O uso de tecnologias digitais por professores de línguas em formação: reflexões sobre práticas de estudo mediadas por TDICs

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has generated a series of changes and challenges in social relations, causing different areas of our society to have to adapt to the new reality. Suddenly, digital technologies became essential resources for maintaining key sectors, especially in the educational field (Gomes Junior; Silva; Paiva, 2022). Although the use of digital platforms and tools only became familiar to some teachers during the pandemic, for most students contact with technological resources was already routine, as they are part of a culture made up of countless digital devices. Research shows that the critical use of technology in studies can encourage autonomous learning, making language teaching and learning more effective and based on criticality (Rojo, 2012; Monte Mor, 2008; Ferraz; Nogarol, 2016). In this sense, this research investigated the use of DICTs by undergraduate language students at the Federal University of Pelotas. This study was guided by the following question: Do language teachers in training use digital technologies as study tools? Starting from and going beyond this question, this research sought to analyze other aspects: I) which devices, platforms and digital tools language degree students use in their study practices; II) in which environments these students study; III) for what reasons they use these resources and IV) if they already teach, whether they use these technologies in their classrooms. To collect this information, we used an online questionnaire, prepared on the Red Cap platform, which included questions related to the aforementioned objectives. The participants were students from the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 8th semesters who were invited to answer the questionnaire in the laboratories of the host university. The results point to the frequent use of various platforms and tools in the learning practices of teachers in training; they demonstrate the high use of mobile devices at this time; they explain the feeling of autonomy and flexibility of time provided by technologies. Furthermore, these findings show a ubiquitous trend in learning practices (Coll; Monereo, 2010), corroborating the emergence of personal learning environments (Downes, 2005).