ICT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING IN ALBANIA

ICT development has got great influence in everyday classroom teaching and learning. The purpose of this study was to learn more about how Albanian teachers use ICT and digital skills in their English classes, and to probe their reflections around the use of different tools and pathways in second language learning. Our goal was to gain more insight into how ICT is used within a pedagogical frame in English teaching, in Albania. The methodology used to develop this paper was a mixture of quantitative and qualitative research. It was conducted a digital survey among 110 teachers of English in three major cities of Albania and 5 focus groups in high schools. It was clearly stated in the findings of the questionnaire and focus groups that teachers use ICT in a varied manner in their teaching as far as they consider time restrictions, their own competence and the availability of ICT tools in their schools. A major tendency is that ICT is used mostly for writing and presentations in high schools. Another significant feature was the use of practical exercises for listening and speaking, and for vocabulary or grammar training. Project work was reported to be used rather seldom, and in ordinary English lessons, there was very little use of authentic communication with other English speaking people outside the classroom. According to the respondents, the textbook plays a prevalent role in teaching, and digital exercises related to the textbook web site are frequently used. Several teachers report that they learn more by sharing experiences and teaching each other, rather than attending outdoor courses. There was a great interest and demand of teachers for useful educational resources on the internet and for more knowledge on the use of ICT in class.