Digital literacy for Iranian EAP instructors: Challenges, opportunities, and current practices

Document Type : research article

Authors

1 English Department, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature University of Tehran, Iran

2 University of Tehran

Abstract

With the emergence of computer-assisted language learning (CALL), digital literacy of students and teachers has become the focus of many studies. However, EAP instruction has been a neglected field in that very limited studies have been carried out in this realm. This study uncovered the digital literacy levels of Iranian EAP instructors and identified the barriers restricting the promotion of EAP instructors’ digital literacy. A total of 79 Iranian EAP instructors participated in this study. The findings suggested that Iranian EAP instructors perceived to have an intermediate level of digital literacy and use a limited range of computer tools and applications. However, the instructors were aware that their level of digital literacy for teaching purposes might be lower than their level of digital literacy for common and personal purposes. The study also revealed that Iranian EAP instructor do not decide to foster their digital literacy due to some factors such as lack of time, curricular restrictions, and lack of attention of educational authorities. It was indicated that Iranian EAP instructors had a positive perspective on promoting their digital literacy. The results suggested that Iranian EAP instructors have acquired their digital literacy through personal experience and no formal training was provided for the instructors. The study can have several implications and applications for improving EAP instructors’ digital literacy and paving the way for a more successful implementation of CALL in EAP courses.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Foreign Language Research
Volume 11, Issue 3
November 2021
Pages 417-433

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