Browsing by Author "Erkan, Hatice Ceren"

The rise of the information and communication technologies (ICT) has been revolutionary for the societies of the 21st century. From an educational perspective, ICT tools have transformed traditional teaching and learning practices in many fields, including language education. This study aims to explore how ICT tools are used in higher education, specifically in English preparatory classes of universities in Turkey. Structured, online interviews were conducted with six EFL teachers working in different private universities. The interview questions were designed to identify teachers’ ICT use, their attitudes toward ICT tools, and potential advantages and disadvantages related to ICT tools. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze interview data. Overall, EFL teachers used traditional ICT tools, such as computers, projectors, and interactive whiteboards (IWBs) in almost all classes, and used various Web 2.0 tools to enrich their teaching practice. Besides, teachers expressed their confidence in using ICT tools, and this finding was independent of their history of ICT training. Teachers considered ICT tools as beneficial, highlighting multiple teaching- and learning-related benefits. Teachers considered infrastructure problems as the main challenge related to ICT use.