TEACHERS’ COMPETENCIES AND STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD ICT AT AN EFL SECONDARY SCHOOL

Abstract

Teachers as educators should have adequate competency in using a variety of media and knowledge to deliver the information to their students in order to use information and communication technologies (ICT) effectively. This study explores teachers’ competencies of ICT in their teaching and students’ attitudes toward ICT in learning English. Three English teachers and their 90 students of eleven graders at one secondary school in one district in East Kalimantan participated in this study. The data were gathered from semistructured interviews, observations, and questionnaires. Using a qualitative approach design concerning phenomenological perspective, the content analysis results have revealed that approximately 70% of the students had a positive attitude toward ICT, while the teachers’ competencies were varied from mostly incorporating all the ICT tools to rarely using them in their classroom. The results suggest that English teachers need to have more professional development programs related to ICT in order to understand and be able to operate the ICT media and tools to teach English. EFL students should aware of their attitude toward ICT in this modern era and firmly use the advancement of ICT for educational purposes.