TITLE:
EFL Teachers in the Digital Era: A Journey of Adaptation
AUTHORS:
Deping Zou, Yuting Wang
KEYWORDS:
The Digital Age, EFL Teachers, Chances, Challenges, Psychological Transformation
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.11 No.4,
April
30,
2024
ABSTRACT: Digital education has rapidly evolved, bringing about a significant transformation in traditional teaching and learning approaches. The integration of information technology with English instruction in the digital age has ushered in a wave of digital teaching tools, expanded teaching resources and environments, innovative teaching methods, and digital teaching evaluation and management. Within this context, this research aims to examine the psychological adaptation of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers to digital education, particularly how they adjust their teaching strategies to incorporate digital tools and methodologies. Through a comprehensive review of existing literature, we explored the transition of EFL teachers towards digital literacy, identifying the main opportunities and challenges they encounter in this digital shift. Our findings highlight that while digital technologies offer enhanced teaching and learning capabilities, they also require teachers to undergo a significant psychological and pedagogical transformation. The results contribute insights into the mechanisms through which EFL teachers in Chinese higher education can effectively integrate digital technologies into their teaching practices, thereby enhancing both their own and their students’ digital literacy skills.