IATEFL Poland
Computer Special Interest Group

Teaching English with Technology
A Journal for Teachers of English
ISSN 1642-1027
Vol. 3, Issue 2 (April 2003)

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AN INITIAL STUDY ON EFL LEARNERS' ATTITUDE
TOWARDS MULTIMEDIA APPLICATION IN LANGUAGE LEARNING
by Antonia Lin
Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages,
Taiwan, ROC
antonia@mail.wtuc.edu.tw

Abstract

This paper focuses on the attitude of EFL learners towards the integration of multimedia into a language learning program. It reports on a questionnaire-based survey administered at the end of the first semester of 2001 to 46 first year junior college students at Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages in Taiwan. All of these students were majoring in Spanish but were also taking English Listening and Writing as one of their required language courses. The survey was related to the English Listening and Writing course. The results of the survey indicate that the majority of EFL learners had a positive attitude towards the use of multimedia resources in their language program, appreciating, in particular, opportunities to practice and extend their language abilities by surfing the Internet, to take laboratory-based listening tests via a test analyzer, and to record and save their own writing and to make use of multi-media resources in developing their reading skills.

Introduction

Multimedia technology has been used worldwide and its application in the field of education has provided teachers a great deal of convenience in terms of teaching, learning, research, and communication. It also offers learners an alternative way of learning like e-mailing, discussing online, self-access learning, presenting assignments or projects with software.

Multimedia application in language learning has positive influence on students' attitude. Researches show that students have positive attitude toward the use of computers for language learning (Fujieda, 1999, Levine, Ferenz, & Reves, 2000). Warschauer (1996) reports that most students become motivated if teachers integrate multimedia in the curriculum, provide opportunities of interactivities, and help them get knowledge and computer skills. The more familiar students were with technology, the more positive attitude they had toward technology (Jones, 1992). Furthermore, self-access learning is one of the appealing characteristics of using computers in the language classrooms. Students develop learner autonomy through web-based learning individually or cooperatively (Brajcich, 2000).

Believing that Information Technology makes a difference in language learning and teaching and that learners' needs and learning styles should be taken into account when designing lessons, the writer has endeavored to reach out for available resources in terms of hardware and software to enrich her teaching, such as using the equipment in the language lab. The convenient devices of the test analyzer accompanying with the audio tape device to check listening comprehension with instant feedback and the online recording tool which enables learners to record, save, and submit their reading saves time and highlights the learning atmosphere. In order to find out the learners' feedback about such integration, the writer designed a questionnaire with statements and open-ended questions for the first-year Spanish major students and conducted the survey at the end of the first semester in 2001.

Presenting lessons with Power Point slides is a new way in the classroom instruction. Practicing listening and reading with technology is full of novelty. Active participation leads to motivation of students. The results of the study showed that most learners had positive feedback toward such computer-based learning procedures as, for example, taking listening tests with the test analyzer in the lab, recording and saving their story reading with the lab facilities, and surfing the Internet to appreciate other people's works online.

Literature Review

Computer Assisted Language Learning has been used in the field of language teaching for decades and has been regarded as a powerful tool for both the teachers and learners. Recently multimedia and Computer-Mediated Communication have been utilized to affect a whole new learning experience. Many teachers and scholars have reported studies of the effectiveness of educational instruction on achievement and students' attitudes regarding learning with technology (Salaberry, 2001; Oladejo, 2001).

Learners' motivation and attitudes are correlated with their language acquisition (Mantle-Bromleyan, Miller, 1991; Mantle-Bromley, 1995). According to Schoepp and Erogul (2001), the use of computer technology helps develop learner autonomy and independence as well as the growth of self-access language learning. Students gain confidence through "learning-by-doing" in an interactive environment. Affective domain does make a difference for language learners. When working online, especially in Internet-based collaborative learning, students develop the sense of community and respect different opinions. Computer-based learning provides an environment that combines the feeling of security, novelty, and exposure to the real world. It also makes students control their own learning pace, increase self-esteem, and improve academic skills. Pow (1999) indicated that learners experienced the value of group work when they were engaged in interactive activites online. Fujieda (1999) stated that learners who were involved in group work had positive feedback to the application of technology. Students perceived the value of word processing, paid more attention to mechanics in writing and favored computer-based writing (Cunningham, 2000).

As for the teacher's role, it has remained almost the same as the facilitator, designer, advisor, cooperator, except that the instructor has to develop computer literacy, manage links of resources, and create interactivities based on his/ her understanding of the characteristics of the modern "magic". Teachers who use computer or Internet as a tool in language teaching also develop their professional growth. The exposure to numerous teaching websites and authentic resources enables teachers to retrieve valuable materials and make necessary adaptations to meet learners' needs. Technology-supported tasks foster the development of cognitive strategies, socioaffective strategies, and metacognitive strategies (Loyo, deMagnago, 2001). In the new trend of technology-based learning, only through the teacher's experimenting with using IT, like the Internet and Computer-Mediated Communication, can both learners and teachers realize what they can or cannot do (Chen, 2001, Mantel-Bromley, Miller, 1991). The purpose of this study is mainly to examine students' attitude toward the application of multimedia. More specifically, it reports the perceptions of junior college freshmen who have never taken a formal language class with computer class as a whole group in school. This study is to be used as a pilot study for the upcoming project undertaken by the writer and the other two colleagues in the second semester to investigate the correlation between the learners' performance and the exposure to the technology-enhanced environment.

Method

Subjects

The study took place in the first semester of academic year of 2001 and the subjects in this study were the 46-freshman class of Spanish Department in Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages. The population was the first year junior college students who were taking first year English Listening and Writing as one of the required language courses while the study was conducted. The instructor met the class four hours a week, i.e. two hours in the classroom and the other two hours in the language lab where there are individual audio devices for students (a headphone set, a cassette tape booth) and for teachers (a teacher's control counsel with two cassette decks, a test analyzer, a videotape player, a screen, a projector, and a computer.) A new multimedia language lab with all the equipment mentioned above in addition to individual computer connecting to the Internet was installed while the study was undertaken. The writer reserved it twice in order to offer them an extra opportunity to actually learn with technology.

