Imre Fekete: Technology in English teaching • The Hungarian university context
›
1. Introduction

1. Introduction

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

The field of information and communications technology (ICT) presumably began with designing the Internet in the 1970s by making it possible for multiple computers to connect through a data transfer protocol. The World Wide Web was born in 1989 and in under ten years, it caused monumental changes in all walks of life (White, 2008). The search engine, Google, was launched in 1998 and the free online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia, in 2001, by which point the Internet allowed users to search for and access a large amount of information for free – provided they had access to it. Facebook, which eventually grew to be the world’s biggest social networking site, was launched in 2004 and the world soon realised that the Internet is not just something that can be accessed passively, but it is something that can be altered interactively by the individual (White, 2008). Technological change and the invention of new devices that can connect to the World Wide Web soon followed, and nowadays most individuals in developed countries use technological tools daily for various purposes, such as for:

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

  • recreation – e.g., watching TV shows, do online shopping, listening to music;
  • learning – e.g., taking or sharing notes, looking up words in an online dictionary;
  • running errands – e.g., booking appointments, filing tax returns, transferring money;
  • accessing services – e.g., online banking, tracking parcels, converting currency;
  • professional purposes – e.g., accessing work correspondence, scientific databases, corpora, repositories.
 

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

In under two decades, technological advancement has gravely affected education too. Throughout the globe, technology has solidified its position in national policies and curricula (Kozma, 2008; 2011a; 2011b; Tondeur et al., 2007a; Voogt & Pelgrum, 2005), and the digital competences modern citizens ought to master have become the objective of abundant research that can inform policymakers about the realisation of digital educational targets as well as outline new directions of change (EU, 2018; Fu, 2013; Harris, 2005; ICTLP, 2007; Kler et al., 2013). Technological progress is seen as a continuum (EU, 2016; ICTLP, 2007; Vuorikari et al., 2016), and while most concepts regarding technology (e.g., digital competences, ICT literacy, technological knowledge) surface often, what they entail is in constant change (EU, 2015; EU, 2016; Fekete, 2020b; Tongori, 2012).

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

European educational policymakers argue that technology integration into education is advisable because better-skilled people can contribute more to the growth of economy, technology facilitates knowledge sharing, makes it possible for large numbers of individuals to access knowledge, creates equal opportunities for the citizens, prepares learners for the world of work as well as strengthens the European identity (EU, 2018). To achieve these, the European Union’s (EU) Digital Action Plan (EU, 2018, p. 4) set three priorities:

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

  1. making better use of digital technology for teaching and learning;
  2. developing relevant digital competences and skills for the digital transformation [of, e.g., education, services];
  3. improving education through better data analysis and foresight.
 

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

The first of these priorities recognises the fact that teachers and learners are not inherently skilful users of technology, and that teachers’ content, methodological and digital methodological knowledge are separate domains (Koehler et al., 2014; Mishra & Koehler, 2006; Shulman, 1986). The second priority encapsulates the spatiotemporal nature of technological knowledge; that is, what elements or dimensions – like pieces of a puzzle – should be developed by the individual to have the necessary competences that will allow them to function well in the modern world. As time progresses and technology advances, there are more and more pieces to fit into the individual’s digital repertoire (EU, 2016; ICTLP, 2007; Tongori, 2012; Vuorikari et al., 2016). Finally, the EU’s third priority encourages conducting research in order that empirical evidence could inform educational policy and serve as quality assurance of the realisation of these priorities and other digital educational targets set by the EU or its member countries.

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

The 2020 Hungarian National Curriculum (NAT) required primary and secondary schools to launch a new subject, Digital Culture, between grades three to 11 (Hungarian Official Gazette, 2020). At secondary level, 34% of Hungarian schools can be called highly digitally equipped compared to the EU’s 72% average, while 66% of Hungarian schools are partially digitally equipped compared to the EU’s 28% average (EU, 2019). The problem does not necessarily seem to be equipment ownership-related because the fact that 53% of Hungarian upper secondary learners use smartphones for learning purposes in lessons at least once a week compared to the EU’s 15% average shows that students could compensate for the lack of available devices in the classrooms (EU, 2019). However, changes in teacher education and launching teacher training opportunities would be vital to realise the goal set by the new NAT (EU, 2020; Fekete, 2020a; 2020b; 2022; Öveges & Csizér, 2018) because levels of connectedness and percentages of digital ownership could easily misinform individuals and strengthen false beliefs about how skilfully and pedagogically reasoned for technology use is in the classrooms of the country.

