PRE-SERVICE EFL TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS TEACHING ENGLISH IN METAVERSE

Abstract

Recently, the studies on teaching English via virtual technologies have been increasing; however, to the author’s knowledge studies in the existing literature concerning the metaverse are still not at a desirable level. Thus, the aim of the study is to investigate the pre-service teachers’ views on incorporating metaverse into English language teaching. To accomplish this aim, 13 pre-service English language teachers are interviewed employing a focus group discussion. Purposive sampling is adopted to select the participants. The data gathered through the focus group discussion are analyzed using the content analysis. The findings of the study indicated that there were both positive and negative views of participants considering the incorporation of metaverse into English language teaching. Also, it was found that participants expressed some concerns about employing metaverse in teaching in Turkey for several reasons. In addition, most of the students advocated a balanced integration for applying the metaverse in their future teaching concepts, while some were opposed to it. In conclusion, this study can provide an up-to-date and comprehensive perspective on the issue of integrating metaverse in the field of English language teaching as well as offering insights, suggestions, and recommendations for future research.