Instruments and Materials

The writer used the following instruments in the study:

1) a questionnaire with Likert Scale, a five-point scale ranging from 5 strongly agree to 1 strongly disagree and open-ended questions,

2) the regular language lab (E301) and the multimedia language lab (W002),

3) Statistics Package for Social Studies (SPSS) for Windows to analyze collected data quantitatively.

The materials used in this study included OHP slides for dicto compositions and the websites for teachers: ALELA (http://alela.wtuc.edu.tw) which students logged in with a fixed user name and password (the user name: ALELA, the password: antonialin), and ALELA at Blackboard, which was a free-of-charge website and was available before June, 2002. Dicto composition is a dictation training that has been practiced for more than a decade in Wenzao Ursuline College. At the first stage, students are given two to four pictures and listen to the teacher's story once without writing anything down in the first listening. Then the teacher reads a couple of sentences three times and students concentrate on listening to the sentences, which they write down after the teacher finishes each section. The same process continues until the whole story is done. At the final stage, students may check their writing while the teacher reads the whole story again. All the lessons covered in the first semester were presented in the transparencies in the PowerPoint format which were also uploaded to the teacher's website for learners to explore as supplementary learning or take an adventure in listening and writing on their own in their spare time.

Procedures

The first year students were scheduled to learn writing through dicto composition with which they were trained to listen to a passage and write down what they heard correctly. The principal instruction tool was transparencies and the writer’s ALELA website. The instructor used transparencies in the classroom for each lesson and students gave feedback on such an alternative way in learning English writing. The writer's website ALELA was introduced to the students in the language lab. Besides dicto composition, students were required to make a series of story mini books by using all the stories they had written. In order to accomplish this task, the newly installed multimedia language lab was reserved twice (four hours) for the class to experience computer-mediated learning in the last month of the semester. A guideline was provided to the learners so that they could operate the computer on their own with less anxiety. The main task of the first two hours was to practice how to surf ALELA page by page, appreciate the works in words or in sound, and practice using the recording devices to read their stories in the mini books. The instructor prepared a guideline as shown below for the class so that they could follow the steps of recording their stories, which the instructor had posted online. Thus, they could save their stories in the text file and voice file on the Internet as well as a sound file on a tape.

Starting work in the computer room

a. Attendance

a. PC power > Monitor Power > Chinese Version > Enter

c. Start > IE > URL (http://alela.wtuc.edu.tw) > Type ALELA as the user’s name and antonialin as the password >First Year L/W > S1B > Units

d. Check your stories with the versions in ALELA.

e. Put the tape into the cassette case.

f. Follow the steps while recording: Title > Read by S1B/No./Name in W002 > Pause for 3 seconds > Read the story aloud > Pause for 3 seconds > THE END.

g. Pause for 5 seconds and then a new story recording begins.

h. Go to PC/Start > Application > Audio > Recording > Red button > Record > Save file as S1B/Name/Title under Drive D with a title S1B/School No.

i. Repeat steps f to h until you finish the five stories.

 As for the other two hours in the multimedia language lab, students were invited to record their favorite story formally and then mail it to the instructor who then classified them by topic and uploaded the learners' read-aloud to the website. Students were also invited to reflect on such a project in ALELA's guest book.

In the last period of the course, a questionnaire with a 5-point Likert Scale and open-ended questions was conducted with instructions. (See Appendix). The questions were grouped according to 1) learning in the first semester, 2) computer literacy, and 3) suggestions to classmates, teacher, oneself, and ALELA. This questionnaire took place in the lab and it took about fifteen minutes. Afterwards, the collected data were run under SPSS for Windows.

In the questionnaire, part I consisted of 16 questions, of which questions 7-16 were followed by reasons in addition to the scale. Part II consisted of 6 questions, of which questions 1-5 were the opinion scale and question 6 was to figure out the length of time these learners had worked on computers. Part III consisted of open-ended questions allowing them to evaluate their own learning, reflect on their peers' and the teacher's work.

Results and Discussion

Data collected from the questionnaire were qualitatively transcribed and quantitatively analyzed. The following tables show the results of students' preference in terms of learning in the first semester, multimedia application, and computer literacy. As for the open-ended questions, a summary of students' opinions follows the tables.

Additionally, the feedback of students' experience in the multimedia language lab is also summarized in this section.

My learning in the first semester

Eight statements concerning the activities of dicto composition are listed below.

1. In dicto composition I like listening to one sentence three times.

2. In dicto composition I like listening to two sentences three times.

3. In dicto composition I like listening to three sentences three times.

4. I can write well when listening to one sentence read three times.

5. I can write well when listening to two sentences read three times.

6. I can write well when listening to three sentences read three times.

7. I like using transparencies to learn writing.

8. I like revising writing with transparencies.

As shown in Table 1.1 below, over 73 % of the subjects agreed or strongly agreed that they liked listening to one sentence three times, and only 1 of the students (2.2 %) disagreed. Over 58 % of the subjects agreed or strongly agreed that they liked listening to two sentences three times, and 13 % of them disagreed. Only 6.5 % of the learners agreed that they liked the listening to three sentences three times, and over 60% of the subjects disagreed or strongly disagreed.

As for being able to dictate well, over 82 % of the students agreed or strongly agreed that they could write well when listening to one sentence read three times, and only one student (2.2 %) disagreed. Over 39 % of the students agreed or strongly agreed that they could write well when listening to two sentences read three times, and about 17 % of them disagreed. About 4 % of the students agreed or strongly agreed that they could write well when listening to three sentences read three times, and over 67 % of them disagreed or strongly disagreed.

