Abstract:

For almost the whole past year, due to the lockdown caused by the COVID 19 pandemic, the schools in the Czech Republic have been closed and learner engagement with new technologies has increased immensely. Teachers and learners alike are literally immersed into more and more natural, autonomous and self-determined interaction with online platforms, applications and social networks.

The present paper focuses on using digital technologies for informal learning among master’s degree students, specifically future teachers of English. The research has been conducted at the Faculty of Education of Palacký University in Olomouc. The aims of the research are to find out which platforms, applications and social networks are used by the students for informal learning, how often and for what purposes.

To carry out this study a questionnaire survey has been conducted via Google questionnaire. It contained both open-ended and close-ended questions. The analysis of the quantitative research makes it possible to highlight the main online tools which are used by the specified sample of tertiary students and determine the amount of time these students spend with the technologies in the course of their informal online learning.

Keywords:

Informal learning, digital technologies, online learning, future English teachers, master's degree students.