An Initial Study of University Students' Needs, Preferences, and ...

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172 黃埔學報第五十四期民國九十七年(44%) are the most preferred Internet-basedEnglish learning activities.Based on the results of the survey,speaking development (58%), listeningdevelopment (54%), and language games(44%) are regarded as the most preferredclassroom-based English learning activities.More than three fifths of the students (63%)think learning English through the Internet isnecessary, and 70% of them think learningEnglish through the Internet is the trend.The average time that NCKU studentswould like to spend in online Englishlearning is 2.8 hours per week. Nearly onetenth of the students (11%) prefer onlineinteractive English learning video lessons,10% of the students prefer oral CALLprograms, but about 10% of the students donot know which CALL would be mosthelpful to them.4.4 Students’ Problems of LearningEnglish Online and OfflineA fairly high percentage of thestudents (97%) understand the importance ofand prefer using English frequently in orderto improve English; however, 50% of themuse Chinese most in English class. Lessthan seven tenths of the students (67%)would like to watch English programs onTV if there are other programs of otherlanguages existing, while others (33%) willnot. Approximately 63% of the studentswill join English clubs on campus topractice speaking English if there are goodones, while 37% of the students will neverdo so.On the contrary, more than 17% of thestudents think their English courses aremeaningless, 14% of the students feel theirEnglish courses are awful, and 14% thinktheir English course are simple. Nearlyhalf of the students (45%) do not use theemail to learn their English, 37% of thestudents do not use the learning managementsystem to learn English, and 31% of thestudents do not use any CALL applicationsor websites to develop their English.5. Discussion and ConclusionThe findings of the survey study aresurprisingly different from those originallyexpected by the researchers. Although 91%of the students (n = 1,684) have their ownpersonal computers or notebook computers,some of them do not use the email (45%),the learning management system (37%), andonline CALL applications (31%) to developtheir English for written or oralcommunication. It seems that most NCKUstudents rely on traditional ways in learningEnglish, or do not know how to takeadvantage of the Internet-based technologiesto develop language skills and enhancelanguage areas. Luckily the majority ofstudents are willing to spend more time (2.8hours per week) than they really do (1.3hours per week). This fact encourages theresearchers, and perhaps many Englishinstructors that if university students areguided properly, they will be more willing toengage themselves in the Internet–basedEnglish learning activities.In the present study, plagiarism-relatedexperiences were not used in the surveyquestionnaire. Nowadays a number of newsreports indicate that students have beenusing search engines (e.g., google.com,
Gi-Zen Liu, Pi-Ching Chen:An Initial Study of University Students’ Needs, Preferences, and 173Difficulties in Internet-based English Learningyahoo.com) to look for relevant informationto complete their assignments and papers.Some of them even do just copy-and-pasteto plagiarize other’s works and infringe onthe copyright. Intellectual property shouldbe a major concern of all English teachersand students should be taught to respect itand avoid misusing other’s works. It isstrongly suggested that future research ofthis kind should involve anti-plagiarismissues. Liu and Chen (2007) suggest thethree types of integrating IBT into languagecurricula based on the Taxonomy as shownin Table 1.Table 1.The Three Types of Integrating IBT into Language Curricula Based on the TaxonomyCategory Locus of Control Instruction ModeIntegrating the CMC tool(Chat, Conferencing,MSN Messenger, Skype,Forum, Email, etc.)Mostly peer-supported;tools onlyDrill-and-practice;one-to-one and one-togroup, collaborationIntegrating the LMS(Open-source learningplatforms, Blackboard.com,WebCT.com, etc.)Teacher-led,peer-supported, andself-controlled;tool-enhanced contentLecturing; one-to-oneand one-to-group,collaboration;Drill-and-practiceIntegrating the CALLprogramsMostly self-controlled;tool-enhanced contentTutorials, testing,simulations, games, etc.(BBC Learning English,language learning Websites)Note. CMC stands for computer-mediated communication; LMS stands for language management systems;CALL stands for computer-assisted language learning.In sum, as Price and Gascoigne (2006)highlight, a clear and deep understanding ofNCKU students’ perceptions, needs, andproblems will inform and improve thecurrent instructional processes as well aslearning activities through a well-blendedleaning environment as Bonk and Graham(2006) propose. In addition, Liu & Chen(2007) develop a taxonomy for integratingInternet-based technologies into languagecurricula (see Table 1), and it provides apractical solution that we will work with tooffer computer-mediated communication(CMC) tools, learning management systems,and CALL programs to universities studentsto help them develop their Englishdynamically. The researchers as well as theproject director will positively respond tostudents’ needs and problems to provideappropriate training and workshops toEnglish teachers and students on the correctuse of the Internet-based English learning
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