An Ecological Framework for L2 Teachers’ ICT Integration: A Theory-Driven Review (2015–2025)

Abstract

Over the past decade, the application of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) in second language (L2)
teaching has become increasingly embedded. However, despite
a large body of research on factors shaping L2 teachers’
ICT adoption and integration, the literature remains
fragmented and lacks a unifying framework that explains how
influences operate across levels and interact dynamically.
This paper introduces Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems
Theory and constructs a multi-level, relationship-oriented
theoretical analysis framework from the perspectives of
different level including the individual, teaching,
organization, and students. Across contexts, ICT
integration emerges from multi-level interactions among
teachers’ competencies, task and interaction design,
institutional support, and student responses. Therefore,
using a theory-driven integrative review, we synthesize
evidence on key influences and propose an ecological
account of how they interact across systems. Rather than
adding yet another list of factors, this study advances the
field by specifying cross-level relational pathways through
which influences propagate across ecological systems. So
this review makes three theoretical contributions:(1) It
reconceptualizes L2 teachers’ ICT integration as a
cross-level, recursive ecological process rather than a set
of isolated factors;(2) It specifies cross-system pathways
linking teacher cognition, instructional interaction,
institutional conditions, and student feedback; (3) It
extends existing TAM/TPACK-based explanations by embedding
them within a temporal (chronosystem) perspective shaped by
COVID-19 and emerging AI technologies.