Course Books and Technology Use in Language Teaching: Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices

Abstract

Teachers’ attitudes towards course materials and their adoption of new technologies are likely to be influenced by their beliefs and therefore, result in different instructional practices. This study explores the perceptions of English language teachers towards the use of course materials and integration of technology in teaching English. This descriptive study adopted both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Participants of the study were 36 instructors of a university that has been supported by a private foundation English preparatory program in Istanbul. Two instruments were developed and used to collect data for the research: a questionnaire that consisted of closed-ended questions and interviews with two teachers that consisted of open-ended questions.The results of the study indicated that teachers’ beliefs play an important role in influencing teachers’ instructional decisions and classroom practices. Quite a number of teachers raised their concerns about the unattractiveness of the course book materials. Regarding technology usage in the classroom, almost all teachers believed that it was important to become familiar with the recent technologies for both teachers and students. Findings of the study have implications for teacher education. Pre-service and in-service teacher education programs should provide training, coaching, and assistance in increasing the usage of technology in the classroom.Schools should make considerable investments in educational technologies so that learning management systems can be integrated into language syllabus