The Perception of English Lecturers at SLIATE in Implementing Web 2.0 Tools for Pedagogy of English as a Second Language

Abstract

With technological enhancements, a number of Web 2.0 tools have been introduced toaccelerate Englishlanguage acquisition. These tools improve learner motivation and provide opportunities to communicate, share knowledge and practice English with others. Learners can collaborate with native speakers outside the classroom. Also, these tools eliminate time and place limitations.Therefore, it is timely to examine the effectiveness of Web 2.0 tools in language learning. In Sri Lanka, only a few studies have been conducted in this regard. This study investigates the perception of English lecturers towards implementing Web 2.0 tools in teaching English at Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education (SLIATE) and practical constraints on implementing Web 2.0 tools in teaching English. The conceptual framework was developed using four factors: familiarity, effectiveness, ability and constraints. Five web 2.0 tools were selected for this study. They are Blogs, Podcasts, Social Networks, Vodcasts and Wikis. The sample consisted of thirty five SLIATE English lecturers using stratified random sampling. Questionnaires were distributed among them and ten of them were interviewed for in-depth analysis. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used for data analyzing. Finds suggest that the majority of lecturers show positive attitudes towards the implementing of Web 2.0 tools and they believe those are effective tools in teaching English. In addition, Wikis and Social Networks are the most commonly known Web 2.0 tools. The least used Web 2.0 tool is Vodcasts. Although they believe these are effective tools for teaching all components in the English language, they used them in a few subjects like Computer Aided Language Learning (CALL). Further this study identifies the number of practical constraints when implementing Web 2.0 tools.