The use of PowerPoint in EFL Education: exploring the perspectives of English medium school teachers in Bangladesh

Abstract

The use of PowerPoint has become quite noticeable in the EFL classes of different English-medium schools in Bangladesh. The purpose of this study is to explore the views that Bangladeshi English-medium school teachers hold towards using PowerPoint in the EFL education, the benefits of implementing this tool in EFL classes, the challenges that teachers face while using it in the class and the ways the effective use of this tool can be ensured. The researcher has followed the concurrent mixed method approach by conducting survey and a semi-structured interview to gather the data. From the analysis of the data, it has been found that teachers hold an overall positive view towards the use of PowerPoint in EFL classes. Moreover, the implementation of PowerPoint in EFL classes can be beneficial in several ways, such as, increasing the class engagement and motivation of the learners, making learning objectives more intelligible to the learners, helping in presenting the teaching content in a comprehensible manner etc. However, teachers also face a number of challenges while using PowerPoint in the classroom, such as, students getting distracted and overwhelmed because of the use of PowerPoint and students getting too dependent on this tool etc. In addition, the researcher has found that if the teachers and the school authority take certain necessary steps, the effective use of PowerPoint can be ensured. Lastly, based on the findings of this research, the researcher recommends to conduct further studies to know regarding the use of PowerPoint in the rural settings and provide necessary training for the teachers.