Attitudes toward the use of tell tools in english language learning among vietnamese tertiary english majors

VNU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 5, No (2019) 581-594 Attitudes toward the Use of TELL Tools in English Language Learning among Vietnamese Tertiary English Majors Tran Quoc Thao, Duong My Tham, Huynh Thi Thien Ngan* Abstract: Technology plays a crucial role in the self-guided learning of a second language in general and English in particular Nevertheless, many students in different contexts still ignore the application of technology-enhanced language learning (TELL) tools in enhancing their foreign language proficiency Therefore, this study is conducted to investigate the attitudes towards the use of TELL tools in English-language learning (ELL) among English majors at one university in Vietnam To collect data, 197 English majors participated in finishing the questionnaire, and 20 students were invited to join the interviews The findings are that the majority of students have positive attitudes towards the use of TELL tools and the frequency of using these tools is very high In addition, the results also reveal that there is no significant difference in attitudes towards and frequency of using TELL tools in learning English in terms of the year of study However, students of different levels of academic achievements have different attitudes towards using TELL tools and use TELL tools to learn English differently Keywords: Attitude; English Major; English Language Learning (ELL); TELL; Vietnam Received 2nd May 2019; Revised 16th July 2019; Accepted 20th October 2019 DOI: https://doi.org/10.33100/jossh5.5.TranQuocThao.etal in radical changes in language teaching and learning, especially English language (e.g., Amiri 2012; Warschauer 2000) Accordingly, many hi-tech products, such as laptops, desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones have been used for different purposes As a result, the appearance of technology-enhanced language learning (TELL) is necessary and inevitable It is noted that several factors, namely instructional method, aptitude, age and affective variables (e.g attitude, motivation, & empathy) are considered significant in language learning Research on the effectiveness of instructional methods shows that there is no superior or ideal method compared to any other approach in education (Midraj 1998) Nevertheless, Introduction  It is widely acknowledged that technology have exerted profound influences on all sectors, including education As such, not only innovative technologies have potential to evolve pedagogical practice, but they also completely transform entire learning environments (Groff 2013) What is more, the development of technology has resulted  Tran Quoc Thao, Faculty of English language - Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH); email: tq.thao@hutech.edu.vn Duong My Tham, Nong Lam University - Ho Chi Minh City Huynh Thi Thien Ngan, Faculty of English language - Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH) 581 582 Tran Quoc Thao et al / VNU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 5, No (2019) 581-594 examination of affective factors such as attitudes could provide fruitful insights into the complex issues that are critical to success in language acquisition (Midraj 1998) In the context of Vietnam, in alignment with enhancing the quality of English language teaching, the Vietnamese government has invested in computers in schools nationwide, and teachers are encouraged to apply technology into their teaching instead of using traditional practice (Peeraer and Tran Nu Mai Thy 2012) According to some studies conducted in Vietnam (e.g Huynh Huu Thanh, 2016; Tri Hoang Dang and Nguyen Thi Hong Nhung, 2014), TELL is an effective tool in learning and enhancing skills of language learning English as foreign language It provides learning efficiency, effectiveness as well as motivation More importantly, students tend to have positive attitudes towards modern technologies and think that technologies make them proficient in learning EFL and EFL acquisition can be increased through TELL On the other hand, the research on TELL conducted by Mitchell (1992) indicates that the attitude of learners towards TELL plays a vital role in language acquisition Unfortunately, although there are many studies carried out to explore the effects of technology to language learning in Vietnam, the use of technology in English language education across educational levels remains vague For this end, this study aims at exploring English majors’ attitudes toward the use of TELL tools in English language learning (ELL) at the context of a university in Vietnam The following research questions need to be addressed: i What are the attitudes towards the use of TELL tools in ELL among Vietnamese tertiary