Ecuadorian private high school teachers perceptions on ICT use in their EFL classes

Abstract

Abstract:The topic of the present research is Ecuadorian private high school teachers’ perceptions on ICT use in their EFL classes, it is aimed at investigating and analysing the EFL teachers’ perceptions about barriers and their characteristics that influence them the most in the use of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The methods used in this study were, on the first hand, the qualitative method which was used to describe and interpret the perceptions of the participants through an interview. On the other hand, the quantitative method, which was used to analyse the data collected through a survey. The number of participants were 10 high school EFL teachers (5 female – 5 male) from a private high school in Quito. The results of this study show that teacher’s personal characteristic such as age, psychological factors as fear, and professional background are considered as barriers to avoid the use of ICT in the classroom. In addition teachers show a high interest in participating in workshops and training courses to increase their abilities and improve their performance when using ICT.