The Use of the Internet for ELT in Thai Public Universities

The Use of the Internet for ELT in Thai Public Universities Sabaiporn Charupan Songsri Soranastaporn Nongpanga Suwattananand The aim of this study was to investigate the use of the Internet for ELT in Thai public universities. A survey questionnaire was used as a research tool. English teachers who were native speakers of Thai participated in this study. The results suggested that the English teachers used e-mail most and they also planned to use a class web page. It was found that the Internet was used for (a) analyzing the students needs, (b) classroom communication between teachers and students, (c) planning and presenting instruction, (d) practicing English language skills, and (e) evaluating and assessing students performance. Introduction Technology facilitates classroom instruction more effectively. According to Maurer and Davidson (1998): 1) teaching and learning are more effective when schemabased; 2) teaching and learning are more effective when students evolve strategies to understand how they learn; 3) teaching and learning are more effective when they are an active process; 4) teaching and learning are more effective when skills are mastered and become automatic; 5) teaching and learning are more effective when seen as a development of emergent process; 6) teaching and learning are more effective when experienced and accessed in natural contexts using authentic learning materials. (pp. 9-11) The Internet is growing into a global resource of information that can be freely accessed by both students and teachers. Therefore, it is now considered as the technology that can be used to facilitate classroom instruction. page 38

Though English teachers at Thai pubic universities use the Internet to facilitate classroom instruction, the studies to investigate its effectiveness have not been reported. Therefore, this survey examined the present use of the Internet in Thai public universities and the problems or obstacles these universities face. The obtained information provides useful baseline information for English teachers so they may use such information to build their networks and share knowledge and resources. Srisa-an (1998) and Nakornthan (2000) suggested that to maximize learning for all Thai people, the Internet may be adopted and integrated into learning and teaching at all educational levels. Internet technology can help to change the traditional teaching approach to new kinds of learning. That is, the Internet may be used in the classroom to change the learning and teaching process from teacher-centered to learner-centered approaches (Srisa-an, 1998). The Changing Roles of Teachers Teachers in the Information Age are faced with changes (Kumari, 1998). The rise of multiple technologies and globalization dynamics has led to a world in which there are no permanent structures of knowledge or meaning (Stromquist & Monkman, 2000, p. 11). Thai students in the era of globalization need sophisticated knowledge and higher-order skills. Consequently, Thai public universities need to empower students with the skills and knowledge needed to respond to global demands or markets so that students are capable of competing with others in the highly competitive global marketplace. Among many factors, English proficiency and the Internet skills will help students to increase their competence. To serve this new demand, English teachers need to change their roles. Thai teachers have to play new roles in today s technology-based learning to respond to the National Education Act of 1999 (Srisa-an, 1998; Nakornthan, 2000). The learner-centered approach is the basic pedagogy that lies under the role shifting of teachers (Frizler, 1995; Nunan & Lamp, 1996). Teachers are no more just knowledge feeders, but facilitators (Nunan, 1998). Teachers become less a source of information while they become pathways to knowledge (Srisa-an, 1998). They have to play the roles of tutor, mentor and helper to help learners develop information skills efficiently (Warschauer, 1998; Srisa-an 1998). page 39

In addition, university teachers are expected to be leaders in using the Internet to facilitate learning and teaching. Dr. Amornvith Nakorntham, an academic leader in higher education in Thailand, stated that as teachers and educators in the Thai Educational Reform Era, we have to maximize the advantage of powerful technology to our education systems and aim to create competent Thai learners (Nakorntham, 2000). Moreover, when there was appropriate method and technology in learning and instructional tasks, there was studentto-student interaction, student-to-teacher assistance, and teacher-tostudent feedback. Therefore, Thai teachers should change the learning environment by using technology, such as the Internet to benefit their teaching (Srisa-an, 1998). Powerful Potential of the Internet on Teaching and Learning Systems The Internet is beneficial to English language teaching (ELT) (Frizler, 1995; Warschauer, 1996a; Lee, 1998). It can provide a new and interactive means of overcoming time and distance. Careful planning to use the applications existing on the Internet will lead to more effective teaching (Frizler, 1995; Warschauer, 1996a). Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) on the Internet includes investigation of information, interactive collaborative learning groups, and the use of language in real world situations (Frizler, 1995; Warschauer, 1996a; Singhal, 1997; Colburn, 1998; Liao, 1999). Learners do activities provided by the teacher based on website information (Frizzler, 1995; Sperling, 1997). CMC, such as electronic mail, bulletin boards, and chat rooms on the Internet create interactions between remote participants and other learning settings (Harring & Smaldino, 1998). Communication on the Internet can be asynchronous (not simultaneous) through tools such as electronic mail (e-mail), which allows each participant to compose messages in their own time and pace (Frizler, 1995; Warschauer, 1996b). It can be synchronous (real time) using Chat software programs like Pirch, MSN or Icq, which allow people all around the world to have a simultaneous conversation by typing at their keyboards (Warschauer, 1996a). Collaborative and cooperative learning occurs when using CMC, such as in a computer conference (McCabe, 1998) or NetMeeting. Learners can use the World Wide Web (WWW) or websites on the Internet to perform cooperative tasks with their peers and to complete work that is assigned by the teacher. Learners access websites on the Internet to page 40

