Technological Tools to Develop Competences for the 21st Century: A Project to Empower Students in the English Teaching Major at UNED

Abstract

Being a «native digital», that is to say an individual who has grown up using Internet, computers and mobile devices, and being an individual able to communicate ideas effectively in a foreign language are definitely traits of a profile for the 21st century. Society is requiring future English teachers to graduate with these linguistic and technological competences to eventually equip them to provide their pupils with meaningful learning experiences. The following article intends to describe all the actions, stages and activities carried out in a project about technological tools offered to students from the English Teaching Major at Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED) during the year 2021. The article presents a description of the process followed and the information obtained through a questionnaire and a group discussion applied to the participants. One important conclusion was that projects with a hands-on perspective where students not only get information from professors but need to practice, construct, and propose their own ideas will always contribute to the participants’ development.