European Experience of the Use of Information and Communication Technologies In Initial Education of the English Language Teachers

The article deals with the analysis of the peculiarities of the use of information and communication technologies in the process of initial education of future English language teachers in the countries of the European Union. The topicality of the problem is based on the current trends in the development of education, in the particular extensive use of online technologies and tools in the process of English language learning and English language teacher education.The purpose of the article is to study the European experience of the use of information and communication technologies in the initial education of the English language teachers and single out the most important and topical of them in order to outline the possibilities of their use in the initial education of teachers of English in a broader context.The methodology of the research is realized with the use of such methods as analysis, synthesis, generalization, analogy and interpretation of empirical data and theoretical concepts; observation and study of practical experience of higher educational institutions in Poland and Portugal as well as an interview with teachers and students of the above-mentioned institutions.As a result, the importance of the development of information and technological competencies in future teachers of English is grounded, the role of information and communication technologies in initial teacher education is determined. Various information and communication technologies used in the educational process, in particular offline technologies and tools as well as online technologies and resources, are presented and analyzed. Attention is also given to the use of E-learning and the implementation of massive open online courses into the initial teacher education of the English language teachers.The conclusion about the variability of information and communication technologies is made.

achievements, consequently ICT play an important role in initial education of teachers.
And in particular teachers of English, as without proper knowledge and mastery of ICT, a modern teacher cannot carry out a proficient educational activity and ensure the appropriate level of development of students' competencies (Naik, 2013, p. 2).
The quality of teacher education development at the present stage of the progress of society depends on the degree of integration of ICT into the curriculum of teacher professional education. According to UNESCO findings, ICT is a scientific, technological and engineering discipline, and interactive management techniques used to process information, its application and association with social, economic and cultural issues (2011, p. 4).
We believe that information and communication technologies play an immense role in initial education of future teachers of English, as the ability to use the modern methods of their application in educational process is a key component of professional competence of contemporary teachers.
Current trends in the initial education of teachers in the EU are as follows: the use of interdisciplinary approach, e-learning, simulated teaching, micro teaching, programmed instruction, team teaching, teacher research etc. (Kaufman, 2015). Successful implementation of these trends implies that ICT serve as a tool for access to the world of information and help future teachers to be aware of innovative tendencies in education and professional methods, as well as competently use them for their own professional development.

T TH HE EO OR RE ET TI IC CA AL L F
FR RA AM ME EW WO OR RK K In general, ICT play an important role both in the process of initial education of teachers and during their professional activity and continuous professional development. In particular (Baishakhi, 2016, p. 4-5;Dash, 2009): -ICT help teachers to interact quickly with students and other teachers; they help teachers in preparing for teaching the subject, provide possibilities for feedback; -ICT provide teachers with access to educational institutions of various types in order to improve their professional level and skills and realize their continuous professional development; they help to use software and hardware in the educational process effectively; -ICT contribute to the improvement of pedagogical mastery, innovation in educational activities, general effectiveness of classes; they provide the opportunity to use various tools, such as text processing, databases, spreadsheets, task compilation, testing, etc.; -ICT play an important role in students' achievements assessment; they provide an opportunity to create educational environment in order to meet the needs of students; -ICT help teachers to motivate students and increase their interest in learning; they are useful for the development of learning simulation situations, which are an important aspect of initial education of future teachers; higher educational institutions that provide education of future teachers can create and modify their curricula with the help of ICT implementation; with the help of ICT, educational institutions can develop professional networks and share their experience of future teachers initial education organization and realization. Based on the theoretical framework above the purpose of the article is to study European experience of the use of information and communication technologies in initial education of the English language teachers and single out the most important and topical of them in order to outline the possibilities of their use in initial education of teachers of English in a broader context.

M ME ET TH HO OD DO OL LO OG GY Y
The research implies two main stages: data collection and data interpretation with following discussion of the results. Both stages are realized with the use of such methods as analysis, synthesis, generalization, analogy and interpretation of empirical data and theoretical concepts; observation and study of practical experience of higher educational institutions in Poland and Portugal as well as interview with teachers and students of the above mentioned institutions.

