TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS OF YOUTUBE AS A POTENTIAL LEARNING RESOURCE FOR ENGLISH EDUCATION IN LIBYA

Author

Muhamed Ahmed Albaddi, Southern Illinois University CarbondaleFollow

Date of Award

8-1-2013

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Applied Linguistics

First Advisor

Charkova, Krassimra

Abstract

The present study investigated Libyan preparatory school English teachers' attitudes to, willingness to use, and familiarity with YouTube as a potential teaching tool. The methodology followed a survey design of twenty-five Likert-scale questions and four mixed-type questions. For the purpose, 124 teachers were randomly selected out of a population of 1,170 preparatory school teachers at 150 schools in Tripoli, the capital of Libya. The result revealed that the participants had positive attitudes to and willingness to use YouTube applications as a beneficial tool for teaching the English language in Libya. On the other hand, participants' level of familiarity with YouTube applications did not match their generally positive perceptions of the affordances of YouTube. They recognized their own lack of computer skills and emphasized the need for special training in order to be able to become effective implementers of YouTube and multimedia resources in general. Overall, participants recognized the importance of using technology in their classrooms and the benefits of YouTube as a potential learning resource for the educational system in Libyan schools. Their enthusiasm was not related to their age or marital status. That is, beyond age differences or marital status, participants demonstrated an open mindedness towards the adoption of multimedia technology in their teaching. These results have direct implications for the adoption of multimedia technology in Libyan schools. They show that Libyan teachers are not outsiders to the general tendencies in our contemporary world, where technological innovations are changing the way we teach and learn. However, the results also suggest that Libyan teachers need training in computer assisted language learning, access to computers and Internet in order to be able to embrace the challenges of the 21st century.