piloting pha se, convenient ra ndom sa mpling wa s used while choosing the pa rticipa nts. 20 instructors, working a t one of the prepa ra tory school of priva te universities, were chosen ra ndomly a nd they were excluded from the survey to be a ble to elimina te bia sed responses. In order to prepa re the fina l dra ft of the questionna ire, a pilot study wa s conducted, a nd then some a mendments were done a ccordingly. After piloting pha se, t he relia bility of this descriptive study wa s mea sured through the SPSS Sta tistic 22 Progra mme. The Cronba ch Alfa scores of the questionna ire a re shown in Ta ble 3.
Table 2. Cronbach Alfa Coefficients of the Scale
Items Cronba ch Alfa Coefficients
The current ICT environment 0.89
The use of ICT in EFL cla sses 0.92
The motiva ting fa ctors of using ICT 0.91
Fa ctors tha t prevent ICT use of instructors 0.90
When the Cronba ch Alpha coefficients in the ta ble a re exa mined, it is clea r tha t a ll the coefficients a re a bove 0.80. The reliability of the whole scale was measured as 90% (0.90). Due to the fact that 0.80 ≤ α < 1.00 scale is highly relia ble, these findings show tha t the sca le is highly relia ble for socia l sciences.
3.3.2. The Interview
The interviews were conducted with five volunteered instructors. In-depth interviews were conducted a nd the questions of the interview a imed a t getting a s much informa tion a s possible from them for in depth a na lysis. All interviews were unstructured a nd consisted of open-ended questions since unstructured interviewing wa s flexible and dyna mic (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2016). All interviews were done in English, a nd ea ch took a bout ten minutes. Interviews were recorded a nd tra nscribed for further a na lysis. The permission for recording the interviews wa s gra nted by the entire sa mple.
3.4. Data Analysis
The qua ntita tive da ta collected through questionna ires were a na lysed through SPSS 22. The sta nda rd devia tions, frequencies a nd percenta ge of the scores were ca lcula ted . Moreover, the interviews with instructors were a na lysed through in depth content a nalysis a nd used for tria ngula tion a nd different strengths of both qua ntita tive a nd qualita tive resea rch designs were brought together. In this wa y, qua ntita tive sta tistica l results a re directly compa red and contra sted with qua lita tive findings (Creswell, Pla no Cla rk, et a l., 2003). Findings were interpreted with the help of the qua lita tive da ta from the interviews a nd the releva nt litera ture helped to interpret the findings of the study.
4. Results and Discussion
The results of the collected da ta will be discussed in this pa rt in the light of ea ch resea rch question.
Research Question 1: Wha t is the existing ICT environment in prepa ra tory schools of two founda tion universities in Anka ra ?
In both of the resea rch instruments, there were some questions tha t were rela ted to the current ICT environment in the pa rticipa nt founda tion universities. The questions were a ddressed to the instructors to describe the ICT environment in their offices, a nd cla ssrooms. The ICT environment a t prepa ra tory schools of two founda tion universities in Anka ra ca n be seen in Ta ble 3.
Table 3. ICT Environment
Offices Cla ssrooms
Computer f % Internet Access f % Computer f % Internet Access f % YES 155 81,57 180 94,73 108 56,84 100 52,63 University A 80 42,10 89 46,84 50 26,31 45 23,68 University B 75 39,47 91 47,89 58 30,52 55 28,94 NO University A 35 18 18,42 9,47 10 4 5,26 2,10 82 45 43,15 23,68 90 50 47,36 26,31 University B 17 8,94 5 2,63 37 19,47 40 21,05
As Ta ble 3 suggests, 155 instructors sa id they ha d a computer in their offices while 35 of them didn’t. One hundred a nd eighty of the instructors sta ted tha t they ha d a n internet a ccess in their offices while 10 of them did not. The instructors were a lso a sked whether they ha d computers a nd internet a ccess in their cla sses. One hundred a nd eight of them sta ted tha t they ha d a computer in their cla sses wherea s the number of those sa ying tha t they did not ha ve a computer in their cla sses wa s 82. When the Internet a ccess in cla ssroom wa s exa mined, it is found tha t 100 of the cla ssrooms ha d a n internet a ccess while 90 of the cla ssrooms did not.
