EFL Students and Instructors' Perceptions on How Digital Literacy is Perceived in the Turkish Context: A Qualitative Study

Ceyhun Yukselir*, Fatma Yuvayapan**
*-** Department of English Language and Literature, Osmaniye Korkut Ata University, Turkey.
Periodicity:October - December'2019
DOI : https://doi.org/10.26634/jelt.9.4.16608

Abstract

This study explores EFL students and instructors' perceptions on digital literacy to understand their perceptions towards using digital tools in English language classrooms. The participants (N=136, 46 females and 90 males) are EFL students enrolled at a state university located in southeast part of Turkey, who are studying in different departments ranging from engineering, aviation management to architecture and medicine in addition to EFL instructors (N=27, 20 females and 7 males) working in the same university. The study was designed as qualitative in nature in order to develop a deeper interpretation of participants' understanding of the concept of Digital Literacy (DL). An open-ended questionnaire with background information section was used as the data collection tool for both groups separately. The data collected were analysed by conducting content analysis. Findings indicate that EFL students and instructors' understanding of DL was centered on different concepts. EFL students considered DL skills as a tool to reach and analyse information on the net whereas these skills serve as a means of social interaction and communication for EFL instructors. The Implications of the findings are also discussed for EFL students and instructors in Turkey with regard to English language teaching field.

Keywords

EFL Students and Instructors, Perceptions, Digital Literacy, Qualitative Study, Turkish Context.

How to Cite this Article?

Yukselir, C., and Yuvayapan, F. (2019). EFL Students' and Instructors' Views on How Digital Literacy is Perceived in the Turkish Context: A Qualitative Study. i-manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 9(4), 50-64. https://doi.org/10.26634/jelt.9.4.16608

