Life in the 21st Century: A Study of Pre-service Teachers' Uses of Technology and English.

Abstract

In this new era of globalization, human activities have been transformed by new social relations enabled by the advance of technology and the global diffusion of English. New digital and English literacies are essential for participation in contemporary society. The new generation of pre-service teachers, who grew up with new technological development and compulsory English learning in school, is often expected to be accustomed to new forms of social participation. However, this belief is in need of verification. In addition, prior research suggests that many teachers lack adequate abilities and mindset of using technology and English for purposes of teaching. To gain an in-depth understanding of the issue, this dissertation examined the perceptions and daily uses of technology and English among 153 pre-service teachers from one institution in Taiwan, particularly focusing on exploring the relationship between their uses of technology and English as well as differences in their digital and English uses depending on personal factors. Data were collected via a questionnaire regarding pre-service teachers’ general perceptions and uses of technology and English and a web log documenting their daily activities. The analyses showed that the pre-service teachers in the study were accustomed to using technology with English in daily life. They were able to use technology and English, oftentimes together, to strengthen their existing local networks and develop new social relations with new people. In addition, their perceptions and uses of technology were found to be interconnected with those of English. Furthermore, there were differences in their perceptions and uses of technology and English depending on gender and subject area. Issues of digital and English participation equity may need to be addressed within this population. The implications drawn from this study are that teacher educators should recognize the important roles technology and English play in pre-service teachers’ lives and design curricula that build on their existing digital and English practices and support their development of new technology and English abilities for teaching.