English for Academic Purposes Instructors’ Use and Acceptance of Technology in EAP Courses

Abstract

Despite the fact that a large number of studies have been carried out on teachers’ attitudes towards CALL and technology use in language learning contexts, very limited attention has been directed towards EAP instructors’ perspectives on technology integration/use. This mixed-methods study was undertaken to investigate the affordances and limitations of technology use in EAP courses from EAP instructors’ perspectives. Participants of the study were 87 EAP instructors who taught EAP at Iranian universities. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used to explore the perspectives of the participants. The findings revealed that the EAP instructors were positive about the use of technology in EAP courses, while they demanded for the development and access to more needs-based and major-specific software tools and applications for EAP students of different majors. It was also depicted that CALL needs analysis projects should be conducted before employing any type of technology in EAP courses. The EAP instructors pointed out several limitations and measures that should be taken into account by EAP and university decision-makers and course designers. The study offers practical and theoretical implications and applications for the integration and use of technology in EAP instruction.