Awareness, proficiency and challenges in the use of emerging technologies by ESL university lecturers in the post COVID-19 ERA

Abstract The breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in the shutting down of schools globally, has made a virtual classroom urgently imperative to support the physical classroom. This move cannot be realistic if the level of awareness and proficiency of the stakeholders, as well as challenges faced, are not noted. Hence, this study examined the awareness, proficiency, and challenges of English as a second language (ESL) lecturers in the use of emerging technologies in the post-Covid-19 era as well as the availability of the emerging technologies. The study adopted a survey research design. Three purposes of the study, three research questions, and four hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The participants of the study comprised all ESL lecturers at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and its affiliate, Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri. A 37-item structured questionnaire and a structured interview were used for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, t-test and content analysis. The study found, among other things, that there is a significant difference between male and female English language lecturers’ proficiency level in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in the post-Covid-19 era. The study makes a significant contribution to other studies on the use of emerging technologies with respect to gender and age.

confirmed that the pandemic affected more than 90% of the world's total student population during the middle of April, 2020 (Singh et al., 2020). Consequently, this led to a total global lockdown, including schools. Students globally were affected by the lockdown as every school activity was brought to a halt. Teachers and students were left with no option other than to engage in online lessons. Despite the psychological, economic, and social challenges unleashed by the pandemic, innovation in educational technologies increased and actually took centre stage. The crisis ushered in new emerging technologies and made the already existing ones more relevant.

Emerging technologies
Emerging technologies are new digital technologies that enable the application of multimedia tools. According to Oliveira et al. (2019), emerging technologies are the same as new technologies that have emanated from previous human technological achievements. Jackson (2014) defines emerging technologies as digital technologies that improve communication, research, and productivity primarily through the use of the Internet. Emerging technologies can be categorised into software and hardware technologies. They can further be grouped into multimodal communication technologies (audio and audiovisual technologies), which are downloadable through the Internet connection on our computers and other handheld devices. These technologies include Skype, Vimeo, YouTube, Zoom, Google class, Moodle, Wiki, WebEx, Blog, Google Docs, Facebook, Instagram, Email, and Twitter, among others (Emelogu & Chigbu, 2021). According to Emelogu and Chigbu (2021), they also appear in the form of applications that are downloadable through an Internet connection on our computers, handheld devices (smart phones and tablets), netbooks, and smart books. Backend emerging technologies such as computational thinking, simulation, dynamic visualizations, virtual labs, computational technology-mediated play, and creative artistic technologies are required to optimise these digital technologies (Oliveira et al., 2019).
In education, these emerging technologies allow communication and virtual interactions at all levels. They often supplement classroom instruction by creating an enabling environment for teachers to use multimedia tools in active learners' engagement. Most of these emerging technologies promote computer-mediated communication, also known as computer-mediated discussion. Emerging technologies facilitate the creation, uploading, downloading, and exchange or sharing of content files. Barreto (2018) opines that emerging technologies have also provided various means through which teachers and learners receive, analyze, and use information. Fastiggi (2014) corroborates that emerging technologies have greatly made education more accessible by facilitating the learning process. The emerging technologies, together with other already existing technologies, have brought a total paradigm shift in the way teachers teach and the way learners learn. The concept of traditional classrooms where teachers assume the role of experts has given way to teachers being facilitators and learners actively taking charge of their learning. Education can easily be accessed anywhere and at any time. A clear example of the accessibility of education through emerging technologies was during the total global lockdown of March, 2020. While economic and social activities came to a standstill, the virtual doors of education were flung open due to emerging technologies. Amidst the COVID-19 lockdown, digital technologies such as Zoom, Moodle, Google Classroom, WhatsApp, and YouTube, among others, provided a platform for ceaseless online learning.

