A review of digital skills of Malaysian English language teachers

Abstract

This paper reviews the use of digital skills among Malaysian school teachers in teaching English. It starts by tracking the scenario of digital natives in the country. Next, it reviews the government policies related to the integration of ICT in education especially in English language education as the government has invested a large amount of money to implement the plan. This is followed by the discussion on teachers' digital skills in conducting English language classes. It reveals that the barriers in ICT integration are insufficient system support and teachers' reluctance to adopt the integration in English language lesson. This article also reviews the courses of continuous professional development among language teachers, which focus on the pedagogy of e learning. It concludes the ICT integration in English language lessons is vital and the teachers have to equip themselves with adequate digitals skills to meet the current expectations in English language learning.