CALL을 통한 자율 학습이 학습자 인식과 영어 의사 소통 능력에 미치는 효과연구

Abstract

The goal of this study is to explore the effects of autonomous learning using CALL in developing English proficiency and learner autonomy. Specifically, this study examines learners’ perceptions for autonomous learning before and after the experience, the effects of the out-of-class autonomous learning for improving English proficiency, and the characteristics of learning styles in autonomous learning. The participants in this study were 41 non-English major university freshmen in the mainland of China. They were carefully guided to experience autonomous learning by the researcher; they took part in the ten-week autonomous learning and face-to-face interactive activities. The students, who were all in the researcher’s regular English reading class, took two questionnaires of their attitudes and beliefs for autonomous learning, and learning styles before the ten-week special English language session. According to the learners’ needs, promoting oral proficiency was decided as the objective of the autonomous learning. Oral tasks of Level One with College English software program and Campus English with CD were selected as the autonomous learning materials based on the intermediate level of students’ English proficiency. In the autonomous learning process, the researcher organized the interactions in her office once every two weeks in order to examine the students’ learning plans and develop the capacities of autonomy. After they had done CALL oral tasks in their free time for ten weeks, one questionnaire was conducted for identifying students’ perspectives on autonomous learning, CALL and the interaction in reality. Activity Theory was employed as a theoretical framework for the design of the process of developing learner autonomy. The result of the first questionnaire indicated that students had some responsibilities and abilities of deciding objectives in and outside class, and knew their own weakness in English as well as the intrinsic motivation. Accordingly, although they lacked autonomous learning experience outside class, they could begin to study English independently. In order to see the effects of autonomous learning using CALL, the pre-proficiency test (for overall English competence) was administered before their regular reading class. The pre-oral test was also provided in the first week of the reading class before autonomous learning. After the ten-week autonomous learning, a post-proficiency test, a post-oral test, and interview were given to them. The test results revealed that students’ oral proficiency was improved; their grammar, vocabulary, speaking fluency as well as the oral interactive communication and discourse management were enhanced. Their overall English proficiency was also promoted. The interactive activities in reality were shown to contribute to developing the learners’ metacognitive strategies. The portfolios, which the students were asked to provide, demonstrated their autonomous learning process and reflective evaluation of their autonomous learning. The students’ autonomous learning experience, which lasted for ten weeks doing CALL oral tasks in the CALL center and interactive activities in the researcher’s office, resulted in developing learner autonomy: the learners’ abilities of determining learning objectives, making plans, monitoring learning process, and doing self-evaluation were promoted. Moreover, the reflection of learning styles revealed that the students of different types of learning styles showed the three different degrees of accommodating to the autonomous learning: a strong-moderate style, a more balanced style (mild), and a slow-balanced style. CALL environment was useful in developing and extending their learning styles while learning English. The current study could show that the teacher’s intervention in the students’ learning process was helpful for promoting learner autonomy and that autonomous learning using CALL could be quite effective in enhancing students’ English language ability.