Research On Pre-service English Teachers’ ICT Competency Development And Influencing Factors

With the advancement of educational informatization,great changes have taken place in classroom teaching models and students’ learning methods.The integration of information technology and subject-based teaching is becoming the mainstream of education reform in the information age.And in this reform,the integration of English teaching and information technology has also become a new model of English teaching in China.English teachers’ information and communication technology(ICT)competency level is a key factor that affects the result of informational English teaching.Pre-service English teachers are the main forces of future English teachers,and their ICT competency is directly related to the quality of informational teaching.Therefore,in order to meet the requirements of informational English teaching reform and improve the cultivation of pre-service English teachers’ ICT competency,it is particularly important to learn about pre-service English teachers’ ICT competency development,and analyze the factors that affect the development of pre-service English teachers’ ICT competency.Based on the connotation of teacher’s ICT competency,the ICT competency standards of teachers at home and abroad and the characteristics of pre-service English teachers,the questionnaire and interview outline have been designed to investigate preservice English teachers’ ICT competency.Taking 335 pre-service English teachers in 10 domestic universities as questionnaire subjects and 10 pre-service English teachers as interview subjects,this research uses SPSS statistical software to conduct the descriptive analysis,correlation analysis and difference analysis on the survey results of the questionnaire,presenting the development status quo of the objects’ ICT competency and analyzing the factors affecting the development of ICT competency.Finally,based on the results of the survey,some suggestions on improving pre-service English teachers’ ICT competency have been put forward.The research finds that:(1)The overall level of pre-service English teachers’ ICT competency is basically in line with national standards for primary and middle school teachers’ ICT competency.(2)There are individual differences in pre-service English teachers’ ICT competency in terms of gender,educational background,types of university and major.The development of information-based teaching knowledge and informationbased teaching abilities of male students is better than that of female students;the level of ICT competency of postgraduates is higher than that of undergraduates,and the level of ICT competency of pre-service English teachers in normal universities or whoever majors in education is higher.(3)The main factors affecting the ICT competency of preservice English teachers include personal factors(attitude,motivation,and self-efficacy),school factors(informatized teaching facilities,related curriculums,and training of informatized teaching)and policy factors(policy support),and the three factors(from the most important to the least important)are ranked as: school factor> personal factor>policy factor.Based on the results of the survey,some suggestions on improving pre-service English teachers’ ICT competency have been put forward from the perspectives of individual,school and government.Pre-service English teachers should pay more attention to the integration of information technology and English teaching,strengthen information technology teaching practices and establish learning communities to strengthen communication and collaboration;universities which cultivate pre-service English teachers should improve information technology software and hardware facilities,build a curriculum system that integrates information technology and English teaching,provide educational internship opportunities and increase relevant training;the government should develop ICT competency standards for pre-service teachers,establish an “Internet + UGS” linkage mechanism and develop innovative training methods.