English Learning in the Digital Age: Agency, Technology and Context

217 Pages·2018·4.21 MB·English

by  Shuang Zeng

Shuang Zeng
English
Learning in the
Digital Age
Agency, Technology and Context
English Learning in the Digital Age
Shuang Zeng
English Learning
in the Digital Age
Agency, Technology and Context
123
ShuangZeng
University of Shanghai forScience
andTechnology
Shanghai, China
ISBN978-981-13-2498-7 ISBN978-981-13-2499-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2499-4
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Acknowledgements
This book is the result of a long journey through my doctoral studies at UCL
Institute of Education. I am indebted to too many scholars and friends who have
offeredmetremendoushelpandsupportalongtheway.Iamparticularlygratefulto
Prof. Norbert Pachler and Prof. Neil Selwyn, for their guidance and inspirations
throughoutthisjourney.IamindebtedtoProf.YanZhongzhi,Prof.MartinOliver,
Prof.RegineHampel,Dr.JohnPotter,Dr.StevenCowan,Prof.LiuQin,Dr.Zhang
JingjingandDr.WangLiangfortheirdetailedfeedback,adviceandcriticismonthe
manuscript of this book. In addition, I would like to thank Dr. Wang Danlu,
Dr.HuangRuoyun,Dr.AnastasiaGousetiandDr.LiuLisha,fortheconversations
that enlightened my understanding of educational research and presentations.
Particular gratitude is due to those who took part in this research project and
those who helped me access this large number of informants. Finally, I thank my
husbandDr.WangPoforhisloveandsupport.Idedicatethisbooktomyparents,
Gao Guifang and Zeng Xiangwu, and to those who have inspired the first gener-
ation of the so-called digital natives.
v
Contents
1 Towards ‘Learner Experience Research’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Defining the Scope of This Book Within the Field of CALL . . . . 1
1.2 The Rationale for ‘Learner Experience Research’
with Chinese Undergraduates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.1 Experience as an English Learner in China . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.2 Experience as a CALL Practitioner in China . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2.3 Towards Researching Learner Experiences
in the Chinese University EFL Context. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 Chinese Universities as the Context for WELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3.1 Conditions for Technology Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3.2 Learning English in the Chinese University Setting . . . . . . 8
1.4 Research Questions, Theoretical Perspective and Methodology . . . . 12
1.5 Structure of the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2 Towards an Investigation of Language Learners’ (Non)Use
of Online Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.1 The Emergence of Web 2.0 Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.2 Web 2.0 and the Change of Language Learning Practices. . . . . . . 23
2.2.1 The Promises of Web 2.0 for Out-of-Class Language
Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.2.2 ‘Digital Natives’ as Second-Language Learners. . . . . . . . . 31
2.3 Challenges to Changing Language Learning Practices
in the Digital Age. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.3.1 On Arguments Against Web 2.0 Promises
for Out-of-Class Language Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.3.2 On Arguments Against the ‘Digital Native’ Rhetoric . . . . . 34
2.4 Peering into the (Non)Use of Technology in Out-of-Class
Language Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
vii
viii Contents
2.5 Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3 A Sociocultural Framework for the Study of WELL Use. . . . . . . . . 45
3.1 Step 1: Towards a Sociocultural Understanding of Technology
(Non)Use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.1.1 Recognizing the Weakness of Existing Accounts. . . . . . . . 45
3.1.2 Sociocultural Theory: An Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.1.3 The ‘Mobile Complex’: Context, Agency
and Technology Appropriation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.2 Step 2: Understanding Second-Language Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . 50
3.2.1 Input. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
3.2.2 Interaction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.2.3 Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.2.4 Situational Factors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.2.5 Individual Differences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.2.6 Towards a Sociocultural View of Language
Learning-Related Use of Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
3.3 Step 3: Developing the Analytical Framework for This Inquiry . . . . 60
3.3.1 Learner Agency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.3.2 English Learning-Related Use of Technology . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.3.3 Context. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3.3.4 Interpreting the Analytical Framework of the Study. . . . . . 66
3.4 Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
4 Questioning WELL Use in the Chinese University Context:
Research Questions and Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
4.1 Research Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
4.2 Questionnaires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
4.2.1 Choosing and Developing Questionnaires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
4.2.2 Introduction to the Survey Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
4.2.3 Quantitative Data Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.3 Semi-structured Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.3.1 Preparing the Interview Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.3.2 Introduction to the Interview Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
4.3.3 Qualitative Data Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
4.4 Introduction to the Research Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
4.5 Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Contents ix
5 The Trends of English Learning-Related Use of Technology:
The Role of Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
5.1 The View from the Quantitative Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
5.1.1 The Adoption of WELL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
5.1.2 Locations of Self-accessed WELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
5.1.3 Choice of WELL Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
