Exploring ESL Suburban Primary School Teachers’ Readiness towards the Integration of IR5.0 Technology into the Teaching of English Language

Abstract

As the world gearing up towards Industrial Revolution (IR) 5.0, it is now pertinent to explore ESL suburban primary school teachers’ readiness in integrating Industrial Revolution (IR) 4.0 into the teaching of English Language (TESL) as English has been the crucial part of language that serves as lingua franca throughout the world. This research attempts to discover ESL primary school teachers’ readiness in the face of IR5.0 into the teaching of English language. The participants for this research are teachers who have been teaching English Language in the suburban primary schools in Sarawak. A total of 30 teachers have been selected through purposive sampling to answer a survey. The data gathered were analysed using quantitative method. The findings from the questionnaire shows positive acceptance of IR4.0 and are ready to integrate technologies into their teachings. The educational programmes have been gearing teachers and students towards the use and familiarisation of technology in the teaching and learning be it in the primary, secondary, and tertiary level. However, there is a subtle rejection from integrating IR4.0 technologies into their teachings and some discomfort in using IR4.0 technologies due to technological barriers, and digital skills gap.  Through exploring suburban teachers’ readiness in the face of IR5.0 for this research, it is discovered that despite the challenges they faced, it is undeniable that there are big potentials in integrating IR5.0 into English Language teaching due to the waves of technological tools that could optimizing the teaching and learning in the classroom settings.