Are Chinese Primary School Teachers Ready for the Integration of ICT- based Cartoons into English Classrooms?

Abstract
The combination of ICT-based tools and animations has been increasingly common in primary English classrooms in China. However, there is little research set in the Chinese context of ICT-based animations use in primary English learning and teaching. Moreover, most of previous studies in other countries on animations focus on the investigation of the function of cartoons through examining students’ learning performances before and after the animation use, ignoring teachers’ voices and other important topics about ICT-based cartoons. Consequently, this study aims to explore Chinese elementary English teachers’ attitudes towards both the effectiveness of ICT-based animation use and its influential factors, in order to provide elementary teachers with a better understanding of how they can implement ICT-based cartoons effectively, and help designers of educational cartoons obtain a deeper insight into how to produce cartoons suitable to the primary English teaching in China. To collect Chinese teachers’ in-depth opinions on the integration of ICT- based cartoons into primary English lessons, this study adopted a qualitative research approach and conducted interviews with 12 Chinese elementary English teachers. Results obtained from this study have a number of implications on both primary English teachers and institutional cartoons producers.

Keywords: ICT-based cartoons; Chinese teachers; primary English learning/teaching