EXPLORING THE USE OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY IN EFL TEACHING: A CASE STUDY OF PRIMARY EDUCATION IN THE SOUTH REGION OF ECUADOR

This study explores the use of educational technology for teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) at 10 state schools in the South of Ecuador. It aims to find out the current state of the use of technology in English classrooms. The research combines both quantitative and qualitative methods to gather information about the use of technology in the teaching-learning process. The main instruments applied were teachers’ and students’ surveys and observation sheets. One hundred and fifty students and fifteen teachers took part in the surveys and were observed once a week during a period of four months. The findings confirm that technology is not commonly used in state schools of the south region of Ecuador or, if used, it is not adequately applied. For this reason, in order to develop students’ performance of all four language skills it is necessary to integrate technology tools combined with appropriate teaching strategies in EFL classrooms.