ATTITUDES OF ENGLISH TEACHER CANDIDATES TOWARD ICT

Öz

The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of English teacher candidates at formal and distance higher education contexts toward ICT and reveal whether there was a significant difference between these two groups in terms of their attitudes toward ICT. The sample of the study consisted of 175 prospective English teachers at two different higher education contexts. The participants were randomly selected among forth-year students at the ELT departments of Euopean University of Lefke (EUL) in North Cyprus and Anadolu University (AU) Open Education Faculty in Turkey during 2009- 2010 Academic Year. Due to differences between the educational context and instructional method, the nine item questionnaire developed by the researchers was administered to the prospective teachers at EUL (N=92) and AU (N=120) to collect data. The return rate from AU prospective English teachers was 70.8% (N=85), while the response percentage from EUL prospective English teachers was 97.8% (N=90). Data were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation and independent samples t-test. While the general ICT attitudes of prospective EFL teachers at the formal higher education context were positive with an overall mean score of 4. 29 (SD= 0.69), a great number of prospective EFL teachers at distance higher education context exhibited less positive attitude toward ICT integration in education with a mean score of 2.77 (SD= 0.19). The results also indicated that there was a significant difference between the attitudes of prospective EFL teachers at formal higher education contexts and the attitudes of prospective EFL teachers at distance higher education contexts toward ICT integration (p < 0.05). The ELT curriculum should be reconsidered to provide real ICT experiences for prospective teachers. Furthermore, the number of courses as to ICT use in education should be increased. More opportunities should be presented to allow the prospective EFL teachers to attain valuable experiences and gain self-efficacy in the use of ICT in their future teaching.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Language education
• Englısh aducation
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
• English teacher candidates

İNGİLİZCE ÖĞRETMEN ADAYLARININ BİLGİ VE İLETİŞİM TEKNOLOJİLERİNE YÖNELİK TUTUMLARI

Öz

Problem: Bu çalışmanın amacı, örgün ve uzaktan yüksek öğretim ortamlarındaki İngilizce öğretmen adaylarının bilgi ve iletişim teknolojilerine yönelik tutumlarını anlamak ve bu tutumlarla ilgili olarak her iki grup arasında anlamlı bir farkın olup olmadığını ortaya çıkarmaktır. Yöntem:Araştırmanın çalışma grubunu iki farklı yüksek öğretim ortamındaki 175 İngilizce öğretmen adayı oluşturmaktadır. Denekler 2009-2010 Akademik Yılında Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti'ndeki Lefke Avrupa Üniversitesi (LAU) ve Türkiye'deki Anadolu Üniversitesi Açık Öğretim Fakültesi (AÖF) İngilizce Öğretmenliği 4. sınıf öğrencileri arasından rastlantısal olarak seçilmişlerdir. Araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen dokuz maddelik anketi iki eğitim teknolojisi profesörü, iki anadili İngilizce olan uzman ve iki anadili İngilizce olmayan İngilizce öğretmeni içeriksel ve yüzeysel geçerlilik açısından kontrol etmiş ve anketin çalışmanın bağlamı için uygun ve kapsamlı olduğunu belirtmişlerdir. Anketin güvenirliğini kontrol etmek için ise anketin güvenirlik katsayısı hesaplanmış ve anketin yüksek güvenirlik seviyesine sahip olduğu (α = 0. 90) bulunmuştur. LAU (N=92) ve AÖF (N=120) İngilizce öğretmen adayına dağıtılmıştır. AÜ (AÖF) İngilizce Öğretmen adaylarının % 70.8'i (N=85) ve LAÜ İngilizce öğretmen adaylarının ise % 97.8'i (N=90) anketi doldurmuşlardır. Veriler frekans, yüzde, ortalama, standard sapma ve bağımsız iki örneklem t-testi kullanılarak çözümlenmiştir. Sonuçlar: Örgün yüksek öğretim ortamındaki İngilizce öğretmen adaylarının bilgi ve iletişim teknolojilerinin kullanımına yönelik tutumları genel olarak olumlu olmasına rağmen (X= 4.29; SD= 0.69), uzaktan yüksek öğretim ortamındaki İngilizce öğretmen adayları bilgi ve iletişim teknolojilerinin kullanımına yönelik genel olarak daha az olumlu tutum sergilemişlerdir. Örgün yüksek öğretim ortamındaki İngilizce öğretmen adaylarının pek çoğu (%82.9) bilgi ve iletişim teknolojilerinin eğitimde kullanılmasında olumlu (%23.7) ya da çok olumlu (%59.2) tutuma sahip olduklarını bildirmişlerdir. Araştırma sonuçları örgün yüksek öğretim ortamındaki İngilizce öğretmen adaylarının bilgi ve iletişim teknolojilerinin kullanımına yönelik tutumları ve uzaktan yüksek öğretim ortamındaki İngilizce öğretmen adaylarının bilgi ve iletişim teknolojilerinin kullanımına yönelik tutumları arasında örgün yükseköğretime devam edenler lehine anlamlı bir farkın olduğunu da göstermiştir (p < 0.05) Öneriler: İngilizce öğretmen adaylarına bilgi ve iletişim teknolojileri ile ilgili tecrübe sağlanması için İngilizce Öğretmenliği ders programı tekrar gözden geçirilmelidir. Üstelik eğitimde bilgi ve iletişim teknolojilerinin kullanımı ile ilgili derslerin sayısı artırılmalıdır. İngilizce öğretmen adaylarına gelecekteki öğretmenlik mesleklerinde bilgi ve iletişim teknolojilerini kullanmaları için değerli tecrübeler ve öz-etkililik kazanmalarını sağlayabilecek daha fazla imkanın sunulması gerekmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Dil eğitimi
• İngilizce eğitimi
• Bilgi ve İletişim Teknolojisi (ICT)
• İngilizce öğretmen adayları

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