R RE ES SU UL LT TS S
Present the information obtained in a clear manner, specifying the main findings, without any interpretation. It is necessary to include the interpretations to the results, identifying the answers to the research questions, with the appropriate triangulations.
Given the significant role of ICT in modern education, future teachers of English in the process of initial education must master ICT both technically and pedagogically. A recent survey conducted in the EU countries, (Empirica, 2006, p. 95) showed that more than 90% of teachers use personal computers to prepare for lessons (it should be mentioned that there are significant differences in this figure between the EU countries, ranging from 95% in the UK to 35% and 36% in Greece and Latvia, respectively).
And 74% of teachers additionally use them as teaching equipment during lessons. The survey also found out that primary school teachers tend to be less competent in the use of ICT than secondary school teachers. However, the survey did not provide any sufficient information on the extent to which ICT are used for specific pedagogical purposes.
A study conducted by ETUCE (European Trade Union Committee for Education) (Teacher Education in Europe, 2008) has brought the conclusion that in some EU countries ICT are only formally included in teacher education curricula due to the lack of financial resources, available for their implementation. ETUCE as a Pan-European organization recognizes the importance of encouraging and supporting teachers in developing their professional ICT skills, as only highly qualified teachers can use their professional knowledge and skills to identify the most effective pedagogical application of ICT for the benefit of their students.
At the same time, teachers must retain their key role in the educational process, as ICT are not a substitute for teachers. Therefore, ETUCE strongly recommends that higher educational institutions of the European Union provide teachers with appropriate opportunities to receive adequate professional education in the sphere of the use of ICT in educational activities, as well as encourage further training and professional development in this field, which can be facilitated, in particular, by developing educational research in order to analyze different pedagogical methods of the use of ICT (Teacher Education in Europe, 2008, p. 25).
The framework of information and technological competences developed by UNESCO (2011) stipulates that it is not enough for teachers to have only information competence and be able to form it in their students. Rather, they should be able to motivate students to learn to work together, to solve problems together and creatively through ICT, so that they can become effective citizens and members of society.
This framework applies to all aspects of the teacher's work and covers three successive stages of a teacher's development in the process of his / her professional education. The first is "technology literacy", which allows students to use ICT to learn more effectively. The second is "deepening knowledge", which gives students the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge of the subject and apply it to solve complex professional problems. Third is the "knowledge creation", which allows future teachers to create new knowledge necessary for the development of a more harmonious, prosperous and successful society (UNESCO, 2011, p. 3).
As we can see, the information competence of a teacher is primarily the basis for further deepening of knowledge in the field of ICT and its creative implementation in the educational process. Such an approach expands the traditional understanding of the use of information and communication technologies in the process of initial teacher education, and it is reflected in the practices of using ICT by higher educational institutions, training future teachers of English, in the EU.
European experience of the use of ICT in education differs little from the world wide experience, due to the global nature of development and spread out of the above mentioned technologies, as well as the universality of their application in education (Tondeur et al., 2016). For the time being there are many different ICT used in the educational process. These technologies are used in various fields of education, including initial teacher education. Let's dwell in more detail on the basic ICT and tools used by European higher educational institutions in the process of initial education of the English language teachers.
First of all, ICT used in the educational process can be roughly divided into two groups: non-web based technologies and web based technologies (Asik et al., 2019;Raval, 2014).
The first group includes: television; feature and documentary cinematography; language laboratories; laptops, tablets, multimedia projectors. Television Television is a useful and the most financially affordable means of learning English. The immediacy and contemporary character of television programs used in the process of education of future teachers of English ensure that students have the opportunity to immerse themselves into the actual and real world of native speakers. Television in this context provides complete audio-visual modeling, dynamics and achievement of high degree realism (Chaib, 2003).

Feature and documentary cinematography
Watching feature and documentary films as a part of educational process attracts students, increases their interest and allows them to remember better and implement in productive activities the material they have learnt. Films are commonly used to demonstrate facts, traditions and cultural information about the countries whose language is learnt, as well as to develop students' communication skills in the process of completing a variety of tasks after watching films.

Language laboratories
The language laboratory is one of the most underrated non-web based tools. Raval (2014) states that the use of language laboratories in the educational process is not a tribute to the past as many people tend to believe nowadays, so many higher educational institutions are still keeping this practice. A number of European higher educational institutions continue to modernize their laboratories to ensure the appropriate level of practical training for future English language teachers.
The current trend in the selection of material for studying in the laboratory is the use of not only audio but also video, flash games, the Internet and other available software and tools. The language lab can be multifunctional in terms of speech activity, as students can both listen to audio recordings and hear different accents and pronunciation options, as well as speak and record their voices for further listening.
Students' pronunciation can be improved by listening to and repeating standardized material. The language laboratory is focused exclusively on the result and enriches the process of learning English.

