Foreign Language Classroom in the Era of Information ICTs as a Challenge to Current most Controversial Issues; Ideology, Culture, and Gender A Case Study: Abdelhamid Ibn Badis University of Mostaganem

Abstract

The findings of the investigationdisclosethat higher education teachers and learners of English have positive attitudes towards ICT integration in the EFL classroom. They trigger the urgent need of technology to improve the quality of foreign language teaching/learning. As they acknowledge its significant roles in raising students’ awareness towards the different ideologies the EFL learners may face. The findings demonstrate as well the role of ICTs in solving culture and gender related problems in the EFL classroom. However, as individual attempts have shown, effective use of technology must be accompanied by other factors that support and make legitimate the integration of technology in education. These have to do with changing attitudes, training teachers, and developing curriculum more than simply making facilities available (Warschauer, 2003). In other words, investments in hardware and software will not produce the desired results unless there is also an investment in the human ware, that is to say, raising individuals’ awareness and critical thinking towards the current most controversial issues such as ideologies, cultural matters, and gender issues. Only then can we fully claim successful attempts to integrate technology in the educational system.