Purpose of the Research

This study looks at how advanced English language learners perceive and incorporate technology into their second language learning views and experiences in a self-directed manner. “English language learners” will generally be defined here as adult learners of English as a second language who engage in the ongoing learning of English at a high level of proficiency (for example, as graduate students). A “self directed manner” will refer to learning that either extends what has been taught in a formal classroom setting or to learning that takes place outside the classroom in a manner of the student's own choosing. “Technology” will refer to the use of computers to assist learners in their pursuit of second language learning, and as such can include the use of specific software packages such as Microsoft Word, the use of the Internet for e-mail, and the use of the Web.

Research Question

How do advanced English language learners make sense of technology in their second language learning in ways not restricted to classroom learning? “Making sense” as used here will refer to both their perceptions of technology and their uses of technology. “Perceptions” as used here will refer to how people view the computer as a medium for language learning through their awareness of its value in such a role. “Perception” may therefore be distinguished from “belief”, the latter taken here to mean a deeply held value about the intrinsic worth of the computer.

Need for the Study

A number of empirical studies done in CALL study how computers are used within particular classroom settings (Kamhi-Stein, 2001; Laufer & Hill, 2000; Meskill & Krassimira, 2000; Grace, 1998; Chun & Plass, 1996; Sullivan & Pratt, 1996; Warschauer, 1996; Warschauer, 1998; Kern, 1995; Hulstijn, 1993; Dunkel, 1991). A growing body of research also looks at how CALL is informed by theories of second language acquisition (SLA) (Hegelheimer & Chapelle, 2000; Hulstijn, 2000; Chapelle, 1998, Doughty, 1987). Historical accounts of how technology has been used in second language learning and teaching offer further insights into the role that computers have played in the language learning classroom (Salaberry, 2001, Chaudron, 2001).

Salaberry (2001) argues that the most important factor for researchers to study is the pedagogy, not the technology itself:

What CALL research sometimes does not consider is that other variables besides the introduction of computers into the classroom setting might account for differences in learning. Egbert, Chao, and Hanson-Smith state this well when they say that putting computers into classrooms can potentially change a number of factors that influence students' learning:

There remains a need in the field of CALL to look beyond studies that examine measures confined to particular classroom settings. Studying learning environments outside the classroom may offer us additional insights into how computers are used by language students not under the direct control of a teacher.

The phenomenon of language learner autonomy will serve to illuminate the perceptions of technology in this study. The use of the term “autonomy” as used here is based on the definition offered by Holec as “the ability to take charge of one's own learning” (Holec, 1981, p.3). “Self-direction” will refer here to the situational context of the participants in the study (learning English outside of a classroom) and “autonomy” will refer to their ability to take responsibility for their own learning (are they learning how to learn?). A “self-directed language learner” is therefore not synonymous with an “autonomous language learner”. Language learner autonomy as used in this study relies on elements of both language learner behaviors and language learner contexts. Figure 1 represents an overview of how these various elements are connected (Oh, 2002).

While CALL sometimes looks too narrowly at how computers are used in classrooms, learner autonomy, in contrast, has looked very broadly on how autonomous language learning can be viewed as a theoretical construct. In terms of studying technology questions within the scope of learner autonomy, Benson states that much remains to be learned:

Some recent work has begun on tying student perceptions and learner autonomy together. Although not all of these studies use technology as a platform from which to discuss issues of autonomy, they do offer intriguing insights into how technology and learner autonomy may be studied in conjunction. Toyoda (2001) found that, “…learners' perceptions vary largely according to the level of their computer literacy although the students' beliefs may be modified through positive or negative relationships with other students” (Toyoda, 2001, p. 9). Although Toyoda invokes the term “perceptions” in this study, it is not clearly differentiated from “beliefs”. Chan (2001) studied readiness for learner autonomy from perceptions of both the teacher' s role and the student' s role and learners' perceptions of autonomous learning, but does not clearly distinguish between “perceptions” and “attitudes”. Although Chan did not focus specifically on technology and learner autonomy, this study did find that a positive attitude could be found towards learner autonomy in student attitudes: “It was surprising to find that this particular group of students who had come from traditional, authoritative backgrounds, demonstrated positive attitudes towards the autonomous approach” (Chan, 2001, p. 514). Hoshi (2002) also offers some interesting insights into both “beliefs” and “perceptions” of Japanese EFL learners towards Internet learning, although the two terms are not defined independently. Hoshi found that learners used two different approaches when using the Internet: content-focus and language-focus, with the former using the Internet primarily to access information and the latter using the Internet primarily to improve their English language skills. Stepp-Greany (2002) looks at student perceptions on language learning in TELL (technology-enhanced language learning). Although she also does not explicitly define “perceptions”, her study contributes to the literature by offering student views on the continued importance of the teacher in this environment. Jones (2001) cautions against the idea that CALL and autonomy can be viewed synonymously and also argues for the necessary presence of the teacher.

