INCORPORATING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF FRENCH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (FFL) IN TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF KENYA

Abstract

Incorporating the latest digital technology into traditional language teaching systems has opened up a wealth of multimedia and interactive applications available to bring teaching methods into the 21st century. In the last 10 years, the world has experienced a sudden increase of technology, and this has had a lot of impact in the teaching of foreign languages. Learners are more conversant, proficient and knowledgeable about the digital world through internet and social media, and through digital devices such as smartphones and computers. This research analyzes how lecturers in Technical University use Technology in their classrooms to motivate the learning of French as a foreign language (FFL). The participants for this research are lecturers of French language who frequently use technology in their classroom to support FFL learning for all the levels. Findings illustrate the potential of technology integration in French classrooms for supporting students’ French language learning in Technical University of Kenya. The attitude towards learning the language has changed; the learners enjoy being in a French classroom when a digital device is incorporated in the lesson.

Keywords: Technology, French, foreign language, Learners, Instruction