Awareness, proficiency and integration of emerging technology in ESL teaching
This unexpected shift to online learning brings to bare the awareness and proficiency of lecturers in the use of emerging technologies. Awareness demands recognising or acknowledging the existence of these emerging technologies by lecturers, while proficiency requires the practical exhibition of necessary skills by lecturers in creating, accessing, manipulating, organizing, and sharing information using emerging technologies. The New International Websters Dictionary of English Language's (2013) defines awareness as possessing knowledge of some fact or action; a state of being conscious or aware; or being cognizant. According to Akpojotor (2016), awareness refers to knowledge or perception of a situation, facts, consciousness, recognition, realization, grasp and acknowledgement, concern about, and well-informed interest. Abba and Adamu (2019) add that awareness entails lecturers' ability to know about Internet services and other technological tools that can be used in carrying out academic activities, while proficiency is the ability or skills possessed by lecturers in operating or using Internet services and other technological resources for their activities. Saad and Sankaran (2020) assert that technological proficiency is the teachers' or lecturers' ability to integrate technology into instruction in order to improve learning and productivity.
Integration of technology in the teaching of English as a second language cannot be underscored due to its envious position in the country. The English language is the official language of government, education, law, commerce, industry, and administration. It is the medium of communication between various linguistic groups in Nigeria. It plays the dual role of an official language and a second language. The English language is one of the core subjects in the Nigerian curriculum as stipulated by the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2014). It is equally a medium of instruction at all levels of education in Nigeria and a prerequisite for entering into tertiary institutions. Oribabor (2014) remarks that the English language is the backbone of all subjects taught in secondary schools, while Egbe (2015) adds that the ability to speak English has become a parameter for measuring a child's intelligence by laymen. Chigbu et al. (2020) state that proficiency in the English language determines one's academic and professional success. Based on the importance of the English language in the academic life of every Nigerian child, its teaching and learning must be adequately considered on the launch pad of emerging educational technologies. Lecturers' awareness and proficiency in the use of emerging technologies is a great necessity as there cannot be any successful research, collaboration, publications, or online curriculum delivery without adequate content and pedagogical knowledge of the integration of new technologies. Christensen and Knezek (2016) posit that lecturers, as key players in any technology initiative in the classroom, need to be at ease with using the new technologies that are rapidly taking the foreground in education and understand the pedagogical strategies for effectively integrating technology into learning. Messina and Tabone (2013) encourage teachers to embrace and explore a wide variety of technological devices, as this will increase their proficiency and flexibility in the use of emerging technologies in meeting various demands of educational practices. It is obvious that there cannot be successful virtual or blended learning in the post COVID-19 era without teachers' or lecturers' awareness and proficiency in the use of emerging technologies. The awareness and proficiency of lecturers in the use of technology in instruction delivery is hinged on some factors such as gender and age.

Gender and age
The term "gender" refers to culturally and socially defined perceptions of male and female entities that differ from one society or temporal to another. Gender, according to Amali and Jekanyinfa (2013), is a culturally-based behavioural role assigned to males and females; thus, it is culturally specific and not global. Gender, for Yemane et al. (2017), is the cultural and natural, environmentally determined roles of males and females. Nonetheless, gender, according to Azor et al. (2020, p. 318), "on some occasions, transcends into the educational careers of students and their use of digital technology." Age, on the other hand, is a human attribute that has been gaining considerable attention, especially in educational studies. Age is a time-record of life. Research has proven that gender and age have a great effect on the level of awareness and proficiency in technology use. Studies such as (Chen, 1986;Collis, 1985;Enoch & Soker, 2006;Koohand, 2004;Shashaani, 1994;Yau & Cheng, 2012), have shown that there is a great gender gap in computer proficiency and other technological devices, with males being more proficient than females. In support of these findings, Zhou and Xu (2007) remark that studies in the last decades have shown a gender disparity in technological tool proficiency. Contrarily, Prieto et al. (2020) add that studies in recent decades reveal that there are no significant gender differences between teachers with respect to the application of e-skills by teaching professionals. Garrido et al. (2019) concur that there is a gender gap in the use of ICT but further highlight that these gaps have disappeared in the domain of basic and moderate knowledge of digital tools but exist at the level of computer application development. The digital proficiency gender gap could be a result of cultural barriers and stereotypes faced by women. This automatically causes a setback for women in knowledge and skills. According to the OECD (2019), cultural barriers and stereotypes are major factors preventing women from accessing, using, or affording digital tools.
The age of the users of these technological tools is another factor that determines their awareness and proficiency. One can easily agree that technology advancements are generational, hence the awareness and proficiency can also be attributed to being generational. Young people born during a particular technological era may be more proficient in using that technology than those born before the era. Younger lecturers may be more familiar with recent technological developments than senior lecturers. Sheriff (2012) posits that most of the students of this technological era are potential digital experts based on the fact that they were born into the digital information age while the majority of the teachers were born prior to the era of digital technologies, thereby making the students be referred to as the Net Generation (Tapscott, 1998) or Digital Natives and the teachers as Digital Immigrants (Prensky, 2001). It is also possible that the easy accessibility of information in this digital era has put everyone, both young and senior, on par in digital proficiency. The study carried out by Mahdi and Al-Dera (2013) revealed that there is no significant difference between the two age groups (20-39) and 40-60) regarding the use of ICT in English language teaching. The awareness and proficiency level of teachers and lecturers in using technological tools for teaching still remains inconclusive. For the objective of this study, ages 20 to 49 are categorised as young, while ages 50-70 are categorised as senior. The usage of the term "senior" is not related to the academic cadre "senior lecturer". Moreover, in relation to Prensky's (2001) dichotomy, young lecturers would be described as digital natives while senior lecturers as digital immigrants. Based on this backdrop, this study sought to determine ESL lecturers' level of awareness and proficiency, as well as challenges encountered in the use of emerging technologies.

