Jul 2026· The International Journal of Literacies· 0 citations
TL;DR
Evidence-informed guidance is provided for designing EFL teacher education programs that address integration obstacles while supporting meaningful technology adoption in language teaching contexts.
Abstract
EFL (English as a Foreign Language) pre-service teachers struggle to transform linguistic content into technology-enhanced instruction despite possessing adequate language knowledge and digital tool familiarity. This systematic literature review examines Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) integration challenges, benefits, and effective practices in EFL pre-service teacher education across diverse geographical and institutional contexts. Following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‑Analyses) guidelines, we analyzed twenty-seven empirical studies (2020–2025). Five primary challenge patterns emerged: technological proficiency limitations hindering confident tool operation, integration complexity when combining TPACK with twenty-first-century learning skills, infrastructure constraints, including unstable internet connectivity limiting online teaching effectiveness, insufficient professional development, particularly regarding advanced technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) integration, and sociocultural knowledge gaps preventing culturally responsive technology-enhanced language instruction. Psychological barriers, including anxiety and varied attitudes toward technology integration, further reduce experimentation willingness. Despite these obstacles, structured TPACK integration yields meaningful benefits. Pre-service teachers demonstrate enhanced teaching skills through Learning by Design and Project-Based Learning frameworks, develop positive attitudes and increased self-efficacy through successful integration experiences, and create engaging technology-enhanced lessons addressing diverse learner needs. Domain analysis reveals that pedagogical content knowledge develops readily, while technological content knowledge, technological pedagogical knowledge, and sociocultural TPACK dimensions remain challenging. Successful implementation requires structured training programs with explicit digital pedagogy guidance and hands-on advanced technology practice, collaborative learning environments enabling peer support, infrastructure-aware planning addressing connectivity realities, culturally responsive technology integration emphasizing sociocultural dimensions, and ongoing professional development emphasizing balanced integration across all knowledge domains. This review provides evidence-informed guidance for designing EFL teacher education programs that address integration obstacles while supporting meaningful technology adoption in language teaching contexts.
It is argued that EFL-TPACK offers a nuanced and contextually appropriate lens for understanding technology integration in language education, addressing the specific needs of EFL teachers who must navigate the intersection of language content, pedagogical strategies, and rapidly evolving technological tools.
Although schools are increasingly equipped with digital facilities, adequate infrastructure does not necessarily ensure meaningful technology integration in English language classrooms, particularly across different language skills. This study examines how three English teachers at a technology-equipped private junior high school in Palu enacted Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) and identifies the challenges constraining its implementation. A qualitative case study design was employed, with data collected through nine classroom observations and semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed through data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing, using the TPACK framework and Ertmer’s two-order barrier model as deductive coding categories. The findings reveal that TPACK enactment varied across language skills. Teachers selected technology purposefully in writing and reading lessons but relied predominantly on convenience-based choices in speaking lessons, where technology integration was weakest. Technology generally served as pedagogical support rather than as a structurally essential component of instruction, with only one of the nine observed lessons demonstrating fully integrated TPACK. First-order barriers were largely absent because the school provided sufficient infrastructure, whereas second-order barriers arose from teachers’ limited technological repertoire and difficulties in designing technology-based assessments rather than from negative attitudes toward technology. An additional constraint not fully captured by Ertmer’s framework involved students’ inconsistent access to devices and limited familiarity with digital applications. The study concludes that infrastructural adequacy alone does not guarantee integrated TPACK enactment. These findings extend understanding of skill-specific technology integration in English language teaching and imply that teacher professional development should prioritize the expansion of technological repertoires and technology-based assessment capabilities. They also suggest that existing barrier models should incorporate classroom-level constraints related to students’ access and digital competence.
