“I Teach the way I believe”: EFL Teachers’ Pedagogical Beliefs in Technology Integration and its Relationship to Students’ Motivation and Engagement in the COVID 19 Pandemic Year

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate language teachers' pedagogical concepts and attitudes and the effect of these on students' motivation and engagement levels. Its results were based on a cross-sectional correlational research survey which was conducted online. The participants in the study were chosen at random from among 205 language teachers (n= 205) and 317 language students (n= 317) from various higher educational institutions in Asian countries. Results of the study of language teachers revealed that the respondents' pedagogical ideas and orientations were positive when it came to using technology-based teaching in their language classroom. Results of gender differences indicated that female language teachers showed a firmer belief in student-centered online language learning than their male counterparts. On the other hand, males are more likely than females to utilize technology in the language classroom, and their attitudes relating to it are more favorable than those of their female counterparts. The levels of language learning motivation and engagement among students were also investigated. The findings also showed a high level of language learning engagement among both male and female students. Furthermore, the test of relationship showed that the firmer the instructors' belief in the importance of student-centered teaching and the incorporation of technology in the language classroom, the more driven and engaged the students are in language learning. Students' motivation and involvement in online language learning are not related to their views about the significance of instructors in their life, which is contrary to what many people believe. When it comes to incorporating technology into language courses, there are several pedagogical assumptions that enable EFL teachers to do so effectively. More broadly stated, this study has implications for increasing language instructors' digital literacy to develop more motivating, productive, and engaging language courses for 21st-century learning to improve language students' digital literacy.