Undergraduate English students’ perceptions of the use of technology for learning: main advantages, constraints, expectations and usage practices

Abstract

In this article, we present the main results of a descriptive study regarding undergraduate English language students from Portuguese higher education institutions. The aim is to investigate the usefulness of technology for the development of communication skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing). The data was gathered through a quantitative survey that focused on different dimensions: the students’ general perception of the usefulness of technology, its main advantages and limitations, the expectations of ICT use and autonomous language learning with technology. 

The results are presented in a general perspective while also considering two different delivery systems, namely face-to-face and distance learning. They show that, in general, students find technology to be useful for language learning. More specifically, the results regarding the perception of the advantages of ICT use are high, the ones concerning autonomous study are moderate, the ones pertaining to ICT limitations are low and the ones relating to the expectations of use are high. The communication skill that gathers the lowest results across the different dimensions is speaking. 

We believe that the results that were obtained, along with the suggestions given like the importance of faculty guidance for the development of autonomous study and student encouragement through systematic feedback and consistent pedagogical structure, can be useful by English faculties in higher education, specifically for the development of skills that can be beneficial in the students’ professional path.