Laptops, tablets, multimedia projectors
In this context, we mean the traditional way of using these technical teaching toolsto present information during lessons in the classroom. Using a laptop and a projector requires time for preparing the material in advance, but this type of ICT provides a quality format for classroom activities.
They are an important means of visualizing the content of the lesson for a large audience, and also they allow teachers to use images, diagrams, etc., and it saves time and effort of the teacher in the classroom. These teaching tools are easy to use, they allow students to perceive information visually and actively.
The second group includes: online classes, such as Flipgrid; -YouTube; e-mail; e-learning systems, such as Moodle; online blogs; video communication programs, such as Skype; mobile phones with Web 2.0 applications; massive open online courses (MOOC).
Online classes, such as Flipgrid Flipgrid is a social learning platform that allows teachers to ask questions that students answer in video format. Students can then respond to each other by creating a "network" of discussion. Online classes are becoming increasingly popular in secondary schools in various EU countries, so this type of ICT is reflected in the training programs for future English language teachers. It should be mentioned, however, that the use of this technology is not systematic and largely depends on the educational context and the academic subject.
YouTube YouTube is a platform where one can find and share authentic videos that can also be used for educational purposes. The teacher can use available for viewing videos on relevant topics as well as create a special channel where to upload certain materials for specific categories of students and educational purposes. The use of YouTube resources helps to make the educational process in a particular classroom global, as this platform can offer wide access to videos of experienced teachers who demonstrate their most creative and effective achievements for the public.
E-mail E-mail is also a fairly traditional form of using ICT, mainly in extracurricular activities. Students can communicate with native English speakers using e-mail, creating a personal e-mail account that is usually free of charge. Teachers and students in Europe often prefer to use Gmail (Google) services because, in addition to e-mail, they can use Hangouts, Google Drive, Google Meet etc., which are integrated with a Google account.
Also, teachers can send home assignments by e-mail, and students can send their homework to teachers and receive it back, checked and corrected. In addition, teachers in the same way can provide clarifications, feedback, recommendations for improving each student's work.

E-learning systems, such as Moodle
In the majority of higher educational institutions of the EU, students have access to various e-learning systems (Moodle, Claronline, ATutor, SharePointLMS, Live@EDU, eFront, etc.).
These systems contain, in particular, electronic versions of academic subjects in accordance with the curriculum. When compiling the content of such versions of subjects, the peculiarities of the course, its theoretical or practical orientation are taken into account, the main and additional material is filled in, tasks for control and self-control are selected, etc.
Working in such e-learning systems is quite well received by students, as it allows them to learn more at a convenient time and have access to additional information, but it also has disadvantages, such as unfair test tasks completion without restrictions in time. In general, the following advantages of e-learning can be outlined (Demyda et al., 2011, p. 101): free and flexible study schedule; the opportunity to study simultaneously in different places, on different courses and in different educational institutions; implementation of an individual approach and independent choice of learning pace and content of educational material; the possibility of getting education for people with special needs; creation of virtual communities of teachers, students, administrators of education through the use of modern ICT; coverage of more students of different age groups compared to other forms of education.
-Among the disadvantages of elearning, in addition to the one mentioned above, the following can be put forward (Demyda et al., 2011, p. 101-102): the need for appropriate hardware and software, access to information and the use of distance learning resources; significant costs for designing and creating an e-learning system, organizing training courses and purchasing the necessary equipment; development of e-learning courses is quite a time and effort consuming process; high requirements for setting tasks, administration of the educational process in the e-learning system; impossibility of providing a creative emotional atmosphere of the educational process through direct contact between teacher and student; the problem of user authentication when testing knowledge and skills; improper development of students' psychological factors that determine their preparedness to learn remotely, including independence, selfawareness, self-discipline, etc. Thus, the realities of modern life encourage higher educational institutions of the EU countries to use e-learning systems actively. We came to the conclusion that the vast majority of higher educational institutions that provide initial education of the future English language teachers have implemented various e-learning systems and are working hard to improve their functionality and accessibility for teachers and students.
Online blogs A blog is a personal or professional log for general public that is frequently updated. Blogs allow to upload and hyperlink files, and this is suitable for students' personal logging. A. Basal (2004) indicates that blogging becomes communicative and interactive when participants take on several roles in the blog creation process as readers / reviewers who comment on and respond to other authors' posts, and as bloggers / readers, who, when returning to their own publications, respond to remarks and criticism from readers. The latter can comment on what they have read, which makes the blog interactive. However, blogs can be posted at secure platforms or comments can be restricted if necessary.