Qua lita tive da ta a lso verified the findings of the qua ntita tive da ta. Interviewee instructor (I.5 -University B) a lso a pproved of this finding a nd sta ted: "Although we ha ve computers a nd internet a ccess in our offices, we do not have the sa me opportunities in our cla sses. Unfortuna tely, most of us ha ve to ca rry our own la ptops a nd spea kers to the classroom for listening activities”. Similarly, another interviewee instructor (I.3- University A) stated that: “We do not ha ve computers a nd internet a ccess in our cla sses, since internet is a huge problem a t this institution. It is a lwa ys problematic here.” According to the in depth analysis of the interviews, it was found out that although there were computers a nd internet a ccess in offices, the cla ssrooms were insufficient in terms of ICT tools. As a result, it ca n be cla imed tha t the cla ssrooms in pa rticipa nt prepa ra tory schools of two fo unda tion universities in Anka ra a re not well equipped to use ICT in cla ssroom pra ctice.
Research Question 2: How do instructors use ICT in their cla sses?
In addition to the current ICT environment, this study also investigates instructors’ use of ICT in their classes. With this resea rch question, this study a ims to find out if instructors use computers in their tea ching, the frequencies of their computer use in their classes, and why they use computers in their classes. The instructors’ use of ICT in their classes ca n be seen in Ta ble 4.
Table 4. The Current Computer Use in EFL Classrooms 1. Do you use computers in tea ching?
YES NO
TOTAL 190 0
f % F %
1.1. How ma ny times do you use computers in your cla ssroom?
Daily 60 31,57%
2-3 times per week 65 34,21%
Weekly 20 10,52%
Fortnightly 25 13,15%
Monthly 10 5,26%
1-2 times a year 10 5,26%
1.2. Wha t do you use ICT for?
Explanation of new content 40 21,05%
Student Project - -
Drill and Practice 175 92,10%
Student self-support learning - -
Presentation of work 175 92,10%
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As seen in Ta ble 4, a ll of the instructors sta ted tha t they used computers in their cla sses. They were a lso a sked how ma ny times they used computers in their cla sses. Sixty of them sta ted tha t they used computers da ily while 65 of them used computers 2-3 times per week. 20 of the instructors expressed tha t they used computers in their cla sses weekly a nd 25 of them used computers fortnightly. Ten instructors sa id tha t they used computers monthly , a nd simila rly 10 of them used computers 1-2 times a yea r.
After determining the frequencies of computer use by the instructors, they were a lso a sked wha t they used ICT for. They could choose more tha n one option. According to the collected da ta , % 92,10 of the instructors used ICT for drill a nd pra ctice a nd presenta tion of work a nd %21 of th em used ICT for the expla na tion of new content. This finding wa s ba cked up by a ll of the interviewee instructors. I.1. sa id: "Most of the time, I use computer while tea ching gra mmar in order to a void writing on the boa rd. As a result, I ha ve more time for pra ctice”. This idea wa s supported by Durdu and Özden (2019). In their study, they found out that using online learning environment helped teachers spare much more time for dea ling with students individua lly. Additiona lly, interviewee instructor (I.4- University B) put an empha sis on the importa nce of using computers in cla ssroom by sa ying: "Technology is a must nowa da ys. I try to use my computer especia lly a t the pre-rea ding sta ge to present a new topic. Genera lly, computers a re used in the cla ssroom for pra ctice or presenta tion. Additiona lly, we a re suggested to use it for listening a ctivities, since it is the only option to improve listening skills”. Similarly, I.2. said that: “The authorities suggest that the students are to learn grammar rules deductively. However, our students ha ve grea t problems while lea rning them so we prefer using computers while teaching all the rules of grammar and during listening activities.” As a result, it can be stated that instructors focus on gra mma r in their cla sses since they genera lly use ICT for expla ining new content, drill a nd pra ctice a nd presenta tion of work. The findings of this study wa s ba cked up by the study of Uluyol a nd Şa hin (2016; cited in Durdu a nd Özta ş, 2019). In their resea rch study, they discussed ICT use of elementa ry tea chers a nd ca tegorized the purposes of ICT uses a s content expla nations (referred a s lecture content in their study), pra cticing the a ctivities a nd a ssessing lea rning.
