The relationship of institutional supports/constraints and instructors' characteristics to EFL Taiwanese teachers' use of technology

Abstract

The purposes of the study are to investigate (a) the aspects of the availability, frequency of use, and complexity of technology use in teaching English speaking/listening skills in Taiwan; (b) the relationship between institutional supports/constraints and EFL teachers' frequency and complexity of technology use; (c) the relationship between EFL teachers' personal characteristics and their frequency and complexity of technology use, and (d) to find a combination of variables that predict the frequency and complexity of the use of technology in teaching English speaking/listening skills. Nine software and twenty hardware technologies were selected for analysis; 181 EFL teachers from post secondary institutes in central part of Taiwan participated in this research. Results indicate that the average availability of technology is moderate to high (53% for software and 71% for hardware technology). Technology frequency use appears to be moderate while the levels of technology complexity used are toward the easier end. Only one variable that related to institutional supports/constraints (i.e., colleague support) had significant relationships with the frequency and complexity of the use of technology in teaching. However, the effect sizes were small. Several personal characteristics (e.g. using the computer in preparing teaching, using computers in the class/ in the lab, length in years of teaching, etc.) have significant relationships with their frequency and complexity of technology use in teaching. The strongest predictor that related to personal characteristics derives from EFL teachers' frequency of using computers in preparing teaching. The researcher conclude that instead of increasing the availability of the technology or providing technical support in the institute, encouraging more colleague interaction in using technology, facilitating activities for preparing teaching as well as promoting computer usage in the class and in the lab will actually motivate EFL teachers use more complex technologies and use them more frequently.