VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ----- ----- BÙI THỊ THU GIANG EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ONLINE LEARNING PROGRAM AS PART OF THE ENGLISH COURSE TO SECOND-YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY (Đánh giá hiệu quả của chương trình tiếng Anh trực tuyến như một phần của chương trình tiếng Anh đối với sinh viên không chuyên năm thứ hai trường Đại học Công nghiệp Hà Nội) M. Minor Programme Thesis THESIS SUMMARY Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Khoa Anh Việt, M. HA NOI – 2012 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration. iii Table of contents.
iv List of abbreviations. vi List of figures, tables and charts. vii PART A: INTRODUCTION. Aims and objectives of the study.
Scope of the study. Methods of the study. Design of the study. 5 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW.
Definitions of online learning. Reasons for online learning. Challenges in online learning. Evaluation of online learning program.
The importance of evaluation. Types of evaluation. Evaluation of online learning program and the conceptual framework. Online learning at Hanoi University of Industry.
The setting of the research. Overview of the syllabus with the adoption of Online Learning Program. 15 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Data collection instruments.
Pre-test, post-test and students‟ online learning reports. Data analysis procedures. 19 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION. Pre-test, post-test and online learning reports.
Students‟ and teachers‟ opinions and attitudes toward the OLP. The effectiveness of the OLP on students‟ English learning. Some suggestions to maximize the effectiveness of the OLP. Summary of the study.
Limitations and suggestions for further study. XIII 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS HaUI: Hanoi University of Industry FTTT: Faculty of Teacher Training and Tourism FME: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering OLP: Online Learning Program ID: Instructional Development WBT: Web Based Training ICT: Information Communication Technology QTDLKS1: Vietnamese abbreviation for Hotel and Tourism Administration Class 1 CĐT2: Vietnamese abbreviation for Electromechanical Engineering Class 2 CK1: Vietnamese abbreviation for Mechanical Engineering Class 1 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS Figure 1: Evaluation as central to practice, from Gustafson & Branch (2002) Figure 2: Conceptual framework applied to the analysis of PBJ tutorial evaluation Table 1: Students‟ opinions on the three aspects of the OLP Chart 1: The importance of learning English Chart 2: The importance of Online Learning Program Chart 3: The benefits of the OLP to students Chart 4: The results of pre-test of CĐT2 Chart 5: The results of pre-test of CK1 Chart 6: The results of pre-test of QTDLKS1 Chart 7: The results of post-test of CĐT2 Chart 8: The results of post-test of CK1 Chart 9: The results of post-test of QTDLKS1 Chart 10: The results of pre-test and post-test of CĐT2 Chart 11: The results of pre-test and post-test of CK1 Chart 12: The results of pre-test and post-test of QTDLKS1 Chart 13: The results of pre-test and post-test 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale As the era of information technology has come with significant contribution to education, especially to teaching and learning foreign languages, computers have become one of the most dominant devices in the development and delivery of audio-visual products, multimedia presentations, visual materials and end-user software. Opportunities such as Internet access, distance learning capabilities, and applications software are tools of the new millennium and they are often used to make the educational environment more relevant, rich and rewarding (Ennis-Cole & Lawhon, 2004).
Belz (2003) also affirms that Internet communication tools are used to promote the development of not only foreign language linguistic competence but also intercultural competence. Riley (2000, as cited in Yilmaz & Orhan, 2010) emphasizes that teaching and learning that use technology effectively can lead to a greater academic achievement and make a real difference in the lives of students. Richards (2006) stresses on the increasing support for learning in the future with the use of information and communication technologies – especially the online educational possibilities of the Internet resources and communications. Online learning, as an incredible application of information technology, has therefore received rave reviews from a large number of educators all over the world.
As the result, the number of online educators with many online learning websites is increasing day by day and online learning plays an increasingly important role in teaching and learning the most popular language in the world – English. At Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI), English is taught for a wide range of students of more than 10 faculties and departments. This fact results in the demand of innovation in teaching and learning style of which online learning is a choice. However, because this is a very new way to be applied, the challenges as well as shortcomings are unavoidable.
On carrying out the study, the researcher hopes that it can be a big help in deciding whether or not or in what way to teach and learn English more effectively with the adaptation of online learning. 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Another important reason for the study is the decreasing excitement in students‟ learning. When online learning program was introduced into the course, most students seemed interested and hard working with the subject. They generally finished the lessons assigned on time in the very first weeks.