Research Question 3: Wha t a re the fa ctors influencing the use of ICT by instructors?
After examining the ICT environment and instructors’ use of ICT in their classes, factors that motivate instructors to use ICT a nd fa ctors tha t prevent ICT use of instructors in their cla sses were investiga ted. In the questionna ire, th ere were some sta tements a bout motivating a nd preventing fa ctors of using ICT in cla ssroom. The instructors who sta ted tha t they used ICT in their cla sses (n.70) were a sked to choose the most motiva ting a nd preventing fa ctors. They were a sked to choose more tha n one options. The most motiva ting fa ctors a re listed o n Ta ble 5.
Table 5. Motivating Factors of Using ICT in Classroom
f %
ICT ma kes lessons more interesting 80 42,1
ICT helps me to cha nge the wa y I tea ch 54 28,4
I like innova tion 46 24,2
ICT provides numerous a uthentic ma teria ls for la ngua ge lea rning 170 89,4
ICT helps lea rners to pra ctice gra mma r with immedia te feedba ck 65 34,2
Lea rning becomes grea t fun when using ICT 97 51
Lea rners who do not like lea rning a re motiva ted by ICT 83 43,6
La ngua ge lea rning will become ea sy by using ICT 161 84,7
Using ICT a llows me to present work to lea rners which looks nicer tha n on the bla ckboa rd
46 24,2
As Ta ble 5 suggests, the most motiva ting fa ctors of using ICT in cla ssroom a re providing a uthentic ma teria ls with the help of ICT tools, a nd fa cilita ting the lea rning process. As known, a n a uthentic ma teria l is a ny ma teria l which wa s not crea ted for intentiona l use in the English la ngua ge cla ssroom such a s menus, brochures, songs, etc.
Interviewee instructor (I.5- University B) sta ted tha t: "... for more colourful lessons, we ha ve to use a uthentic ma teria ls to ta ke the a ttention of the students. Bringing them into cla ss is not a lwa ys possible, so technology is the best option for this opportunity. I get a uthentic ma teria ls a nd sha re them with the students through ICT tools in my classes”. Similarly, interviewee instructor (I.2- University A) said: "By the help of ICT tools, I manage to take the a ttention of the students on the topics tha t I wa nt to tea ch. When they see colourful a nd interesting items during the lesson, they a re more motiva ted to lea rn. Actua lly, I ca n cla im tha t ICT tools help us a lot by fa cilita ting the lea rning process and saving time.”
Although use of ICT in educa tion is very motiva ting, there a re a lso some fa ctors tha t prevent ICT use of instructors in their cla sses. These fa ctors a re a lso listed on Ta ble 6.
Table 6. Factors That Prevent ICT Use of Instructors
f %
La ck of encoura gement from ma nagement 180 94,7%
Hea vy pressure of exa ms 156 82,1%
Lea rners a re not well-prepa red to use ICT in cla ss 5 2,6%
La ck of technica l support in my institution 190 100%
There a re not enough electronic resources 172 90,5%
La ck of skills to develop coursewa re for lea rners 22 11,5%
La ck of student computers which ca n be used in the cla ssroom 190 100%
As seen on Ta ble 6, the most preventing fa ctors a re not ha ving technica l support a nd encoura gement, la ck of computers a nd resources, a nd hea vy pressure of exa ms. Simila rly, interviewee instructors were of the sa me view. Interviewee instructor (I.2- University A) cla imed: "I a m a n old one, a s you know, a nd a s old ones, we do not know how to use computers in our cla sses or prepa ring ppt or pdf etc. Actua lly, if I do not ha ve to, I do not use a computer in my classroom. At preparatory schools, we have to use it for listening activities and that is enough I think.” Furthermore, interviewee instructor (I.1- University A) a sserted tha t “We ha ve a la ptop in our room a nd it is used by three instructors. If I prepa re some resources for the lesson a nd ha ve a cha nce to ta ke the computer to the cla ssroom, I use ICT tools. However, I do not ha ve enough t ime to prepa re it. I wish the curriculum depa rtment prepared extra resources for ICT tools.” Interviewee instructor (I.5- University B) criticized the exam system by stating that: “We ha ve a curriculum tha t we ha ve to follow a nd the exa ms a re prepa red a c cordingly. If we use ICT tools in our cla sses, both the students a nd testing unit consider it a s spa re a ctivities. Mostly, we focus on the topics tha t a re importa nt for the exams”. As seen, the preventing factors were backed up by interviewee instructors.
