A Study of Students’ Attitudes toward Using Technology in Second Language Learning

Abstract

Students’ high use of technology outside the classroom has led teachers and researchers to believe that technology could be highly effective for language learners when used appropriately. The present study was designed to identify students’ perceptions towards the role of technologies such as computer and internet in English language classes. Furthermore, it aimed to find out motivating and preventing factors that led these students to use or not to use technology in their classes. This study employed a qualitative approach. Five ESL students and three teachers were selected randomly to take part in the study. Interviews were conducted to gather and analyze data collected. The finding showed the students’ positive orientation toward technology. They are enjoyed and satisfied with it for foreign language learning in classes because of its convenience, and practicality which facilitate their acquisition of learning skills. Students valued the feedback from teachers and thought technology made easier and faster, but some factors such as insufficient computer skills, lack of internet access, and lack of time as obstacles students utilized it rarely in their classes. Yet little is known about how students actually react to technology-based tools for language learning purposes. It was discovered that age was the most significant predictor of student attitudes about technology. Meanwhile, it was explored that general attitudes toward technology do affect the ways in which students will react to a technology-based curriculum.