In response to using transparencies as an instructional tool to learn writing, over 63 % of the students agreed or strongly agreed, and about 6 % disagreed or strongly disagreed. As regards revising writing with transparencies, more than 52 % of the students agreed or strongly agreed, and 13 % disagreed or strongly disagreed.

Table 1.2 indicates the mean and standard deviation of students' responses towards dicto composition. Most of them gave positive feedback (1 = 1.74, 2 = 2.41, 4 = 1.67, 5 = 2.74, 7 = 2.28, 8 = 2.48) except having the three sentences read thrice (3 = 3.63, 6 = 3.89).

Qs
N & %

Strongly
Agree

Agree

So-so

Disagree

Strongly
Disagree

Missing

N = 46

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

1

22

47.8

12

26.1

10

21.7

1

2.2

0

0

1

2.2

2

3

6.5

24

52.2

12

26.1

6

13

0

0

1

2.2

3

0

0

3

6.5

15

32.6

24

52.2

4

8.7

0

0

4

24

52.2

14

30.4

7

15.2

1

2.2

0

0

0

0

5

2

4.3

16

34.8

20

43.5

8

17.4

0

0

0

0

6

1

2.2

1

2.2

13

28.3

18

39.1

13

28.3

0

0

7

8

17.4

21

45.7

14

30.4

2

4.3

1

2.2

0

0

8

2

4.3

22

47.8

14

30.4

4

8.7

2

4.3

2

4.3

Table 1.1. The Percentage Analysis of Students' Responses to Dicto Composition

Q

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Mean

1.74

2.41

3.63

1.67

2.74

3.89

2.28

2.48

SD

0.91

0.88

0.74

0.82

0.80

0.92

0.89

1.03

Table 1.2. The mean and standard deviation of questions 1 to 8

The subjects had positive response to listening to one sentence read three times as well as writing well when listening to one sentence read three times. Likewise, they seemed to respond negatively to listening to three sentences read three times and writing well when listening to three sentences read three times. It appeared that listening to one sentence read three times was preferred since it was easier for the learners to handle. Listening to three sentences read three times was the least preferred since it was more challenging and stressful than the others.

Reasons

Showing transparencies in the classroom seemed to be less effective than in the multimedia language lab. The instructor orally inquired the learners' opinions about the transparency presentation in order to make improvement of the font, size, and the layout of the page. As for the use of transparency, over half of the students agreed or strongly agreed. This could be continuously used in the second semester, but the font of the words and the distance between the lines should be modified. It seemed that the class had never had the experience of learning English through transparencies. As regards the use of transparencies to learn writing, the learners made the following suggestions:

1. It is clear but the font should be enlarged.
2. It is not easy to see the whole text.
3. There are too many lines on the screen.

They also gave the following positive feedback:

1. I can concentrate on the lesson.
2. It is easy to learn and I can remember the lesson quickly.
3. It is the first time to learn writing in this way. I can learn more
.

As for the revision of writing with transparencies, students thought they could see their mistakes immediately. Nevertheless, some of them were unable to catch up with the pace, and they could not see the text clearly.

Multimedia application

Eight statements in terms of multimedia application in language learning are listed below.

1. I like listening test with buttons in the lab.
2. I like recording my stories in W002.
3. I like recording my favorite story in W002.
4. I like sending my reading via e-mail.
5. I like surfing ALELA.
6. I like making storybooks.
7. I like making stories with the chosen words.
8. I like reading my story on the platform.

Table 2.1 shows the descriptive report of multimedia application. In response to the use of the test analyzer in the language lab (E301), more than 80 % of the students strongly agreed or agreed, and only 4 % disagreed. In terms of recording, over 80 % of the learners agreed or strongly agreed that they liked recording the stories in the language-computer lab, and only one student (2.2 %) out of 46 disagreed. More than 78 % of the learners agreed or strongly agreed that they liked the way of recording their favorite story in the multimedia language lab, and about 6 % disagreed. Almost 70 % of the students liked sending their reading via email, and only one student (2.2 %) disagreed. More than three quarters (76.1 %) of the students liked surfing ALELA, and only two students (4.3 %) disagreed.

As regards individual work in association with creative work, about 32 % of the students liked the way of making storybooks, and about 15 % of them disagreed or strongly disagreed. With regard to making stories with the chosen words listed in ALELA, nearly 37 % of the learners agreed or strongly agreed, and about 15 % disagreed. When being asked about reading their story on the platform, over one fourth of the learners (28.2 %) agreed or strongly agreed, and about 13 % of them disagreed or strongly disagreed.

Regarding the mean and standard deviation of students' responses towards their preference to multimedia application, all of them gave positive feedback as shown in Table 2.2. Their attitude towards story recording and sending the story via e-mail was positive. However, the means of their preference for story making and reading their stories out loud were not so high as the other activities in the category of multimedia application.

Qs

N & %

Strongly

Agree

Agree

So-so

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Missing

N = 46

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

09

14

30.4

23

50

7

15.2

2

4.3

0

0

0

0

10

25

54.3

12

26.1

8

17.4

1

2.2

0

0

0

0

11

21

45.7

15

32.6

7

15.2

3

6.5

0

0

0

0

12

18

39.1

14

30.4

13

28.3

1

2.2

0

0

0

0

13

9

19.6

26

56.5

9

19.6

2

4.3

0

0

0

0

14

4

8.7

11

23.9

24

52.2

4

8.7

3

6.5

0

0

15

2

4.3

15

32.6

22

47.8

7

15.2

0

0

0

0

16

2

4.3

11

23.9

25

54.3

5

10.9

1

2.2

2

4.3

Table 2.1. The Percentage Analysis of Students' Preference to Multimedia Application.