The findings of this study are similar to the findings of Badia, Meneses & Conde (2013)’ study. They identified the ma in fa ctors tha t influence tea chers' decision -ma king rega rding the educa tional use of ICT in technology -rich cla ssrooms. They found out tha t the fa ctors influencing the use of ICT in the cla ssroom were utility a nd educa tional setting, tea cher support, a va ila bility a nd a ccess in the cla ssroom, technologica l expertise a nd a ccess outside the classroom. Similarly, Bozdoğan & Özen (2014) conducted a research study to identify both level and frequency of ICT technology use a nd fa ctors a ffecting perceived self -effica cy levels of pre-service English La ngua ge Tea ching (ELT) tea chers' (n = 241) ICT self -effica cy. Results suggest tha t the perceived use of computers, experience and confidence pla y significa nt role while la ck of knowledge a nd skills, technica l problems a nd la ck of confidence nega tively influence ICT self-effica cy.
5. Conclusion and Recommendations
In this pa rt, conclusions dra wn from the descriptive study a re presented. Then, recommenda tions, a nd suggestions for further studies a re presented.
5.1. Conclusion
The a im of this descriptive study wa s to provide a genera l picture of ICT environment in prepa ra tory schools of two founda tion universities in Anka ra a nd ICT use of instructors working there. Hence, the existing ICT environment, the current ICT use of instructors, fa ctors tha t motiva te instructors to use ICT in their tea ching, a nd the fa ctors preventing them from using ICT in their cla sses were investiga ted. For tria ngula tion, both qua lita tive a nd qua ntitative da ta were collected. A questionna ire wa s used to ga ther qua ntita tive da ta a nd a n interview wa s used to collect qua lita tive da ta. Both of them verified the findings of the study.
According to the findings of the study, a lthough instructors recognised the integra tion of technology into cla ssrooms a s a necessity a nd reported high percenta ges of computer use, the existing ICT environment in their institutions wa s found insufficient since they compla ined a bout la ck of computers a nd the internet in the cla ssroom. Akşit (2014) reported the same results and found out that the instructors’ attitudes towards the use of ICT in education are positive so we can confirm that the instructors are aware of the importance of the ICT use in education.
As for current ICT use in educa tion, instructors were found to use ICT in their tea ching. Their interest to ICT tools indica tes tha t they a re open to cha nge a nd use technology. According to the findings of this study , instructors used ICT ma inly for non-communica tive purposes such a s expla ining new knowledge, drill a nd pra ctice, a nd presenta tion of work. This finding may be regarded as an indication of instructors’ persistence of focusing on grammar and tra ditiona l tea ching methods. Simila rly, Öztürk (2017) conducted a resea rch study to define the instructors’ a ttitudes, explain the relationship between instructors’ attitudes and their ICT use and specify their ICT needs. The findings of the study revea led tha t nea rly a ll pa rticipa nts rega rded ICT a s a n inva lua ble tool for their tea ching a nd ha d moderately
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positive a ttitudes towa rds using it for persona l or professiona l rea sons. Simila r results were rea ched by Smeets (2005). In his study, the cha ra cteristics of lea rning environments a nd the contribution of ICT to lea rning environments were investiga ted. Results show tha t ma ny tea chers a pply severa l elements of powerful lea rning environments in their cla sses. This especia lly goes for the presenta tion of a uthentic ta sks a nd the fostering of a ctive a nd a utonomous lea rning.
