Online Courses for Teaching English Grammar - Essay Example

? The Impact of Online English Grammar s on Achievement Evidence from the of Dammam Abeer Aidh S. Alshwiah Master’s Degreein Distance Teaching and Training, Arabian Gulf University, Kingdom of Bahrain, 2008. BA English Literature, College of Arts for Girls in Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2004. Abstract This paper aims to shed light to the question of whether or not online courses for Teaching English Grammar have an effect on students' learning process at the University of Dammam. Using as methods both qualitative and quantitative research, this study is another step for understanding the impact of online learning, compared with more traditional courses. A Proposal Submitted as a Requirement for the PhD in Education. Introduction Since the 1990s, technological advances have led to an increase in the 'integration of web-based and web-enhanced resources into instructional practices' (Rodriguez, Ooms, Montanez &Yan, 2005). Considered the most effective technologies to change the face of education, computers and the internet have caused a revolution, forcing the reformulation of curricula and the way it is delivered (Ameneh, 2011). With this revolution and development in the medium of delivery and presentation of knowledge, an increase in lifelong learning has been observed (Medford, 2004). As a result of the increasing demand for learning at all levels of society and in many different circumstances, Saudi Arabia (S.A.) has started delivering online courses. In S.A., online learning has been used to offer learning opportunities to students who are unable to attend an institute for various reasons, e.g. on medical grounds, due to living in remote areas, or because they are over 25 years old. Online learning has many advantages for students and also for faculties. For example, it offers learning opportunities at any time, in any location and in a way adapted to modern lifestyles (Perry & Pilati, 2011). It also provides extra time for the students to apprehend the material and understand more abstract concepts through the application of different types of media (Perry & Pilati, 2011; Rose & Billinghurst, 1996). Moreover, online learning has proved to have many positive effects on student behavior, motivation, communication, and achievement (Samuel & Baker, 2005), e.g. it can encourage students' creativity, problem-solving, communication, collaboration and self-learning skills (Ameneh, 2011). In what concerns benefits for faculties, online learning provides a chance to be purposeful in their teaching (Perry & Pilati, 2011). It is an opportunity of sharing workload amongst staff and can include collaboration with other faculties. Content may also be built and modified, while satisfying the needs of different learning styles (Tang & Byrne, 2007). Furthermore, faculties can manage students' progress more easily by using the different management tools applied in the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) to deliver the course. Taking into consideration the advantages mentioned above, it is understandable the increasing number of students in S.A., who have demanded online learning over the last few years. This process is also supported by companies' gradual acceptance of online degrees, and the universities that offer them. The University of Dammam (U.D.) in S.A. started delivering online courses in January, 2012 to distance students in 2, out of its 28 colleges. Currently, all the departments in the Arts College offer online degrees, except the English Language department. Faculties in the English department are reluctant to use online learning techniques. A reason for this reluctance is the belief that technology cannot support or replace face-to-face (F2F) learning and teaching methods. Findings of this research may give the chance for reconsideration of this reluctance. Research Problem and Objectives U.D. adopted Blackboard as their VLE in 2011 for all students, both on-campus and distance learners. U.D. offers a BA in English language due to the consideration of English as the language of science and technology and the fact it is the most widespread international language. Moreover, learning grammar is important for second language learners because it is connected with the other skills i.e. writing, speaking, and reading comprehension. The majority of Saudi students face difficulties in learning English grammar. Alsena (2005) emphasizes that one of the factors affecting their achievement is the lack of suitable aids for teaching English. Therefore, using online learning courses to teach English and other courses may improve the performance and practice of Saudi students through the provision of various tools. In reviewing the literature for a number of studies carried out on the effects of online courses in language learning, researchers such as Al-Jarf (2005) and Baturay, Daloglu & Yildirm (2010) mention a small number of studies that not only examine the effects of online courses, but also the effects of technology on language learning in general (Zhao, 2003). This study’s main objective is to deliver a well-structured online course that could have an impact on student achievement and establish instructional design principles in order to help the faculty design further courses. It may also have significant results in developing the faculties, the departments, and even the university itself. The implementation of this study is necessary for faculties at U.D. because of their lack of instructional design principles for building an effective online course. The reluctance of departments towards online learning raises from the consideration that the quality of their learning outcomes will decrease or that learners will not be as qualified as traditional learners. Furthermore, U.D. has invested largely in the VLE (Blackboard), infrastructure, and so there is an incentive for the faculty to use online learning tools and offer good quality programs that meet both student and market needs to become one of the most prominent universities in S.A. in offering online courses. This study proposes to answer to the following research questions: What are the effects of online learning courses in teaching English grammar on student achievement, in comparison with the F2F method? What are the effects of online learning courses for teaching English grammar on student achievement in writing skills, in comparison with the F2F method? What are the effects of online learning courses in teaching English grammar on student achievement in speaking skills, in comparison with the F2F method? Literature Review The main goal of education is the leading to 'the development of learners who will find learning to be an enjoyable experience and who will be motivated to learn' (Mahle, 2011). Online learning can provide a rich and enjoyable learning environment for learners through building a well-constructed interactive course within a VLE. There are a few schools of learning, whose ideology will be connected with