Technology and its Employability in English Language Instruction and Learning

Coming of age in an environment saturated by technology, where the digital world interacts more and more seamlessly with the real world, the current cohort of college students is a fundamentally different type of learner and has been identified in the literature as the Net Generation (Barnes, Marateo,& Ferris 2007; Hendricks 2004). It means that these students represent the first generation of virtual learnersor those accustomed to seeking and building knowledge in a technology-enhanced environment. The emergence and proliferation of the technologies play a double role in educational change in that they pose both new demands and new possibilities. As Thorne and Reinhardt (2008) point out, emerging literacys associated with digital media are highly relevant to their current and future lives as language users. Kenning (2007) posits that the motivation for ICT integration into language education is significant because of the inherent role ICT plays in everyday communication. While a broad range of technologies support teaching, this study Technology and its employability in English Language Instruction and Learning will examine those technologies involved in computer and Internet use for purposes of Foreign Language instruction and learning. Mixed method research was employed for the study, which is mainly qualitative, but also uses quantitative techniques for triangulation purposes. The purpose of this study is to highlight and explicate some of the expanding roles and affordances of technology in a collegiate foreign language education program and its importance apart from advantages and disadvantages of using new technologies in the language classroom in the case of TEFL students, KSA Universities, KSA.