Digital tools through a K-3 teacher’s perspective

Abstract: Technology is advancing at a rapid pace and more digital tools find their way into theclassrooms as a means for educational purposes. The English language has also taken morespace in our everyday life and is almost a necessity in today's global society. However, canthe teachers in the Swedish educational society keep up with the rapid growth of both thesesubjects? The aim with this study is to get a better understanding about teachers’ perspectiveand knowledge about digital tools as an aid for English language development for younglearners, as well as what challenges and benefits they find with using digital tools as a meansfor English language development.This study will present a summary of theoretical and literature background regarding the topicat hand. The data for this study was collected through interviews with five K-3 teachers infour different schools located in south of Sweden. The result showed that a majority of thefive interviewed teachers, saw digital tools to be beneficial in the English classroomenvironment, and they had a positive view on English as a subject and its importance foryoung learners. However, the data collected exposed that the absence of guidelines,inadequate knowledge about how to use the tools within an educational approach,malfunctioning equipment and the lack of time to teach and plan the lessons was a substantialdilemma