Difficulties participating teachers face when they attempt to use ICT

consideration of ICT employment in the process of teaching and learning. Thus, the study aims at investigating the obstacles the respondents face when they attempt to adopt technology in their classroom teaching. Therefore, the participants were asked to respond to 16 Likert-type statements dealing with their difficulties concerning the reasons why teachers cannot use ICT sufficiently in the teaching process, they reported their responses on a 5-point scale including 5 (very difficult), 4 (difficult), 3 (neither difficult nor easy), 2 (not much difficulty), 1 (no difficulty at all).

The same arbitrary three level (high, medium and low) equation, which was described in section 4.6.2 was calculated to indicate the level of the means associated with each response.

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Table 12. Distribution of mean scores and percentage of teachers difficulty in their attempt to use ICTs

Pedagogical ICT use scale

Per cent (%)

very

difficult Difficult neither

difficult nor easy not much

difficulty no difficulty at all Mean Std

Lack of ICT tools in the

classrooms 77.2 12.8 3.7 0 6.3 4.45 1.030

Limited knowledge on how to

make full use of ICT 54.0 29.7 9.9 0 6.4 4.16 .996

Limited understanding of how to integrate ICT into teaching

51.2 29.1 0 16.0 3.6 4.21 .968

Shortage of class time hinders me

from using ICT 32.1 48.2 16.3 3.4 0 4.08 .790

Little access to ICT prevents me from using it

38.6 35.6 16.2 6.4 3.2 4.00 1.065

Few ICT technical support in the classrooms discourage me from using it

51.0 29.4 0

16.2 3.3 4.16 .965

Unreliable computers and/or

software 6.0 29.5 38.8 25.6 6.6 3.85 .918

Internet access is not easily

accessible in the classrooms 6.9 41.6 35.3 16.2 6.0 4.03 .926 Lack of training on available

computers and/or software

89.8 6.9 3.3 0 0 4.76 .498

Lack of administrative support 77.5 16.2 6.3 0 0 4.75 .588

Insufficient pedagogical support

for teachers 48.8 26.3 6.3 12.4 6.2 4.00 1.243

Student’s lack of ICT use 25.7 22.4 10.1 12.8 29.0 3.00 1.634 The pressure to prepare students

for exams and tests 12.8 35.9 35.9 16.2 12.1 3.98 1.021

Using ICT in teaching not being

a goal in our university 67.2 22.5 3.7 6.6 0 4.32 .858

Teaching with ICT required more

time. 29.2 48.3 16.3 6.2 0 4.03 .851

Lack of pedagogical training on how to use technology in EFL teaching.

61.7 29.1 3.0 6.2

0

4.40 .850

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Total 4.14 .950

As it can be noticed from Table 12, the overall difficulties the participant face when they try to adopt ICT is at a high level, since the total mean value is 4.14with standard deviation of .950. The respondents reported a lack of ICT tools, pedagogical as well as technical training, lack of time and administrative support as factors that inhibit them from using technology properly in their teaching practice.

The findings indicate that the lack of ICT tools in the classrooms scored a high mean value of 4.45 with a standard deviation of 1.030 which highlights a significant level of difficulties when the teachers use these different ICT tools. This is in line with findings of researches Bingimlas (2009); Mumtaz, (2000); Warschauer, (2002);

Mahony, (2003); UNESCO, (2003); and O'Connor and Gatton (2004) that insufficient access to ICT in teaching context is a huge obstacle that may hinder teachers to use ICT in a sound way and preventing successful implementation in the process of teaching.

Majority of the respondents reported lack of pedagogical training on how to use technology in EFL teaching as the biggest problem which made using ICT properly in classroom teaching very difficult. The mean value for this issue is 4.40, with a standard deviation of .850. This is in line with the finding of Pelgrum's (2001) study that

insufficient training for instructors in utilizing ICT in the context of teaching could limit its use. Similarly, Özden (2007) found that not enough training opportunities is an obstacle for teachers when they try to utilize technology. Gomes (2005) identifies the lack of pedagogical training on how to use ICT in classroom teaching as a critical obstacle teacher may face when they attempt to use it in the classroom. Researches

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carried out by Alhamd et al., (2004) and Sager (2001) also reported a lack of training as reasons for failures of ICT use in the process of teaching.

Therefore, providing teachers with extensive training is crucial to enable them to use, evaluate and select the most appropriate resources to develop pedagogical

practices. The content of the training should focus on the pedagogical practices required to apply ICT in the process of teaching with a little technical aspect. This means that after taking a course, the teacher should be able to amend their teaching practices and replace the traditional teaching style with new teaching methodologies.

The majority of the teachers (80.3%) found a shortage of class time to use ICT difficult or very difficult. This is in line with the findings of the previous research studies of Arnold, and Geser, (2007); Jones, (2002); and Pleasance, (2010) that lack of time is one of the main deterrents to use any kinds of technology in the classroom.

Similarly, Kozma et al. (2004) identified insufficient time for lesson planning as the biggest obstacles for the teachers when they attempt to use technology in their classes.

Al Alwani, (2005); and Becta, (2004) found that although many teachers are

knowledgeable and skilful with ICT tools, they make little utilization of it since they do not have the sufficient time they need for its preparation in the classroom. Sicilia (2005) also found that lack of time as a big challenge for the teachers as they do not have time to schedule their lesson with technology, to look for and find proper authentic materials they are willing to include in the lesson they teach and dealing with technical problems they may face.

Lack of administrative support seems to be at a low level since the mean value is at a high level (4.75) with a standard deviation of .588 which highlights the

convergence among the teachers at this level. The research confirmed that educational

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institutions should supply sufficient and quick administrative support in order to encourage the teachers to adopt the technology. Pelgrum (2001) believes that for successful integration of technology, teachers should be provided many different kinds of support. Mumtaz (2000) found that lack of administrative is an obstacle that may hinder teachers from using technologies in their teaching. It is believed that teachers who receive sufficient administrative support utilize ICT resources in their teaching practice compare to those who do not receive it.

Almost all the participants (89.7%) reported using ICT in teaching and learning not being a goal in their university. The respondents also reported that limited

understanding on how to integrate ICT into teaching is a huge problem. The mean value is 4.21, with a standard deviation of .968 and a percentage of 80.3%.

Despite the numerous benefits of the Internet and its impact on education, 48.5%

of the teachers reported that lack of internet access in classroom teaching makes ICT use difficult or very difficult. The mean value for this item is 4.03 with a standard deviation of .926. It seems that if the teachers have access to the internet in the classrooms, they may transform their laptops or available computers into powerful teaching instrument with numerous teaching applications. Therefore, university decision makers and related individuals who are in charge of ICT integration need to invest in the installation of the internet in the classroom.

On the whole, the results suggest that participating teachers appear to face great difficulties when they try to using and integrating ICT in their teaching. Does this influence their attitudes to utilize ICT in teaching practices? The following segment shows the results of teachers' attitudes towards the use of ICT and its application in the process of language teaching.

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4.6.7 Attitude of the participating teachers towards the use and application of ICT