Theoretical framework
This study is anchored on the theory of TPACK. The technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework, established by Lee Shulman (1986) and Mishra and Koehler (2006), is a framework for understanding and describing the types of knowledge that a teacher needs to be successful in a technology-enhanced learning environment. Mishra and Koehler extended Lee Shulman's pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) construct by including technology as a modelling element. The authors stated that simultaneously addressing subject knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and technological knowledge offers a foundation for integrating technology into the curriculum.
The theory agrees that the development of awareness of the dynamic and transactional link between various components of knowledge located in distinct settings is required for effective technology integration for pedagogy around particular subject matter. School-specific circumstances, grade levels, individual instructors, culture, demographics, and other considerations guarantee that each scenario is unique, and no one mix of materials, technology, and pedagogy will be appropriate for every teacher, every course, or every teaching philosophy. The post-COVID -19 age is one that necessitates technology-based education. This theory is contextualized in this study of awareness, proficiency, and challenges associated with the use of emerging technologies by ESL university lecturers because TPACK as a theory is concerned with assisting lecturers in preparing for the use of technology in the service of literacy development.

Purpose of the study
The main purpose of the study was to investigate awareness, proficiency and challenges in the use of emerging technologies by ESL university lecturers in post Covid-19 era. Specifically, the study sought to: (1) determine the awareness level of ESL lecturers in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era (2) determine the proficiency level of ESL lecturers in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era (3) find out the challenges encountered in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era

Research questions (RQ)
The following research questions were formulated to guide the study: RQ1. What is the awareness level of ESL lecturers in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era?
RQ2. What is the proficiency level of ESL lecturers in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era?
RQ3. What are the challenges encountered in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era?

Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were tested at a 5% level of significance.
Ho 1 : There is no significant difference between female and male English language lecturers' level of awareness in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era Ho 2 : There is no significant difference between young and senior English language lecturers' level of awareness in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era Ho 3 : There is no significant difference between female and male English language lecturers' proficiency level in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era Ho 4 : There is no significant difference between young and senior English language lecturers' proficiency level in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era

