Digital Literacy in Language Education: The COVID-19 Era of Cyprus

Introduction

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. Cyprus responded with an instant national lockdown in order to prevent the spread. Ιn schools there were closures and teachers were recalled to recreate school-specific action plans for distance synchronous and asynchronous learning options within 5-7 days (https://www.cedefop.europa.eu). The abrupt shift to online learning and teaching shocked the majority of the language education community who had to become familiar with online tools, resources, and adjust their teaching approaches overnight (Giannikas, 2020). Beyond the state of alarm, it is now evident that a nexus between innovation and ICT exists. The pandemic has highlighted the critical role of technology in language education. However, the successful integration of technologies and digital tools mainly depends on the teacher’s knowledge and literacy to apply them effectively and meaningfully within the learning environment. In other words, teachers are those who are obliged to decide which tools, as a means of instruction, would assist them in language teaching and how to use the chosen technology in delivering the content. This is a timely process, one that cannot be developed overnight. One’s competence is associated with the skills teachers have developed during their training and practice, which evidently prompts them to apply certain tools. Most importantly, digital literacy implies that language teachers have developed the ability and the know-how to reach teaching objectives in their contexts (Guzmán & Marín, 2011) and guide students effectively within the digital environment. Therefore, we cannot merely speak of the abilities to assess and retrieve information, but should additionally develop skills to sufficiently use this information, transform it into knowledge, and share it with students (Sánchez-Cruzado, Santiago Campión & Sánchez-Compaña, 2021). As will be discussed further in this chapter, the switch to online learning environments and the concept of digital literacy is perplexing; however, it has been seen as the only solution at the start of the pandemic in a number of contexts. Nonetheless, the educational system at large has shown limitations regarding school policies, and the state of practitioners’ digital competence this past year of living with the pandemic. The pressure of the lack of training and preparation has resurfaced, as the majority of the educational community reached the conclusion that technology and digital tools can help solve numerous problems of the teaching–learning process such as lack of interest and motivation, encouraging cooperative work, social awareness, autonomy, and helping students become digitally literate for educational purposes (Sánchez-Cruzado et al, 2021; Altuna Urdín & Martínez de Morentin de Goñi y Amenabar Perurena, 2017). Unfortunately, well into the 21st century, technology is still not properly established in the day-to-day teaching approaches, and this was verified by all the teachers’ and students’ struggles during the lockdown. As part of a larger study, this book chapter focuses on language education in Cyprus and examines the issues facing language teachers’ digital literacy and competence through the lens of complex and unpredictable adaptive systems. More specifically, the authors have focused on the following research questions:

• Q1: What are the digital literacy levels of English language teachers?

• Q2: What perceptions do English teachers have about digital literacy?

• Q3: Do teachers’ digital literacy perceptions agree to what was applied in practice?

The data displayed and discussed in the chapter contradicts teachers’ confidence of their digital literacy and competence of delivering language lessons online and what was applied in practice, and concludes by making specific recommendations at policy making, pedagogical and research level.