key barriers to ict uptake xuan thu dang et al-final

KEY BARRIERS TO ICT UPTAKE IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING IN

VIETNAM

A CASE STUDY

Xuan Thu Dang1, Howard Nicholas2, Ramon Lewis3

1,2,3La Trobe University, AUSTRALIA

Xuan Thu Dang et al. 2

Outline

• Introduction• Aim of research• Case study university• Major barriers: institutional vs.

staff level• Conclusions

5-7 March, 2012 Spain


Introduction

ICT

Computer-assisted language learning (CALL)

Internet + useful websitesGeneric software, e.g. MS Office


4

ICT in Vietnam

ICT in education in

Vietnam

High expectations on ICT in education

ICT = improving education quality

Directive No. 55/2008/CT-

BGDĐT2008-2009 as

“the Year of ICT in Education”

Target - by 2015, 80% of school teacher +

100% uni teachers will use ICT in teaching

5-7 March, 2012 Spain Xuan Thu Dang et al.


Aim of research

• To investigate and analyse academic staff’s perceptions of barriers to ICT uptake in teaching foreign languages in Vietnam



Case study university

• 1959: founded in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam• Major foreign languages = English, French,

Chinese, German, Korean, Japanese, Russian, Spanish and Italian

• Language labs + computer labs + internet connection



ParticipantsQuestionnaire

(N = 222)Semi-structured Interviews

(N = 43)

Female Male Missing info.

Academic staff

Senior leadership ICT staff

176 (~80%)

43 (~20%) 3 23

(~53%)18

(~41%)2

(~6%)



• At the institutional levelBarriers

• At the academic staff levelBarriers



Institutional level – Barrier 1

The official ICT guidelines have not been well disseminated to all staff.

The university has no official document guiding the use of ICT in teaching and

learning.

81 81.2 81.4 81.6 81.8 82 82.2 82.4 82.6

82.5

81.6

Lack of ICT guidelines

Percentage of Agree and Agree a little



Suggestions for ICT guidelines

• Issue clear ICT guidelines ASAP

• Use different channels of dissemination, e.g. meetings, website, printed copies, etc.




The frequency of ICT training courses at the university does not meet my need

The contents of ICT training courses at the university do not meet my need.

ICT training is not customised according to the actual ICT skills of teachers

68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86

83.6

77.1

73.4

Lack of appropriate ICT training




Suggestions for ICT training

• Consult academic staff about the ICT skills which they really need

• Make a yearly plan for ICT training• Digitally record and store training sessions

online • Make full use of free online training videos

such as http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/


http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/



I do not receive strong support for ICT use from the university leaders.

I do not receive strong support for ICT use from the leaders of my Department/Centre

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

59.2

48.2

Lack of appropriate support for ICT use


“We only receive unofficial praise or our students pass on good words to others, that’s all. Perhaps we don’t receive any material incentives” (Interviewee, ID 22)



Suggestions for ICT support

• Make full use of a non-financial incentive mechanism: official recognition at

university meetings, commendation papers, support for conference

attendance, etc.



Academic staff level – Barrier 1

Only some classrooms at university are equipped with computers and internet connection

Teachers have to share university computers with others

University computers are concentrated in computer labs and in the library

Teachers have limited access to university computers

75 80 85 90 95 100

96.6

93.8

93.8

83.4

Limited ICT resources




Suggestions for ICT resources

• Provide internet access (wired or wireless) in classrooms

• Mobile computer carts • Mobile LCD projectors• Encourage academics to bring

their personal laptops to classrooms




Not confident/competent

A little confident/competent

Confident/competent

Very confident/competent

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

11

57.8

28

3.2

12.4

62.7

23

1.8

ICT confidence & competence

ICT confidence

ICT competence

Percentage



Suggestions for ICT competence & confidence

• Strengthen the staff-specific ICT training

• Encourage staff to learn from one another and share what works or does not work during ICT implementation




It is very time consuming to use ICT in lesson preparation

I believe that ICT increases workloads for teachers

60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68

66.8

62.7

Increased workloads




Suggestions for teaching loads

• Disseminate specific benefits of ICT

• ICT-enhanced lessons can be re-used



ConclusionsInstitutional

level

Lack of ICT guidelines

Lack of ICT training

Lack of support

Academic staff level

Limited ICT resources

Lack of ICT confidence & competence

Increased workloads



ICT guidelines & good dissemination

Teacher-centred ICT training

Incentives for ICT integration

An all-embracing approach



Your questions & comments are appreciated.



Contact

Xuan Thu Dang Email: [email protected]

AcknowledgementsSpecial thanks go to senior leadership, academic staff

and ICT experts of the case study university for their participation and support.


mailto:[email protected]