Method
The study adopted a survey research design. The survey research design allows for the collection of primary data by administering questionnaires and interviews at a particular time with variables not subjected to experimentation, control, and manipulation. The participants of the study comprised 53 ESL lecturers from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (Departments of Arts Education and English and Literary Studies) and its affiliate, Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri (Department of English and Literature), and they were sampled using a purposive sampling technique. The sampled participants were disaggregated into 31 ESL lecturers from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and 22 ESL lecturers from Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri. Furthermore, the 53 participants were subdivided into 26 female and 27 male lecturers, and 32 young and 21 senior lecturers.
A questionnaire and an interview were used to collect data from the population. It was designed using the Google Form online questionnaire package and sent to emails and social media contacts of faculty members with a specialisation in ESL. The contact details were obtained from the departments. 66 lecturers of ESL specialists were contacted. However, the survey-response rate was 80.3%. This could be due to the total lockdown during the period. The questionnaire sent to participants was accompanied by a cover letter through which their consent was sought and the promise of anonymity was declared. The questionnaire was face-validated by three experts. Two from the educational technology and language education units of the Departments of Arts Education and one from the measurement and evaluation unit of the Department of Science Education; all from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The questionnaire, after its validation, was trial-tested on 10 ESL lecturers at Abia State University. This set of respondents was outside the target population of the study. In order to determine the reliability of the instrument, the Cronbach Alpha was used to compute the reliability of the items in the instrument. The instrument yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.79, also indicating that it is reliable. The questionnaire was divided into two sections. The first section collected demographic information about the participants' gender and age. The next section of the questionnaire asked about awareness and proficiency in using emerging technologies by English language lecturers for teaching English language courses in the post-Covid-19 era in line with RQ1 and RQ2. The RQ1 and RQ2 have item statements that were ranked on two-point and three-point Likert scales, respectively, and rated thus: for RQ1 (Not Aware = 1, Aware = 2); for RQ2 (Not proficient = 1, Averagely proficient = 2, Highly proficient = 3). A mean and standard deviation were used to analyse the research questions, while a t-test was used for testing the hypotheses. The decision point for the scale on mean and standard deviation analyses was based on cutoff point and real limit numbers for RQ1 and RQ2 respectively. The mean score 1.50 is the benchmark for awareness for RQ1; while real limits decisions are thus: 2.50-3.00 = as highly proficient; 1.50-2.49 = as averagely proficient; and 0.50-1.49 = as not proficient for RQ2.
The interview addressed the research question 3, and it was organised under two themes. Theme 1 was subdivided into three sections centring on institutional challenges, lecturer-centred and student-centred challenges. The recorded interview was analysed following a qualitative content analysis (QCA). According to Forman and Damschroder (2007), "QCA examines data that is the product of open-ended data collection techniques aimed at detail and depth, rather than measurement" (p. 41). Six participants were interviewed out of the 53 participants. The interview was conducted using an audio recorder by two of the five researchers, who have a strong qualitative research background. They observed the COVID-19 protocols. Through purposive sampling, three senior lecturers (1 male and two females) and three junior lecturers (two males and one female) were sampled. The consent of the interviewees was sought before the interview started and the purpose of the interview was explained in detail.

Results
The results are presented according to the research questions and hypotheses that guided the study.

Research question 1 (RQ1):
what is the awareness level of ESL lecturers in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era?
The results in Table 1  The results in Table 2  The result in Table 3 shows the mean scores of female and male ESL lecturers' responses on their awareness levels in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era. The mean scores of the both groups indicate a comparable awareness levels in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era. However, while the female lecturers are aware of Item 5 as an emerging technology, the male lecturers are not. Both male and female lecturers agreed not to be aware of Items 2 and 3 as emerginging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era.

Hypotheses testing
Hypothesis 1: There is no significant difference between female and male ESL lecturers' levels of awareness in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era The result in Table 4 shows the t-test analysis of no significant difference between female and male ESL lecturers' levels of awareness in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era. The table shows that t(−.093) = 32, p >.926. The null hypothesis is thus not   rejected because the probability figure (sig.2-tailed) of .926 is greater than 0.05. As a result, there is no statistically significant difference in the levels of awareness of emerging technologies among female and male ESL lecturers.

Hypothesis 2:
There is no significant difference between young and senior ESL lecturers' levels of awareness in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era.
The result in Table 5 shows the mean ratings of young and senior ESL lecturers' responses on their awareness levels in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era. The mean scores of the both groups indicate a comparable awareness levels in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era. However, both male and female lecturers agreed not to be aware of Items 2 and 6 as emerginging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era.
The result in Table 6 shows the t-test analysis of no significant difference between young and senior ESL lecturers' levels of awareness in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-

Table 4. T-test analysis of no significant difference between male and female ESL lecturers' levels of awareness in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era
Groups N X SD t Df  Covid-19 era. The table reveals that t (−.363) = 32, p >.719. The null hypothesis is therefore not rejected since the probability figure (sig.2-tailed) of .719 is greater than 0.05. Thus, there is no statistically significant difference between young and senior ESL lecturers' awareness levels in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era.