5.1.4 The Purpose of Using WELL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
5.1.5 The Perceived Learning Outcome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
5.1.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
5.2 The View from the Qualitative Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
5.2.1 English Learners as Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
5.2.2 Strategies for Coping with Academic Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . 100
5.2.3 Pragmatic Use for the Fulfilment of Learning Tasks . . . . . 103
5.2.4 Procedural Use for Academic Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
5.3 Summary: Are Internet Tools Used by Most of the Participants
for English Learning-Related Purposes Outside the Classroom?
If So, How Are Internet Tools Mainly Used?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
5.4 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
5.5 Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
6 ‘Breaking Away’ with Digital Technology: The Role of Agency. . . . 117
6.1 Breaking Away from the EFL Context. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
6.1.1 Creating an Input-Intensive Context with Digital
Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
6.1.2 Widening Opportunities for Natural Language
Production. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
6.2 Breaking Away from Traditional Learning Patterns
and Institutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
6.2.1 Constructing Opportunities for English Language
Production. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
6.2.2 Seeking Collective Intelligence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
6.2.3 Contributing to Online Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
6.2.4 Seeking English-Learning Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
6.3 Summary: Does the Use of Technology Facilitate a Different
Approach to Learning English as a Foreign Language?. . . . . . . . . 133
6.4 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
6.5 Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
7 Resistance to Moving to Web 2.0: The Role of Context . . . . . . . . . . 139
7.1 Access and Technical Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
7.2 Skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
7.3 Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
x Contents
7.4 Intentions Towards WELL Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
7.4.1 English Learning Motives and Beliefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
7.4.2 Contextual Discourses About Learning English . . . . . . . . . 149
7.4.3 Existing Learning Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
7.4.4 The Cultural Artefact of Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
7.4.5 Deficiency as a Language Learning Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
7.5 Summary: How Does Such a Use or Lack of Use Relate
to the Wider Context of Language Learning?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
7.6 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
7.7 Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
8 Understanding Language Learners’ (Non)Use of Digital
Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
8.1 English Learning-Related (Non)Use of Technology, Agency
and the Wider Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
8.1.1 Summary of the Findings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
8.1.2 Contribution of the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
8.2 Implications for Future Practice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
8.3 Acknowledging the Limitations of the Present Study . . . . . . . . . . 179
8.4 Implications for Future Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
8.5 Concluding Remarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Appendix A: A List of Abbreviations and Glossaries... .... ..... .... 185
Appendix B: A Typology of Web 2.0 Tools .. .... .... .... ..... .... 187
Appendix C: A Map of China ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 193
Appendix D: Information Sheet.... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 195
Appendix E: The Questionnaire of Online Technology Use
for Learning English (English version)... .... ..... .... 197
Appendix F: Example of Semi-structured Interview Guide.. ..... .... 203
Appendix G: Background Information of Interview Participants.. .... 205
Appendix H: Screenshots of SPSS Data Sheet .... .... .... ..... .... 209
Bibliography .. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 211
List of Figures
Fig. 1.1 Website content by language (from Wikipedia 2013)... ..... .. 8
Fig. 1.2 Years of English study before attending university. .... ..... .. 9
Fig. 3.1 A developmental model of effective e-learning. From
Sharpe and Beetham 2010, p. 90 .. .... .... .... .... ..... .. 46
Fig. 3.2 Key components of a sociocultural ecological approach to
mobile learning. Adapted from Pachler et al. 2010a, p. 25.... .. 50
Fig. 3.3 A framework for examining the components of SLA. From
Ellis 1985, p. 276. .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .. 52
Fig. 3.4 A sociocultural view of language learning-related use
of technology. Adapted from Pachler et al. 2010a . .... ..... .. 60
Fig. 3.5 Analytical framework for this study. Adapted from
Gao 2010; Pachler et al. 2010a.... .... .... .... .... ..... .. 61
Fig. 4.1 Model for mixed methods design procedures (adapted
from Ivankova et al. 2006)... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .. 75
Fig. 5.1 Weekly hours spent on English learning-related use
of online technology. Note data are percentage
of all respondents (n = 1455). .... .... .... .... .... ..... .. 87
Fig. 5.2 Weekly hours spent on the use of the Internet. Note data
are percentage of all respondents (n = 1481) . .... .... ..... .. 87
Fig. 5.3 Weekly hours spent on learning English. Note data
are percentage of all respondents (n = 1454) . .... .... ..... .. 88
Fig. 5.4 Locations of WELL use and general web use. Note data
are percentage of all respondents; columns in red represent
locations of WELL use (n = 1376), and those in blue
represent locations of general web use (n = 1485) . .... ..... .. 88
Fig. 5.5 Comparison of students’ use of online applications for English
learning and general Internet use. Note data are percentage
of all respondents; bars in red represent online applications
used for WELL (n = 1376), and those in blue for general
Internet use (n = 1485). ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .. 89
xi