Q

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

Mean

1.94

1.67

1.83

1.93

2.09

2.80

2.74

2.70

SD

0.80

0.84

0.93

0.88

0.76

0.95

0.77

0.96

Table 2.2. Mean score and standard deviation of questions 9 to 16.

Reasons

As for the listening test with buttons in the lab, students indicated that it was fun, easy, exciting, and convenient to do so because they could see the results right after the test. Besides, some of them stated that this kind of test was much easier than writing the answer down while listening.

In terms of recording stories in W002, the students thought it was relaxing and dynamic, and it was great to hear their own story. They could erase the file by clicking the mouse instead of rewinding the tape. Also, they were able to save their voice files and send them to other people or themselves. Although they could interact with other people through exchanging their stories, some of them were afraid of the failure of delivery.

As to the students' opinions about surfing ALELA, they responded that it was interesting, convenient and abundant with information. It was great to have ALELA because they could review lessons and get extra practice. Only one replied that it was kind of mess and one said that the parents would not allow his or her surfing the Net at home.

In reply to the storybooks project, students had different opinions. Some thought it was great and brought a sense of achievement. They had a lot of fun with the extra learning style. Some thought it caused them trouble because it was hard to make storybooks and it did not help a lot to their English. Some preferred to write the stories in their notebook instead of making mini storybooks. In regard to the story making based on the given words, some thought it was a test to check their writing ability and it was fun to do so. What's more, it stimulated imagination and they could make use of words. Yet, some thought they had no creation in making stories because theirs appeared to be similar to the teacher's. Although only part of the class had the chance to read their stories aloud on the platform, some of the students thought it would make them nervous and scared, and they were not willing to read to the class. Some replied that it was good to share their stories and practice their speaking ability.

My computer literacy

Five statements concerning computer literacy are listed below.

1. I have no problem in working on computers.
2. I think my computer skill is good for me to work in W002.
3. I had no experience of using computers before.
4. I know how to type and I can type fast.
5. I cannot type at all.

As shown in Table 3.1 below, 63 % of the subjects agreed or strongly agreed that they had no problem in working on computers, and only 8.7 % of the students disagreed. Over 65 % of the students agreed or strongly agreed that their computer competence was sufficient for them to work in the multimedia language laboratory, and only 6.5 % disagreed. 8.6 % of the students agreed or strongly agreed that they had no experience of using computers before, and 84.8 % disagreed or strongly disagreed. Obviously, this matched with the learners' computer history as presented in Table 4; in other words, 84.8 % of the students had enough computer experience. Over one quarter of the subjects (26.1 %) agreed or strongly agreed that they knew how to type and could type fast, and about 28.2 % disagreed or strongly disagreed. 17.4 % of the students agreed or strongly agreed that they could not type at all, and over half of the students (56.5 %) disagreed or strongly disagreed.

The mean and standard deviation of students' responses towards their computer literacy show that most of them gave positive feedback as presented in Table 3.2. It reveals that students did have experience of using computers and they were able to type. The speed of typing would be an issue for them. They would take a formal typing training course in the second year.

Qs

N & %

Strongly

Agree

Agree

So-so

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Missing

N = 46

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

1

14

30.4

15

32.6

12

36.1

4

8.7

0

0

1

2.2

2

11

23.9

19

41.3

13

28.3

3

6.5

0

0

0

0

3

2

4.3

2

4.3

3

6.5

7

15.2

32

69.6

0

0

4

4

8.7

8

17.4

21

45.7

7

15.2

6

13

0

0

5

3

6.5

5

10.9

11

23.9

11

23.9

15

32.6

1

2.2

Table 3.1. The Percentage Analysis of Students' Computer Literacy

The results of the percentage in students' computer literacy might imply that typing skills should be trained. In fact, students are going to learn typing in the second year. If further study is to be continued, instructors need to take the issue into account when working in the multimedia language lab.

Q

1

2

3

4

5

Mean

2.09

2.17

4.41

3.07

3.59

SD

1.01

0.88

1.09

1.10

1.34

Table 3.2. The Mean & Standard Deviation of Students Responses towards Their Computer Literacy

The computer literacy data in Table 3.2 reveal that students did have some knowledge in working on computers and they had experience in using computer. This information is quite valuable for the instructor so that guided instructions may be provided to the students who need it.

Learners' experience with the computer

In order to investigate students' experience in using computers, a sentence was given for them to fill in the length of time they learned about computers, such as how to work on Word, send email, etc.

Question: I have learned about computers (such as Word, e-mail, etc.) for … years.

As shown in Table 4, 15.2% of the students had never learned or were going to learn how to use computer and 43.5% had learned about computers for about one year. Surprisingly, 41.3% of them had learned about computers for 2 to 7 years.

N & %

History

N

N = 46

%

Never

5

10.9

Going to learn soon

2

4.3

Less than 6 months

11

23.9

7 months ~ 1 year

9

19.6

2 years ~ 3 years

11

23.9

4 years ~ 5 years

5

10.9

6 years ~ 7 years

3

6.5

More than 8 years

0

0

Table 4. The Percentage Analysis of Students' Computer History.

Table 4 indicates that most learners (84.8 %) had computer experience and this would lead to the possibility of integrating educational technology instruction in the upcoming project. Nevertheless, in order to offer a secure learning environment, a brief online learning orientation should be arranged. It appears that further detailed questions about what learners can do with computer should be developed, such as "Can you work on Word/Excel/Access/PowerPoint/Front Page?" Thus, the instructor may get a clearer picture of the learners' computer skills.

Feedback of students' experience in the language-computer lab

Most of the learners showed positive feelings toward working on the tasks in the multimedia language lab. Here are some of their expressions without correction.

I like this class very much because we try something new,like using computer to record..... if we can have the class like that every time.That must be wonderful!

I don't know computer very much.Today in this class, I feel very good.It's new for me.

