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
