以智慧型手機收聽播客學習英語之成效研究
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2012
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資訊科技的發展日新月異，科技融入英語教學更是近十年來教學研究與課堂應用的重點議題之一。隨著科技進步，教師及學生可使用的工具已從電子白板、電腦、網路一路發展到具有多元功能且可隨身攜帶的手機，本研究即是探討透過手機收聽網路「播客」(podcast)是否能增進學習者的英語聽力並協助其對字彙及文法的學習，此外，本研究也將探討學習者對於「以手機輔助語言學習」的看法在實驗前後是否有所不同。
本研究的受試者由48位國立台灣師範大學的大一學生組成，學生的英語程度皆為中高級，實驗一開始由實驗者將學生平均分配至電腦組(控制組)或手機組(實驗組)，在一個月的過程中，手機組利用具網路及影音播放功能之智慧型手機收聽播客，電腦組則是利用電腦收聽相同的節目。然而，實驗者透過平日觀察及事後調查發現，手機組有部分受試者同時使用手機和電腦收聽播客，故在最後分析資料時依據受試者實際使用電腦或手機的情形，將其分為三組：電腦組(25人)，完全使用電腦收聽播客者；手機組(9人)，使用手機收聽60%以上播客者；混和組(14人)，使用手機收聽50%以下播客者。在一個月的實驗期間內，受試者每天都會透過電子信件收到兩個播客節目，在收聽之後必須向實驗者回報收聽時間與地點。總計至實驗結束時，受試者從30集The English We Speak中學習30個字彙，15集English Bites中學習30個字彙或片語，以及15集Grammar Girl中學習15個文法觀念。
為探究學習成效，本研究使用成對樣本T檢定來測驗受試者在前、後測中的表現是否有顯著差異。此外，也使用單因子變異數分析來比較不同組別間受試者的表現，以觀察學習工具對學習成效的影響。在學生對於手機輔助語言學習的看法方面，本研究透過問卷的描述性統計來顯示學生的學習情況、對播客內容的回饋、以及對手機輔助語言學習的看法，並藉由成對樣本T檢定比較受試者在前、後測中給予的回應分數，探究其看法在實驗後是否有所改變。
本研究的結果摘要如下：
1. 通過一段時間的定期收聽，具教育性質的播客對於學習者在英語聽力、字彙、及文法方面的學習皆有所助益。
2. 以播客為學習素材時，在字彙及文法的學習方面，使用電腦或智慧型手機做為學習工具在學習成效上並沒有顯著差異，也就是說使用智慧型手機的學習成效並不亞於電腦。
3. 即使智慧型手機的使用已日漸普及，且以智慧型手機學習英語的成效在本研究中獲得支持，從受試者的回饋來看，在有其它學習工具可選擇的情況下，並非所有學習者都樂於利用智慧型手機學習英語。
4. 推廣以手機輔助語言學習時，從本研究受試者的學習行為及回饋中所觀察到的挑戰包含手機本身的限制(螢幕大小、輸入功能、網路連結費用)、學習環境的干擾(外在噪音、需分心注意所處情境、手機其它娛樂功能或應用程式的吸引)、以及學習者的心理障礙(認為手機是溝通及娛樂的工具而非學習的工具)。
The present study aimed to investigate if students can improve their listening ability, and knowledge about target vocabulary as well as grammar through listening to podcasts via smartphones, and if students’ perceptions about mobile assisted language learning change after the experiment. A group of 48 first-year students in National Taiwan Normal University consisted the final sample of the present study. Participants were assigned evenly to PC group (the control group) and SP group (the experimental group). During the one-month experiment period, students of the SP group used smartphones with Internet and MP3 capabilities to listen to the podcasts while the PC group made use of their computer. However, based on the their actual use of the tools, when analyzing data, participants were finally divided into PC group (N = 25), consisting of students using computers all the time, SP group (N = 9), composed of students using smartphones to complete more than 6o% of the listening tasks, and MIX group (N = 14), formed with students using smartphones to accomplish no more than 50% of the podcast listening. During the one-month period, students were required to listen to the podcast files and replied the place and the time they listened. Each day, students received an email containing two podcast segments, one from The English We Speak, which is about 2 to 3 minutes long, and the other from Grammar Girl or English Bites, both lasting for 5 to 7 minutes. In total, students learned 30 words or phrases from 30 episodes of The English We Speak, 30 words or phrases from 15 episodes of English Bites, and 15 grammar points from 15 episodes of Grammar Girl. To evaluate participants’ learning gains, Paired Sample T-test was performed to see if there is significant difference between pretest and posttest. Furthermore, One-way ANOVA was used to compare participants’ performances across groups to examine possible effects of learning tools. In addition, responses to the pre- and posttest questionnaires were collected to reveal students’ learning behaviors, their feedback on the materials, and their perceptions about MALL, with the analysis of Paired Sample T-test investigating if there is any change in students’ perceptions of MALL. The major findings of the present study are summarized as follows: 1. Educational podcasts were found to be beneficial for English learning in that regularly listening to podcasts for a period of time can improve learners’ listening comprehension, help learners acquire new vocabulary items, and assist learners in mastering confusing grammar points. 2. When utilizing podcasts as the input, no significant difference between computers and smartphones can be found in the effectiveness on vocabulary and grammar learning. 3. Though the ownership of mobile devices is gradually pervasive and the learning effectiveness of smartphones was partially supported, it does not mean that all learners feel comfortable when learning with smartphones, or will necessarily use smartphones to learn when other options exist. 4. Challenges found of promoting MALL in the present study include physical constraints of the device (screen size, input function, cost of the Internet connection), distracters in learning environment (noise, multi-tasks, other apps), and learners’ psychological barriers (viewing smartphones as a tool for communication and entertaining, not for learning).