However, about some weeks later, they seemed to neglect their study both online and in class. Many of students submitted the lessons late and blamed mainly for the technical mistakes. Their study in class became a bit less exciting than that of the first weeks. Each time students were asked about online lessons, many of them did not remember anything about the content and how they finished the lessons.
Basing on these problems, the researcher decided to carry out a study on the effectiveness of Online Learning Program (OLP) to students who took part in it. Aims and objectives of the study The study is designed to bring a new look to the OLP as integrated to the main English courses at Hanoi University of Industry. In other words, this program is part of the blended learning course in training English for non-major students. The study, therefore, aims at evaluating the effectiveness of the OLP to second-year non-major students.
In particular, it firstly aims at investigating students‟ and teachers‟ attitudes towards the OLP. Secondly, it is intended to explore how effective the OLP as part of the course is on students‟ learning through figuring out the benefits and the learning results they had during and after its implementation. Providing some suggestions by students and teachers to maximize the educational outcomes of this program is the final purpose of this study. In order to achieve these aims, the study seeks to answer the following research questions: (1) What are students and teachers’ opinions and attitudes towards Online Learning Program? (2) How effective is Online Learning Program to students’ English learning? (3) What are students’ and teachers’ suggestions to maximize the effectiveness of Online Learning Program? 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
Scope of the study The study is about the evaluation of the effectiveness of the OLP as part of the English course to second-year non-English major students. In other words, this program is part of the blended learning English course for students of Intake 5 at HaUI, except for students of Faculty of Foreign Languages. The evaluation of the effectiveness of this program focuses on evaluation of the users‟ reaction and learning as the result of the program. This concerns the suitability of the instructional design, the friendliness to the users (students) and how supportive administrators and the teachers are to students‟ learning, basing on students and teachers‟ evaluation in survey questionnaires and structured interviews.
In order to decide the effects of the program on students‟ learning achievement, data from their online learning reports, pre-test and post-test are collected for analysis. The suggestions for improving the effectiveness of the program by the teachers and students are also addressed in the study. Methods of the study The study employed both qualitative and quantitative research method. The data were collected using survey questionnaires for students, structured interviews for teachers, students‟ online learning reports accompanied with pre-test and post- test.
In this study, survey questionnaires were used to collect the data that show the students' opinions and attitudes towards the OLP they have just finished. Structured interviews were employed to teachers to get information on their opinions and attitudes to the OLP in general as well as its effectiveness to their students. Lastly, students‟ online learning reports and results from pre-test and post-test were collected to evaluate their learning progress after the introduction of the OLP. Design of the study The study consists of 3 parts: - Part A: Introduction: This part consists of rationale, aims, scope, method, and design of the study.
- Part B: Development: 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com This part is the main content including 3 chapters: + Chapter 1: is the literature review which deals with the concepts of online learning, evaluation of online learning program, and online learning at Hanoi University of Industry + Chapter 2: is about the methodology of the study + Chapter 3: is about the data analysis, discussion and major findings Part C: Conclusion: This part presents the summary of the study, limitations and the suggestions for further study 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1. Definitions of online learning Online learning, also known as e-learning, is a learning experience delivered via a computer and the Internet. Course work is conducted through electronic forums, discussion groups, external resources, quizzes, social rooms, and online submitted assignments. Learning activities also include pair work, small group work and project work and throughout the course learners have the guidance of online tutors.
According to Shank and Sitze (2004) online learning involves the use of network technologies (such as the Internet and business networks) for delivering, supporting, and assessing formal and informal instruction. The Internet and other new media technologies such as MP3s, PDAs and iPods are common tools to deliver the learning content. Putzhuber (2003) mentions the terms „online learning‟ which is closely connected to e-learning. He defines it as “the delivery of learning and training using electronic media, computers, internet and intranet.” Another term which also shares the identical meaning with online learning is WBT (Web Based Training).
As to him, e-learning can be used as the main method of delivery of training or as a combined approach with classroom-based training. This facility has been profoundly important and therefore used by a large number of institutions and organizations all over the world in a wide range of fields. According to Wang and Ip (2010), recent pervasive social, technological and economic changes have significantly influenced educational contexts, and thus require radical rethinking the delivery of higher education (Rigmor, et al. 2000), and e-learning has currently been particularly attractive for educational purposes in recent years because of its worldwide accessibility, capabilities, and interactive function (Li & Hart, 1996; Lin, 2006).
The Sloan Consortium is a leading researcher of online learning. In a survey of more than 2,500 US universities and colleges (2007), they find that over 3.9 million students were taking at least one 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com online course during the fall 2007 term - a 12 percent increase over the number reported the previous year.