DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL COMPETENCE OF FUTURE TEACHERS OF GERMAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LJUBLJANA

Abstract

In modern society, digital technology is becoming increasingly important and, at the same time, is experiencing a growing interest in the research landscape. Without digital technology, active participation in professional or private life is no longer imaginable. The European Union also takes this fact into account by establishing digital competence as one of the key competencies for lifelong learning (European Commission 2006, 2018). The development of digital competence and the use of digital technologies in the teaching-learning process also poses major challenges for teacher educators and future teachers, as teachers are expected to contribute to better teaching quality through the use of ICT while serving as role models for the next generations. On the one hand, teachers must have their own digital competence, and on the other hand, they should design lessons in such a way that learners also develop the necessary digital competence. Based on the relevant literature, it can be seen that the concept of digital competence has changed with the development of digital technologies. According to the survey, the course proved to be a successful dovetailing of theory and practise, enabling future teachers to acquire sufficient digital competence for beginners in both areas (learning and teaching). The selfassessment shows that they are able to plan and design lessons and integrate digital media into various learning processes. They can create collaborative learning opportunities and are able to promote self-directed learning. Future teachers will be able to communicate successfully using digital media. They are less digitally literate in the area of assessing learning outcomes. Although today's students belong to the generation of digital natives, they do not automatically have highly developed digital competence that they can easily apply in their professional lives, nor should it go unmentioned that digital competence varies widely among future teachers. For this reason, designing the course in the context of teacher training is more than necessary.