A Study On Middle School English Teachers' Informatization Teaching Ability In Hangzhou Based On TPACK Model

With the rapid development of “Internet+”,big data,cloud computing,5G,and digital campus,China has entered a new era of Education Informatization 2.0.Nowadays,the fast development of education technology has provided benefits for improving digital learning environments and smart learning tools in foreign language education.However,there still exists a gap between the current urgent need for the improvement of Chinese EFL learners' language proficiency and the inadequacy of foreign language teachers' informatization teaching ability.Facing the widespread of education technology in English education around China,Chinese English teachers are expected to improve their informatization teaching ability,which should be a necessary component as their English teaching ability.The TPACK model proposed by Mishra and Koehler(2006)provides a new perspective for English teachers to integrate technology into English teaching,and helps to establish a theoretical basis for the construction of dynamic knowledge framework in the professional development of English teachers.However,at present,there are few researches concerning the informatization teaching ability(ITA)of English teachers and the construction of English teachers' ITA has not been paid much attention to in the field of language teachers' professional development.Under the guidance of the TPACK model,this research adopts a questionnaire and an interview to investigate the present status of English teachers' ITA and challenges hidden in their ITA development.The investigation was carried out in Hangzhou,the capital city of Zhejiang Province and the participants include 105 middle school English teachers from the city of Hangzhou.Based on the data analysis,this research attempts to build an ITA structure model for middle school English teachers and proposes suggestions for improving their all-around English teaching ability.Our research questions include:(1)What is the status quo of middle school English teachers' ITA in Hangzhou?(2)What are the components of the competency framework for middle school English teachers' ITA in Hangzhou?(3)What are the challenges and problems that have hindered the development of teachers' ITA? How to solve these problems and facilitate the improvement of teachers' ITA?105 English teachers in middle schools from X district in Hangzhou were surveyed.Among them,6 English teachers were interviewed,including 2 novice English teachers,2 proficient teachers and 2 expert teachers.The major findings of the research are as follows:(1)Most of the middle school English teachers in Hangzhou have mastered the basic knowledge and skills of ITA.Two weakest abilities among ITA are informatization evaluation ability and informatization self-study and research ability.(2)The most distinctive components of ITA structure include Informatization English Teaching(IET)Awareness,IET Planning and Preparation,IET Application and Innovation,IET Evaluation and Research,IET Ethical Responsibility.Specifically,English teachers' IET awareness includes technical value consciousness and English teaching concepts.IET Planning and Preparation Ability include instructional design ability,Integration and optimization of resources,and teaching management ability.IET Application and Innovation Ability include the ability of the integration of the English subject and technology,teaching practice,and technological innovation.IET Evaluation and Research includes teaching evaluation ability,self-study and research ability.IET Ethical Responsibility includes the standardization of technology use,the equality of technology facilities and resources,and the rationality of technology integration processes.The research finds that the development of teachers' ITA is dynamic,practical,and systematic.The loop structure indicates that the five abilities are in a complementary relationship with each other.It is a unified and integrated whole that is interconnected and influential,and has its different position and connotation: IET awareness is the foundation and prerequisite,and IET application and innovation is the core and purpose.IET planning and preparation,IET evaluation and research and IET ethical responsibility are guarantees and means.(3)Besides,some issues of individual level,school level,and social level were proven to have influenced the development of English teachers' ITA.In the light of the model,this study believes that it is necessary to help middle school English teachers to establish their informatization teaching awareness,form their sound information ethics,optimize their classroom English teaching management and evaluation,and develop a lifelong learning concept.In addition,the integration of foreign language teaching and information technology needs to be strengthened,as well as the teacher training system to be optimized from the pertinence and hierarchy of training,practicability of training content and reasonable training duration.