References

[1]. Allen, C., & Berggren, J. (2016). Digital literacy and sustainability – a field study in EFL teacherdevelopment. In S. Papadima-Sophocleous, L. Bradley & S. Thouësny (Eds), CALL Communities and Culture – Short Papers from EUROCALL 2016 (pp. 14-19). https://doi.org/10.14705/ rpnet.2016.eurocall2016.53
[2]. Avidov-Ungar, O., & Eshet-Alkalai, Y. (2011). Teachers in a world of change: Teachers' knowledge and attitudes towards the implementation of innovative technologies in schools. Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Learning Objects, 7(1), 291-303.
[3]. Buck, A. (2012). Examining digital literacy practices on social network sites. Research in the Teaching of English, 47(1), 9-38.
[4]. Celik, S., & Aytin, K. (2014). Teachers' views on digital educational tools in English language learning: Benefits and challenges in the Turkish context. Tesl-Ej, 18(2), 1-18.
[5]. Chase, Z., & Laufenberg, D. (2011). Embracing the squishiness of digital literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54(7), 535-537. https://doi.org/10.1598/ JAAL.54.7.7
[6]. Cirit, N. C. (2015). Assessing ELT pre-service teachers via Web 2.0 Tools: Perceptions toward traditional, online and alternative assessment. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology-TOJET, 14(3), 9-19.
[7]. Cote, T., & Milliner, B. (2018). Asurvey of EFL teachers' digital literacy: A report from a Japanese Unıversity. Teaching English with Technology, 18(4), 71-89.
[8]. Digital Literacy European Commission Working Paper. (2007). Retrieved from https://www.ifap.ru/librar y/ book386.pdf on August 5, 2019.
[9]. Durriyah, T. L., & Zuhdi, M. (2018). Digital Literacy with EFL Student Teachers: Exploring Indonesian Student Teachers' Initial Perception about Integrating Digital Technologies into a Teaching Unit. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 6(3), 53-60. Educational Technology, 24(1), 108-122. https://doi.org/10.14742/ ajet.1233
[10]. Eshet-Alkalai, Y. (2004). Digital literacy: A conceptual framework for survival skills in the digital era. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 13(1), 93-106.
[11]. Eshet-Alkalai, Y. (2009). A holistic model of thinking skills in the digital era. In Rogers, P., Berg. G., Boettcher, J., Howard, C., Justice, L., Schenck, K. (Eds.), Enclopedia of nd Distance Learning (2 Ed) (pp. 1088-1093). New York: Information Science Reference.
[12]. Eshet-Alkalai, Y., & Chajut, E. (2009). Changes over time in digitalliteracy. Cyber Psychology & Behavior, 12(6), 713-715.
[13]. Eshet-Alkalai, Y., & Chajut, E. (2010). You can teach old dogs new tricks: The factors that affect changes over time in digital literacy. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 9(1), 173-181.
[14]. Hobbs, R., & Tuzel, S. (2017). Teacher motivations for digital and media literacy: An examination of Turkish educators. British Journal of Educational Technology, 48(1), 7-22. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12326
[15]. Hockly, N. (2012). Digital literacies. ELT Journal, 66(1), 108-112. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccr077
[16]. Hutchison, A. (2012). Literacy teachers' perceptions of professional development that increases integration of technology into literacy instruction. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 21(1), 37-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 1475939X.2012.659894
[17]. Juurakko-Paavola, T., Rontu, H., & Nelson, M. (2018). Language teacher perceptions and practices of digital literacy in Finnish higher education. AFinLAn vuosikirja, 75(1), 41-60. https://doi.org/10.30661/afinlavk.69640
[18]. Kennedy, G. E., Judd, T. S., Churchward, A., Gray, K., & Krause, K.-L. (2008). First year students' experiences with technology: Are they digital natives? Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 24(1), 108-122.
[19]. Krippendorf, K. (1980). Content Analysis: An Introduction to its Methodologies. London, UK: Sage.
[20]. Liu, J. (2009). A survey of EFL learners' attitudes toward information and communication technologies. English Language Teaching, 2(4), 101-106.
[21]. Margaryan, A., Littlejohn, A., & Vojt, G. (2011). Are digital natives a myth or reality? University students' use of digital technologies. Computers & Education, 56(2), 429- 440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2010.09.004
[22]. Martin, A., & Grudziecki, J. (2006). DigEuLit: Concepts and tools for digital literacy development. Innovation in Teaching and Learning in Information and Computer Sciences, 5(4), 249-267. https://doi.org/10.11120/ ital.2006.05040249
[23]. Ng, W. (2012). Can we teach digital natives digital literacy? Computers & Education, 59(3), 1065-1078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.04.016
[24]. Oz, H. (2015). Assessing pre-service english as a foreign language teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge. International Education Studies, 8(5), 119-130.
[25]. Oz, H., Demirezen, M., & Pourfeiz, J. (2015). Digital device ownership, computer literacy, and attitudes toward foreign and computer-assisted language learning. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 186, 359-366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.028
[26]. Pegrum, M. (2010). 'I link, therefore I am': Network literacy as a core digital literacy. E-learning and Digital Media, 7(4), 346-354. https://doi.org/10.2304/ elea.2010.7.4.346
[27]. Pianfetti, E. S. (2001). Focus on research: Teachers and technology: Digital literacy through professional development. Language Arts, 78(3), 255-262.
[28]. Rambousek, V., Štípek, J., & Vaňková, P. (2016). Contents of digital literacy from the perspective of teachers and pupils. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 217, 354-362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.02.101
[29]. Saglam, A. L. G., & Sert, S. (2012). Perceptions of inservice teachers regarding technology integrated English language teaching. Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, 3(3), 1-14.
[30]. Son, J. B., Park, S. S., & Park, M. (2017). Digital literacy of language learners in two different contexts. JALT CALL Journal, 13(2), 77-96.
[31]. Son, J. B., Robb, T., & Charismiadji, I. (2011). Computer literacy and competency: A survey of Indonesian teachers of English as a foreign language. Computer-Assisted Language Learning Electronic Journal (CALL-EJ), 12(1), 26-42.
[32]. White, J. (2015). Digital Literacy Skills for FE Teachers. Learning Matters. London, Sage Publication.
[33]. Yin, R. K. (2003). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
If you have access to this article please login to view the article or kindly login to purchase the article

Purchase Instant Access

Single Article

North Americas,UK,
Middle East,Europe
India Rest of world
USD EUR INR USD-ROW
Online 15 15

Options for accessing this content:
  • If you would like institutional access to this content, please recommend the title to your librarian.
    Library Recommendation Form
  • If you already have i-manager's user account: Login above and proceed to purchase the article.
  • New Users: Please register, then proceed to purchase the article.