Pre-Service and In-Service ESL Teachers' Beliefs About the Use of Digital Technology in the Classroom

It has long been accepted that teachers’ beliefs guide their classroom practices (Pajares, 1992; Fang, 1996; Woods, 1996; Borg, 2006). Yet, little is known about what teachers believe about digital technology integration, despite the attempts by mainstream education to incorporate it into language teaching, especially in the field of second language education. Using Borg’s (2006) framework of language teacher cognition, this study investigated the beliefs of pre-service and in-service ESL teachers about the use of digital technology in the classroom, and the factors that influence those beliefs. Thirty-five Canadian pre-service and in-service ESL teachers completed an online survey and some were interviewed (n =10). The findings suggest that the participants generally hold positive attitudes about using digital technology in the classroom. These beliefs seem to be influenced by the participants’ classroom practice, experiences with digital technology, technology-related training, context(s) in which such digital technology was used, and age.