In terms of fa ctors motiva ting instructors to use ICT in their cla sses, the opportunity of providing a uthentic ma terials wa s considered a s the most motiva ting fa ctor. Also, the instructors sta ted tha t they used ICT since la ngua ge lea rning would become ea sy by using ICT. The results of this study a re consistent with those reported by Postholm (2007) who discovered simila r motiva ting fa ctors.
Rega rding fa ctors preventing instructors from using ICT in their cla sses, not ha ving technica l support a nd encoura gement, la ck of computers a nd resources, a nd heavy pressure of exa ms were considered a s the most preventing fa ctors in this study. Simila r results were found in the study of Gökta ş (2006). He a na lysed the ba rriers fa ced in integra ting ICT into prospective tea cher educa tion progra ms. He found out tha t la ck of ha rdwa re, la ck of a ppropriate software and materials for instruction, lack of computer access for students’ out -of-class, lack of technical support, la ck of in-service tra ining a bout ICT, ina dequa te repertoire of knowledge a nd skills on the integra tion of ICT in instruction, a nd la ck of ba sic knowledge a nd skills were the ma jor ba rriers of using ICT. Although he focused on the use of ICT in schools of tea cher educa tion a nd K-12 in Turkey, he ignored the founda tion universities a nd considered them a s fully equipped a s other resea rchers did.
5.2. Recommendations
The results of this descriptive study indica te some peda gogica l implica tions for founda tion universities a nd instructors. First of a ll, the results showed tha t most of the instructors used ICT in their cla sses despite the fa ct that the ICT environment (computers a nd internet a ccess) in their institutions wa s not sa tisfa ctory which wa s sta ted a s one of the most preventing fa ctors. Due to the fa ct tha t the foundation universities a re expected to be fully equipped to a ttra ct student interest, more investments in ICT tools is highly recommended since equipping cla ssrooms with ICT would improve the use of ICT in cla ssroom pra ctice. Second implica tion of this s tudy is tha t ICT is ma inly used for non-communica tive purposes such a s expla ining new knowledge a nd drill a nd pra ctice. The rea son of it ma y be la ck of both ICT knowledge a nd peda gogica l knowledge a bout how to tea ch with technology . As a solution, instructors ma y be offered peda gogica l tra ining on how to use ICT for communica tive purposes by Professiona l Development Units in their institutions. Additiona lly, good exa mples of effective integra tion of technology to la ngua ge lea rning and tea ching ma y be presented. Fina lly, to be a ble to benefit from the a dva ntages of ICT in educa tion, softwa re a nd online ma teria ls for la ngua ge lea rning a nd tea ching ma y be developed , a nd instructors ma y be encoura ged to use them in their cla sses since they promote more communica tive a nd effective use of ICT in educa tion.
5.3. Suggestions for Further Studies
This descriptive study wa s ca rried out with 190 EFL instructors working a t prepa ra tory schools of two founda tion universities. This study ca n be ca rried out with more pa rticipa nts a nd in different institutions. This study ma y a lso be conducted in sta te universities, a nd the results ma y be compa red with founda tion universities.
Fina lly, simila r studies ma y be conducted with EFL students to exa mine their ICT use. By inve stiga ting EFL students’ ways of ICT use, a new curriculum may be developed.
6. Ethical Declaration
Da ta wa s collected during 2018-2019 a ca demic yea r. This resea rch wa s conducted with instructors who volunta rily pa rticipa ted in the study. The da ta were collected before 2020 considering ethica l issues a nd in a ccorda nce with ethical rules. Pa rticipa nts were informed a bout the purpose a nd complia nce of the resea rch in a ccorda nce with confidentia lity principles. Consent form wa s obta ined from the pa rticipa nts.
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