online learning. In the behavioral school view, observable behavior is a barometer of whether or not the learner was able to learn something, and not what is going on in the learner’s head (Good & Brophy, 1990). Starting from behaviorists’ ideas, there is an implication for online learning, i.e. learners should be tested after the online course to determine whether or not they have managed to assimilate the learning course. Moreover, the online learning materials should be sequenced appropriately to promote learning, especially in what concerns the English grammar. Another school of learning is formed by cognitivists, which interpret learning as an internal process, comprised from memory, thinking, reflection, abstraction, motivation, and metacognition (Craik & Lockhart, 1972). Connecting this consideration with online learning, it is necessary that information to be chunked in order to facilitate efficient processing in working memory (Ally, 2008). Moreover, the online learning materials should present between five and nine items on a screen and if this is not possible, the lecture should be shown in the form of information maps. Constructivism is also viewed as a school of learning, whose ideology enlaces behind the consideration that learners are active rather than passive, and that knowledge is not coming from the outside or from another person, but the individual learner is the one which interprets and processes what is received through the senses to create knowledge (Tapscott, 1998). In what concerns online learning, this theory states that individuals learn and work in a networked environment and as an outcome, learners do not have control over what they learn since others in the network continually change information, and that is transformed into new learning (Ally, 2008). Probably, the constructivism is the most related to online learning, and there are many implications of it in reconsidering teaching. For example, in the process of online learning, students need the time to reflect and the opportunity to internalize the information. Also, during online instruction, students experience the information first-hand, which gives them the window to contextualize and personalize the information given themselves, not thorough a professor. The online course must produce good learning outcomes and qualified learners, which can be accomplished through considering two important factors: design and interaction (Lee & Rha, 2008). The design of the course is important in online learning because, if the course is not well planned, designed and applied, it cannot positively affect learning outcomes (Fox, 2003). It should attract the attention of learners and meet all learning styles (Lee & Rha, 2008). In designing the course, the instructor should also move from instructive to constructive pedagogy, because in online learning, the teacher and student roles change (Sim, Dobbs & Hand, 2002). For example, the student must build his or her own knowledge and understanding and the instructor should support this (Rose & Billinghurst, 1996). Moreover, the designer should conceptualize the learning process from the student's perspective rather than from the point of view of the teacher or content (Sim, Dobbs & Hand, 2002). The other essential factor in online courses is interaction. It is important to build a rich interactive learning environment that encourages the students to engage with the instructor, other students, content, and course interface. Student interaction with peers and teachers is fundamental to online courses in order to permit a grasp of the required information and assimilation of knowledge. This can be improved through different activities, i.e. social interaction, self-assessment, independent work and active learning (Heirdsfield, Walker, Tambyah & Buetl, 2011). The aim of this interaction is to help learners become more self-directed and active (Romanov & Nevgi, 2008). The impact of online courses on student achievement was well documented in literature. The common point of many studies is a comparison between student achievement in online courses and the outcomes of traditional F2F learning. A meta-analysis made by Jahng, Krug & Zhang (2007) compared student achievement in online distance and F2F courses for the period 1995-2004. The results of their comparison indicate no significant differences between the two groups considered. Another meta-analysis carried out by Cavanaugh et al. (2004), emphasizes that online courses improve student achievements. The researchers reviewed 116 online distance course studies for the period 1999 - 2004. The analysis demonstrated that distance education can have the same effect on students' academic achievement as experienced in more traditional education. These results encourage the use of online distance learning. Although, distance learners are often older than regular students in schools and universities, and lack social interaction, and support, their performance is equal to that of students who attend institutes and interact with instructors and students. However, very few studies have been undertaken to assess the effect of online courses or the internet on student achievement in learning English grammar. Al-Jarf (2005) carried out a study to find out whether the use of online learning to supplement F2F in-class grammar instruction significantly improved the achievement of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at King Saud University in Riyadh. The study concluded that online courses help, motivate and enhance learners' achievement in grammar. Another study by Mohammad (2009) compares two methods of teaching grammar: Internet-based and traditional grammar instruction amongst college-level students in Malaysia. The results indicated that the students who received internet-based grammar instruction performed better than those who experienced the traditional instruction method. This study proposes to measure the effects of online courses on distance students' achievement, and it differs from previous studies in the following aspects. Firstly, the study will focus in the achievement in learning English grammar, because teaching and learning grammar is considered vital for second language (L2) learners (Chomsky, 1976). A great deal of research has been conducted and has subsequently confirmed that understanding grammatical rules develops writing, speaking and reading skills, but none of these studies have focused on online learning. Jung (2009), through his review of the literature, concludes that grammar plays an important role in increasing L2 learners' reading comprehension because grammar identifies relationships between words. According to Jung (2009), this is due to the learner’s ability to construct meanings for sentences by identifying the syntactic roles of words, analyzing sentences in meaningful chunks and recognizing the sentence structure. Ellis (2009), Schmidt (1990), and Sharwood-Smith (1993) provide evidence that acquiring a good level of grammar increases the students' ability to communicate in both