English-majors? ii To what extent Vietnamese English majors use TELL tools in their ELL? iii Are there any differences in Vietnamese English majors’ attitudes towards the use of TELL tools in learning English and their use of TELL tools in terms of year of study and academic achievement? If so, how? Literature review It is noticed that technology is anideal assistant to enhance students’ learning English (e.g., Afshari 2007; Hartman 2008; Higgins 2012; Tran Quoc Thao 2018; Tran Quoc Thao and Duong My Tham 2018) According to Afshari (2007), technology not only enhances interpersonal and communication skills but also provides opportunities for cooperative learning Hence, the use of technology will increase instructional effectiveness and efficiency Technology also provides ESL/EFL learners with tools which can allow self-learning (Higgins 2012) The use of technology aided instruction tools also makes ESL/EFL learners stay in control of what they learn At the same time, technology tools also promote positive social interaction and enhance students’ motivation for learning In line with this ideal, Hartman (2008) states that institutions need to develop a systemic approach for technology-based teaching that provides many of the essential elements for success, sustainability and quality What is more, the barrier of location for people in different parts of the world has been broken down by some latest technology such as the Internet, mobile devices, etc (Çağıltay and Seferoğlu 2009) Accordingly, ESL/EFL learners can communicate as well as interact with Tran Quoc Thao et al / VNU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 5, No (2019) 581-594 583 English speakers from all over the world Additionally, the use of technology in educational institutions helps ESL/EFL teaching and learning become faster and easier than ever before Students can learn at anywhere, and teacher can teach their students from anywhere As such, new emerging educational technologies are changing the way people learn ELL has become more flexible and fun Hence, students will not get bored while learning In other words, these educational technologies help improve ESL/EFL learners’ attitudes, which are considered as one of the most important factors in ELL as discussed above ESL/EFL learners learn English not only because of the necessary of it, but also because they love it Previous studies (e.g., Barker et al 2005; Cavus & Ibrahim 2008; Eskandari & Rahimi 2012; Huertas 2014; Korkmaz 2010; Kukulska-Hulme 2006; Lee 2001; Murday et al 2008; Pun 2013) have shown that different aspects of technology in language education have been conducted in different contexts In 2010, Monerah carried out a study examining college ESL students’ attitudes towards the use of technology in classrooms A questionnaire including both open-ended and closed-ended questions was administered to 50 college ESL students This study indicated that participants’ attitudes were generally positive towards the use of technology in classroom, and they believed that technology was a very important tool to assist in improving their learning and make them more successful in class Orachorn (2015) carried out a study on 192undergraduate students’ attitudes towards using computers as a learning tool at one university The findings indicated that participants realized the usefulness of using computers as a learning tool, as can be seen from their positive attitudes, and most of the respondents liked to utilize computers in their language learning because they could look for information necessary for their studies Recently, Siros and Mansooreh (2016) did a study investigating 638 Iranian high school EFL students’ viewpoints on the use of technology in their ELL They found that participants had positive attitude towards using technology to study English skills such as speaking, listening, reading and writing skills, as well as to improve their vocabulary and grammar Moreover, participants indicated that learning English with the assistance of CALL was more interesting than learning in a traditional way The students admitted that they felt motivated to learn when CALL was used in class In the context of Vietnam, a number of studies on this area were found Tri Hoang Dang and Nguyen Thi Hong Nhung (2014) conducted a study investigating 149 English majors’ use of ICT in ELL at a university The study found that research participants indicated their positive attitudes towards the use of ICT in ELL and they wanted to use ICT more often in class In 2016, Huynh Huu Thanh did a study examining the application of technology in ELL among 250 English-majors at a university in Vietnam The results indicated that the application of technology in teaching and learning languages was in the process of introducing technology into the classroom At the same time, this study also