search for authentic materials, such as newspapers, magazine articles, or radio broadcasts, to serve their own needs and interests (Sperling, 1997). Activities such as electronic pen-pals and chat rooms have proven to be a successful learning tool because learners practice language skills in the real world (Frizler, 1995; Warschauer, 1996a). The learner-centered approach is used to provide learning and teaching on the Internet (Kumari, 1998). In Thailand, according to the National Education Act of 1999, Thai public universities responded to the National Education Act of 1999 by launching various projects. Most universities have offered Internet use and allowed the students to use it with no charge since 1997 (Ministry of University Affairs annual report, 1999). However, the information of current use and problems on using the Internet for ELT at Thai public universities has not been investigated. This study provided new information on this field. Purpose of the Study The purpose of the study was to investigate the use of CMC on the Internet by English teachers in Thai public universities. The study explored the use of the Internet in different teaching settings, such as distance learning, in-class learning, and other teaching settings. Research Questions 1. Do English teachers use CMC in Thai public universities? In what teaching settings do they use the Internet? 2. What types of CMC on the Internet do English teachers use? And to what extent do they currently use each of those types? 3. For which of the following teaching purposes do teachers use CMC on the Internet. (a) analyzing the students needs, (b) classroom communication between teachers and students, (c) planning and presenting instruction, (d) practicing English language skills, or (e) evaluating and assessing students performance. Research Method Participants There are 360 English teachers who were native speakers of Thai and working at Thai public universities that offered Internet access to students. These teachers were randomized to participate in this study. In total, 180 participants were selected. page 41

Distribution of Questionnaires A letter asking for co-operation was attached to a cover of the questionnaire and was sent to the participants. The return questionnaires totaled 120 out of 180 (66.67%). Instrument The survey instrument included items constructed primarily from CMC literature. These items were developed by using Griffee s guidelines (Griffee, 2002). The Cronbach alpha-coefficient was used to determine the reliability of the questionnaire, and it was 0.95. Analysis of Data and Statistical Procedures The selected questionnaires which had internal consistency were coded and computed by using the SPSS program. Frequency distribution and percentage were used as statistical devices. Findings Finding One Table 1.1 summarized the participants demographic information. Most of them were between 25 45 year of ages; and most of them (78%) were female. As for formal education, respondents were almost entirely divided between those whose highest level of attainment was the Ph.D. (23.3%) and those who held a master s degree (64.4%). Table 1.1 Demographic Data of the Respondents Demographic Data of the respondents Frequency Percent Gender Male 42 35.0 Female 78 65.0 Total 120 100.0 <25 6 5.0 25-35 41 34.2 Age 36-45 41 34.2 >45 32 26.6 Total 120 100.0 Bachelor. 10 8.3 Highest Degree Master s 82 68.4 Doctoral 28 23.3 Total 120 100.0 page 42

