Factors That Influence English Teachers’ Acceptance and Use of E-Learning Technologies

Abstract

The world has witnessed a major pandemic that has threatened the status of education across the globe. Such a crisis highlights the importance of education technology, which has not been an influential part of Kuwait’s education until the onset of COVID-19. Delays and interruptions of the academic year disrupted the lives of many students around the world, including Kuwait. Since e-learning technologies are not traditionally used in Kuwaiti higher education, this study aims to investigate the acceptance of technology and whether that has changed with the pandemic. It seeks to find useful strategies that could assist teachers in effectively using electronic distance-learning digital resources. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) has been developed to investigate the degrees of usage and acceptance of technology. This paper adopts an improved model that also includes the educational experience of teachers, in an attempt to understand the context of Kuwaiti higher education. Therefore, this quantitative study examines the use and acceptance of educational technologies of English language instructors in higher education. The study uses an online survey among 33 English language instructors at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) to also account for the perceptions and experiences of the teachers. The results revealed an overall high acceptance level of educational technology, with varying degrees of implementation.