This chapter starts with the summary of the findings. Pedagogical implications of this study are described at the second part. Finally, the limitations of this study and the suggestions for future research are illustrated.
Summary of the findings
The aim of this study was to explore how the participants perceived an English online tutoring program implemented at a remote elementary school in Tainan City.
According to the analysis of the collected data, three major findings were found.
First, the online students reported that they all benefitted from this program and displayed positive attitudes during the process, even though there were some
technology problems during the video conferencing lessons.
Second, the online tutors revealed both positive and negative perceptions toward the program. They were happy that they had helped the online students obtain more opportunities to learn English in this program. They themselves also gained useful skills and valuable experiences of teaching English during the process. About the negative perceptions, they indicated that the main problems were insufficient understanding about the online students’ prior knowledge, noise interference and students’ behavior problems. The online tutors’ feedback in the interview and the
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classroom observation records provided the supervisor of the elementary school with some ideas which were helpful to improve the quality of the English online tutoring in the future.
Finally, as the supervisor of the elementary school, I arranged the administrative work for this English online tutoring program to help both the online students and the online tutors benefit from the program. The online students got more time to learn English through this ten-week program and displayed positive attitudes toward learning English. English online tutoring program is a good way for elementary schools to promote English learning. Even though I had encountered device’s and persons’ problems during the ten weeks, I tried to solve them to make the program run smoothly. Also, these experiences became valuable and the problems in the process could be taken in consideration if the elementary schools would implement the English online tutoring program in the future.
Generally speaking, for an elementary school at a remote area, it is not easy to get much budget and enough resources to enhance the students’ English ability. The English online tutoring program sponsored by the charity institutes, such as the Rotary Club, might be a workable solution to help the elementary school overcome some difficulties.
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Pedagogical Implications
Based on the findings, three pedagogical implications are presented for English education. First, online students displayed positive perceptions toward the English online tutoring program and had more chances to have English lessons through video conferencing lessons. The elementary schools, no matter in the rural areas or remote areas, can implement English online tutoring program to enhance the students’
English learning.
Second, in this program, all seven online tutors majored in English in university.
These seven tutors utilized many various methods and resources to teach English through the online materials in the video conferencing lessons. If the university implements English online tutoring as a service learning program in the future, it is suggested that the university consider the university students’ English ability and teaching experience. Also, the university may offer English teaching training before the university students start to teach in the English online tutoring program. By doing so, the quality of the English online tutoring program could be ensured.
Third, the supervisor of the elementary school overcame some difficulties of technology and the Internet during the video conferencing lesson. When I was fixing the problems in the computer laboratory, I was unable to observe the online students in the meantime. There should be two staff members from the elementary school to
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stay in the computer laboratory. When one member is observing the online students, the other one can fix the problems of technology and the Internet.
Limitations and Suggestions
Three limitations of the study should be acknowledged. First, there was no pre-test to measure the online students’ English ability before this program began. So, it was not able to know how much progress each online student had made after the ten-week program. For future research, it is proposed that the pre-test be implemented one week before the program begins. The purpose is to understand the students’ English ability, so as to offer some information to the online tutors before they meet their online students at the first video conferencing lesson. For further studies, it is suggested that the online students be tested their English prior knowledge before the English online tutoring program begins, so it will be possible to understand how much progress that each online student will make when the program is completed.
Second, there were forty minutes in each lesson per week and there were ten weeks in this English online tutoring program. Even though the online students were content with this program and they displayed positive attitudes toward learning English, it is suggested that the program be implemented for one school year. This will help the researcher collect more data for the research.
Third, the main purpose of this study was to explore the participants’
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perceptions toward the English online tutoring program. There were only seven online students and seven online tutors attending this program, so I employed a qualitative research design. It is proposed that more participants attend it and the quantitative design also be added for further research.
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