Summary of Journal 4

TECHNOLOGICAL PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE [TPACK] OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE INSTRUCTORS

Author:  Naran Kayacan Kose, PhDc

Suleyman Demirel University

School of Foreign Languages

Isparta- Turkey

A.      Background of the Study

Technology is becoming an indivisible part of language education day after day and has the power to develop teaching and learning, but it can also make a teacher’s life more complex. Therefore, teachers’ knowledge has become very important for successful integration of technology in education (Jeong So & Kim, 2009).  What is expected from today's schools is to increase individuals who are capable of the skills of access to information and use it effectively. Teachers play a very important role in teaching technology in the most productive way and making both teachers and learners to keep up with the rapid developments in technology and education to satisfy the constantly changing expectations of learners (Akkoyunlu, 2002). In the teaching process, teachers are the key for applying new technologies efficiently and successful integration of technology depends mostly on the teachers and their understanding of how it can help the students to enhance their learning. Therefore, it is essential not only how you teach (pedagogy) and what you teach (content), but also which materials (technology) you use while teaching (Koehler and Mishra, 2008).

B.       Theory

Building upon the work of Schulman (1986), which introduced the construct of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) applicable to the teaching of specific content, Koehler and Mishra (2006) proposed a framework to add technology competency as one of the foundational components that 21st century teachers should have to effectively  integrate  technology into  teaching  and  learning.

TPACK framework is helpful to fulfill these goals and by using this framework, this study hopes to shed some new light on this topic by trying to find out the perceptions of English language instructors’ about their TPACK in a Turkish context.

C.      Method

This study is descriptive and employs a quantitative survey approach on the perceptions of English language instructors’ within the context of teaching EFL. However, it also employs a qualitative approach by having some open-ended questions added by the researcher about technological tools the instructors used in language teaching and about the contribution of using technology in language teaching. The sample of the study consists of only 127 English language instructors working in different universities and teaching English at different levels chosen by purposeful and convenience sampling.

Data were collected via TPACK-EFL Survey (Baser, Kopcha & Ozden, 2015) which intends to assess foreign language teachers’ knowledge of TPACK addressing subject-specific pedagogies and technologies.

D.      Findings and Discussion

The purpose of this study is  to investigate the perceptions of English language instructors’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) within the context of teaching EFL. Based on the data obtained from the  TPACK-EFL Survey, English language instructors feel  themselves the  most  competent in  their  subject matter, English language. This result is not very surprising because they should have the necessary knowledge in all four skills in their content area so that they can teach well.

The lowest mean scores are in TPACK because the English language instructors do not think  that  they  are  highly  competent  in  integrating  technology  into  their  content  teaching  with  sound pedagogy. Although they believe that they can improve themselves in using technological tools and resources to improve the language teaching process via professional development, they do not feel themselves secure in using Web 2.0 tools, collaboration tools or virtual worlds. It may be due to the lack of training they had during their pre-service education or lack of professional development and motivation to use technology.

E.       Conclusion

In order to provide a better and effective language teaching, firstly we should equip the teachers with the required skills and knowledge. This can be achieved by devoting more time and effort for professional development for technology integration. Secondly, teacher education programs should offer pre-service teachers with  courses teaching technology in  contexts that  focus on  the  relationship among technology, content and pedagogy, mainly TPACK. Rather than giving superficial theoretical knowledge for technology integration, they should be provided more practice both in class and in practicum at schools. By having the sufficient knowledge and skills for technology integration, the teachers will have high self-confidence and motivation which will enable them to integrate technology more into their lessons. Finally, the technological infrastructure and facilities at  schools and faculties should be improved so that teachers can apply their knowledge and skills for a better and effective learning environment.