N97C0004 Betty Exploration of The Attitudes of Freshman Foreign Language Students Toward Using Computers A Turkish State University

＊ Introduction  Motivation : I. Gardner ＆ Lambert (1972):Social-Educational Model I. Gardner ＆ Lambert (1972):Social-Educational Model (1) integrative motivation—the learner’s desire to learn a language for utilitarian purposes such as school requirement or employment (1) integrative motivation—the learner’s desire to learn a language for utilitarian purposes such as school requirement or employment (2) instrumental motivation—to the desire to learn a language to integrate into the target language community (2) instrumental motivation—to the desire to learn a language to integrate into the target language community II. Dornyei (1994):Taxonomy of motivation comprised of three levels (1) the language level—coinciding with the social dimension (1) the language level—coinciding with the social dimension (2) the learner level—coinciding with the personal dimension (2) the learner level—coinciding with the personal dimension (3) the situational level—coinciding with the subject-matter (3) the situational level—coinciding with the subject-matter dimension dimension

＊ Introduction  Motivation III. Oxford ＆ Shearin (1994): (1) goal setting theory—goal setting can have exceptional importance in stimulating L2 learning motivation. (1) goal setting theory—goal setting can have exceptional importance in stimulating L2 learning motivation. (2) expectancy theory—the higher expectancy for a behavior to produce a specific outcome, the greater tends to be the motivation. (2) expectancy theory—the higher expectancy for a behavior to produce a specific outcome, the greater tends to be the motivation. (3) self-efficacy (3) self-efficacy IV. Van Lier (1996): three sources of motivation (1) the past experience (1) the past experience (2) the enjoyment of the performance in present (2) the enjoyment of the performance in present (3) future goals (3) future goals

＊ CALL and Motivation  Warschauer ＆ Healey (1998):three periods of computers (1) Behaviorist CALL (1) Behaviorist CALL (2) Communicative CALL (2) Communicative CALL (3) Integrative CALL (3) Integrative CALL  Lee (2000): eight categories of contribution of net-work-based technology (1) experiential learning (1) experiential learning (2) motivation (2) motivation (3) amelioration of students achievement (3) amelioration of students achievement (4) supply of authentic materials (4) supply of authentic materials (5) opportunities for interaction (5) opportunities for interaction (6) support for individualized learning (6) support for individualized learning (7) independence from a single information (7) independence from a single information (8) global understanding (8) global understanding

 Chpelle ＆ Jamieson (2002): more precise outline on CALL (1) offering elaborated and rich input (1) offering elaborated and rich input (2) providing negative feedback (2) providing negative feedback (3) promoting collaborative learning (3) promoting collaborative learning  MacIntyre, Clement, Dörnyei and Noels (1998): the construct of “willingness to communicate (WTC)” --- an intention to communicate at a specific time to a specific person --- an intention to communicate at a specific time to a specific person ＊ CALL and Motivation

 Two concerns of CALL and motivation (1) attitudes towards using computers and network applications (1) attitudes towards using computers and network applications in communication and in writing in communication and in writing  Pennington (1996) concluded that computers are beneficial in writing processes, revision behavior/ social outcomes, quality of the written work and quantity of writing.  Warschauer (1996) indicated students had positive attitudes toward computer writing and computer mediated communication.

＊ CALL and Motivation  Two concerns of CALL and motivation (2) motivational aspects of using computers in communication (2) motivational aspects of using computers in communication  Warschauer (1996) identifies four motivating aspects in CALL The novelty of working with a new medium The novelty of working with a new medium Individualized nature of computer-assisted instruction Individualized nature of computer-assisted instruction Opportunities for learner control Opportunities for learner control Opportunities for non-judgmental and rapid feedback Opportunities for non-judgmental and rapid feedback  Sullivan (1993) five ideal characteristics of CMC Meaningful interaction Meaningful interaction Positive interdependence Positive interdependence Dissention Dissention Opportunities to negotiate Opportunities to negotiate Could be better stored Could be better stored

＊ Research Question 1. What aspects of using a PC for writing and communication create positive attitudes in freshman foreign language students? 2. Do attitudes towards CALL vary when different backgrounds are taken into consideration?

＊ Method Quantitative Research ◆ Participants 155 Freshmen students (41M, 114F) at a Turkish state university in Eskisehir 155 Freshmen students (41M, 114F) at a Turkish state university in Eskisehir

◆ Data Collection I. The first part of the survey: questionnaire (1) personal information (gender, age, family income and (1) personal information (gender, age, family income and number of years’ experience with a PC) form as the number of years’ experience with a PC) form as the independent variables of the study independent variables of the study (2) questionnaire (rating the frequency of using PCs for (2) questionnaire (rating the frequency of using PCs for purposes) purposes) (3) stating the hours of using Internet per week (3) stating the hours of using Internet per week II. The second part of the survey: questionnaire (1) questionnaire (Using 30 five-point Likert Scale (1) questionnaire (Using 30 five-point Likert Scale questionnaire to know students’ feelings about using questionnaire to know students’ feelings about using computers) computers)

◆ Data Analysis Method Factor Analysis Factor Analysis (1) Maximum Likelihood estimation (1) Maximum Likelihood estimation  Data reduction and data summarization (2)pricipal component analysis (2)pricipal component analysis  Factor extraction T-test T-test One-way ANOVAs One-way ANOVAs Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficient Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficient

◆ Results a. What aspects of using a PC for writing and communication create positive attitudes in freshmen foreign language students? The author suggests that the total score be used as the attitude score towards computer assisted writing.

◆ Results b. Do attitudes towards CALL vary when different backgrounds are taken into consideration? Gender The independent samples t-test comparing scores of make and female students showed that males and females did not differ from each other in terms of attitudes toward computer assisted writing and communication The independent samples t-test comparing scores of make and female students showed that males and females did not differ from each other in terms of attitudes toward computer assisted writing and communication Having a PC at home The students who had a PC at home had significantly more positive attitude towards computers that students who did not have a PC at home. The students who had a PC at home had significantly more positive attitude towards computers that students who did not have a PC at home.Age The groups did not differ on their attitudes towards CALL in terms of age. The groups did not differ on their attitudes towards CALL in terms of age. Other Predictors of Total Scores Attitudes scores of the sample were positively related with experience with a PC and hours of Internet use per week. Attitudes scores of the sample were positively related with experience with a PC and hours of Internet use per week.

＊ Discussion (1) Lee (2000)’s and Chapelle and Jamieson (2002)’s hypotheses were supported that CALL involved a promoting communication and collaborative learning. (2) Students had increased self-esteem since they did not face their addressees in person. (3) Factors and means scores on relevant items implied that students were more creative, wrote better essays, and saved time using computers in comparison to writing by hand. (4) The items in the current scale generated positive responses toward using computers in instruction. (5) The result of the current study support the assumptions of Lee (2000)—computer assisted language instruction might lead to more positive attitudes.

＊ Implication (1) Qualitative in depth analyses should be conducted to understand whether students had bought their PCs because they had positive attitudes, or whether thy had positive attitudes because they had a PC at home.

＊ Conclusion  Warschauer (1996) considers that giving students more opportunity to use CMC tools and integrating computer activities into EFL settings an help teachers enhance students’ motivation.  Computer mediated settings might have the potential to create and ideal atmosphere in language classroom. It is important for teachers to get theoretical and methodological knowledge and experience on CMC tools to help students have more opportunities to communicate via computers and be more motivated toward language learning.