Three groups of 14 undergraduate students in a Taiwanese university were observed
while they were undertaking a small-group-discussion task. The participants were
randomly assigned to work in a group of four to six, based on their majors. Although
some students with different majors were grouped together because there was an uneven
number of participants after adds and drops, these mixed groups were formed by means
of a random process. There was an equal number of male and female students, all from
different departments of the College of Management, with each group sharing a
homogeneous background in terms of age, and cultural and academic experiences. To
supply the reader with a clear picture of the three groups observed, Table 5.1 includes a
brief profile of each in terms of the participants’ ages, genders, majors, English learning
backgrounds and online learning experiences. The data presented in the profile were
based on the survey questionnaire collected from these students.
Five students in observation group 1 (OG1) – three females and two males – shared
highly different backgrounds with regard to English learning, proficiency, motivation,
online learning experience and dependency on translation machines. The group included
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Materials Science and Management, ranging in age from 18 to 20 years old, with seven
to ten years of English learning experience. Two of these students had passed the
intermediate level proficiency test based on NETPAW; the other three had scores
ranked lower than intermediate level. The combined characteristics of the students
indicated that the participants could be identified as basic users of English whose
proficiency was still at the developing stage.
NETPAW is a national online testing system of English language proficiency. Its
specific aim is to promote online English language learning and improve English
proficiency of the nation. It sets out to create an efficient testing system that would be
motivating through its ability to provide feedback on students’ test results via the
computer. NETPAW is seen as providing a baseline for English proficiency
improvement. The first five levels of proficiency are “Beginning”, “Basic”,
“Low-intermediate”, “Intermediate”, and “High-intermediate”. The higher levels are
“Advanced” and “Professional”. NETPAW is able to test all four macro skills of
listening, speaking, reading and writing, and is criterion-referenced. The use of the web
is expected to facilitate and encourage students to use English and also test their
proficiency.
Students’ reports of their motivation for learning English, based on a ten-point scale
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with one participant reporting a high level of motivation and the others designating a
medium level to their motivation. Only two of the students had had experience with
online English learning, and none had any experience with online discussion either in
English or L1 prior to their participation in this study. With regard to how frequently
students used translation machines, the participant reports were evenly distributed
between low and high frequency, with two students indicating a high level of use, two
reporting a medium level and a third student recording a low usage level. These reports
indicate that although the majority of the students in OG 1 had not experienced online
learning, they were nevertheless motivated to learn English.
Observation group 2 (OG 2) included three female students and one male student with
homogeneous backgrounds except with regard to their English learning motivation. All
of these participants came from the Department of Finance; their ages ranged from 18 to
19 years, and they had between six and 11 years of English learning experience. None
had passed the intermediate level proficiency test based on NETPAW. These parameters
identified all the students as basic users of English with proficiencies still at a
developing stage. Based on a ten-point scale, their reported motivation for learning
English learning varied from medium to high levels of motivation, with three students
declaring a high level and one reporting a medium level. None of the participants had
had any experience with online English learning or online discussion prior to their
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machines to be at a medium level. Again, even though students lacked any experience
related to online learning, they were highly motivated to learn English.
The five students in observation group 3 (OG 3) – four males and one female –
exhibited differences in their English learning backgrounds with regard to motivation,
online learning experience and dependency on translation machines. All group members
were from the Department of Public Policy and Management. Their ages ranged from
18 to 20 years old, and had seven to eight years of English learning experience. None of
the students had passed the intermediate level proficiency test based on NETPAW.
Their combination of characteristics identified all the students as basic users of English
whose English was still in a developing stage.Two group membershad had experience
with online English learning; none had had experience with online English discussion
prior to participation in this study, but they had had online discussion experience in L1.
Based on a ten-point scale, the participants’ reports of both their motivation to learn
English and their use of translation machines varied from low to high levels, indicating
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Table 5.1: Composition of three observation groups
Group 1 2 3 Number 5 4 5 Age 18~20 18~19 18~20 Gender 3 females 2 males 3 females 1 male 1 female 4 males Department 4 Finance 1 Material Science and Management
Finance Public Policy and
Management Years of English learning 7~10 6~11 7~8 English proficiency 2 intermediate
3 lower intermediate lower intermediate lower intermediate
Self-reported English motivation 4 Medium 1 High 1 Medium 3 High 1 Low 3 Medium 1 High Experience of Online English learning 2 Yes 3 No No 2 Yes 3 No Experience of
online discussion No No Yes/Mandarin
Use of translation machine 1 Low 2 Medium 2 High Medium 1 Low 3 Medium 1 High