Bela Bestari, Aminah, Mukrim· Journal multidisciplinary sc...· 0 citations
This literature review examines digital competence among English as a Foreign Language teachers (EFL), focusing on its conceptual foundations, challenges, developmental needs, improvement strategies, and changing teacher roles in digital education. The review highlights that digital competence extends beyond basic technical skills to include the ability to select, evaluate, create, and integrate digital technologies effectively, critically, ethically, and pedagogically. The literature identifies several factors that may hinder EFL teachers’ digital competence, including limited technological knowledge, insufficient professional training, low confidence, inadequate infrastructure, time constraints, difficulties in integrating technology with language pedagogy, and the rapid development of emerging technologies. The increasing use of artificial intelligence has further expanded teachers’ professional responsibilities and created new needs related to AI literacy, ethical awareness, data privacy, and academic integrity. The review also emphasizes that EFL teachers increasingly function as learning facilitators, designers of digital learning experiences, managers of online environments, digital assessors, and guides for responsible technology use. To address existing challenges, the study recommends continuous professional development, EFL-specific digital training, practical experience, collaborative learning, reflective practice, AI literacy, and strong institutional support. Overall, digital competence should be viewed as a continuous process of professional growth that enables EFL teachers to adapt to technological change and enhance language teaching and learning in contemporary educational contexts across diverse educational settings.
Sara A. Alameen, Mohammed Soliman· Al-Farooq Journal of Science...· 0 citations
The findings showed that technology selection should be aligned with specific learning objectives while maintaining the essential role of human interaction in language learning, and indicate that technology selection should be aligned with specific learning objectives while maintaining the essential role of human interaction.
Fajar Nurjaman, Bagaskara Nur, Rochmansyah Politeknik Siber et al.· Journal of social research· 0 citations
Technology integration is increasingly central to English language teaching, yet evidence remains limited on how teachers in Indonesian secondary schools experience newly introduced centralized classroom technologies such as Interactive Flat Panels (IFPs) in relation to pedagogy, classroom management, and local constraints. This descriptive qualitative study explored three English teachers’ perceptions of technology integration at SMAN 1 Gunungsari, the challenges they experienced, and the strategies they used to address those challenges. Participants (F1, F2, and F3) were selected purposively because they taught English at the school and had experience using digital technologies. Data were generated primarily through semi-structured interviews and supplemented by a structured teacher questionnaire. The data were organized around the three research questions, compared across participants, and interpreted using Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) as an interpretive framework. Teachers perceived technology as supporting access to learning resources, listening and pronunciation practice, student engagement, and classroom participation. They also described the IFP as a useful shared display that enabled multimedia presentation and could reduce reliance on individual smartphones. These perceived benefits were conditional: limited vocabulary, uneven technological competence, workload, shared access to IFPs, connectivity and electricity problems, and student distraction constrained implementation. Teachers responded through training, peer collaboration, continuous learning, lesson preparation, technical assistance, and flexible combinations of digital and conventional methods. The findings suggest that effective technology integration depends not only on device availability but also on teachers’ pedagogical orchestration, professional support, and school-level conditions.
Nurul Hidayati, I. Sujana, Ahmad Junaidi· Journal of Authentic Researc...· 0 citations
Effective technology integration in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction requires pre-service teachers to develop robust Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) frameworks to incorporate technology in EFL instruction. However, effectively improving this integrative knowledge poses a persistent challenge in pre-service teacher education, particularly in resource-limited settings. The present study sought to evaluate the role of cooperative readiness, which is considered as the preparedness to cooperate and adapt within a group in progressing TPACK among Iranian pre-service EFL teachers enrolled in final-year programs at three public teacher training institutions in Tehran. In this explanatory sequential mixed-methods study, the quantitative phase included 120 pre-service teachers who completed validated scales evaluating TPACK and cooperative readiness. The results indicated that cooperative readiness is a significant predictor of TPACK, explaining a substantial share of its variance. The qualitative phase including semi-structured interviews with 15 participants provided deeper insights into this relationship. Thematic analysis identified three key mechanisms through which collaboration fosters the development of TPACK by facilitating the dialogic co-construction of integrative knowledge through peer negotiation and reflection, alleviating technological anxiety and creating a supportive environment for experimentation, and adapting theoretical knowledge to real-world classroom constraints by serving as a bridge. Empirically, the findings indicated the synergistic relationship between collaborative competence and technological-pedagogical expertise, while practically suggesting that teacher education programs should extend beyond standalone technology courses and deliberately design collaborative learning experiences to effectively prepare pre-service teachers for the demands of technology-integrated language instruction.
Alireza Karbalaei, H. Heydari· Revista Latinoamericana de T...· 0 citations
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