Factors influencing English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in classroom practice: a mixed methods study at Hanoi University, Vietnam

Abstract

In recent times, ICT has been increasingly applied in education around the world. To understand the effectiveness of ICT integration, a vast body of research has focused on teacher use of ICT and factors influencing their use. However, most research to date has been conducted in Western countries, and little is known about EFL teachers in Vietnam. This study was conducted at a university located in the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi University. It involved the EFL teachers from the English Department and Foundation Studies Department. The study employed a mixed methods approach, with a questionnaire being administered to 81 teachers, and semi-structured interviews being conducted with seven teachers. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS for questionnaire data and analytical coding for interview findings. This was done to answer three main research questions around teacher use of ICT, impact of the factors that influenced their use, including their TPACK, and the relationships between teacher demographic features and their use of ICT, their perceptions on the impact of the factors as well as their TPACK, from the perspective of the EFL teachers. Drawing on a vast body of research around teacher use (including EFL teachers) of ICT and factors influencing their use (including TPACK), and two theoretical models, which were the Diffusion of Innovations Theory (Rogers, 2003) and the ecological perspective (Zhao & Frank, 2003), this study found that the EFL teachers used a mix of generic and language-specific ICT applications as tools for their classroom teaching. In this process, the teachers perceived that the influencing factors impacted to a varying degree, with the teacher being the most important factor. Teacher TPACK was found to have a positive correlation with their use of ICT. Some of the teacher demographic variables such as age, gender, main area of specialization, teaching experience and highest qualification also had positive correlations with their use of ICT, their perceptions on the impact of the factors and their TPACK. The study has also suggested that teacher use of ICT is complex because different factors and groups of factors had complex relationships with teacher use of ICT. Also, there might be two simultaneous implementation stages of ICT by the teachers, namely compulsory and optional stages. As well, this study supported the ecological perspective that the factors might not be isolated, rather they might interact with one another in certain patterns. Based on the main findings, a number of implications have been suggested in relation to policies, ICT-related guidelines at Hanoi University, professional learning, EFL teachers and future research.