Seventy-two English teachers (60.0%) stated that they were currently using the Internet. One third of them did not use it at the time of this study, but they may use it in the future. Only 10 English teachers stated that they never think of using CMC for ELT. (See Table 1.2.) Regarding teaching settings, about half of the participants (47.2%) used CMC for the classroom only and only one English teacher used it for distance teaching. (See Table 1.3.) Table 1.2 Summary of English Teachers Using CMC in Thai Public Universities State of use Frequency Percent never think of using it 10 8.3 didn t use it at the time of this study, but 38 31.7 may use it in the future using it at the time of this study 72 60.0 Total 120 100.0 N=120 Table 1.3 Teaching Settings Used with the Internet. Teaching settings of CMC current use Frequency Percent distance class only 1 1.4 classroom only 34 47.2 distance and classroom 15 20.8 other types of teaching 22 30.6 Total 72 100.0 N=72 110 out of 120 respondents stated that they were current Internet users. These users provided the information for finding two and finding three. Finding Two The types of CMC and level of current use by English teachers are shown in Table 2. The result revealed that e-mail was used most (59.1%). It showed more than half of the English teachers (54.1%) planned to use class web pages in their teaching while many teachers (52, 69, 74 teachers which represent 48.1%, 63.9%, and 67.9% respectively) decided not to use the Internet for speaking skills such as chat room, Internet phone, and computer conferencing, to improve the students speaking. page 43

Finding Three The purposes of using CMC on the Internet are presented in Table 3. These teaching purposes include: (a) analyzing the students needs, (b) classroom communication between teachers and students, (c) planning and presenting instruction, (d) practicing English language skills, and (e) evaluating and assessing students performance. The result revealed that most English teachers (78.8%) used the Internet for instructional planning, while a small number of teachers used the Internet for need analysis (5.8%). Nearly 60% of the English teachers use the Internet to practice students English skills. One fifth of the English teachers used the Internet for classroom communication between teachers and students and for presenting instruction. About half of the English teachers stated that they would use the Internet to present the purposes of teaching. Table 2 Types of CMC and Level of Current Use by the Teachers. A. Types of CMC Teachers use for English teaching Frequency Percent B. Level of each CMC type used by the teachers at present situation not used 10 9.1 Frequency 6 16 13 30 65 Using e-mail use later 35 31.8 Level of using Percent 9.2 24.6 20.0 46.2 100.0 for teaching use now 65 59.1 email for N = 65 N = 110 Total 110 100.0 teaching 1-2 times/term 3-4 times/term 5-6 times/term 7> times/term Total not used 74 67.9 Level of using Frequency 4 3 1 1 9 Using use later 26 23.8 computer Percent 44.43 33.3 11.1 11.1 100.0 computer use now 9 8.3 conference for N = 9 conference for Total 109 100.0 teaching teaching N = 109 Class web page use for teaching N = 109 Chat room use N = 108 Internet phone use N = 108 not used 32 29.4 Frequency 1 4 1 12 18 use later 59 54.1 Level of using Percent 5.6 22.2 5.6 66.6 100.0 class web page for teaching use now 18 16.5 N = 18 Total 109 100.0 not used 52 48.2 Frequency 10 5 3 6 24 use later 32 29.6 Level of using Percent 41.7 20.8 12.5 25.0 100.0 use now 24 22.2 chat room for N = 24 Total 108 100.0 teaching not used 69 63.9 Frequency 3 1 0 0 4 use later 35 32.4 Level of using Percent 75.0 25.0 0 0 100.0 use now 4 3.7 Internet phone N = 4 for teaching Total 108 100.0 page 44

Table 3 The Current Status of the Teacher in Using CMC on the Internet for the Teaching Purposes Frequency Percent % not used 43 41.3 Used for needs analysis may use later 55 52.9 N=104 use now 6 5.8 Total 104 100.0 not used 27 24.5 Used for interactive classes may use later 62 56.4 N=110 use now 21 19.1 Total 110 100.0 not used 8 7.7 Used for instruction planning may use later 14 13.5 N=140 use now 82 78.8 Total 104 100.0 not used 29 26.4 Used for teaching presentation may use later 60 54.5 N=110 use now 21 19.1 Total 110 100.0 not used 13 11.8 Used for student's skill practice may use later 33 30.0 N=110 use now 64 58.2 Total 110 100.0 not use 37 33.6 Used for student s evaluation may use later 45 40.9 N=110 use now 28 25.5 Total 110 100.0 not use 39 35.5 Used for course evaluation may use later 57 51.8 N=110 use now 14 12.7 Total 110 100.0 Discussion Discussion for Finding One About 50% of the participants were female and they used the Internet to facilitate their teaching. Research on using the Internet for ELT by Thai female teachers may be conducted to obtain problems, difficulties, and obstacles. Then, particular help and support can be provided. Most participants realized the benefit of the Internet for ELT. Only ten (8.3%) out of 120 teachers had no interest in using the page 45