Hypothesis 3:
There is no significant difference between female and male ESL lecturers' proficiency level in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era.
The result in Table 7 shows the mean ratings of female and male ESL lecturers' responses on their proficiency levels in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era. The mean scores of the both groups do not indicate a comparable proficiency levels in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era.
The result in Table 8 shows the t-test analysis of no significant difference between female and male ESL lecturers' proficiency levels in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era. The table reveals that t (.2.083) = 38, p < .044. The null hypothesis is therefore rejected since the probability figure (sig.2-tailed) of .044 is less than 0.05. Thus, there is a statistically significant difference between female and male ESL lecturers' proficiency levels in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era.

Hypothesis 4:
There is no significant difference between young and senior ESL lecturers' proficiency level in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era.
The result in Table 9 shows the Mean ratings of young and senior ESL lecturers' responses on their proficiency levels in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era. The mean scores of the both groups do not indicate a comparable proficiency levels in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era.
The result in Table 10 shows the t-test analysis of no significant difference between young and senior ESL lecturers' proficiency levels in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era. The table reveals that t (2.581) = 38, p < .014. The null hypothesis therefore is rejected since the probability figure (sig.2-tailed) of .014 is less than 0.05. Thus, there is a statistically significant difference between young and senior ESL lecturers' proficiency levels in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era.

Research question three (RQ3):
What are the challenges encountered in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era? Table 6.

T-test analysis of no significant difference between young and senior ESL lecturers' level of awareness in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in post-Covid-19 era
Groups N X SD T Df  Emelogu et al., Cogent Education (2022)  The responses to this research question three were elicited through structured interview

Sig. (2-tailed) Decision
The research question was divided into theme 1 and theme 2. Theme 1 addressed challenges at three levels, namely, institutional, lecturer-centred and student-centred; while theme 2 focused on the possible solutions.  The analysis of the interview conducted with some senior ESL lecturers revealed that institutional challenges are the greatest challenges hindering effective utilisation of emerging technologies in teaching and learning in the post-Covid-19 era. A lecturer indicated her concern thus: Many institutions are still backward in the provision of these emerging technologies. Many lecturers are ready to adopt these changes but institutions are not ready.

