In this section, three types of preliminarily divided data are presented, including (a) teachers’
answers to the interview questions, (b) students’perspectives towards their English learning, and (c) students’average scores of the uniform exam in each of the two semesters in 2005-2006. Here I only provide the basic results. Detailed explanations will be presented in published works.
A.Teachers’Answers To the Interview Questions
1. What do you think about the guidelines for teaching the four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) in EFL to undergraduate students in a hybrid course?
Similar positive answers from the three teachers (A means the Level-A-class teacher in this study, B means the Level-B-class teacher, C means the Level-C-class teacher):
A clear, simple, easy to carry out B useful, practical, and clear C effective and clear
A different point from the Level B teacher: “This approach is a bit complex. What is a standard hybrid course? How many hours should be engaged through the internet? And, how to evaluatestudents’academicachievement?”
2. From your viewpoint, what is the value of teaching EFL in a hybrid course?
Similar positive answers from the three teachers:
A To break up the limits of time and space, so that both teaching and learning can take place anytime and anywhere. To learn English in and out of the classroom.
B A learner-centered, active, interactive and discovering learning process. It enables the EFL teaching diversified and creative.
C Students are likely to be more motivated to work on the target language. A lifetime pursuit or a learning pattern of the target language learning would be built.
A different point from the Level B teacher: “The teaching and learning loads became double, even treble. Some teachers might get intimated by this new approach since time pressure is a big concern formany college teachersnowadays.”
3. After reviewing the documents, what questions do you have?
Similar answers from the three teachers:
A N/A
B How many hours should I adopt classroom instruction per week/ per semester?
How many hours should I focus on WBI in a week/ in one semester?
C Our current class sizes and weekly hours of the English classes seem to make it hard to implement all the guidelines well.
Different answers from the three teachers:
A If we expect the unit-based activities to occur within each unit, is it better for us to choose the ELT textbooks that integrate all the four language skills?
B How to evaluatethelearners’academicachievementon theWBI?
C Curious about the effectiveness of those guidelines after they have been actually carried out. Students who come in different language competence and performance usually end up staying in one class. Should teachers offer suggestions on who to be divided in which group? Should students with similar language competence or performance work as one group? Or should the group be comprised of students whose language abilities are incrementally varied?
4. How well do the scenarios incorporate the major knowledge of your professional field?
A I think they incorporate my knowledge of English language teaching very well. For example, reading activities precede writing ones, and listening activities precede speaking ones.
B Ok.
C Some scenarios, like the three modules of the unit-based activities, are familiar.
Others, like the incorporation of the Internet and writing, are what have not been tried before.
5. What do you find to be strengths of the guidelines with instructional methods for the unit-based activities?
Similar positive answers from the three teachers:
A The use of the three modules, which are repeated in each unit to help students get a clearer and clearer picture of the topic in each unit and then to use the knowledge of what they read or listen to complete relevant writing and speaking activities
individually and then in pairs or groups.
B The guidelines are clearly stated and useful.
C For teachers, the guidelines provide a step-by-step process for teachers to follow easily.
The Level C class teacher: “For students, the unit-based activities are likely to make the units covered in the textbook more appealing to them. And the unit-based activities could provide students with more chances to work on the context of the lessons extensively. Besides, with several units being assigned as their activities, students are less likely to feel frustrated if they get
stuck on one certain unit. Variety of the units would also make the activities less boring. As for the three modules, those modules can expose students to a target-language environment in which students’fourskillswillbeexpected to develop steadily.”
6. What do you find to be strengths of the guidelines with instructional methods for the project-based activities?
A These project-based activities give students the opportunity to complete a task in groups and the freedom to choose the topic they love to work on and the way they want to present their project.
B They are quite challenging.
C For teachers, the guidelines provide a step-by-step process to follow easily. On the other hand, for students, they are likely to be more motivated through peer
collaboration (and maybe alittlebit“competition”),with theirbeing divided into separate groups to focus on what they find to feel interested in.
While being asked to brainstorm to come up with something, students are offered a chanceto “problem-solving”styleofteam-based work, which offers students to play a more active role in their learning.
As compared to the unit-based activities, students would be able to explore the related project more deeply and thoroughly.
7. What improvements would you suggest for guidelines with instructional methods for the unit-based activities?
A The guidelines for the activities of each module are simple and clear, but if they can be put into a chart, or given a proper title or sample for each component method (e.g., brainstorming), it will be easier for the instructor to get the points and decide what is needed and what isn’t when dealing with different topics and materials.
B N/A
C Since the unit from the chosen textbook for a class will serve as a basis of the unit-based activities, I think it might be helpful for teacher to call forth a
“textbooks-evaluation”meeting, during which teachers can exchange their ideas about the textbooks available on the market.
8. What improvements would you suggest for guidelines with instructional methods for the project-based activities?
A I think it’s perfectly-designed and it would work very well.
B Provide more methods.
C There is no improvement needed so far. Nevertheless, as for various sources from which students receive their information, should teachers regard any pieces of the information students obtain by P2P downloading “unacceptable”?