written and spoken forms. Secondly, this research is made for S.A., and more specifically using factors and data for the U.D. Although, there are a few studies which have as topic the online learning made for S.A., none of them focused on English grammar and used as population or sample for the research the students from U.D. Although this research provides evidence for S.A., all universities around the world could have a benefit from it and maybe will reconsider the English grammar online courses, especially in less developed countries which will save also some money by implementing these online courses. Moreover, it can be drawn conclusions related to other foreign language grammar online courses, not only English. Thirdly, starting from the theories presented at the beginning of this review, and also from the findings of the analysis which will be conducted, it will be considered actions in order to improve the process of online learning of English grammar at U.D. Having as feedback the opinions of students and the thinking behind the learning theories, can be taking actions related to organization of the online study material, ways of testing the progress of students and so forth. Methodology This research is both quantitative and qualitative in nature. It is quantitative because it attempts to measure the relationship between variables studied and to obtain as results quantitative information (numbers). In order to study the performance of students on English grammar, it will be constructed a model, having as independent variable the teaching method (online vs. F2F), and as control variables the previous background, nationality, social condition. This model will be tested through a survey, based on indicators found in Moore and Benbasat' (1991) research. These indicators (survey items) will be modified to directly tap into each of the facets of our model and will be reviewed by two independent experts and starting from their recommendations, indicators that will be considered ambiguous will be either eliminated or reconsidered to clarify the ambiguity. The survey will then be administered to students which followed in previous years an online course of a foreign language grammar, not necessarily English. The qualitative research method will be implemented to describe the students experience in this research and it will use as instrument the interview. The researcher will be observing the students’ development in their writing skills. In this study, it will be used a quasi-experimental design because it would not be a random assignment to the two groups (experimental and control group) and the study will be conducted amongst pre-existing groups. The experimental group comprises students who will register for distance learning at an English language department in the academic year 2014. These English Department students will be female Saudi students who have graduated from governmental high school and successfully completed the preparatory year General English course. The number of students who registered for online courses this semester was around 200 students in each department. These students share the same characteristics with the current online students. The students who graduate from governmental schools usually have learned the basic grammatical rules of grammar without practicing them in their daily life due to the fact that they are not surrounded by English language speakers. Their ages vary since the online courses accept different ages. These students will study the English grammar course in the first year out of four-years in English Language Department. The control group will consist of traditional students at the same department, who will attend F2F sessions without any online learning units. The number of traditional students in the English Language Department is usually around 200 students. With such a sample, the target population would be all English distance learners during the coming years at U.D. The independent variable will be the teaching method (categorical variable). The dependent variables are student achievement in the English grammar course and students' speaking skills. Students' achievement in writing and speaking (quantitative variables) will be measured by post-tests, a final written exam and interview. Data Analysis and Expected Results This study aims to measure the effects of English online courses on student’s achievements. Different ways will be used to measure this achievement. In order to compare the experimental group achievement with the control group, a t-test will be used. The quasi-experimental design differs from the experimental one in that it does not randomly assign students to groups. To counteract this, and analyze the Nonequivalent Groups Design, the researcher will adjust the pretest scores for measurement error by using a Reliability-Corrected Analysis of Covariance model. As it was mentioned before, an interview will be used to describe the students experience in this research. Moreover, the interview will be used to measure the development on the students speaking skills. The following research hypotheses will be tested: H0 (null hypothesis): The online learners' achievement in a writing skills exam is lower to that of a ‘traditional’ student. H1 (alternative hypothesis): The online learners' achievement in a writing skills exam is different to that of a ‘traditional’ student. H0 (null hypothesis): The online learners' achievement in a speaking skills exam is lower to that of a ‘traditional’ student. H1 (alternative hypothesis): The online learners' achievement in a speaking skills exam is different to that of a ‘traditional’ student. The research proposed by this paper could be an important starting point for U.D., and maybe for all universities in S.A and around the world. The results obtained through this analysis could improve the teaching environment and give a new face of online learning of a foreign language grammar, not only English. This could be an achievement not only looking to the educational part, but also to the practical one. It could prove of great importance for companies in this country, which are exposed to international trade and who need well prepared employees in speaking and writing correctly a foreign language, and who maybe do not have time to follow courses on a daily basis. References Al-Jarf, R.S. 2005, ‘The effects of online grammar instruction on low proficiency EFL college students' achievement’, The Asian EFL Journal Quarterly, vol. 7, no. 4, pp.166-10. Ally, M. 2008, ‘Foundations of Educational Theory for Online Learning’, in Anderson T (ed.), Theory and Practice of Online Learning, Athabasca University, Athabasca, pp. 15-44. Alsena, D.A. 2005, ‘The effect of using computers in teaching English structure 1 (110) on the students' achievement at Level 1 in the English language department at Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah Almukaramah’, Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia (Written in Arabic). 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