Postgraduate Iranian Students' Attitudes toward the Use of ICTs in EFL Learning

The use of Information Communication Technology ICT tools in language learning has been a very important aspect of the twenty first century, which is considered to be the beginning of technology revolution era. The wide use of Information Communication Technology ICTs, such as computers, mobile applications, films, blogs, etc. has helped a lot of learners to improve their English. This, also, has helped in promoting learner autonomy, where the learners depend on themselves to learn. This study examines the attitudes of Iranian postgraduates at Eastern Mediterranean University towards using Information Communication Technology ICTs in learning English. As EMU adopts English-medium of instruction approach, in which foreign language learners learn in English, the researcher found that there is a need to examine the role of Information Communication Technology ICTs and the learners' attitudes towards them. As the Iranian students who study in majors other than English language teaching ELT - such as engineering, business, and IT - don't study in English in Iran, most of the studies examined the role of Information Communication Technology ICTs in language learning for Iranians in ELT department, or in language institutes. Therefore, this study covers this gap by targeting this group and examining their attitudes towards the use of ICTs in Learning English. The researcher used the mixed method, which contains qualitative and quantitative methods. First, the questionnaire was distributed to 150 Iranian postgraduates at EMU. The questionnaire asked the learners about their attitudes towards Information Communication Technology ICT tools in learning. Then, ten participants were chosen for the interview. The researcher analyzed the questionnaire using SPSS 23rd Edition. This included descriptive analysis, frequencies, 'T' test, and Pearson Correlation. Regarding the interviews, the responses of the interviewees were analyzed and themed to come up with a model that represents the participants' attitudes towards the use of Information Communication Technology ICTs. The results show that ICTs positively affect the learners' language skills, and it has fostered learner autonomy. This study was also proved by the qualitative results, which showed that there most of the participants support the use of Information Communication Technology ICTs to improve their learning skills, language skills, and learner autonomy. A small number of the participants, however, cast doubts about the effectiveness of Information Communication Technology ICTs.