This research study differs from other studies in that it ties perceptions, technology, and language learner autonomy together in one study. It considers how individual learners, not students in a classroom, view and use computers in ways that either extend or operate independently of the learning that occurs within a classroom. It flows from Benson' s perspective that it is the type of learning that ought to be studied, not the mechanics of how the technology is used. I will therefore situate this study in the context of CALL, but will examine the findings in light of learner autonomy perspectives. This study will not look at the promotion of language learner autonomy, but instead will look at its possible manifestation through the lens of advanced language learners' uses and perceptions of technology.

Research Design

The research design used for this study is that of the grounded theory tradition of qualitative research (Creswell, 1998). This type of research looks to the uniqueness of individuals in explaining how people make sense of the world.

Participants

The nine participants in this study came from a purposive sample of graduate students from a university in the Northeast of the United States who were studying or had studied foreign or second language education. Two were men, and seven were women. One was African, and eight were Asian. They ranged in age from their late twenties to their early forties. All nine participants in this study have their identity protected through the use of pseudonyms. Figure 2 contains summary descriptive information concerning the individual participants: their pseudonyms, their ethnic origin, their level of education in English, and their level of computer use. An “advanced level of computer use” is defined here as five or more years of computer use either within or outside a formal classroom. All of the participants in the study were non-native speakers of English who are engaged in a self-directed ongoing learning of English as a second language learner. None of the participants was taking a formal class in English as a second language at the time of the interviews. Instead, they were all engaged in the learning and use of English at a very high academic level at an American university, where the course of the programs were conducted entirely in English. Six of the participants were working on master' s degrees. Four of the master' s degrees were in a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) program, one was in a Media Studies program, and one was an MBA program. The participant who was working on a master' s degree in business had a bachelor' s degree in Spanish. The other three participants were all doctoral students in a Foreign and Second Language Education program. This presupposes that their proficiency level in English was quite high, since they met admission requirements for these programs for international students. The admission requirements included a stated proficiency level in speaking, listening, reading and writing as measured through the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) test and the SPEAK (Speaking Proficiency Assessment Kit) test.

Data Collection

Each of the nine participants was interviewed for approximately one forty-five minute session during the Spring 2002 semester. The sessions were audiotaped. The sessions consisted of a series of open-ended questions designed to probe their perceptions of technology in autonomous second language learning contexts. Figure 3 presents the questions that served as a basis for the interviews.

Data Analysis

The transcriptions of the audiotapes and the field notes from the observations were analyzed for emerging categories according to the constant comparative method of data analysis as outlined by Creswell (1998) and as articulated by Strauss and Corbin (1998). Open coding categories were identified, connected, and examined in terms of how they interrelated with each other. Figure 4 presents an overview of the positive and negative perceptions that arose from the data. The grounded theory that emerged can be described in the following way: Perceptions of computer use for engaging in self directed language learning arise from the conditions in which the learning takes place, from how learners consciously approach the need to learn, and from the conscious strategies that learners use to accomplish learning. The individual choices that learners make about how to engage in language learning are informed by their perceptions of the value of computer use in language learning. Perceptions are therefore an important component to be considered when looking at how and why advanced language learners use technology to further their own learning.

Positive Perceptions

Convenience

Olivia gives voice to the perception that the computer makes authentic reading opportunities more convenient because it can be done at any time:

Comfort

Ellen explains how she finds comfort in writing email to other non-native speakers of English:

Safety

Ellen uses the computer classroom management system Blackboard as a safe place in which to practice English language expressions she hears from native speakers:

Negative Perceptions

Inauthenticy/Lack of Interaction

Anna expresses a marked preference for speaking with native speakers over using computers:

Computer as Supplement not Replacement

Brian feels that the computer cannot replace human interaction:

Isolation

Kay says that she is “addicted” to playing games like chess and once stayed on for 12 hours, tying up the phone line so her husband could not call her:

Learning Conditions

Learning conditions that appear to be connected to participants' perceptions of technology include the learning context, motivation, opportunity, and resources used. In terms of learning context, Hannah wants to speak with native speakers here because she can use computers back in Korea, Christopher meets with an undergraduate tutor once a week, Kay goes to the “chat room” to have conversations with tutors, and Beth takes her papers to be reviewed by a native speaking graduate student. In terms of motivation, Christopher is learning English in order to get a better business position in Korea, Beth thinks that it will help her get a college teaching job, and Jane believes that publishing academic research at home in Korea will give her prestige, but Anna wants to fit in with the American students in her graduate classes. In terms of opportunity, Hannah use email as a conduit to arrange recreational meetings with her classmates so she uses it as a social opportunity to learn informal spoken English, Christopher uses it to keep up with daily current events in order to improve his reading skills, and Brian uses word processing as an opportunity to not only learn how to type but also to learn the language of computer commands in English. In terms of resources used, Jane uses email as the main vehicle for communicating with a co-instructor about the progress of their students' teaching development, Christopher uses the corrective feedback features in Word extensively to self-correct his own writing, and Olivia uses web sites to extend her vocabulary.

Perceptions and Learning Strategies

What perceptions the participants have of technology in language learning seem to be related to the use of their learning strategies. Many participants used computers for English language learner purposes habitually (Christopher perceives that computers are good for improving reading skill and he reads the news in English every day, Ellen thinks that computers can help her with her spoken English and she visits a favorite web site every day to learn and then practice new phrases that appear in posted dialogues, and Olivia perceives of the computer as a very useful way for learning new vocabulary and she reads the Korean news in English every day to learn specialized English vocabulary). Some participants used learning strategies to make themselves feel comfortable (Hannah uses instant chat to force herself to think quickly in English so that she can feel more comfortable speaking, Christopher uses word processing feedback to feel more comfortable about writing, Ellen uses web searching to find information about many topics so that she can be comfortable discussing them in class). Other participants used learning strategies to improve their accuracy and fluency (Olivia reads newspaper articles found through the computer out loud with her husband to practice speaking more naturally and in a more flowing way, Anna practices her English by sending email in English to her husband but doesn't want him to correct it, and Kay deliberately does not look up every word that doesn't know in an online dictionary because her purpose in reading is to “get the flow of the story”).

As for the participants who said, “I am a computer user”, some meant that they use the specialized pedagogical software, while others meant that they used both specialized software and authentic tools such as word processing and electronic bulletin boards for learning English. Anna, for example, considers herself to be a computer user not only because she did use specialized language software in Korea, but also because she is quite a savvy web surfer in locating such sites. Ellen also thinks of herself both as a computer user in general and as a user of computers for learning English. She says that she can find a lot of pedagogical information through web sites. She then consciously uses this technique to improve her English by applying it to learning new phrases in English that she can then use in online classroom discussions.

This is not to say, however, that people who said, “I am not a computer user” for learning English meant that they did not use computers at all for any other purpose. Every single participant used computers one way or another, generally for sending and receiving email, composing and correcting papers in word processing programs, and searching web sites for information. Whether they also thought of these activities as being ways of learning English depended on whether or not they consciously approached them as such. Beth, for example, does not consciously separate the use of the computer as a means for learning English from the use of the computer to get her papers done or stay in touch with her friends:

As a mode of learning, self-instruction describes the situation in which learners study languages on their own, primarily with the aid of ‘teach-yourself’ materials. Although the self-instructional materials industry is a significant sector within the foreign language-teaching industry as a whole, little research on the effectiveness of self-instruction has been carried out. (Benson, pp. 131-132).

Nor is autonomy seen as being a steady state: as many have pointed out, an autonomous learner may well choose teacher-direction at certain stages in his or her learning, and is likely to be autonomous in one situation, but not in another. (Pemberton, Li, Or & Pierson, 1996, pp. 3-4)

There are degrees of autonomy, and the extent to which it is feasible or desirable for learners to embrace autonomy will depend on a range of factors to do with the personality of the learner, their goals in undertaking the study of another language, the philosophy of the institution (if any) providing the instruction, and the cultural context within which the learning takes place. (Nunan, 1996, p. 13)

The claim that technology-based approaches to language learning are supportive of autonomy rests in part on an assumption, shared with resource-based approaches, that they provide learners with opportunities to self-direct their own learning. (Benson, 200, p. 140)