confirmed that IT brought a revolution to teaching and learning foreign languages Methodology Research setting and participants This study was conducted at the Faculty of English language of one university in Vietnam This university has more than 200 classrooms, 60 experimental centres, 584 Tran Quoc Thao et al / VNU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 5, No (2019) 581-594 workshops, and simulation rooms of international standards, and the Faculty of English language has more than 50 EFL lecturers (including full-time and part-time ones) and around 500 English majors Each classroom is equipped with a speaker system, a LCD television or a projector, and the university campus has many Wi-Fi networks, which are free and open to all The purposively sampled participants were 197 English majors from 1st to 4th year The rationale for choosing the purposive sampling is that this method can generate a target group of participants as expected The following Table describes the participants’ general information Table 1: Participants’ general information No Information Male Gender female 1styear 2ndyear Year of study 3rdyear 4thyear Less than 2.0 2.0 – 2.49 GPA 2.5 – 3.19 3.2 – 4.0 Computer (desktop Preference of using computer or laptop) TELL tools Smartphone (or tablet) others n=197 F 63 134 49 49 49 50 21 59 70 47 % 32.0 68.0 24.9 24.9 24.9 25.4 10.7 29.9 35.5 23.9 82 41.6 115 58.4 0.0 Note: F: frequency; %: Percent Besides, 20 out of 197 participants (8 males: 40%; 12 females: 60%) were invited for semi-structured interview Among them, interviewees from each academic year accounted for 25% of the total number of interviewees, and all interviewees are voluntary Research instruments Two instruments, viz questionnaire and semi-structured interview, were employed to collect the data The questionnaire, which was adopted and adapted from previous studies (Chiu 2003; Ghrieb 2015), aimed to investigate the attitudes towards the use of TELL tools in ELL among English-majors It consists of 30 questions and has three parts: Part I asking about participants’ personal information and the realities of using TELL tools in ELL; part II with 14 items in the form of a five-point Likert scale (Strongly disagree to Strongly agree) finding out participants’ attitudes toward sthe use of TELL tools in ELL; part III with 10 items using a five-point Likert scale (Never to always) exploring about frequency of using TELL tools in ELL The questionnaire was translated in Vietnamese so that the respondent did not have any Tran Quoc Thao et al / VNU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 5, No (2019) 581-594 585 difficulties in understanding the questions The Cronbach Alpha of this questionnaire is 87 This indicates that the reliability of the questionnaire is very high Regarding the semi-structured interview which was designed based on the research objectives, there are seven questions Data collection and analysis procedures Before the main study took place, the questionnaire and semi-structured interview were conducted with ten students who had similar characteristics with those in the main study, in order to assure that the research instruments were clear and valid The main study started with a question administered to 200 English majors; however, only 197 copies were returned Semi-structured interviews were then carried out with five focus groups (20 participants); Vietnamese was used for all interviews which were recorded for later transcription With respect to data analysis, the quantitative data generated from 197 questionnaires were analysed by SPSS software version 22 in terms of means, standard deviation, frequency and ANOVA test The score interval for mean scores of is interpreted as 1.00 - 1.80: Strongly agree/ Never; 1.81 - 2.60: Disagree/Rarely; 2.61 3.40: Neutral/Sometimes; 3.41 - 4.20: Agree/Often; 4.21 5.00: Strongly agree/Always Meanwhile, the qualitative data gained from semi-structured interviews were analysed by the method of content analysis Each interviewee was coded as S1, S2 to S20 Results and discussion 4.1 Results 4.1.1 English majors’ attitudes toward using TELL tools in ELL As seen from Table 2, the total mean score is very high (M=4.08; SD=.26) This means that English majors’ attitudes toward using TELL tools in ELL are very positive Table 2: Attitudes toward using TELL tools in ELL n=197 No items Attitudes toward using TELL tools in ELL M SD 4.08 26 Note: M: mean; SD: Standard deviation This information is supported by interviewees’ comments Most of them expressed their positive attitudes toward TELL They mentioned about the necessity, usefulness and important role of TELL tools in ELL They stated: … I find it is really necessary to use TELL tools in my ELL… (S4) …TELL tools play an important role in promoting my English skills… (S11) …I think TELL tools are