Internet for their teaching. They mentioned several reasons in an openended answer in the questionnaire. For instance, they were too old to keep up with technology. Some were afraid of being replaced by technology. Therefore, they were not willing to use it as they did not want to lose their positions. Some teachers believed that textbooks could serve their teaching perfectly, hence, the Internet was not necessary. Some mentioned that it was a waste of time and money for the Thai government to spend on this issue and they did not want to join in. Some refused to use the Internet because it was "too complex". It may be concluded that some English teachers have negative attitudes towards using the Internet for ELT. This result concurred with the concept of Fizler (1995) and Warschauer (1996a). They suggested that teacher's attitude and effort play the first part in adopting technology to their teaching. Hence, the effort to support a positive attitude toward the use of technology and to promote clearer understanding for the new role of teachers in the new paradigm of education should be emphasized. Without teacher s guidance and effort to design learner-centered activities, computers will do little to help students learn English. It is accepted that teaching will be far more effective with the use of technology. However, this does not mean that teachers will be replaced by technology. Teachers should use technology to facilitate teaching and the learning process in order to achieve the goal of the new paradigm of education (Berge & Collins, 1995). Surprisingly, only one teacher stated that she used the Internet for ELT in distance teaching. Even though there is evidence of distance learning classes on the Ministry of University Affairs web sites (http://www.uninet.th), not many teachers have used it. However, more than 60% of English teachers currently used technology to improve their teaching. Though various factors caused obstacles for some teachers, many teachers planned to use the Internet. They intended to create web pages for teaching online. Discussion for Finding Two The result of this study revealed that English teachers use many types of CMC for teaching. E-mail was currently used most. This replicated the study of Frizler (1995) and Warschauer (1996a). Both suggested that e-mail was a great type of CMC in ELT. It was not only a means to facilitate classroom lessons (giving and sending assignments or communicating among participants), but it also was used as a language learning tool to serve teaching purposes. page 46

The result of this study also showed that teachers use e-mail frequently (more than seven times a semester). Singhal (1997) and Kumari (1998) suggested that teachers participation in CMC is very important for effective teaching with technology. Teachers should coordinate and interact with learners (Frizler, 1995; Warschauer, 1996b; McCabe, 1998). Discussion for Finding Three The result of this study showed that English teachers used CMC on the Internet for various teaching purposes. CMC can be used for needs analysis, for interactive classes, for instructional planning, for teaching presentations, for student s skill practice, for student s evaluation and for course evaluation. The findings revealed that a small number of English teachers used the Internet for both doing needs analyses and course evaluation. Using the Internet for both functions was complicated and difficult because developers needed to have intermediate or advanced information skills (Riegle, 1996). The teachers may not know how to use the Internet to serve these purposes so they may employ other ways to analyze learners' needs and evaluate their courses (Nunan & Lamb, 1996). Although the current use of the Internet for analyzing the students needs, for classroom communication between teachers and students, and for evaluating and assessing students performance was low, teachers intention to use the Internet for these purposes was high. Teachers intended to do needs analyses to find out learner needs and interests so that they could implement language courses that mostly suited and satisfied learners preferences. The result suggested that English teachers emphasized the learner-centred approach. It was found that English teachers used the Internet mostly in the planning phase. This study agrees with Frizler (1995), Warschauer (1996a), Nunan and Lamb (1996), and Kumari (1998). Most teachers use the Internet to plan their teaching and to provide practice opportunities for the students. Conclusion More than half of the respondents said that they currently used the Internet in their teaching. Most of them said that they used the Internet in the classroom setting only. Many teachers planned to use a class web page in their teaching. Thai teachers hardly used the Internet to analyze students needs while many use the Internet to plan their page 47