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

At the university level, little is known about the digital transformation of education. Caena (2014) reviewed the educational policies of the EU member countries and concluded that ICT inclusion was present in the policies of all member countries; however, implementation of ICT inclusion appeared to be a local variable (Caena, 2014; MDOS, 2016; Pelgrum, 2001). It was also reported that almost 100% of Hungarian university students owned a laptop in 2016 (MDOS, 2016), but how and for what students used their devices received little attention. In order to contribute to the professional discourse into ICT inclusion in learning and teaching among Hungarian English majors and university English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher education majors, a mixed methods study was designed to find out more about the dimensions of inclusion and go beyond simply reporting on ICT device ownership.

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

The aims of the study were to describe the current state of affairs concerning ICT use in the targeted population as well as to inquire into the reasons and good practices concerning ICT use for educational purposes in the Hungarian university context from both the perspectives of students and instructors. An additional aim was, regarding the studies conducted during the pandemic, to reflect on how the Covid-19-triggered 2020 spring emergency remote digital teaching period and the 2020 autumn hybrid semester affected technology use and the technological knowledge domains of the participants; however, in this respect the entire research project could not be fully consistent because the completion of some projects had already finished pre-Covid-19. To help guide the study, the following main research questions (MainRQs) were formulated:

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

  1. What attitudes do Hungarian English Studies / EFL teacher education majors hold towards ICT use for general and learning purposes and what are their perceived levels of digital competences?
  2. What attitudes do Hungarian university instructors teaching in English Studies and EFL teacher education programmes hold towards ICT use for instructional purposes and what are their perceived levels of digital competences?
  3. What are the views of Hungarian English Studies / EFL teacher education majors on skilful ICT use for studying purposes and technology integration into their future teaching practices?
  4. What are the expert views of Hungarian university instructors teaching in English Studies and EFL teacher education programmes about skilful ICT use in English major programmes?
 

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

The main research questions were also accompanied by several sub-research questions detailed in Chapter 3 (Research methods).

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

Having surveyed the literature of ICT inclusion in university programmes with reference to the secondary and university contexts of English Studies and EFL teacher education majors at Hungarian universities, it can be said that a comprehensive study into the technology use of learners and instructors has not been conducted recently. Technology develops at a remarkable speed and national curricula promotes inclusive teaching and learning (Ham & Cha, 2009; Kozma, 2008; Tondeur et al., 2007a; Voogt & Pelgrum, 2005) because there is empirical evidence between technology use and higher learner achievement (BECTA, 2003; Lei et al., 2021) if ICT is included professionally by expert teachers in the field (Graham et al., 2012; Tsai & Chai, 2012). Moreover, technology use is impossible to be researched in isolation from its narrow context (Lim, 2002; McDougall & Jones, 2006; Sutherland et al., 2004; Vygotsky, 1978). Given the field of my doctoral studies, professional interests, and teaching context, it seemed logical, feasible and timely to conduct a comprehensive, mixed methods study into the digital device use of the targeted population.

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

Furthermore, the pedagogical implications of this monograph might prove to be informative on how to trigger a (more) meaningful ICT use in Hungarian university language education programmes. On the basis of the studies, it is also hoped that certain good practices would be transferable to other similar educational contexts, such as other university major programmes. By comparing learners’ and teachers’ ideas and experiences, the needs of the two targeted populations might also be brought closer as far as ICT use for learning and teaching practices are concerned.
chevron_left
chevron_right
Tartalomjegyzék navigate_next
Keresés a kiadványban navigate_next
A kereséshez, kérjük, lépj be!
Könyvjelzőim navigate_next
A könyvjelzők használatához
be kell jelentkezned.
Jegyzeteim navigate_next
Jegyzetek létrehozásához
be kell jelentkezned.
    Kiemeléseim navigate_next
    Mutasd a szövegben:
    Szűrés:
    Kiemelések létrehozásához
    MeRSZ+ előfizetés szükséges.
      Útmutató elindítása
      delete
      Kivonat
      fullscreenclose
      printsave