very useful… (S8) Nevertheless, many disadvantages of TELL tools were also noted Some of interviewees shared that: … there are too much learning English apps, so I feel quite difficult to choose the apps that are really effective and available to me… (S3) …it takes lots of time to find out how to use some TELL tools because I not know technology well… (S1) …I think it is not good for my health when using TELL tools for a long time… (S20) Specifically, as regards Table 3, English majors strongly agreed that “Using TELL tools helps [them] to make an effort to learn 586 Tran Quoc Thao et al / VNU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 5, No (2019) 581-594 English” (item L4: M=4.13; SD=.45) Besides, participants agreed that using TELL tools helped them to improve English knowledge (item L2: M=4.12; SD=.55), and finish assignments more straightforwardly (item L8: M=4.12; SD=.38) They also thought that using TELL tools “is very necessary for [them] in learning English” (item L1: M=4.09; SD=.66), “enhances [their] English skills (item L3: M=4.09; SD=.45), “helps [them] to learn English by [themselves] in an active way” (item L5: M=4.06; SD=.34), “helps [them] to explore other cultures (item L6: M=4.04; SD=.39), and “makes [them] update new English materials (item L7: M=4.10; SD=.34) This illustrates that the participants, generally speaking, had positive learning attitudes toward using TELL tools due to the huge benefits brought by them Table 3: Learning attitudes toward using TELL tools in learning English n=197 No Items M SD L1 Using TELL tools is very necessary for me in learning English 4.09 66 L2 Using TELL tools improves my knowledge about English language 4.12 55 L3 Using TELL tools enhances my English skills 4.09 45 L4 Using TELL tools helps me to make an effort to learn English 4.13 45 L5 Using TELL tools helps me to learn English by myself in an active way 4.02 43 L6 Using TELL tools helps me to explore other cultures 4.04 39 L7 Using TELL tools makes me update new English materials 4.10 34 L8 Using TELL tools in learning English makes me finish my assignments quickly and easily 4.12 38 Note: M: mean; SD: Standard deviation In addition, almost all interviewees mentioned that TELL tools were really useful in their ELL, especially their English skills and knowledge of English grammar They commented as follows: …since using TELL tools, my English skills have been improved significantly… (S2) …TELL tools help me a lot in learning English… (S7) … I can my exercises more quickly thanks to TELL tools For example, using electrical dictionary help me save time, and some search engines like Google, CocCoc or Yahoo help me find out information on any subject I need… (S6) With respect to participants’ enjoyment attitudes towards using TELL tools in ELL, the results in Table indicate that participants agreed that they “like using Tran Quoc Thao et al / VNU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 5, No (2019) 581-594 587 TELL tools in learning English” (item E9: M=4.05; SD=.38), and they believed that using TELL tools makes “[their] learning English more interesting” (item E10: M=4.12; SD=.39) and English lessons “easier to understand” (item E11: M=4.09; SD=.39) and “more vivid” (item E12: M=4.07; SD=.39) Additionally, respondents thought that using TELL tools in learning English “helps [them] gain new English knowledge more easily’ (item E13: M=4.17; SD=.21) and “enhances social interaction in classroom” (item E14: M=3.91; SD=.49) In general, the mean scores of participants’ enjoyment attitudes toward using TELL tools are high, which means they really liked and felt comfortable as well as interested when applying TELL tools in learning English Table 4: Enjoyment attitudes toward using TELL tools in ELL No n=197 Items M SD E9 I like using TELL tools in learning English 4.05 38 E10 Using TELL tools makes my learning English more interesting 4.12 39 E11 Using TELL tools makes English lessons easier to understand 4.09 32 E12 Using TELL tools makes English lessons more vivid 4.07 28 E13 Using TELL tools in learning English helps me gain new English knowledge more easily 4.17 21 E14 Using TELL tools in learning English enhances social interaction in classroom 3.91 49 Note: M: mean; SD: Standard deviation Results from interview were also similar to these findings Most interviewees found it interesting to use TELL tools in learning English They stated: …I really like using TELL tools… (S2) …I love learning English thanks to TELL tools… (S5) …using TELL tools help me learn English more easily… (S13) 4.1.2 English majors’ frequency of using TELL tools in learning English The results in Table reveal that the total mean score of frequency of using TELL tools in learning English is 3.66 out of 5, which is relatively high This implies that English majors used TELL tools at a