An Investigation of Teacher Perceptions about Training on Online Foreign Language Education

Abstract

Technological advancements have prominently affected foreign language (FL) education. From the early uses of cassette-players to personal laptops and mobile phones, educational technologies have played a transformative role in FL classes through several contributions they have made to foster student achievement including increased motivation, better engagement with learning tasks, and more personalized and meaningful learning. Nevertheless, teachers as the change agents in the classroom feature to be a highly ignored stakeholder in this transformation. Given critical functions that teachers perform in the plan and design of lessons, training teachers for appropriate and maximal integration of educational technologies into FL classes still forms the ‘missing piece of the jigsaw’. Expanding on the exte nsive experience with educational technologies use during the Covid-19 pandemic, the present study investigated in-service FL teachers’ perceptions about a training program they voluntarily joined to gain and promote their awareness about educational technologies integration into FL classes. Designed as a descriptive study, the present study used qualitative methodologies to collect and analyze data. Delving into FL teachers’ perceptions of educational technologies in line with the training program they joined, the present study shed light on perceived weaknesses and strengths of online FL education apart from possible insider suggestions to improve it.