Using ICT for enhancing English teaching: a quasi-experimental study

Qiao Ailing
Capital Normal University,
Beijing, China
He Kekang
Beijing Normal University,
Beijing, China

The utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) to enhance English teaching is emphasized in the basic education reforms in China. The purpose of this study was to construct an effective blended learning model for teaching English speaking to pupils in primary schools in China.

English conversational materials, which integrate ICT into classroom learning, were developed by David Goldberg and were adapted for this study; and the theory of semantic perception proposed by the second author of this paper was used as the theoretical framework. A quasi-experimental research design was employed, and a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews were used to evaluate the outcomes. Two hundred students from 21 schools were selected to participate in the study. An experimental group using blended learning was set up for comparison with a group using a traditional teaching model. A four-stage procedure was adopted -- forming the experimental and comparison groups; pre-testing the two groups for their English speaking competence; using blended learning with the experimental group and traditional learning with the control group; and post-testing the relative achievements of the two groups. After the experiments, all the participants were asked to fill in a feedback questionnaire, and 184 did so, a return rate of 92%. Fifty-two subjects, randomly selected from the questionnaire respondents, were interviewed. The results showed that the use of these English conversational materials which integrate ICT into teaching can enhance primary school pupils' attainment in the areas of English speaking and listening more than traditional teaching methods. It is hoped that the findings of this study will encourage teachers to use ICT in English teaching to make teaching and learning more effective.