A Study On Student English Teachers' Self-efficacy Of The ICT Integration In English Teaching

Self-efficacy is an important factor that affects the success of performing a task.It also plays an important role in the integration of information and communication technology(ICT).Previous studies have shown that self-efficacy has an extremely important impact on teachers' use of information technology.Generally speaking,the higher the sense of self-efficacy,the higher the frequency of using information technology and the more successful it will be.For student English teachers,the initial experience of integrating ICT and the sense of self-efficacy they experience during teaching practicum will directly affect their attitude and practice of integrating ICT in classroom in the future.A lot of related studies have been done at both home and abroad.At home,the studies mainly focus on advantages and disadvantages of ICT integration as well as existing problems,and they involve different disciplines and grades.The related research topics abroad are more extensive,including influencing factors of ICT integration,relationship between TPACK and ICT integration,etc.However,most of these studies take in-service teachers and pre-service teachers who have participated in relevant ICT integration training as their research subjects to study the influencing factors or current situation of the use of ICT.Therefore,there are certain limitations in research subjects and topics.Based on these,present study,taking existing research and theory for reference,did research on 50 pre-service English teachers who had completed their educational practice in 2018 of Central China Normal University as the research objects and explored their existing ICT integration self-efficacy level and influencing factors through combination of questionnaires and interview.In order to improve pre-service English teachers'self-efficacy on ICT integration,some reasonable and feasible suggestions and enlightenment are provided.The study aims to address the following two research questions:(1)What is the general level of student English teachers'self-efficacy of ICT integration in English teaching?(2)What are the factors affecting student English teachers'self-efficacy of ICT integration?The study finds that the general level(3.664)of student English teachers' ICT integration self-efficacy is higher compared with both average level(3.0)and results obtained in previous studies.The mean score of self-evaluation outcome expectations is the highest,which is 3.976.However,the results of this questionnaire are based on the fact that student English teachers' understanding of information technology integration is subjective and different,so there would be a gap with the research on student English teachers who know ICT integration.With the ICT integration self-efficacy influencing factor questionnaire and interview,it is concluded that external facilities and support,relationship between cooperating teachers and student English teachers,feedback given by cooperating teachers,form of lessons,classroom management and knowledge and ability on using technology are all important factors to increase or reduce the self-efficacy on ICT integration.Good technical equipment,support from schools and students' cooperation are widely considered to be conducive to improving student English teachers' self-efficacy on ICT integration.If harmonious relationship is established between cooperating teachers and student English teachers,the student English teachers would be more confident and courageous in integrating ICT into English teaching.At the same time,if the cooperating teacher is good at using information technology,the student English teacher he or she guided would be more inclined to explore and practice in their own classroom.The knowledge and ability on ICT integration have a direct impact on student English teachers' self-efficacy,but this study shows student English teachers all lack of related knowledge and ability.Based on the results,this paper puts forward the following suggestions on improving the self-efficacy level on ICT integration of student English teachers in practice.(1)The M.Ed program and teacher educators could offer courses and lectures related to ICT integration to cultivate student English teachers' literacy on ICT integration.At the same time,when establishing cooperative relationship,basic conditions of ICT integration should be taken into consideration,such as the practicum schools should be required to provide relevant training for student English teachers.(2)The student English teachers should take the initiative to communicate with their cooperating teachers and get familiar with students.Besides,they should cherish every opportunity to give lessons and explore the use of information technology.Moreover,it is more conducive to their growth to share their experiences and resources with their peers.(3)As instructors of student English teachers,cooperating teachers should give sincere and authentic suggestions on ICT integration and share with student English teachers their own successful experience.At the same time,the cooperating teachers should set positive examples of ICT integration and provide more opportunities for student English teachers to practice and spare more time for them to prepare.(4)As far as the practicum school is concerned,the most important thing is to provide corresponding technical equipment and technical support.