Video communication programs, such as Skype
With the help of video communication programs, such as Skype, Viber, WhatsApp, Zoom, Google Meet, etc. students can communicate with their teachers and peers who are remote from them. Students also have the opportunity to communicate with native English speakers and improve pronunciation, develop their communicative and cultural competences (Parab Vitthal, 2015). Furthermore, teachers can use similar programs to organize webinars and in-class conferences, e.g. native speakers can be involved in the educational process through video communication programs during practical classes of English.
Such classes are usually held in the form of webinars, when students have the opportunity to come across interesting and useful information on the topic under discussion, ask questions and discuss newly acquired knowledge in small groups.
This type of work gives the students additional motivation to learn English, opportunity to introduce the knowledge, skills and abilities acquired during the study of theoretical disciplines into the productive practice.
It should be mentioned that this form of work is not implemented in all the higher educational establishments and is episodic rather than systemic, as it is often preferred to invite native speakers to communicate with students live when there is such a possibility.
In addition, not all higher educational establishments have the appropriate technical capacity to organize such webinars and academic staff does not always have a sufficient level of information competence to organize and conduct such webinars and conferences. At the same time, despite the above mentioned obstacles, we can observe an increase of interest in this type of practical classes from teachers and lecturers, who become the initiators of such work in their educational institutions.
Mobile phones with Web 2.0 applications In this context, the value is not in the mobile phones themselves as a means of transmitting information, but the mobile applications installed in them, in particular Web 2.0 tools. Such applications can be used in different ways in both initial and postgraduate education of the English language teachers, as technologies are rapidly evolving and the variability of such applications is constantly changing. However, the future teachers of English must be prepared to use Web 2.0 tools in their professional activities.
Web 2.0 tools are emerging as interactive web platforms and they are technologically superior to other tools, which include e-mail, chats, and discussion forums (Raval, 2014). While traditional tools users appear to be predominantly passive recipients of information, Web 2.0 users can be active online partners, editors, coauthors, and consumers of information.
Some research (Stevenson & Liu, 2010;Anwaruddin, 2013) emphasize that the use of Web 2.0 tools can contribute to the effective learning of English; in addition, other studies have shown (Albion, 2008;Bustamante & Moeller, 2013) that the use of integrated Web 2.0 tools has significant potential in the process of future English language teachers education.
Among all the Web 2.0 tools the most noteworthy are such free of charge and available options as: -Facebook group. Such a group is usually created for a certain number of participants, for example, a single class or a group of students by interest. A group can also be created for a team of teachers who work in similar conditions or who are engaged in some action research. Participants use the group to discuss various issues and achievements, respond to the problems of their peers / colleagues, and rapid dissemination of information among a large number of participants, etc.; -Google account / website. Creating a website on the Google platform or using the free web service Google Classroom helps to simplify the development, distribution and evaluation of tasks online; -Google Drive. Students of a certain group can use the Google Drive to report their progress or issues in a spreadsheet created for sharing. In addition, the teacher can share with students or colleagues audio and video materials, presentations, handouts, using Google Drive; -Online portfolio. Such a portfolio is created and maintained by the teacher to store information and data primarily about web platforms and other educational tools used to teach students, weekly reports to the school administration, their own observations of student progress, etc.; -VoiceThread. This web platform allows teachers to use various forms of multimedia, turning them into a space of collaboration by adding video, voice and text comments; -Vocaroo. This application is an online dictaphone that can be used by the teacher, for example, to develop and test listening skills, as well as to study the phonetic aspects of the English language; -SoGoSurvey.
This cloud-based application, designed to create, distribute and analyze surveys, forms, quizzes and assessments, can be used by teachers in a variety of contexts, both in educational activities and in research; -SpiderScribe. This Web 2.0 tool gives a teacher the opportunity to involve smart maps and online brainstorming technology in the educational process, which allows to organize the work in the classroom by combining notes, files, calendar events, etc. in free-form smart maps that students can collaborate on and share online; -Glogster. The teacher can use this cloud platform to create presentations and organize interactive learning. It allows users, mostly students and teachers, to combine texts, images, video and audio to create an interactive web poster called "glog" which can be placed on a virtual canvas; -Storybird. This resource gives students the opportunity to take online courses, solve a variety of tasks, and receive feedback from readers in order to improve their writing skills, which makes it extremely relevant in teaching writing; -Wordle. The teacher can use this application to create "word clouds" from any text. Clouds allow to pay more attention to words that appear more often in the source text, so using this app improves students' writing skills; -Kidblog. This platform provides teachers with the tools to securely publish students' written works online.
Teachers can see and check all the activities going on around the texts within the authors' community and make publicly available edits and comments.
The presented above list of Web 2.0 tools is not exhaustive, as there are a large number of them, and development of technology is causing the steady emergence of new ones.
However, the list includes those Web 2.0 tools that are important for initial teacher education and further continuous professional development of the English language teachers, provided that they have a sufficient level of motivation, preparedness to use these technologies in educational activity and the properly formed information competence.

