The Role Of Social Media In The Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Of Saudi English Language Teachers

Abstract

The impact of Social Networking sites on Continuing Professional Development of Saudi EFL teachers is an area of research that has not been given adequate attention. The mixed method study investigated the general CPD practices of Saudi EFL teachers, the most used SNS site, the use of SNS for their CPD and core knowledge enhancement. The study also highlighted challenges faced by Saudi EFL teachers and required trainings while using SNS for CPD. Sample of 182 Saudi EFL teachers was taken under study, who filled the online questionnaires. In the second phase, 15 of those samples were further interviewed, and Tweets of 10 EFL teachers were evaluated. IBM SPSS and MAXQDATA were used for quantitative and qualitative data analysis. The results revealed that formal PD programs introduced by the government were not significantly enhancing the CPD of Saudi EFL teachers. Twitter was the most used SNS site by Saudi EFL teachers because of the direct access and comprehensive word limit of tweets. Teachers used digital non-academic means and SNS for general CPD as self-directed learning tools. According to EFL teacher perception, they had the core knowledge of EFL. The teachers highlighted that lack of infrastructure, unsustainable internet, lack of training and cultural hesitations are the barriers affecting professional SNS use in CPD. EFL teachers were positive about recommending SNS to their colleagues for CPD. They suggested that governmental bodies should provide formal guidance and training for using SNS in CPD. This study has filled the research gaps and raised the awareness of use of SNS in CPD of EFL teachers. Conclusions drawn from this study can help ministry to further design policies and PD programs for EFL teachers. Further research should be done to further study the impact of SNS in CPD of teachers from other domains.