teaching. More than half of the participants stated that they use the Internet to serve the following teaching purposes: for classroom communication between teachers and students, for teaching online, for analyzing the students needs, and for evaluating and assessing the students performance. Recommendations for Further Studies 1. Research on the factors to organize online courses should be conducted. 2. Classroom research on how well the Internet aids in discrete language skills should be conducted. 3. Comparative studies on finding effective ways to use CMC should be conducted in future research. 4. Discourse analyses on the Internet should be done to investigate how language differs, and how that affects communicative competence. 5. Research to identify key problems that occur often should be conducted. 6. Training in computer skills is necessary. In tandem, there should be a study to investigate pedagogical principles of Internet use and how to best apply it. Acknowledgments The authors would like to sincerely thank Dr. Saiwaroon Chumpawan and Mr. Jacques Paulin for their valuable suggestions. References Colburn, M. (1998). Online strategic interaction: ESL role-playing via Internet relay chat. The Internet TESL Journal, 4(6). Retrived May 10, 2001, from http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~ites/j Griffee, T., D. (2002). Questionnaire Construction and Classroom Research. March 6, 2002, from http://langue.hyper.chubu.ac.jp/ jalt/pub/tlt/99/jan/griffee.html Frizler, K. (1995). Frizzy University Network (FUN) Home Page. Available : http://thecity.sfsu.edu/~funweb Frizler, K. (1995). The Internet as an educational tool in ESOL writing instruction. Unpublished master s thesis, San Francisco State page 48

University, California. Retrieved July 8, 1998, from http://www.thecity.sfsu.edu/~funweb/allthesis.htm. Harring, M. & Smaldino, S. (1998). Planning for interactive distance education: A handbook. Washington: Education Communications and Technology Press. Kumari, S. (1998). Teaching with the Internet. Journal of Information Technology for Teacher Education, 7(3), 363-377. Lee, E.-K. (1998). Using e-mail in EFL writhing classes. The Internet TESL Journal, 4(11). March 20, 2001, from http://www.aitech.ac.jp/ ~iteslj/techniques/lee-emailwriting.html. Liao, Chao-Chih. (1999). E-mailing to improve EFL learners reading and writing abilities: Taiwan experience. The Internet TESL Journal, 5 (3), pp. 7-23. March, 20, 2001, from http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/ Maurer, M. M. & Davidson, S. G. (1998), Leadership in instructional technology. NJ: Prentice Hall Inc. McCabe, M. (1998). Lesson from the Field: Computer conferencing in higher education. Journal of Information Technology for Teacher Education, 7(1), 71-84. Ministry of University Affairs. (1999). Ministry of University Affairs annual report, 1999. Nakorntan, A. (2000). The education reform on higher education level. The lecture in Academic Seminars of the Educational Reform, Education Fair 2000, March, 2000 at MuangThong Thani, Nontaburi. Nunam & Lamb. (1996). Self directed learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nunan, D. (1988). The learner-centred curriculum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Riegle, R. (1996). InfoSkills: Basic skills for survival in the Information Age. December 10, 2001, from http://www.coe.ilstu.edu/rpriegle/ eaf521/syllabus.htm Date 10/12/2001. Singhal, M. (1997). The Internet and foreign language education: benefits and challenges The Internet TESL Journal, 3(6) December 10, 2001, from http://www.aitech.ac.jp/-iteslj/. page 49

Sperling, D. (1997). The Internet guide for English language teachers. NJ: Prentice Hall. Srisa-an, W. (1998). English language teaching: A look into the future. Keynote Address to the 18 th Annual Thai TESOL International Conference 1998 Hat Yai, Thailand. THAI TESOL BULLETIN, 16(2), 1-7. Stromquist, P. N., & Monkman, K. (2000). Globalization and education: Integration and contestation across cultures. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. The National Educational Act (1999). Available: http://www.onec.go.th Warschauer, M. (1996a). Virtual connection. Online activities and projects for networking language learners. Honolulu, HI University of Hawaii Second Language teaching and Curriculum Center. University of Hawaii Press. Warschauer, M. (1996b). Comparing face-to-face and electronic discussion in the second language classroom. CALICO Journal, 13(2), 7-26. Warschauer, M. (1998). New media, new literacy: Challenges for the next century. Plenary address at the annual conference of the English Teachers Association of Israel, Jerusalem. Retrieved October 26, 1998, from http://www.boker.org.il/eng/etni/ etaitalk2.html. About the authors Sabaiporn Charupan is the Head of the English Department, Rajamangala Institute of Technology, Uthenthawai. She has taught English for vocational students for 20 years. She is a part-time lecturer at Bangkok University and Mahidol University. She is a freelance translator as well. Songsri Soranastaporn is currently an English teacher for first year university students and an instructor of computer assisted instruction for both intensive courses and graduate courses at Mahidol University. Nongpanga Suwattananand is presently an English teacher for first year university students at Mahidol University. She is also a freelance translator. page 50