Integrating Internet Resources into English Lessons: A Case Study of High School English Teachers

• Main Authors: Yu-jung Chuang, 莊育榕
• Other Authors: Yueh-kuey Huang
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2002
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/04496713289831445169

碩士 === 淡江大學 === 西洋語文研究所 === 90 === The Internet is a remarkable invention that allows English teachers to have instant access to a broader range of useful language materials to enhance learning and teaching. This innovation, for English teachers, provides different sorts of dynamic teaching materials, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The electronic network system offers opportunities for “real world” communication, making possible immediate cross-cultural information and language exchanges with native speakers around the world. Moreover, the use of the Internet raises students’ interests and motivation for English learning in a dynamic rather than passive way. The goal of this research is to investigate teacher belief systems towards computer-mediated and Internet resources integrated language learning. This study also tries to examine the relationships between several factors and the use of Internet resources into class among English teachers in public senior high schools as well. Factors that prevent English teachers from making good use of Internet resources are also studied. Additionally, this study is to find out how English teachers adopt Internet resources and the reasons some of those teachers stop integrating Internet resources. The research instrument was a questionnaire, which consisted of two parts. The target sample was 400 public high school English teachers in Taipei City, including 24 public high schools. 109 returned questionnaires yielded a total return rate of 27.3%. The results showed 40 teachers had never integrated Internet resources into English lessons, while 69 teachers reported having done so in their class. There were statistically significant differences (p = .0445, < .05) between teacher belief systems and integration of Internet resources, indicating these two factors were related. Two major difficulties encountered in adopting Internet resources were technical problems and slow transmission of the Internet. The main reason that English teachers have yet to integrate Internet resources was a lack of time. The findings of this study provide suggestions and give some directions for further research in the future to enhance English teaching and teaching profession.