Web 2.0 tools in English language teaching: Benefits and challenges from theperspectives of Turkish EFL teachers participating in eTwinning projects

Web 2.0 tools have turned into the most widely used technology resource in English language teaching as they provide a multitude of opportunities. By creating an authentic, interactive, and collaborative educational environment, Web 2.0 tools enable students to be more participatory in learning. With the help of these tools, students also improve their four language skills: writing, reading, speaking, and listening. Despite the mentioned advantages of Web 2.0 tools, it is essential to consider and address any challenges. These challenges are considered to stem from institutions, technological issues, access to the internet, lack of time, curriculum, and the teachers themselves. Since eTwinning projects encourage participants to use Web 2.0 tools, this study aims to investigate what kind of benefits and challenges Turkish EFL teachers participating in eTwinning projects experience when using Web 2.0 tools in English language teaching. In this study, based on a qualitative research design, data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews with 20 Turkish EFL teachers working in different school levels in Aksaray, and these interviews were followed by observations with two volunteer English teachers. To analyze the qualitative data, content analysis was used. The findings show that the participants were familiar with Web 2.0 tools and used a variety of Web 2.0 tools for different educational purposes. It was found that the use of Web 2.0 tools in the participants' lessons contributed to students' four language skills, communication and collaboration skills, pronunciation, vocabulary knowledge, motivation, and engagement. Despite these benefits, it was also revealed that the participants faced many external rather than internal challenges, such as a lack of technical infrastructure, poor internet connection, crowded classrooms, curriculum, lack of time, and students' lack of Web 2.0 skills, and many suggestions were offered by participants to overcome these challenges. In this context, the results of the study are presented, and recommendations are given based on the findings.