Differentiated Instruction through TELL to EFL Students at a Vocational High School

• Main Authors: Shu-Yi - Lin, 林淑儀
• Other Authors: Huei-chun Teng
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2016
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/5nrt63

碩士 === 國立臺灣科技大學 === 應用外語系 === 105 === The study aims to explore the implementation of DI (differentiated instruction) through TELL (technology enhance language learning) in an EFL (English as a foreign language) class. The research tries to answer the following questions: (1) Are there significant differences between students who receive traditional instruction and those instructed through DI with TELL? (2) What are the vocational school students’ perceptions and reactions toward DI with TELL? (3) What are the problems and challenges when implementing DI with TELL? Lasting for about one year, the study involved fifty-four third graders of two classes at a vocational high school in Taipei. Twenty-nine students were classified as the experimental group while the others enrolled in the control group. From the very beginning, the teacher kept reflective journals for designing and applying the suitable online materials for the experimental group. Livemocha, Quizlet, etlady, VoiceTube and Starfall were chosen for students to learn. They set the learning goals, chose their learning partners and then performed their tasks. During the implementation stage, the teacher also took field notes from observation. At the end of the course, students were required to complete a questionnaire. The results were analyzed and then triangulated through interviews. The results of the study show that the learning achievement of the experimental group, though improved, did not reach the significant level of differences. As for the students’ perspectives, despite the fact that DI through TELL is favored for its merits, some students behaved better and preferred the original way of lecturing for it offers better interaction and provides more stimulation in extrinsic goal orientation. The challenges, limitation as well as advantages of DI through TELL are discussed. Based on the results of this study, pedagogical implications and suggestions are presented for educators and the authorities to build a more efficient learning environment for EFL learning in vocational high schools.