Digital Competence of Language Teacher Trainees. A Comparative Study

Abstract

Abstract Digital competence plays an essential role in the work of teachers in general, and it has its specific challenges regarding language teachers. In their future profession, teachers will need to be able to respond to challenges of the digital world and to develop 21st-century competencies in a conscious, goal-oriented way supported by digital tools. Our survey proposes to map the level of development of digital competence among first-year translation and interpretation students, also enrolled in language teacher training. The tool of the survey was a questionnaire. In compiling the questions, we relied on the digital competence elements of the five competence areas of the European Union DigComp 2.1 reference framework. The results suggest that students’ digital competence level is advanced, but there are areas and competences that require targeted intervention.