9. What method of the guidelines with instructional methods for the unit-based activities do you think would work well?
The same answers from the three teachers A 1-2 1B-2
B 1-2 1B-2
C N/A
Different answers from the three teachers A 1-2 1A-2, 1-3 1A-3, 1-3 1B-3
B 1-1 1A-1 (1-1-2: 1A-1-1, 1A-1-2; 1-1-3: 1A-1-3), 1-2 1B-2 (1-2-4: 1A-2-4; 1-2-6:
1A-2-6), 2-2 2A-2 (2-2-1: 2A-2-1), 3 3A (3-3:3A-3), 1-1 1B-1 (1-1-1:1B-1-1;
1-1-3: 1B-1-3), 1-2 1B-2 (1-2-2: 1B-2-2), 2-1 2B-1 (2-1-1: 2B-1-1), 2-2 2B-2 (2-2-1: 2B-2-1; 2-2-2: 2B-2-2; 2-2-3: 2B-2-3; 2-2-4: 2B-2-4), 3 3B (3-4: 3B-4) C It is difficult for this method to be effectively used, judging from the actual class
size we have at NCKU. In the 3 modules, one specific method is to encourage students to linguistically perform in public nearly any way they prefer. However, as far as my teaching experience is concerned, a large number of students would either feel embarrassed or remain lukewarm about the performance. There have been cases(aswellasmy personalexperiences)to indicatethatsomestudentsjustwon’t give out their linguistic performance under any circumstances. Though great
encouragement, friendly atmosphere, and comfortable environment certainly work for students to decrease their fear and barrier to a certain extent, teachers have to spend time coping with the situation. As a teacher, he/she has to carefully plan ahead to distribute the in-class time efficiently to each student while keeping to the class schedule.
10. What methods of the guidelines with instructional methods for the project-based activities do you think would work well?
A All methods would work well, especially Component method PB6, which can make the whole project and the whole course reach a climax before it’s over. Besides, students love to have their stage in class and present their hard work proudly B Component method PB1, PB3 and PB4 would work well.
C Component method PB2 where an interactive discussion forum is established for students to join would work well. On the technical level, students would hardly encounterany problems;on thelearning level,students’senseoffamiliarity (using the Internet and Web-links to locate information they need) and curiosity (at what other students have worked out) would likely be aroused to keep them going with the curriculum outside the classroom.
11. What methods of the guidelines with instructional methods for the unit-based activities do you think would not work well?
A None.
B Teacher B thinks that (2-3. The Guideline for Module 2a-3: Provide feedback and guide students to reflect on the writing-focused activities. 2-3-2. Component method 2a-3-2) “Encouragestudentsto send theirwritten worksto localoronline publisher”would not work well. (She doesn’tthink she will try this in the
Freshman English class. It is too early and too difficult for learners.)
C The module that involves speaking skill indicates a higher level of difficulty and challenge to both of students and teachers. Especially when it comes to asking them to practice the target language in public, some students find it hard to utter what they have in mind precisely, or they simply are afraid of making mistakes. In terms of the method, teachers will have to make more efforts during this phase.
Besides, class size matters.
12. What methods of the guidelines with instructional methods for the project-based activities do you think would not work well?
A N/A
B PB2
C Teacher C thinks that PB4 could be the part that she will encounter difficulty and barriers, mainly due to one possible situation in which inadequate amount of time is the key. To communicate with students and guide them through the whole process takes time. So far, she is afraid she wouldn’thavealotofchancesto achievethe goal.
13. Do you have any other suggestions or comments?
Similar answers from the three teachers
A (1) Connecting speed of the Blackboard was too slow. → students would get board and impatient easily.
(2) I strongly suggest that the whole project be done through the e-learning platform developed by NCKU instead of Blackboard.
B
C (1) Language courses should be conducted in language labs equipped with easy access to the internet and good language learning facilities.
Different opinions from the three teachers
A N/A
B (1) insufficient facilities:
a. Some students didn’thave their own computers or internet service and also the connecting speed is a big problem.
b. The functions and services at iteach which teacher B used are quite limited, many activities suggested by the guidelines could not be carried out.
(2) Time pressure: Teaching and learning loads become heavier.
(3) Assessment: It’s difficult to make a fair assessment.
C (2) Class size should be cut down.
B.Students’Perspectivestowards Their English Learning
The More Satisfying Abilities of the Three Classes
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The Less Satisfying Abilities of the Three Classes
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Average Years of Learning English
Percentage of People Who Ever Use E-mail to Learn English
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Percentage of People Who Ever Use Supplementary Softwares to Learn English
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Percentage of the Abilities That Can Be Enhanced By the Internet-based English Learning Platform of the Three Classes
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Total Analysis of the Abilities That Can Be Enhanced By the Internet-based English Learning Platform
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Percentage of People Who Likes to Have Classes Totally At Classroom
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Percentage of People Who Likes Hybrid Courses
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Percentage of Abilities That the Three Classes Hope Can Be Improved Through Internet
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Percentage of People Who Think That Learning Through Internet is a Trend
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Average Hours That Students Would Like To Devote To English Learning Through Internet Everyweek in the Future There is a uniform exam for all students of Freshman English in December in the 1st semester, and the other one in May in the 2ndsemester at NCKU. The mean and S.D. of each of the three classes in the two semesters are presented below.
Mean in the 1st
Level A Class 68.83 9.09 68.38 10.28
Level B Class 59.24 11.36 57.56 10.60
Level C Class 53.67 10.11 49.12 11.39