Keys: Sig. = Significant; NS = No Significant
Also, some other senior lecturers maintained that irregular power supply, poor internet facility to cover all school environments, funding, inadequate investment in information and communication technology (ICT) related infrastructure with regards to emerging technologies, and inadequate resources at the disposal of the lecturers and students are major hindrances to the effective utilisation of emerging technologies in teaching and learning. The lecturers further emphasised that the majority of Nigerian universities have not embraced online teaching and learning using emerging technologies, and as a result of this, many lecturers are still using the conventional or traditional method of teaching. One of the lecturers stated that the higher education system in Nigeria and its educational technology are still at the level of hardware, practically. The lecture timetables are designed for day-time study and a physical classroom.
Analysis of the interview conducted with some young ESL lecturers also showed that there are institutional challenges in the utilisation of emerging technologies. This set of lecturers agreed with the senior lecturers that some of these challenges range from unavailability of these emerging facilities; poor power supply; limited subscription of internet access; lack of motivation of lecturers; and lack of training and sensitization of lecturers and students in adopting digital technologies in teaching and learning as occasioned by COVID-19. The responses of some of the senior lecturers on the challenges in the utilisation of emerging technologies in teaching and learning as it applies to lecturers indicate that the majority of lecturers have issues with technological know-how. Most of the lecturers do not have the skills and competencies to use most of these digital technologies. An extract from the interview of one of the senior lecturers reads thus: Majority of the lecturers are trained in the traditional way without ICT, hence, making them not to be technology compliant.
Furthermore, the lecturers noted that inadequate classroom or small classroom space can constitute a challenge in the utilisation of these emerging technologies. For instance, if a lecturer is teaching a large number of students, he/she may be required to move to a larger classroom that is more spacious, and when this happens, there might be network fluctuations. Another point raised by the lecturers was poverty. According to them, some lecturers are most often reluctant to buy data for academic purposes due to the monetary aspects of it. So, one of the lecturers has this to say: The system does not provide laptops, tablets, iPad, and internet services, rather lecturers are expected to provide these resources themselves. As a result, lecturers will prefer to go the traditional way due to some financial constraints.
On the other hand, in an interview with the young lecturers, it was gathered that their ideas are in tandem with the opinions of the senior lecturers. All the young lecturers also noted that lack of competence, financial instability, and lack of motivation are some of the challenges lecturers face in trying to embrace these emerging technologies. On the contrary, a young lecturer bluntly established that most lecturers, particularly the senior ones, have a negative attitude towards technology. Below is a direct extract from her interview: Many old lecturers especially Professors do not want to embrace these emerging technologies because majority of them cannot operate computers not to talk of using Zoom or Google classroom to teach learners. They will ask you; do you know how old I am? Do you expect me to start learning these technologies at my age? They forget to understand that learning never ends, even as a professor.
Theme 1C: perceived student-centred challenges in the use of emerging technologies in post Covid-19 era.
Interview question 3: what do you think are student-centred challenges in the use of emerging technologies in post Covid-19 era?
The concern of all the senior lecturers in terms of students' challenges in the use of these emerging technologies was finance. The lecturers lamented that the majority of the students do not have android phones, not to mention laptops or other gadgets due to some financial issues. Another important point raised was that some of the students are incompetent in the use of these technologies.
In a different perspective, one of the young lecturers expressed her idea thus: Majority of the students are addicted to their gadgets. Many of them cannot stay a minute without their mobile phones. Sometimes, they do not use these gadgets for educational purposes but mere chatting and watching irrelevant videos. Based on the challenges above, lecturers in the senior category interviewed suggested the following as solutions to the utilisation of emerging technologies in the post COVID-19 era: regular access to the internet; steady power supply; adequate training for lecturers and students in the university; provision of technical personnel that will guide in the use of these technologies; provision of laptops and other gadgets needed for digital learning; and proper funding of universities by the Nigerian government. Course modules should be developed to incorporate a significant online presence. Every faculty in the university should have an ICT hub and a library. The new faculty members, especially the younger ones, coming into the system should be ICT-skilled.
In a different view, lecturers in the young category suggested that students should be given configured laptops upon admission and registration. Also, they advised that lecturers should be subjected to ICT tests before being employed to lecture, while seminars and workshops should be organised for lecturers already in the school system to enable them to gain experience with regards to ICT. They further recommended that there should be periodic training of lecturers and students in the use of technological facilities. They went further to say that lecturers should make themselves available to learn to teach with these emerging technologies. Students should also avail themselves of the opportunity to learn new things, and they should be made to understand that they are responsible for their own learning.

