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.

Keywords

• computer-assisted language teaching
• English Foreign Language (EFL) instruction
• internet activity
• internet- assisted language teaching (IALT)