INTEGRATING ICT INTO LANGUAGE EDUCATION: IMPLICATION FOR THE UNIVERSITIES

Open access to ICT resources and tools have already transformed language education. It provides learners with free access to information that promotes connectivity, communication and interaction, develop digital literacy and other XXI. century skills. ICT also provide teachers with a wealth of authentic material to create meaningful learning experiences and thus prepare their learners for the real-world use of acquired skills. The paper explores the variety of ICT-related challenges that. most language teachers face today: embracing technological developments; learning to use and implement new media in language classroom; developing methodologies that make use of these media and efficiently support language curricula. This exploratory study also presents the finding of a survey of language faculty members at two largest multi-disciplinary. universities in Ukraine that was designed to analyze the current state of affairs with respect to language education and ICT. The findings suggest that there is a pressing need for the more traditional higher education system to address these issues and to make streamlined attempts to develop teachers' digital skills and empower them to incorporate online learning resources. into their teaching. This will, in turn, cater for the learning needs of digital natives who are seeing online learning technologies as an indispensable tool of self-development and lifelong learning.