网络英语教学模式对英语学习者阅读能力影响

上海交通大学学位版权使用授权书本学位论文作者完全了解学校有关保留使用学位论文的规定同意学校保留并向国家有关部门或机构交送论文的复印件和电子版允许论文被查阅和借阅本人授权上海交通大学可以将本学位论文的全部或部分内容编入有关数据库进行检索可以采用影印缩印或扫描等手段保存和汇编本学位论文保密在年解密后使用本授权书本学位论文属于不保密请在以上方框内打学位论文作者签名刁婷指导教师签名陈永捷日期2006年1月5日日期2006年1月5日ShanghaiJiaotongUniversityAcknowledgementsTherearemanytowhomIownadebtofgratitudefortheireffortsduringthewritingofthispaper.Firstandforemost,mysincerestgratitudegoestomysupervisorProfessorChenYongjieforhisinstructiveadviceandprofessionalguidancetoalltheaspectsofthethesisandmystudyintheseyears.Icannotoveremphasizehisendlesspatienceinrevisingandproofreadingmymanuscript.IalsowanttoexpressmydeepgratitudetoMs.WeiXianjunandYiXinwhosparegreateffortstosupportmeinaccessingtotheon-linelearningmodeandthetraditionalface-to-faceinstructionalclass.Theyofferherclassestoparticipateinthisstudy.Ifelthonoredthatalltheotherknowledgeableprofessorswholecturedmeinthepasttwoandhalfyears.Thankstotheirprofoundknowledgeandvaluableguidance,Iunderstandhowtodoresearchinthisyoungbutpromisinglinguisticresearchfield.Iwouldalsoliketothankallmyfriendsandclassmateswhohavehelpedmeduringthetimeofstudy.Ihaveenjoyedtheirfriendshipandsupports,whichIcherishforeverinmylife.IstillowegreatattitudestomydearfriendsJoanaBeasseandHansMedinfortheirpatientproofreadingandvaluablesuggestions.Finally,Iownspecialdebtstomyfather.Withouthispersistentandgenuinelove,Iwouldneverhavecompletedmystudyandthispaper.IShanghaiJiaotongUniversityM.A.ThesisChapter1Introduction1.1BackgroundtotheresearchInrecentyears,thestudent-centeredparadigmhasbecomeabuzzwordinsecondlanguageteachingandlearning.Thestudent-centeredlearningenvironmenthasthestudentneedsatisfactionasitsprimaryfocuswhereastheteacher-centeredenvironmenthasthetransmissionofabodyofknowledgeastheprimaryfocus(Clasen&Bowman,1974).Asabroadteachingapproach,student-centeredparadigmencompassesreplacinglectureswithactivelearning,andintegratingself-pacedlearningprogramsorcooperativegroupsituations,ultimatelyholdingthestudentresponsibleforhisownadvancesineducation.ReadingisanessentialskillforEnglishasasecond/foreignlanguagestudents;andformany,readingisthemostimportantskilltomaster(Anderson,1999).Strengtheningreadingskillsmayfacilitatethestudents’progressandfurtherdevelopmentinESL/EFLareasandotheracademicareasaswell.TheSeventhAnnualInternationalReadingAssociationSurveyofthekeytopicsinreadingresearchandpracticefor2003includesESLreadingasahottopic(Cassidy&Cassidy,2003).Inthesamelist,technologyoccupiesaprominentstatusaswell,whichindicatesthereisanincreasedinterestinL2readingresearchandinhowtechnologyinfluencesreadinginvariousaspects.ComputersandtheInternetplayanincreasinglyimportantroleinthelearningofL2studentsaroundtheworld.On-linereadingservesasthemainsourceofinputformillionsofL2readersandlearners.Leu(2002)pointsoutthattheInternethascomeintoourclassroomfasterthanbooks,television,telephonesandanyothertechnologyforinformationcommunication.Coiro(2003)stressesthatelectronictextsintroducenewsupportsaswellaschallengesthatcanhavegreatimpactonanindividual’sabilitytocomprehendwhathe/shereads.1ShanghaiJiaotongUniversityM.A.Thesis1.2AimoftheresearchTheadvancementoftechnologyandtheincorporationofcomputersintoeducationhavetriggeredthedevelopmentofreadinginstructionintheon-linelearningmodeinwhichchunksofinformationarepresentedinvariousformatsasgraphs,sounds,texts,videos.Inthissituation