Teachers' attitudes towards the "Ddyned"in primary education in Turkey: From the 4th to 8th grades

Abstract

Use of technology, especially use of computers, in language education has been very popular recently. In Turkey the Ministry of National Education made the Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) software DynEd compulsory in state primary education from the 4th to 8th grades in 2006. In this study, EFL teachers? attitudes towards the ?DynEd? in primary education in Turkey: from 4th to 8th grades were investigated. A descriptive research study was conducted with 121 teachers of English working at different primary schools and using DynEd in their lessons in 10 different cities in Turkey. Data for this study were collected through a questionnaire which was used to find out the participants? attitudes and a semi-structured interview which was held with participants to support the results of the questionnaire and to identify the factors (if any) that make teachers abstain from using the DynEd. Questionnaire was analyzed by using SPSS 11.5 statistical program. Statistical methods including frequencies, percentages, mean, and regression analysis were used to analyze data. Interviews were analyzed qualitatively using content analysis. The results of this study revealed that the teachers? attitudes towards DynEd were mildly positive but their attitudes towards CALL were very positive. The results of the regression analysis showed that computer knowledge has no effect on teachers? attitudes towards DynEd. The results indicated that there were some factors that make teachers abstain from using the DynEd such as lack of equipment (number of computers, microphones, headphones, etc.), internet connection problem, intensive syllabus, crowded classes, insufficient servers, lack of technical and administrative support.