The use of technology for learning english as a foreign language

Resumen

The use of technology and technological tools have allowed endless advantages within society in different areas such as health, politics, environment, education, among others. Technology evolves as time goes by and in the educational field it is no exception, significant help has been observed in this area, specifically in the learning of new languages, in this case, the English language since there is a diversity of technological tools that facilitate and encourage students to maintain interest within the aforementioned area and thus be able to increase their knowledge in a more interactive way. The main objective of this research was to identify students' perceptions of the use of technology for learning English as a foreign language (EFL). The institutions that were part of this research were the Technical University of Cotopaxi (UTC) and the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE), the first being a public university and the other a private institution. In this research, the differences and possible similarities that these two institutions have with respect to the use and application of technology were highlighted. For this research, a survey with a Likert scale was applied to 60 students from each university to learn more about the differences that each one has and thus they were analyzed thoroughly in order to obtain optimal results on the effectiveness of the use of technology in learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in each of the institutions mentioned above. In conclusion, it is highlighted that technology is a very important study tool today due to the advances it has made, allowing and opening the way to a wide range of resources that students of a foreign language can access. It is also mentioned that education in both universities is not so different, so a student from a public institution can obtain the same study results as a student from a private institution as long as they have access to the necessary resources for learning. In conclusion, it must be taken into account that the preparation of both the teacher and the student for the correct use of technology in the classroom is extremely important, so each of them must be trained and prepared for the proper use of technology and technological tools provided in each higher institution.