Attitudes towards, expectations of, and competence regarding ICT and digital learning tools : A quantitative study among Swedish EFL teachers in secondary/upper secondary school

Sammanfattning: The aim of this paper is to highlight and analyze the attitude towards and expectations of ICT and digital tools amongst Swedish EFL teachers in secondary/upper secondary school. In addition, this paper also contains results and analysis of how teachers most commonly acquire new digital learning tools, as well as what they consider to be most important when incorporating ICT in the classroom. Another contributing factor behind conducting this study is the upcoming changes to the current curriculum, as the Swedish Government (Regeringskansliet) decided that changes shall be made in order to ensure and enhance the digital competence amongst Swedish students (Regeringskansliet 2017). The results and analysis are based on a questionnaire sent out through Facebook and Google Forms, targeting two different groups with the purpose of serving as networks for teachers of English within the Swedish educational system. Combining their answers as well as comparing to previous research, this study identifies, and argues for, two key aspects responsible for improving the ICT competence amongst Swedish EFL teachers in secondary/upper secondary school; high quality digital learning tools and the ability to identify your ICT skill and pick digital tools accordingly. Moreover, this study reinforces the claim made in previous studies that the attitudes towards ICT and digital learning tools amongst Swedish EFL teachers are overwhelmingly positive. However, the study also shows a lack of quality concerning in-service teacher training, resulting in a majority of teachers learning ICT and digital learning tools on their own. Finally, answers show a juxtaposition regarding what teachers actually wish for in order to facilitate the work with ICT and digital learning tools.