Abstract
This study investigated 350 English as a foreign language (EFL) undergraduate students’ use of Tell Me More (TMM), a language learning technology, for self-study in a university in the south of Thailand. Two questions guided the study: 1) What were learners’ self-study practices with the TMM program? 2) How did learners’ self-study practices enhance or undermine the purpose of using the TMM program? Self-report questionnaire with subscales from Students Approaches to Learning and a semi-structured focused group interview were used to investigate the participants’ practices, effort and persistence on the TMM. The findings indicated that the learners multitasked to compensate for the lack of support from instructors and for assessment purposes, sometimes left the program on to count the time. The findings on the time of use suggested that self-study practices do not depend only on learners’ attitude or features of the learning environment but also goals set by instructors. Additionally, the findings showed that learners made moderate effort of use and were inconsistent in their self-study practices. The findings shed new light on what accounts for the effective use of educational technologies and how practices could be improved. This study would guide developers of online learning curriculums and educators on learning goals and assessment types to be incorporated in online self-study programs.
Highlights
The acceptance and use of computers and information technologies has changed the nature of language teaching and learning (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005)
The intent is geared at increasing flexibility, independent access, expanding support and promoting active learning by interacting on different platforms (Dabbagh, 2002)
Even though studies have shown that online self-study results in successful learning outcomes, others have reported that it does not yield the expected outcome (Weston & Bain, 2010). This is so because in an autonomous online learning environment, learning outcome is determined by factors such as how learners interact, collaborate and construct knowledge
Summary
The acceptance and use of computers and information technologies has changed the nature of language teaching and learning (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). The increased flexibility, convenient access wherever and whenever, the expansion of support, promotion of active learning through in-time learning resources, a teaching pedagogy and learners’ ability to control their own learning are some of the reasons for the popularity of educational programs (Moore, 2005). Even though studies have shown that online self-study results in successful learning outcomes, others have reported that it does not yield the expected outcome (Weston & Bain, 2010). This is so because in an autonomous online learning environment, learning outcome is determined by factors such as how learners interact, collaborate and construct knowledge. Expectations from educators and learners themselves may influence how learners independently regulate their study online (Venkatesh, Croteau & Rabah, 2014)
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