The present study aimed to investigate if students can improve their listening ability, and knowledge about target vocabulary as well as grammar through listening to podcasts via smartphones, and if students’ perceptions about mobile assisted language learning change after the experiment. A group of 48 first-year students in National Taiwan Normal University consisted the final sample of the present study. Participants were assigned evenly to PC group (the control group) and SP group (the experimental group). During the one-month experiment period, students of the SP group used smartphones with Internet and MP3 capabilities to listen to the podcasts while the PC group made use of their computer. However, based on the their actual use of the tools, when analyzing data, participants were finally divided into PC group (N = 25), consisting of students using computers all the time, SP group (N = 9), composed of students using smartphones to complete more than 6o% of the listening tasks, and MIX group (N = 14), formed with students using smartphones to accomplish no more than 50% of the podcast listening. During the one-month period, students were required to listen to the podcast files and replied the place and the time they listened. Each day, students received an email containing two podcast segments, one from The English We Speak, which is about 2 to 3 minutes long, and the other from Grammar Girl or English Bites, both lasting for 5 to 7 minutes. In total, students learned 30 words or phrases from 30 episodes of The English We Speak, 30 words or phrases from 15 episodes of English Bites, and 15 grammar points from 15 episodes of Grammar Girl. To evaluate participants’ learning gains, Paired Sample T-test was performed to see if there is significant difference between pretest and posttest. Furthermore, One-way ANOVA was used to compare participants’ performances across groups to examine possible effects of learning tools. In addition, responses to the pre- and posttest questionnaires were collected to reveal students’ learning behaviors, their feedback on the materials, and their perceptions about MALL, with the analysis of Paired Sample T-test investigating if there is any change in students’ perceptions of MALL. The major findings of the present study are summarized as follows: 1. Educational podcasts were found to be beneficial for English learning in that regularly listening to podcasts for a period of time can improve learners’ listening comprehension, help learners acquire new vocabulary items, and assist learners in mastering confusing grammar points. 2. When utilizing podcasts as the input, no significant difference between computers and smartphones can be found in the effectiveness on vocabulary and grammar learning. 3. Though the ownership of mobile devices is gradually pervasive and the learning effectiveness of smartphones was partially supported, it does not mean that all learners feel comfortable when learning with smartphones, or will necessarily use smartphones to learn when other options exist. 4. Challenges found of promoting MALL in the present study include physical constraints of the device (screen size, input function, cost of the Internet connection), distracters in learning environment (noise, multi-tasks, other apps), and learners’ psychological barriers (viewing smartphones as a tool for communication and entertaining, not for learning).
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Keywords
行動學習, 字彙學習, 播客, 行動裝置輔助語言學習, 電腦輔助語言學習, 第二外語學習, mobile learning, vocabulary learning, podcasts, mobile assisted language learning (MALL), computer assisted language learning (CALL), second language learning