,boththeEnglishlanguageteachersandthestudentsfacenewchallenges.AlthoughmanyeducatorsenthusiasticallyembracetheuseoftheInternet-basedreadingmaterials,thereseemtobelittleadequatetheoreticalandempiricalstudiesdemonstratinghowtomakeuseofsuchpracticeinasoundpedagogicalway.Thisstudyisundertakentoinvestigatewhetherthecomputerizedreadingenvironmentmaypromoteadeeperlevelofreadingcomprehensionandwhethertheon-lineEnglishlearningmodebenefitstheEFLlearnersintermsofreadingproficiencymorethanthetraditionalface-to-faceinstructionalmode.Bothquantitativeandqualitativeanalyseshavebeenconductedinthisstudy.1.3ResearchquestionsandhypothesesSincetheobjectiveoftheresearchistoexploretheeffectsofon-linelearningmodeontheEFLstudents’Englishreadingproficiencycomparedwiththetraditionalface-to-faceinstructionalmode,theresearchquestionscanbespecifiedasfollows:(1)Istheon-linelearningmodemoreeffectivetoenhancetheEFLlearners’Englishreadingproficiencythanthetraditionalface-to-faceinstructionalmode?Iftheanswertothisquestionispositive,then:2)Whatarethemajoraspectsofreadinginstructionthatmayresultinhighreadingcomprehensionforthestudentsintheon-linelearningmode?3)Towhatextenttheon-linelearningmodecanbenefittheEFLlearners’Englishreadingproficiency?Thatistosay,dotheEFLlearnersintheon-line2ShanghaiJiaotongUniversityM.A.Thesislearningmodesignificantlyoutperformthoseinthetraditionalface-to-faceinstructionalmode?Threemajorhypothesesareproposedonthebasisofthethreeresearchquestionsraisedabove:1)On-lineEFLlearningmodehasmorebeneficialeffectsontheEFLlearners’readingproficiency.2)Thedifferentaspectsofreadinginstructionofthetwomodesmayresultinhigherproficiencyinreadingcomprehensionforthestudentsintheon-linelearningmode.3)On-linelearningmodecansignificantlyenhancetheEFLlearners’readingperformancecomparedwiththetraditionalface-to-faceinstructionalmode.1.4AnoverviewofthestudyThefirstchapterpresentsapanoramaoverthisstudygenerally.Afterpresentingthebackgroundandtheaimofthisstudy,researchquestionsandthehypothesesareproposed.Chapter2reviewsthereadingrelatedliterature,includingboththeoriesandexperimentalstudiesChapter3dealswiththeresearchdesign.Firstly,participants,instruments,datacollectionandanalysisproceduresareclarified.Secondly,basedona4-monthclassroomobservationintheon-linelearningmodeandthetraditionalface-to-faceinstructionalmode,themajordifferentaspectsonreadinginstructionthatmayinfluencethereadingproficiencyaresummarized.Lastly,acomparativestudyisconductedtocomparetheeffectsresultingfromthedifferentreadinginstructionrelatedaspectsonthelearners’readingproficiencyinthetwomodes.3ShanghaiJiaotongUniversityM.A.ThesisChapter4reportstheresultsanddiscussesthemajorissuesofthestudy.AlargeamountofdataisreportedandanalyzedwiththehelpofthestatisticalsoftwarepackageSPSS11.5.Chapter5istheconclusionpart.Afterreportingthemajorfindingsoutoftheaboveanalysis,limitationsofthisstudyarespecified.PedagogicalimplicationsforEFLreadinginstructionandrecommendationsforfurtherstudiesareproposed.4ShanghaiJiaotongUniversityM.A.ThesisChapter2LiteraturereviewGiventheimportanceofreadingasasocio-culturalskillinmodernsociety,itisnotsurprisingthatstudiesofhowbesttoteachithavebeensurroundedbyagreatdealoftheoreticalandideologicaldiscussions.Therefore,theoreticallyorpractically,readingholdsaprominentstatusintheeducationfield,letalonethereadinginstructioninEFLcontext.Readingisnotonlyoneofthemostbasiclanguageskillsthatneedmastering,butalsothemainsourcefromwhichlanguagelearnersgaininputs.2.1SynthesesofthetwotypesofliteratureonreadingstudiesUpuntilnow,theliteratureregardingEFLreadingstudiesfallintotwomaincategories:oneisexploringthereadingprocessandthenatureofreadingcomprehensionfromtheperspectiveofcognitionandpsychology,includingthecognitivereadingexperimentalstudiesconductedinthelanguagelabsandthereadingteachingexperimentalstudiesinclassrooms(Barnett,1989;Carver,1990;Singer&Ruddell,1985;Grabe,1991).Studiesofthiscategoryarestronglytheoretical.Theothercategoryismorepedagogicallyoriented.Itmainlydiscussesreadinginstructionmethods,especiallyhowtotraintheEFLlearnerstomasterthereadingstrategiesandskills(Grellet,1982;Nuttall,1996),whichbelongstothescopeofpedagogy.However,asEllis(1997)pointsout,currently,thetheoreticalstudiesandtheteachingpracticearenotperfectlycombinedinEFLeducation.ThetheoreticalstudiesandtheteachingpracticeinEFLreadingfieldarenotanexception.Fortheteacherswhoundertaketeachingpracticeintheclassroom,theoreticalfoundationseemstoodistantandabstracttoshedlightontheclassroompractice;meanwhile,literatureonthereadingteachingpedagogiesconfinesitsapplicationinclassroomsurroundingstowhatandhowthereadingskillsorstrategiesshouldbetaught.Therefore,theEFLpractitionersfacegreatchallengescontributingtothereadingteachingarena.5ShanghaiJiaotongUniversityM.A.ThesisAnderson(1999)aguesthatthestudiesinEFLreadinginstructionshouldcombineeffortsonvocabularyandcomprehensionwhichdrawonlearners’priorknowledge,withattentiontoskills,readingmaterialselectionandmotivationinagivenlearningcontext.Inthissense,thestudiesinreadingshouldexhibittheconstantreflexivenessanddevelopmentofapractitionerwhileinterweavinghis/herreadinginstructionphilosophiesinthepracticalclassroom.2.2Student-centeredlearningenvironments2.2.1ThefoundationsofsoundlearningenvironmentsLand&Hannafin(1996)statethatlearningenvironmentsarerootedinpsychological,pedagogicalandtechnologicalfoundations.Thepsychologicalfoundationsoflearningenvironmentsarebasedonhowwethinkandlearnasindividuals.Themethods,activities,andstructuresofthelearningenvironmentarethefocusofpedagogicalinfluences.Pedagogicalandpsychologicalfoundationstogethergivethebasisformethodsandstrategiesusedandthewaysinwhichthecontentisorganized.Student-centeredlearningenvironmentspullfromtheproblem-basedcontextsandexplorationofpedagogicalfoundations.Technologicalfoundationscanshowtowhatextenttechnologycanbeoptimizedtocreateenvironmentswherelearningisthedesiredoutcome.Astheimportanceoftechnologyincreases,itisreflectedinschoolsascomputersbecomemoreprevalentandeducationalsoftwaremoreavailable.Theintegrationofallthreefoundationsoflearningenvironmentsisessentialinthedesignofaneffectivelearningsystem.Themoreintegratedthelearningenvironments,thebetterthechanceforasuccessinanysettingforwhichthedesignisdirected.Foreffectivestudent-centeredlearning,thethreefoundationsshouldbefullyintegrated.2.2.2Thenewroleofteachersinthestudent-centeredlearningenvironmentsAsteachers,weoftenhavedifficultiesplacingthestudentatthehelm.Inthenontraditionalclassroom,Felder&Brent(1996)sayturningthingsovertothe6ShanghaiJiaotongUniversityM.A.Thesisstudentsforperiodsoftimedoesnotsignifythatyouarelosingcontrol.Theinstructorfacilitatesthelearnerindividuallyorincooperativegroupsbyposingproblems,settingtimelimits,providingvaryingamountsofguidance,askingleadingquestions,choosingstudentstorespond,orgivingpositivefeedback.Theinstructoralsodecideswhenthefocusoflearningneedstobechangedorthediscussionended.2.2.3Technologyasoneofthekeyfactorstocreatethestudent-centeredlearningenvironmentsHowcantheteacherbringstudent-centeredlearningtohis/herclassroom?Asystemicshiftneedstotakeplace.Technologyisthekey.Student-centeredlearningwouldbedifficultwithouttheuseoftechnologyintheclassroom(Naneey,1999).AccordingtoHarmonandHirumi(1996),student-centeredlearningisnotfeasiblebecauseofthelaborandtimeinvolvedinthetraditionalclassroom.Becauseofnewemergingtechnologiessuchasnetworkingandrapidaccesstovaststoresofknowledge,thestudentscanbecomeactiveseekersratherthanpassiverecipientsofknowledge.Technologysuchascomputers,multi-mediaauthoringtools,theInternet,emails,andchatroomscanhaveaprofoundeffectonstudents’learning.Howdoestechnologyhelptheteacher?J.Grunertinhisbook,TheCourseSyllabus,acknowledgesthattechnologyfostersthestudent-centeredlearninginhisclassroom.Technologyhasenabledmetobetterfacilitatethelearningprocessbyallowingmetojointlyconstructknowledgewithmystudents(Cook&Cook,1998).Alongwiththestudents,theteacheractivelyparticipatesinthelearning.Learningisbecomingasocialactivity,facilitatedbyanewgenerationofeducators(Tapscott,1999).In1998,PresidentClinton’sEducationalTechnologyInitiativeoutlinedtheTechnologyLiteracyChallenge,settingitupwithfourpillars:7ShanghaiJiaotongUniversityM.A.Thesis1)Moderncomputersandlearningdeviceswillbeaccessibletoeverystudent.2)Classroomwillbeconnectedtooneanotherandtotheworld.3)Educationalsoftwarewillbeanintegralpartofthecurriculumandasengagingasthebestvideogame.4)Teacherswillbereadytouseandteachwithtechnology.Meanwhile,mostoftheteachersholdasimilarpositionthattechnology-enhancedlanguagelearningcanbeusedeffectivelyto:1)facilitatetheacquisitionofvocabulary(DavisLyman-Hanger,1997;Chun&Plass,1996);2)supportinput-richactivitiessuchasreadingassistantsoftware,integratedvideo,andtheinternet;3)facilitateexplorationofauthenticlanguageusethroughtheInternet(Olova&Pollastrini,1995);4)enhancestudentmotivation(Masters-Wicks,Postelwate,&Lewental,1996;Borras&Lafayette,1994).Inoverallterms,technologycanfacilitatethetransferfromtheteacher-centeredenvironmentstothelearner-centeredenvironments.Itcanalsoenhancetheauthenticityofthelearningprocessandcanmakelanguagelearningmoreavailable(Maxwell,1998).Withtheadventoftechnology,thelearningenvironmentshavebecomeevenmorepowerful.Thegoalofopen-endedlearningenvironmentsistoimmerselearnersinrichexperiences,usingvarioustools,resources,andactivitieswithwhichtoaugmentorextendthinking(Hannafin,Hill,&Land,1997).Student-centeredlearningandinstructionaltechnologyseemtofittogetherwellasoneapproachtoenhancelearning.Thecomputer-enhancedlearningenvironmentssupportthelearningofself-regulationskills,activelearning,andindividualconstructionofknowledgesothat8ShanghaiJiaotongUniversityM.A.Thesisindividualsassumeagreaterresponsibilityfortheirownlearning.TheInternetprovidesarapidaccesstoinformation.Computer-basedmicro-worldsgivethelearneralinkbetweenabstractconceptsandunderstandingbasedonexperience,providingartificialenvironmentsforexploration.Thecomputer-enhancedenvironmentalsocombatsrotememoryanddisassociationofknowledge.Instead,thestudentsunderstandthroughtherefinementofexperienceandexploration.Asinanylearningenvironment,thestudentsneedafacilitatorwhoidentifiesandprovidesaccesstoresources,createsproblemcontexts,refinesandextendsthosecontexts,andprovidesahumanresource.Thestudentsmake,orareguidedtomake,effectivechoicesthroughstudent-centeredlearning.Overtime,technologyleadsthelearnertounderstandandsurpassthebenchmarkspreviouslyachieved.Thestudentscanmakesenseoutofwhattheyknow,developinsightintothewhybehindexperiences,createadeeperunderstandingofthoroughexploration,andestablishananchoronwhichfurtherinformationcanbeadded.Approachingthelearningprocessasadeveloperofcriticalthinkingandproblemsolvingskillsthroughtheideaofstudent-centeredlearningwouldenablethestudenttoexperiencesuccessasaself-directed,life-longlearner.2.3Theapplicationofcomputer-assistedlanguagelearning(CALL)inreadinginstructionCALLprogramshavebeenfoundtobeeffectiveinmanylanguagelearningstudies(Asoodeh,1993;Kolich,1985;Siribodhi,1995).Theresultsofthestudiesshowthatstudentswhousecomputer-assistedlanguagelearningprogramsperformbetterthanthosewhousethetraditionalprograms.Thatistosay,thecomputer-assistedlanguagelearningprogramscanenhancelearningbyprovidingstudentswithindividualizedinstructionsandallowstudentstoworkattheirownpace.9ShanghaiJiaotongUniversityM.A.ThesisDiscouragingly,manyexistingCALLstudiesconcentrateoneitherlisteningorwriting.Furthermore,mostofthecurrentstudiesonCALLprogramsinvestigatereadingindiscreteareaslikevocabularyacquisition,on-linereadingstrategies,andon-linelearningtasks.YettheapplicationofCALLprogramsineffectiveEFLreadinginstructionandlearningasawholeshouldbeaddressed.SincetheInternetasaresourcethatcanenrichandexpandreadinginstructionintheCALLprograms,therearenumerousreasonsinfavorofintegratingtheInternetintoareadingclassroom.ChunandPlass(2000)mentiongeneralcapabilitiesoftheInternetfeaturesthathavethepotentialstoenhancereadingproficiency.Theseare:theuniversalavailabilityofauthenticmaterials,thecommunicationcapabilitiesthroughnetworking,themultimediacapabilities,thenonlinear(hypermedia)structureoftheinformation.Themostcompellingreasonisdefinitelytheconvenienceinaccessingandobtaininganendlesssupplyofauthenticmaterialsintargetlanguages.TheInternethasbroughttheworldtothefingertipsofeachlearner.ApplyingtheInternettoEFLreadinginstructionalsoprovidestheopportunitytomeetthestudents’demandsinseveralwaysasWalz(1998)states:“Competenceinmorethanonelanguageandcultureenablespeopletogainaccesstoadditionalbodiesofknowledge;…allstudentslearninavarietyofwaysandsettings;…languageandcultureeducationincorporateeffectivetechnologies;andusingtheInternetisconsistentwithlearningtheoriesaboutlearningtoreadauthenticmaterials”.10ShanghaiJiaotongUniversityM.A.ThesisAspointedoutbytherationaleabove,therearenumerousconvincingargumentsinfavorofintegratingtheInternet-basedmaterialsintoanEFLreadingclassroom.Atthesametime,severalargumentscanbemadethataskforamorecautiousapproachwhenusingtheInternetinreadingteaching.TheInternetisnotexclusivelytheidealwayofdeliveringinstruction,andtherearestillnumerouschallengestoovercome.11ShanghaiJiaotongUniversityM.A.ThesisChapter3Researchdesign3.1IntroductionAftertheliteraturereview,thischaptergivesanaccountofthestudywhichisconductedtofindoutwhethertheon-linelanguagelearningmodeismoreeffectivethantraditionalface-to-faceinstructionalmodeinEFLreadinginstruction.Alltheelementsasparticipants,instruments,datacollectionandanalysisareelaborated.3.2BriefintroductiontothecurrentEFLteachingsituationsinShanghaiJiaotongUniversityBoththeon-linelearningmodeandthetraditionalface-to-faceinstructionalmodeareemployedinteachingEnglishinShanghaiJiaotongUniversity.Asarelativelynewmodeoflearning,theon-linelearningmodeisnotavailableyettoallthestudents.OnlyhalfofthestudentswhoarerandomlyselectedlearnEnglishinthismode.Theonlinelearningcaneitherbeasupplementtoface-to-faceinstruction,equallyblendedwithface-to-faceinstruction,orthemaindeliverymethod,replacingtheface-to-faceinstruction.Theon-linelearningcourseinShanghaiJiaotongUniversitybelongstotheformer.Intheverybeginning,studentsreceiveatrainingwhichfamiliarizesthemselveswiththecoursewaresystem,thefunctionsofeachmoduleandalltheoperationalskills.Thistraininghelpstoreducethenegativeaffectivefactorsresultingfromtheoperationalproblemsinthisnewlearningmodeandguaranteesthatstudentscanusethissystemwithease.Afterthetraining,allthestudentswillhavemasteredallthenecessaryskillsofemployingon-lineresourcestolearnEnglish.Everyweek,therearealtogetherfourperiodsofcollegeEnglishclasses.Students12ShanghaiJiaotongUniversityM.A.Thesisintheon-linelearningmodearerequiredtolearnEnglishinthecomputerlabforthefirsttwoperiods.Allthecomputersareequippedwiththenecessaryandready-designedprograms.Withthesupportofbroadband,studentscangainaccessanddownloadanymaterialsfromtheInternet.Studentshavetheothertwoperiodsinacommonclassroom.There,theyreviewandenhancethemainlearningcontentstheyhavelearntinthelanguagelabwiththehelpoftheirteacher.Theteacherusuallyassignsstudentswithextrahomeworkororganizesactivitiestofacilitatethestudents’self-monitoredlearninginthecomputerlab.Therestofthestudentswhodonotgetregisteredfortheon-linelearningcourseattendtheirEnglishclassesinthetraditionalface-to-faceinstructionalclassroom.Everyweek,studentsarerequiredtoattendfourperiodsofcollegeEnglishclasses,allofwhicharegiveninthecommonclassroom.StudentswholearnEnglishinthismodehaveEnglishclassestwiceaweek,twoperiodseachtime.Intheirclass,theydonotusuallyhaveextracontactwithothermaterialsexceptfortheirtextbooksandtheexercisebooks.TheydonothaveaccesstotheInterneteither,butattimes,theygettaperecordersforsomelisteningpractice.3.3ParticipantsAllthe80studentswhohaveparticipatedinthisstudyarefreshmen.Allofthemarenon-Englishmajorsfromtwoofthebiggestschools---Electronic,InformationandElectricalEngineeringandManagementinShanghaiJiaotongUniversity.These80studentsbelongtotwointactclasses.38studentsinoneclasslearnEnglishintheon-linelearningmodeand42studentsintheotherclassinthetraditionalface-to-faceinstructionalmode.Besidestheapproximatenumberofparticipantsandtheaverageagearound18,13ShanghaiJiaotongUniversityM.A.Thesistheparticipantsintheon-linelearningmodeandthetraditionalface-to-faceinstructionalmodearecomparableinthefollowingaspectsaswell.Firstly,alltheparticipantsareinthesecondtermoftheirfirstyearinuniversity.Secondly,asforthequestion“Doyouregularlypractisereadingafterclasses?”ofthequestionnairein2003beforethisstudy,amongthe3,000non-EnglishmajorsinShanghaiJiaotonguniversity,87.3%ofthem(includingthestudentsintheon-linelearningmodeandthoseinthetraditionalface-to-faceinstructionalmode)giveanegativeresponse.Thatistosay,mostofthemdonotpractisereadingafterclasses.Thir