It's too fun!I like using computer!I like the class which like this!Thank you Miss Line, you give me the good class! ^_^

I like Wenzao.It's because Wenzao has good machines!I'm so embarrassed!I like computer class!

I love computer because it's useful.I feel good today!I got more things about computer on 002!~~~YA!

I'm so excited this class,so today I can learn something more.I always play games with computer, so … Have a good time.

I learned computer for one month in summer vacation,so I am not so good for computer, just can a little about WORK. Today is fun.I like to use computer.

The class in W002 is much better than in E301 because the desk here has computer & educational recorder.W002 IS SO NICE !

IT'S A GREAT CLASS IN W002!!!! TODAY IS A LITTLE SPECIL ~BECAUSE WE CAN USE COMPUTERS~~ IT'S NOT AS NERVOUS AS IN THE CLASS.

I cannot use the computer very well.I feel today is so good...because I didn’t record with computer before

I can just use a little computer. It's really interesting and useful use recorder and computer at same time.

I think this class very busy,but I feel good. It is because I can learn more.

I studied computer by myself two years ago.I think today I learn some special in W002.Thank you very much, Miss Lin.

This classroom let me feel very perfect,and I like it so much.I HOPE WE CAN COME HERE EVERY CLASS!

I don't know computer at all.I feel happy and I think it's a very good experience for me.

I think it is good for us.I learned something about computer. I like this way to learn English.

Obviously, students were excited to work in such a special and well-equipped environment. When there is less stress in a learning situation, learners' motivation becomes high; as a result, learning takes place effectively. What students expressed in the message board corresponds to Warschauer’s (1996) statement. If learners are given opportunities to work on technology in language learning, they become motivated. It also matches with Jones's (1992) expression that when learners get familiar with technology, they have positive attitude toward technology.

As shown in Table 3.1, the learners can type, but what they did in the message board as quoted above reveals that they did not have a formal training in typing in that they did not strike the space bar to leave a space after the comma or two spaces between sentences. They seemed to use a lot of emoticons, Chinese punctuation marks and capitalized words to emphasize their opinions.

Conclusion

In this paper the writer reported the use of a variety of multimedia technology in teaching English to EFL freshmen in the junior college in terms of dicto composition, story writing, story recording, and Internet surfing. Learners perceived that technology-enhanced learning motivated them in that they could accomplish their tasks and that it was such an unusual experience to work in the lab where they could operate the machines appropriately and complete their tasks successfully.

The findings have raised the writer's awareness of creative work in the future. Although some of the learners might regard it difficult, they are fascinated with the marvelous functions of technology, for instance, to present computer-based writing lessons and to offer chances for students to practice language and accomplish their work. Learners' autonomy and language exposure can be developed appropriately if the amazing technology devices can be well integrated in the curriculum.

Thus, the multimedia language lab is to be reserved for the class in the second semester in order for the instructor to have a closer observation and further investigation in the use of multimedia language lab for language teaching and learning.

In conclusion, this study is an initial investigation at Wenzao focusing on junior college freshmen's attitude towards and preference for multimedia application in language learning and teaching. It seems that it is worth integrating multimedia in the curriculum of language teaching for teenagers. To date, the institution where the instructor is teaching right now has purchased a licensed courseware platform and has started using the so-called E-course as a formal teaching resource or supplementary resource. Since it was professionally designed for education, it affords much more functions than the teacher-made website. For further study, the effects of E-course, online, or partial online course may be compared with the traditional classroom instruction.

References

Brajcich, J. (2000) "Encouraging learner autonomy in your classes", The Language Teacher Online, March, 2000. URL: http://langue.hyper.chubu.ac.jp/jalt/pub/tlt/00/mar/sh_brajcich.html

Chen, C. F. (2001) "Constructive Freshman English Learning on the Internet." The Proceedings of the Tenth International Symposium on English Teaching. Taipei: The Crane Publishing Co. Ltd., 249-261.

Cunningham, K. (2000) "Integrating CALL into the writing curriculum." The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. VI, No. 5. URL: http://iteslj.org/Articles/Cunningham-CALLWriting

Fujieda, M. (1999) "Japanese EFL learners attitudes toward CALL." URL: http://www.econ.fukushima-u.ac.jp/~matsuura/lla.html

Jones, T. (1992) "IITS Students' evaluation questionnaire for the fall semester of 1991. A summary report." Eric Document Retrieval Service ED 345 716, URL: http://www.tcom.ohiou.edu/ouln/Stdtatt.htm

Levine, A., Ferenz, O., Reves, T. (2000) "EFL academic reading and modern technology: how can we turn our students into independent critical readers." TESL-EJ, Vol. 4, No. 4, Dec. 2000, URL: http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/TESL-EJ/ej16/a1.html

Loyo, A., deMagnago, M. (2001) "New Communication Technologies and English for academic purposes." Learning Technology Newsletter, Vol. 3, Issue 4, Oct. 2001. URL: http://lttf.ieee.org/learn_tech/issues/october2001/index.html#10

Oladejo, J. (2001) "EFL learners' behaviors and attitudes towards on-line language learning." The Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Multimedia Language Education." Taipei: ROCMELIA, The Crane Publishing Co. Ltd., 328.

Pow, G. (1999) "Encouraging activity in writing through information technology." Paper presented at ITMELT 99 Conference, Hong Kong, 1999, URL: http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/conference/papers/index.htm#Encouraging%20creative%20writing%20through%20Information%20Technology.

Salaberry, M. (2001) "The use of technology for second language learning and teaching: a retrospective." The Modern Language Journal, 85 (1), 41-56.

Schoepp, K., Erogul, M. (2001) "Turkish EFL student's utilization of information technology outside of the classroom." TEFL Web Journal, 2001, URL: http://www.teflweb-j.org/v1n1/schoepp_erogul.html.

