A case study on the development of Turkish pre-service EFL teachers’ digital competence

Abstract

The present qualitative case study aims to explore the impact of a technology enhanced language teaching course on pre-service EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers’ digital competence development from the perspective of the Digital Competence Framework for Educators (DigCompEdu). The participants were six pre-service EFL teachers at a state university in Turkey. The data collected during the course was enriched with data collected during participants’ teaching practicum to fill the gap in the literature. The research questions aimed to explore (1) the participants’ perceived digital competence before and after the study, the DigCompEdu areas where the participants made the most and least progress during the course, (2) whether and how the participants’ digital competence developed in practice, (3) whether and how the participants planned to benefit from their digital competence training in the future, (4) whether and how the participants could transfer their digital competence to teaching practicum and their reflections on using technology in macro teachings. Data were gathered through surveys, interviews, reflection papers, and performance tasks. The findings revealed that the participants’ perceived competence increased after the study, and they planned to reflect their competence to their future teachings. It was also found that the development of digital competence is a complex process affected by several factors, and the participants could not transfer their digital competence to their performance tasks during coursework and practicum in the same way.