Technology integration challenges faced by EFL teachers: A systematic literature review
Keywords:
EFL teachers, technology integration, digital tools, barriers, challenges, systematic review, PRISMAAbstract
Technology integration is a significant part of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education; however, it faces several severe barriers to implementation on the teacher front. This systematic literature review collates evidence of the challenges faced by EFL teachers when embedding technology into teaching practice. Using structured queries, comprehensive searches of multiple databases were conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Of the 795 initial records, 506 unique papers were identified, and only 500 were screened. Of these, 297 were identified in the abstract screening, and 288 peer-reviewed Q1/Q2 journal articles were included in the final synthesis following full-text screening. Four categories of challenges emerged from thematic analysis: (1) technical and infrastructure issues, such as lack of devices, limited internet access, and insufficient facilities; (2) teacher skill and training limitations, including low levels of digital literacy or different professional development needs; (3) institutional and systemic constraints, such as no technical support, unoptimized time for TLs to reflect on implementing ICT in lesson plans, or lack of policy and (4) pedagogical and contextual challenges for selecting tools that engage students used to gamification in their everyday context with no recognition of TLs engaged pedagogically. Rural teachers, in particular, face exhausting challenges due to stark differences between urban and rural settings regarding severe infrastructure limitations. The results suggest that high-quality technology integration is only achievable through broad and holistic coordination across multiple levels of intervention targeted at different components of ed-tech adoption, regardless of the context.
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