Massive open online courses (MOOC)
Since 2012, a number of MOOCs appeared in the Internet, introduced by a large scope of online educational platforms such as Edx, Coursera, FutureLearn and others. In spite of the fact that these courses were designed as a distance form of education and were conceived as a replacement for traditional higher education, their elements can be easily integrated into the educational process, in particular in the initial education of the English language teachers.
Thus, courses such as "Teaching English Online", "Working with translation", "Conversational English skills" contain information that adds up to the content of respective subjects, provide further acquaintance with the English language and culture, as well as communication with peers from other countries that also study such courses. We managed to find out how MOOCs are integrated into the English language teacher initial education programs in the EU and what is the potential for their use in development of professional competence of future teachers. For example, at the University of Porto, Portugal, "Teaching English Online" course from the Futurelearn.com platform (Teaching English Online) is integrated into the English Teaching Methods course as a part for selfstudy.
In today's job market, English language teachers who are able to work online have a better chance of employment or additional earnings, so this is a response to the challenges of the time. There is also an intention to introduce such a course in the training curriculum for future teachers of English. The structure of the MOOC provides for the study of the following topics: general characteristics and context of teaching English online; how to plan and conduct lessons on the development of communication skills online; how to plan and conduct communicatively oriented lessons online; how to continue your professional development as an online teacher. This MOOC is designed for self-study for the period of 4 weeks, so the students have enough time to cover all the material and complete their individual tasks, which they receive before starting the course.
Based on the performance with individual tasks, they prepare problem minilectures and presentations, which are held for the student audience with further discussion of the key and problem issues. The biggest attention is given to those aspects of teaching English online that differ from traditional ones. Consequently, such topics are studied in more detail:  general characteristics and context of teaching English online, in particular: strategies for developing communication and interaction online; working on audience management in the online classroom; key skills needed for effective online learning; tips for finding students and online learning channels.  how to plan and conduct communicatively oriented lessons online, in particular: establishment of the educational context; peculiarities of practical use of the language in the online classroom; pronunciation practice.  how to continue your professional development as an online teacher, in particular: receiving feedback; assessment and reflection on your own teaching activity; connection to online teaching communities. As we can see, students are supposed to self-study in this MOOC the topics, which complement the content of the course of "traditional" methods of teaching English, broaden their scope and allow future teachers of English to be more competitive in today's world.
We analyzed the main ICT used in the process of initial education of the English language teachers in the EU countries. Their diversity is quite significant, most of them can be used in postgraduate teacher education and their continuous professional development. The presented above list of ICT used in the process of initial education of the English language teachers is not exhaustive.
Universities and other higher educational institutions that train teachers are actively working to expand the list of technologies, their variability and applicability to the initial education of the English language teachers, as their mastery in the future is becoming more closely linked to information and technological competencies, which makes the role of teachers in such conditions even more important.

D DI IS SC CU US SS SI IO ON N
To discuss the research problem it is necessary to say that living in the modern constantly changing world requires from a person properly developed information and technological competencies, which he / she acquires throughout life.
This question is especially important for teachers, who must not only have these competencies, but also be able to use them in their own educational activities to help their students achieve quality learning outcomes. Modern process of teaching English is difficult to imagine without ICT, so the development of information and technological competencies of the future English language teachers is an important component of their training programs in the process of initial education.

C CO ON NC CL LU US SI IO ON NS S
It was found out that ICT used in the process of initial education of the future English language teachers are divided into two groups: non-web based technologies, including television, feature and documentary cinematography, language laboratories, laptops, tablets, multimedia projectors, and web based technologies, in particular, online classes, such as Flipgrid, YouTube, e-mail, e-learning systems, such as Moodle, online blogs, video communication programs, such as Skype, mobile phones with Web 2.0 applications, massive open online courses, etc.
The variety of these ICT has a complex application in the process of initial education of the future English language teachers. Thus, among the main directions of their application in higher educational institutions, we distinguished the following: development of program maintenance of classroom activities; approbation of electronic teaching tools; work with test programs; use of online resources, including MOOCs, educational platforms, and databases; work in the e-learning systems, etc.
The presented list of both ICT and directions of their application is not exhaustive, as the rapid development of technologies changes their variability and accessibility in the educational process, which motivates the school teachers and lecturers of higher educational institutions who train future teachers to constant selfimprovement in the process of continuous professional development.
The conducted research is not exhaustive and opens perspectives for further study of the variety of ICT and the experience of their use by different higher educational institutions that can be used in the process of initial and postgraduate English language teacher training as well as in their continuous professional development. F Fu un nd di in ng g. . This study received no specific financial support.