Task 2: Article Review

Greetings! Here is my article review for Task 2;

A. Introduction
The title of the research that was chosen to be reviewed is "The Efficacy of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in Fostering Autonomous Learning Among ESL Upper Secondary School Students". The research paper was taken from the Internet Journal of e-Language Learning and Teaching, Volume 4, issues number 1, dated January 2007, pages 32-45. The researcher is Ng Yim San from Methodist Girls' School Penang, Malaysia. To view the research, please click HERE.

B. Summary of the research
There is no doubt that the computer has been a very useful tool in teaching and learning nowadays. There are also a lot of ways that someone could utilize the computer. With the advancement of technology, second language learning could be easier by using Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). In the Malaysia context, the Ministry of Education is also in support with the use of Information Communications Technology (ICT) and has provided both hardware and teaching courseware to all government schools to assist teachers in the teaching and learning process. The interactive courseware which is also known as MYCD covers all four skills that are the listening, speaking, reading and writing skills which aims to develop student's self-directed learning.

Traditional classroom teaching was simply the teacher talking and the students listening (Jonassen, et al., 1999). Therefore, the researcher tries to look at the effectiveness of CALL in fostering autonomous learning among ESL Upper Secondary School students.

i. The aims of the research
The aim of this research is to gauge the effectiveness of the courseware, as well as general word processing programs and web-based activities on the speaking and listening skills, in fostering autonomous learning among students from a few schools in Penang. Other than that, the students' attitudes and preferences for using CALL in language learning are also investigated.

ii. The Methodology
The respondents for the study were chosen from four schools with a similarity of the medium of instruction and the sex of the respondents. Twenty five students were selected from the top-ranked class in terms of academic performance in; (1) an all-girl national type school, (2) an all-girl Chinese school, (3) an all-boy national type school, and (4) an all-boy Chinese school. These students were assumed to possess intermediary computer skills. They also have access to computers and possess the MYCD software.

The language skills focused for this research are speaking and writing skills because out of the four skills, these two skills are required by the students to demonstrate language proficiency as required in the school-based Oral evaluation Test (OET) and written tests in both school and public examinations.

Figure 1: Proposed Model of CALL in Fostering Autonomous Learning among ESL Form 5 Secondary School Students

 The framework of the study proposed a model of CALL in fostering autonomous learning among the ESL Form 5 Secondary School Students in Malaysia. Based on the framework, the Malaysian situation is more to the traditional teacher-centred method whereby the teacher conquers the lesson. However, the framework proposed more opportunities for students to learn independently with CALL, whereby the teacher acts as a facilitator, and less intensive teaching is carried out. In the classroom, students were given tasks while the teacher will assist them. Students with computers at home could also carry out the tasks at home. Email, Internet and certain software were used in completing the tasks.

iii. The Subject/ Sample
All the respondents are 17 years old at the time of the study. On the average, all the respondents have been using computers for approximately 8 years and can be considered as computer literate. This study also verifies that all the respondents have access to computers at home. However, 5% of them prefer to access the computers in the school as their computer at home does not have access to the Internet. The respondents have either used websites with interactive features or at least heard of them. An example is the Commonwealth Essay Writing Competition website whereby the students have to use the online form in order to take part in the essay competition. Besides that, they were also given websites by teachers to surf to collect information on assigned essay topics.

iv. The Findings:
1. The students prefer to learn the English Language under face-to-face classroom environment. 72% of them prefer the face-to-face approach even though they had earlier shown a relatively high degree of autonomy. This supports Thang’s (2004) findings which suggested that learner irrespective of age or disciplines prefer a more classroom-centered approach of learning to the more autonomous modes of learning.

Table 1: Cross Tabulation of Student Preference to Attend Class Versus Preference to Use the "Self-Help" Program

Based on Table 1, even though the students prefer autonomous learning, they still prefer to learn English in a face-to-face environment. They still prefer to have the teacher available for guidance in the wired classroom although they are capable of learning autonomously. In short, it is found that nearly three-quarter of the students prefer the face-to-face approach and this preference is independent of their actual ability to learn autonomously.

2. Students would be more autonomous with regards to their writing skill compared to their speaking skills. Email was used as one of an effective CALL activity that contributes to learner autonomy by providing opportunities for language improvement through real life communication and increasing awareness of language shortcomings. MYCD also help in promoting learner autonomy among the students who use it. Students also use the Microsoft Word to write essays or summaries autonomously. The thesaurus and the spell-check capabilities enable students to look up for meaning of words or spelling easily rather than referring to the dictionary. The web processor also helps to correct writing errors. However, the MYCD did not provide essential speaking activities that could help learners to learn autonomously. There are not many speaking exercises modules provided.

3. The students indicated that using computers to learn English is convenient and there is a feeling of independence.

Table 2: Reason to Improve Speaking Skills

The programs are also interesting and useful for them in learning English. Approximately half of the respondents indicated that they possess the MYCD but chose not to use it because they think that the software is somewhat boring. In contrast, the students found Microsoft Word as a useful tool to learn autonomously. In conclusion, the students are motivated to learn on their own based on how useful and interesting the CALL applications are.

4. Based on interviews with the English Language Teachers from the four different schools, all of them have a computer lab each in their schools, which is being fully utilized. The computer software is used in classroom teaching with a difference in the degree of usage by each teacher. Unanimous agreed that not all students would be able to improve their language skills if they are not supervised. This depends on the students’ proficiency. The teachers also agreed that not all students can be left by themselves in the computer lab while the teacher tends to other matters since some students would lose focus by doing unrelated tasks, while some might be dependent on the teachers for guidance, and some students might have the tendency to surf the Internet to irrelevant websites, which is unrelated to the assignment at hand. Besides that, students do not ask more questions in class than in “traditional learning” besides questions that were related to computer system issues rather than the application software.

C. Discussion
The research interests me since this is one of the common environments in the classrooms all over Malaysia nowadays. It is also interesting to know the student's opinions and reactions towards any of the new method in making teaching and learning interesting as well as to keep updated to the current trend.

The research was well conducted as the researcher selected four different groups as the respondents for the research to avoid data misinterpretation due to bias of sex and the medium of language instructions. Both the Chinese school and the national type were chosen. This would even lead to a more accurate representation of ESL secondary school students.

In general, autonomous learning might already been practiced by many higher institutions of learning or even high schools out of Malaysia. However, as for the secondary schools in Malaysia, this is one of the current trends in the classrooms learning. Some implications would be the wide use of computers in classrooms as there is an awareness of the importance of incorporating technologies into classrooms nowadays. Students would also be able to access to the Internet easily and be comfortable with autonomous learning.

In conclusion, I strongly agree with the researcher that the effectiveness of the different CALL application in facilitating autonomous learning is highly dependent on characteristics such as usefulness, interesting content, interactivity, ease of use and ability to hold the interest of the targeted students. Besides that, more focus should be put on the speaking and listening skills, besides the writing and reading skills.