Warschauer, M. (1996) (ed.) Telecollaboration in Foreign Language Learning. Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press.

Appendix

Questionnaire on S1B Listening & Writing in 2001

 Please read each statement and circle the best answer that describes your opinion.

1 = strongly agree
2 = agree
3 = so-so
4 = disagree
5 = strongly disagree

I. My learning in the first semester

In dicto-composition I like the way of reading one sentence three times.

In dicto-composition I like the way of reading two sentences three times.

In dicto-composition I like the way of reading three sentences three times.

I can write well when listening to one sentence read three times.

I can write well when listening to two sentences read three times.

I can write well when listening to three sentences read three times.

I like the way of having transparency to learn writing.

Reason:

I like the way of correcting writing with transparency.

Reason:

I like the way of listening test with buttons in the lab.

Reason:

I like the way of recording my stories in W002.

Reason:

I like the way of recording my favorite story in W002.

Reason:

I like the way of sending my reading via e-mail.

Reason:

I like the way of surfing ALELA.

Reason:

I like the way of making story books.

Reason:

I like the way of making stories with the chosen words.

Reason:

I like the way of reading my story on the platform.

Reason:

II. My computer literacy

1. I have no problem in working on computer.

2. I think my computer skill is good for me to work in W002.

3. I had no experience of using computers before.

4. I know how to type and I can type fast.

5. I cannot type at all.

6. I have learned about computers (such as Word, e-mail, etc.) for … years. (Please put a check.)

___ never

___ going to learn soon

___ less than 6 months

___ 7 months ~ 1 year

___ 2 years ~ 3 years

___ 4 years ~ 5 years

___ 6 years ~ 7 years

___ more than 8 years


COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION: 
ITS PEDAGOGICAL ASPECTS AND CONSIDERATIONS
by Rozina Abdul Ghani and Nuraihan Mat Daud
International Islamic University Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
rozina@yahoo.com; nuraihan@iiu.edu.my

Abstract

Class discussions conducted in a CMC environment may give students an equal opportunity for participation. This paper discusses English language lessons which were conducted in such an environment. It particularly tries to see how best to teach language using the synchronous mode of communication. Pair-work, small group and whole class discussions were studied for this purpose. The study shows that students preferred small group discussions as they were more interesting and stimulating than the other two modes of communication. Students’ background such as their command of the language and their nationality were taken into consideration when the grouping was done. This was to ensure the effectiveness of communication. Seating arrangement was also important to warrant that they would not resort to face-to-face interaction.

 

Introduction

In a traditional language classroom, creating an authentic environment for interactive communication to take place might be a problem. Thanks to the advances in technology, the creation of such an environment ceases to be a major obstacle, especially in cases where telecommunication technology is available in the classroom. Class discussion on a computer network entails meaningful use of the target language (Colombo and Simutis, 1996), as, for example, students can be asked to engage in classroom discussion online with their classmates via the computers. This may encourage students to apply the language skills that they are learning. It also gives them more opportunity to participate as everybody can contribute their ideas without having to wait for their turn. The technology can hence increase students’ opportunities for collaboration and active participation.

As learners are forced to use their knowledge of the language structure to construct meaningful information, Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) environment may facilitate and promote comprehensible input. Users of CMC technology can share brief as well as lengthy messages, not only in one-to-one but also in one-to-many mode of communication. Such attributes may facilitate collaborative reading and writing (Warschauer and Kern, 2000).

CMC allows either asynchronous (not simultaneous) or synchronous (simultaneous) communication with other users in real time modes. The synchronous mode of CMC is indeed a combination of written and oral styles of communication (Bordia, 1996). As it is not face-to-face, it is not entirely spoken but neither is it strictly written as the composition is done online where the use of planning and editing strategies that are often employed in writing is ruled out.

This paper discusses an attempt to describe how synchronous or instantaneous conversation via the computers can provide opportunities for meaningful learner output in a second language classroom.

CMC and Language Learning

Different students may have different learning styles, hence the need to expose them to many kinds of learning experiences (Brooks, 1997). The use of the computer in this case may add to the range of learning situations and environments. Both the asynchronous and synchronous modes of communication can be valuable tools for discussion, reflection, negation and the development of creative and critical thinking skills. Learning can be turned into an active process of knowledge acquisition.

Studies on CMC identified equality of participation as one of the beneficial effects of using electronic synchronous discussion in writing instruction. Warschauer (1996a) claims that this equalization effect is the result of the absence of oral interaction which normally has elements of fear of being interrupted or to interrupt, the need to manage the floor, and the need to co-orient to the production of sequentially relevant discourse. In a study done by Chun (1994), the advantages of more equitable participation in terms of potential learner development in discoursal, interactional, and functional competence were also reported. Beauvois (1992) and Kelm (1992) made a positive finding in their study as well. In their impressionistic account, they mentioned an increase in the participation pattern of shy students. Students who are often embarrassed to speak up have an equal tendency to participate in a CMC environment as they do not have to pay attention to the way they speak. In her study, Beauvois (1992) looked at real-time synchronous discussions among intermediate Portuguese and elementary French learners whereas Kelm (1992) observed non-native speakers of Portuguese enrolled in fourth semester Brazilian Portuguese course.

Group Interaction in a CMC Environment

In the traditional classroom, there are always learners who outshine others when whole class discussions are held. However, in a CMC environment studies show that electronic discussions increased with the size of groups (Beavois, 1992; Chun, 1994; Kern, 1995). The researchers found that group size and equality of participation are negatively related in traditional oral interaction whilst they are positively related in a computer aided classroom discussion.