Discussion and conclusions
The main objective of our study was to determine the awareness, proficiency, and challenges of universities' ESL lecturers in the use of emerging technologies in the post-Covid-19 era. Specifically, the study focused on the ties existing between the demographical variables, i.e., gender and age, and the predicted variables, awareness and proficiency. In relation to research question one (RQ1), the study found that ESL lecturers are aware of the use of emerging technologies for teaching in the post-Covid-19 era. This finding may contrast with Obidike et al. (2011), who found that ESL teachers were not aware of the technological resources being used to improve reading and writing skills in children. The results of the present study could be informed by the different participants (teachers of higher institutions versus teachers of primary schools) in the studies; and the timeframe between the two studies. Besides, lecturers are expected to be more advanced than primary school teachers since they teach young adults.
With respect to the H01, it indicates no statistically significant difference between female and male ESL lecturers' levels of awareness in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in the post-Covid-19 era. This result supports Verma and Dahiya (2016), who submit that there is "no meaningful difference between male and female faculty members towards ICT awareness" (p. 7). However, the study contradicts Philomina and Amutha (2016), whose study reported that female educators, when compared to males, have more awareness of ICT. The second corresponding hypothesis on awareness shows no statistically significant difference between young and senior ESL language lecturers' levels of awareness in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in the post-Covid-19 era. The finding reinforces Martin's (2011) and Guo et al. (2008) findings that there is no significant difference between digital native teachers and digital immigrant teachers in relation to ICT. It suffices to conclude that gender and age do not affect awareness of emerging technologies. Both male and female lecturers, as well as young and senior lecturers, are becoming more updated, mindful, and aware of the usefulness of trending technology for integration into curriculum delivery.
On how proficient ESL lecturers are in RQ2, the result shows that they are averagely proficient in the use of emerging technologies in teaching in the post-Covid-19 era. This disagrees with studies by Tena et al. (2016) that submit that university lecturers demonstrate a higher level of technological or ICT proficiency needed in teaching. However, it corroborates Dzikite et al. (2017) and Cazco et al. (2016), whose studies revealed a lack of technological-pedagogical knowledge among university lecturers. For the H03, it indicates a statistically significant difference between female and male ESL lecturers' proficiency levels in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in the post-Covid-19 era. The result states that male lecturers are more proficient than female lecturers. This finding affirms the existence of a digital gender gap in education, especially in Africa. It agrees with (Casillas et al., 2017) and (Zhou & Xu, 2007) that females have less expertise in ICT than males. The result also gives credence to gender roles' influence on technology because Huffman et al. (2013) submitted that gender roles in particular (not only biological sex) play a large role in technology self-efficacy; especially, masculinity is a strong predictor of technology self-efficacy. Furthermore, the outcome of this finding could be shaped by the fact that females are less confident with technology (Yau & Cheng, 2012), and "because they have learned less and practised less and more anxious with using computers when compared with male counterparts" (He & Freeman, 2010, p. 210). However, the result disagrees with Prieto et al. (2020) in their research that did not detect a gender difference in teachers' mastery of ICT. While there are arguments that gender differences are neither large nor consistent across varied contexts (Gebhardt et al., 2019), the African continent is unfortunately an exception, given that the reasons for this gap on the continent, according to Majama (2019), are contemporary and traceable to "unaffordable access, threats to access and use, low digital literacy and confidence, and the lack of relevant content, applications, and services" (para. 3).
The H04 reveals a statistically significant difference between young and senior ESL lecturers' proficiency levels in the use of emerging technologies for teaching in the post-Covid-19 era. This result shows that young lecturers are more proficient than senior ones. This means that age is a variable that influences technological proficiency. This finding is supported by Howlett and Waemusa (2018), whose study revealed that the digital native teachers (the young) are more proficient and confident in using technology than the digital immigrant teachers (the seniors). Furthermore, this is confirmed by Cabero and Barroso (2016), Gudmundsdottir and Hatlevik (2018), and Guillén-Gámez et al. (2019). In contrast, the result did not corroborate with the studies of Van der Kaay and Young (2012) that found the technological skill levels of faculty members aged 55 or older to be similar to those of younger faculty members.
With respect to RQ3, the respondents unveiled different factors that most likely stifle the use of emerging technologies. These challenges entail the level at which technology is being used in higher education in Nigeria. The use of technology is largely at the hardware level and at a fluctuating position at the software level. At the level of hardware, there is emphasis on material use; inadequate knowledge and principles; inadequacy of facilitating structures; abandoned/unserviceable devices; and poor ICT use. Concerning the fluctuating position observed at the software level, the education system is beginning to have fairly ICT facilities. However, there is still poor funding, which makes ICT provisions inadequate.
In conclusion, there is a technological knowledge gap among ESL lecturers in Nigeria. The gap is widened more when the female and male lecturers are compared and when also the young and senior faculty members are equated. While it may be understandable that the gap between the senior lecturers and the young lecturers is because the former are digital immigrants and the latter are digital natives, the lower proficiency in the use of emerging technology by women should inform future studies. Although the argument of who is more technologically proficient between females and males remains inconclusive, we suggest that more demographical variables such as marital status, socioeconomic status, and interest should be factored in future research.
Based on the findings and conclusion of the study, the following recommendations are made: (1) Institutions should provide the necessary ICT facilities accessible to lecturers and students.
(2) There should be regular ICT training and development for lecturers and students. This ICT training should be designed with all stakeholders in mind: students, lecturers, young and senior or old, male and female, rather than pitching them against each other based on age, gender, or other distinctions.
(3) Greater learning is achieved by "doing"; hence, online teaching should be highly encouraged and perhaps, enforced.
(4) There should be development and use of a learning system.
(6) Learning should be emphasized. That is, learners should take full responsibility for the learning process while the lecturers only facilitate.