The Effectiveness of Supplemental Online vs. Traditional Tutorials on Students’ English Proficiency and Learning Achievement

Ponlak Pantahachart

Faculty of Applied ArtsKing Mongkut’s University of

Technology North Bangkok, Thailand

Outline

1. Background2. Objectives3. Hypotheses4. Scope5. Significance of the study6. Literature reviews

Outline

7. Methodology8. Supplemental online and traditional tutorials9. Results10.Conclusion and discussion11. Suggestions

Background of the Study English 1 course Students’ English proficiency Lack of electronic instructional media Lack of motivation in learning English

Research Questions

1. Do supplemental online and traditional tutorials cause differences in learners’ English language proficiency?

2. Do supplemental online and traditional tutorials cause differences in learners’ learning achievement in English 1 course?

3. What are the learners’ attitudes towards the supplemental online and traditional tutorials?

Objectives The effects of supplemental online and

traditional tutorials towards the students’ English language proficiency

The effects of supplemental online and traditional tutorials towards the students’ learning achievement in English 1 course

The students’ attitudes towards supplemental online and traditional tutorials

1. Average English proficiency test scores

2. Average learning achievement scores

Hypotheses

XXH ltraditionaonline 111 :

XXH ltraditionaonline 222 :

Scope of the Study Population

controlled and experimental groupsEnglish 1 courseNew Inside Out (Pre-Intermediate)

Scope of the Study

Data AnalysisEnglish proficiency test (pre/post)Midterm and final examsStudent attitudes

Definitions of Terms Supplemental online tutorial

http://insideouttutorial.net Supplemental traditional tutorial

New Inside Out exercises English language proficiency Learning achievement

Significance of the Study Learners’ option for self-access learning A way of teaching or evaluation Positive attitudes Motivation To understand the class contents

Literature Reviews English language proficiency Learning achievement Online and traditional methods

Related Studies The effectiveness of a supplemental online

tutorial vs. tradition instruction Zubas, P., Heiss, C. & Pedersen, M. (2006)

Internet-based learning Cook, D. A. et. al. (2008)

The effects of online instruction on students’ achievement Al-Jarf, R.S.(2005)

Computer vs. workbook instruction Nagata, N. (1996)

Methodology Subjects Research Tools Data Collection

Subjects First-year undergraduate students Course: English 1 (academic year 1/2009) Groups: controlled and experimental

Research Tools Pretest and posttest (proficiency test) Midterm and final exams Supplemental online tutorial Supplemental traditional tutorial Questionnaires Interview

Research Tools Pretest and posttest (proficiency test)

Sukamolson, S. (2000)

Midterm and final examsContent from New Inside Out (Pre-

Intermediate)

Supplemental Online Tutorial

Go to http://insideouttutorial.net

log in (with given username & password)

Do the exercises

Get immediate feedback

Check their scores

Supplemental Traditional Tutorial

Students received the tutorial.

They handed it in the following week.

They received the answer key.

Possible questions and answers

Research Tools Questionnaires

Attitudes towards doing tutorials in English 1 course

Attitudes towards supplemental online/traditional tutorials

Attitudes towards the formats and styles of the tutorials

Interview

Data Collection Simple random sampling The students took the proficiency test (pretest). Divided them into controlled and experimental

groups Same teaching methods and lesson plans Controlled group (supplemental traditional

tutorial) Experimental group (supplemental online

tutorial)

Data Collection (continued) Posttest Questionnaires Interview Data analysis

Test of normality Independent t-testMean and S.D.

Results English language proficiency Learning achievement Attitudes towards supplemental

online/traditional tutorials

English Language Proficiency

Learning Achievement Midterm exam

Learning Achievement Final exam

Attitudes (Supplemental Online Tutorial)

1 - 14 15 - 36 37 - 50

Usefulness of tutorial Satisfaction with the supplemental

online tutorial Formats and styles

Attitudes (Supplemental Online Tutorial)

Attitudes (Supplemental Traditional Tutorial)

1 - 14 15 - 37 38 - 50

Usefulness of tutorial Satisfaction with the supplemental

traditional tutorial Formats and styles

Attitudes (Supplemental Traditional Tutorial)

Conclusion & Discussion English language proficiency Learning achievement

English Language Proficiency

• No statistically significant difference• Content of the tutorials• Effects on students’ language proficiency

Learning Achievement

Midterm Final

• Statistically significant difference• Content familiarity (Al-Shumaimeri, Y. A. N.,2006)• Format and styles of the tutorials

Suggestions Add one more experimental group exposed

to both supplemental online and traditional tutorials

Add one more group without tutorials

Limitations Facilities Self-access learning skills Motivation