It was also reported that there is no domination in a CMC environment. Instead, the quality and efficiency of peer suggestions for revision increased in the electronic mode of communication (Sullivan and Pratt, 1996). In another research work done on four groups of students, it was mentioned that three out of the four groups shared greater equality of participation in the electronic discussion. The conclusion was made based on the ratio of total words per speaker per total amount of words produced by the groups (Warschauer, 1996b). Warschauer, however, asserts that research into small group discussions is still scarce and that further studies would need to be done in order to confirm the equalization impact of the two modes of communication.

Objectives of Study

The general objective of this study is to look at the aspects that would have to be considered if electronic discussion is to be adopted in language classes. Although many of the studies found such a discussion beneficial, there is little information on how to ensure that the desired output is achieved to its maximum. Hence, in this study, groups of students will be observed as they discuss via the computers to see how best to teach using the synchronous mode of communication.

Study Sample

The study was conducted on three English proficiency classes at a tertiary institution in Malaysia. There were students from various countries in all of these classes, the majority being Malaysians. The others included those from West Asian, South Asian, South-East Asian, African and European countries. The findings reported in this paper are based on a month’s period of observation.

There were 20 to 30 students in each class, and they belonged to the intermediate group. The English courses that they were following were in the four integrated language skills, namely reading, writing, listening and speaking. The classes chosen for this study were those doing the speaking and listening components. This was done because of CMC’s close resemblance to spoken discourse.

Instruments

Various interactive chat network programs were tried for the purpose of this study. Yahoo! Messenger (http://messenger.yahoo.com/) was the first software used. The teacher found it too time-consuming especially when she tried to register the students for the program. The line was too slow especially during peak hours. The teacher then resorted to a chat room which was manned by the English Division of the University. This was also found to be problematic as other language courses were also online at the same time as this class, which congested the system. After a two-week period, the teacher finally decided to use a local area network program called LAN Chat Enterprise. This works fine as it does not rely on the Internet. The instructions were easy to follow, and the teacher then decided to adopt the program for the rest of the lessons.

This Study

As suggested by Warschauer (1996a), the electronic discussion is only done when there is a need to do it, which was the approach adopted also in the present study. Discussions were held based on the themes of discussion for the week. The students were made aware of the need to use the technology, in doing the exercise to make them see the relevance of it to improve their language proficiency.

The students in all classes were asked to discuss the topic of the day as part of their pre-listening activity. They were then asked to listen to the assigned tape. A worksheet was provided to answer the questions posed in the tape. The students were then asked about the difficulties that they faced in understanding the conversation on the tape. An open-ended question concerning the topic was then given to the students for them to discuss using the synchronous mode of electronic communication. In the study, there were students who questioned the reason behind using computers for communication. Some felt that the traditional mode might be a better alternative for learning purposes. The teacher in this study made it known to the students that mistakes made in oral communication are often left undetected or uncorrected. The print-out of their interaction would enable them to see their own mistakes at the end of each lesson.

Various approaches were used in this study, such as small group discussions, pair-works and whole class discussions.

Small Group Discussions

Students were divided into small groups, which consisted of three or four students each. Initially the grouping was based on students’ preference. However, when it was observed that weak students tended to choose other weak students, the grouping was done by the teacher herself. She made sure that there was at least one student who was better than the others in each group. They were expected to lead the discussion. Such a student could also be the model for the other students, serving as a provider of comprehensible input in this sense. Wherever possible, the teacher also made sure that at least one student of a different nationality was in the group. This was to reduce the likelihood of them using their native language instead of English. Apart from that, members of every group were placed far apart to ensure that they would not resort to face-to-face interaction.

Pair-work Discussions

Pair-work discussions were held for some of the activities. The study shows that the students’ participation was highest in this form of discussion as members were compelled to discuss with each other. However, when they were asked whether they liked this mode of discussion, a majority of students said they disliked it. They would rather discuss in small groups of three or four because they found generating ideas difficult when discussing one-to-one. They also found pair-work less interesting because they had to wait longer for a response than in small group.

Whole Class Discussions

Whole class discussions were held in the first two weeks. All the students were expected to discuss the given topic electronically. They were asked to join the ‘common group’ mode to enable them to discuss with the whole class. This instruction was, however, ignored by the students and many chose to remain in their small group.

Observation Analysis

The observation revealed a few salient points for consideration if this method is to be employed at all by a language teacher.

Time for Discussion

Before allocating the time for this type of activity the teacher must first choose a program that is easy to handle both by a language teacher and students. The more advanced students might be able to cope with a more sophisticated program provided that the teacher himself or herself finds the program user-friendly.

Initially, 45 minutes were allocated for discussion via the network. Based on the output it was observed that students got restless after half an hour of discussion. After thirty minutes, they started to stray from the given topic. However, when the students were asked at the end of the study whether thirty minutes were enough, most mentioned that they preferred to have a longer time (up to forty-five minutes). They argued that they needed more time to allow them to think before they gave their response.

Students’ Participation

As reported by Warschauer (1996a), Chun (1994), Beauvois (1992), and Kelm (1992) there was equality of participation in the sense that all students had an equal chance of participating in the discussion. But this does not mean that you actually get the participation of all those involved in the activity. In this study, it was observed that many of the students did not join the whole class mode of discussion. Table 1 shows the number of students from the three classes who participated in online discussions in the second week. The table reflects that on average less than half of the students joined the whole-class discussions. Added to that, not all of them could participate actively as they had to wait for their turn.

Table 1: Students’ Participation in Online Discussions in the Second Week*

Class

No. of students who participated in small group discussions

No. of students who participated in whole group discussions

Total no. of students

1.

20 (100%)

10 (50%)

20

2.

22 (100%)

8 (36%)

22

3.

26 (100%)

14 (54%)

26

Overall

68 (100%)

32 (47%)

68

* Discussions in the first week are omitted because of the numerous technical problems that we experienced in that week.