high frequency for various purposes of their English language development Table 5: Total mean score of frequency of using TELL tools in ELL n=197 No 10 items Total M SD 3.66 47 Note: M: mean; SD: Standard deviation This information was backed up by respondents’ comments in the interviews In particular, it was found that (35%) students always used TELL tools, (40%) 588 Tran Quoc Thao et al / VNU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 5, No (2019) 581-594 students often used TELL tools, (25%) students sometimes used TELL tools, and only (10%) students rarely used TELL tools for their English learning purposes For example, they commented: … I always use TELL tools to learn English because it is really useful… (S7) … sometimes I use TELL tools to help me the exercises more quickly… (S20) …I rarely use TELL tools become I not get used to using modern devices… (S16) …I often use TELL tools in learning English… (S15) Specifically, it is found in Table that participants sometimes used TELL tools to “practice English pronunciation” (item U6: M=3.28; SD=.68), “learn English pronunciation” (item U5: M=3.29; SD=.69), and “prepare for international English tests (e.g., IELTS, TOEIC, TOEFL, etc.)” (item U10: M=3.32; SD=.78) Additionally, activities that they often used TELL tools are to enhance listening skill (item U1: M=3.81; SD=.56), speaking skill (item U2: M=3.76; SD=.56), reading skill (item U3: M=3.77; SD=.65), and writing skill (item U4: M=3.91; SD=.69), and learn vocabulary (item U7: M=3.42; SD=.53) and grammar (item U8: M=3.61; SD=.53) Most significantly, participants always used TELL tools to search materials for English learning purposes (item U9: M=4.38; SD=.63) Table 6: Frequency of using TELL tools in learning English n=197 No I use TELL tools to… U1 enhance English listening skill 3.81 56 U2 enhance English speaking skill 3.76 56 U3 enhance English reading skill 3.77 69 U4 enhance English writing skill 3.91 65 U5 learn English pronunciation 3.29 69 U6 practice English pronunciation 3.28 68 U7 learn English vocabulary 3.42 57 U8 learn English grammar 3.61 53 U9 search materials for English learning purposes 4.38 63 U10 prepare for international English tests (e.g., IELTS, TOEIC, TOEFL, etc.) 3.32 78 M SD Note: F= frequency; %: percent Qualitative data from interviews also are in alignment with the above-mentioned results It is found that majority of respondents used TELL tools for different ELL purposes (e.g., improving language skills, preparing for international English tests) with different frequencies As an instance, they mentioned: … I often use TELL tools to improve all of my English language skills… (S19) Tran Quoc Thao et al / VNU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 5, No (2019) 581-594 589 …I mainly use TELL tools for English speaking and listening… (S5) …I prepare for IELTS through the online course websites, and I also download IELTS practice tests… (S4) 4.1.3 Differences in attitudes toward and frequency of using TELL tools in ELL in terms of years of study and in terms of academic achievement As for the participants’ year of study, the results from one-way ANOVA presented in Table show that there were no significant differences in participants’ attitudes toward (F=2.292; p=.079) and frequency of using TELL tools in learning English (F=.673; p=.673) This means that English students had similar attitudes toward using TELL tools and high frequent use of TELL tools in ELL regardless of being in the first, second, third or fourth year of study Table 7: Differences in attitudes toward and frequency of using TELL tools in ELL in terms of years of study No Variables n=197 - M (SD) st nd F Sig year year 3rd year 4th year Attitudes toward using TELL tools in learning English 2.292 079 4.14 (.32) 4.03(.20) 4.03(.17) 4.11(.31) Frequency of using TELL tools in learning English 573 633 3.63 (.51) 3.60 (.48) 3.70 (.37) 3.69 (.49) Note: F-test; M: mean; SD: Standard deviation Nevertheless, the results in Table indicate that there were significant differences in attitudes toward (F= 33.224; p=.000) and frequency of using TELL tools in learning English (F=97.052; p=.000) in terms of academic achievement This can be understood that students from different levels of academic achievements had different attitudes toward the use of TELL tools and used TELL tools differently to learn English Table 8: Differences in attitudes toward and frequency of using TELL tools in learning English in terms of academic achievement n=197 - M (SD) No Variables F Sig Less than 2.0 2.0 – 2.49 2.5– 3.19 3.2 – 4.0 Attitudes toward using TELL tools in learning English 33.224 000* 3.78 (.42) 3.99 (.08) 4.09 (.15) 4.30 (.27) Frequency of using TELL tools in learning English 97.052 000* 2.83 (.26) 3.45 (.32) 3.81 (.30) 4.04 (.28) Note: F-test; M: mean; SD: Standard deviation; * P