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The Korean Association for the Study of English Language and Linguistics
[ Article ]
Korea Journal of English Language and Linguistics - Vol. 26, No. 0, pp.772-789
ISSN: 1598-1398 (Print) 2586-7474 (Online)
Print publication date 30 Jun 2026
Received 07 Apr 2026 Revised 28 Apr 2026 Accepted 04 Jun 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15738/kjell.26..202606.772

Integration of Digital Technology in EFL Instruction: A Comparative Study of TPACK Development among Pre-service and In-service Teachers

Xinsong Zhao ; Je-Young Lee ; Yohan Hwang
(First author) Lecturer, Department of Foreign Languages Hengshui University 610842071@qq.com
(Second author) Associate Professor, Department of English Education Jeonju University jylee@jj.ac.kr
(Corresponding author) Associate Professor, English Language and Literature Department Jeonbuk National University 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, 54896 Jeonbuk State, Korea, Tel: +82-63-270-3211 yvh5101@jbnu.ac.kr


© 2026 KASELL All rights reserved
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

This study examines the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) of pre-service and in-service English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers using a validated TPACK-EFL questionnaire (Baser et al. 2016). Based on an in-depth analysis of quantitative data such as descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, MANOVA, and ANOVA, this study provided a comprehensive understanding of TPACK development across the two groups. The findings revealed that both groups demonstrated moderate levels of TPACK, although in-service teachers scored significantly higher across all TPACK domains. The results further highlighted distinct patterns in TPACK development: pre-service teachers were more strongly influenced by technology-related knowledge domains, whereas in-service teachers placed greater emphasis on content-related knowledge. These differences suggest the need for differentiated approaches in teacher education and professional development programs to support effective technology integration and content delivery. The findings also support the validity of the self-report measure for assessing TPACK and highlight important differences in the developmental trajectories of pre-service and in-service teachers. Overall, the study underscores the need to strengthen teacher education curricula by fostering a more effective integration of technological and content knowledge, which contributes to the growing body of research on TPACK in an era of increasing educational digitalization.

Keywords:

technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), teacher education, English as a Foreign Language, in-service teacher, pre-service teacher

Acknowledgments

This work was based on the doctoral dissertation of the first author.

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