When the students were interviewed, they admitted that they enjoyed small group discussions more than whole class discussions, as the latter were observed to be complicated as far as turn-taking and flow of discussion were concerned. The students tended to rely on their group leaders to communicate with the teacher, not feeling the need to participate. This would defeat the objective of the discussion where all of the students were expected to collaborate and contribute ideas. This aspect of whole class discussion is actually similar to a whole class discussion in a face-to-face environment, where the more outspoken and confident students tend to dominate. It is worth mentioning that the picture might have been different if the teacher had played a more authoritarian role in the class.

The study also shows that the small group discussion is the more desirable mode of discussion. It was noticed that the better ones in the groups were able to generate discussion. They made the others respond, and they helped to rephrase on behalf of those who had difficulties in expressing their ideas. The output demonstrates that the group members did not seem to mind it, nobody seemed to be inhibited when they were engaged in electronic discussions. Peer-correction, however, was found to be minimal.

Language Used

Although measures were taken to ensure that they used the target language, the Malaysians particularly tended to use their mother-tongue when there were fellow Malaysians in the group. Teacher control is crucial in such cases to ensure that students would not resort to their mother tongue. In this study, the teacher constantly checked on the students, and reminded them to use English when they started to ramble in their own language. This also shows that teacher’s presence is important in such classes. The teacher would have to play the role of a moderator in this sort of discussions. It is also worth mentioning that the Arab speakers hardly used Arabic in this class, with the different writing scripts as a possible reason for not doing so.

Class Control

It is important that the lesson is well-planned. The time allocated for each exercise would have to be planned well in advance to ensure that the entire lesson can fit in one class period. In the lesson-plan, time should also be allocated for setting-up the computers if electronic discussion is to be held. As students tended to do other things if they were not watched, a ‘tighter’ control would be needed. It was observed that when the teacher concentrated on setting up the program for some students the others started to surf the Internet. For this reason, the presence of an assistant is invaluable to ensure that no students surf the Internet for other things when the teacher is not watching.

Teacher Feedback

At the beginning of the study, students were excited about the activity as they had never been exposed to online discussion in a language classroom. Towards the middle of the study, a few of the students started to question the rationale behind the task. To them it was less time consuming if it was done orally. The teacher then decided to use the output for peer correction. From there onwards, the students took the task more seriously. This shows the importance of immediate teacher feedback in this kind of exercise.

Turn-Taking

The output shows that turn-taking was not as clear cut as face-to-face interaction. While some students were giving their opinion or responding to another, some other members might send in their responses at the same time. But it was interesting to see that most students were patient enough to wait for the response to their answers before they replied back. Responses which were not meant for them were simply ignored. The students might not feel this as awkward because many were already used to chatting on the Internet.

Keyboarding Skills

Not all students were good at typing, and this could be quite problematic in this kind of exercise. This was obvious when a few members of the group got up and went to those who were slow in responding. It was then that they realized that the problem lay in their partner’s keyboarding skills. This was apparent in all classes. However, although this problem existed, it did not really impede communication. In fact, when they were interviewed, the students said that they did not find keyboarding skill an obstacle to communication.

Conclusion

The classroom observation of electronic discussion shows that generally the students were interested in carrying out the task, that is, provided measures have been taken to ensure the smooth running of such discussions. These include making the purpose of the discussions clear to the students. The students should be able to see how they can improve from such exercises. The planning stage is also important if the teacher wants to ensure the effectiveness of the lesson as a whole. Other than that, the program would also have to be user-friendly to ensure that not too much time is spent on dealing with technical matters. Above all, a CMC environment is found to be useful in improving students’ proficiency, and the students found small group discussions more interesting and stimulating. Pair-work is equally good but students have difficulty in generating ideas to chat especially when the topic is not familiar to them. In whole class discussions theoretically all students can participate but in practice only the outspoken ones did so. To sum up, the small group option is the most favourable CMC environment for promoting maximum interaction among group members.

References

Beauvois, M.H. (1992) "Computer-assisted classroom discussion in the foreign language classroom: Conversation in slow motion." Foreign Language Annals, 25 (5), 455-464.

Bordia, P. (1996) "Studying verbal interaction on the Internet: The case of rumor transmission research." Behavior Research Methods, Instruments and Computers, 28 (2), 149-151.

Brooks, D.W. (1997) Web Teaching: A Guide to Designing Interactive Teaching for The World Wide Web. New York: Plenum Press.

Chun, D.M. (1994) "Using computer networking to facilitate the acquisition of interactive competence." System, 22 (1), 17-31

Colombo, G., Simutis, J. (1996) "Visible conversation and Academic Inquiry: CMC in a culturally diverse classroom," in S. Herring (ed.) Computer-Mediated Communication: Linguistic, Social and Cross- Cultural Perspectives. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 203-222.

Hartman, K., Neuwirth, C. M, Kiesler, S., Sproull, L, Cochran, C., Plamgnist, M., Zubrow, D. (1991) "Patterns of social interaction and learning to write: Some effects of network technologies." Written Communication, 8 (1), 79-113.

Kelm, O. R. (1992) "The use of synchronous computer networks in second language instruction: A preliminary report." Foreign Language Annals, 25 (5), 441-454.

Kern, R. (1995) "Restructuring classroom interaction with networked computers: Effects on quantity and characteristics of language production." The Modern Language Journal, 79 (4), 457-476.

Sullivan, N., Pratt, E. (1996) "A comparative study of two ESL writing environment: A computer-assisted classroom and a traditional oral classroom." System, 29, 491-501.

Warschauer, M. (1996a) Computer-Mediated Collaborative Learning: Theory and practice (Research Note No.17) Honolulu: University of Hawaii, Second Language Teaching and Curriculum Center.

Warschauer, M. (1996b) "Comparing face-to-face and electronic discussion in the foreign language classroom." CALICO Journal, 13 (2-3), 7-26.\

Warschauer, M., Kern, R. (Eds.). (2000) Network-Based Language Teaching: Concepts and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.


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