T.C. ULUDAĞ ÜNİVERSİTESİ SOSYAL BİLİMLER ENSTİTÜSÜ YABANCI DİLLER EĞİTİMİ ANABİLİM DALI İNGİLİZ DİLİ EĞİTİMİ BİLİM DALI THE ATTITUDES OF THE LEARNERS IN INTENSIVE ENGLISH PROGRAMME AT SAKARYA UNIVERSITY TOWARDS COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING YÜKSEK LİSANS TEZİ HALİL İBRAHİM BALKUL BURSA 2010 T.C. ULUDAĞ ÜNİVERSİTESİ SOSYAL BİLİMLER ENSTİTÜSÜ YABANCI DİLLER EĞİTİMİ ANABİLİM DALI İNGİLİZ DİLİ EĞİTİMİ BİLİM DALI THE ATTITUDES OF THE LEARNERS IN INTENSIVE ENGLISH PROGRAMME AT SAKARYA UNIVERSITY TOWARDS COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING YÜKSEK LİSANS TEZİ DANIŞMAN Yrd. Doç. Dr. Erol BARUT Halil İbrahim Balkul BURSA 2010 ÖZET Bu çalışma genel olarak, Bilgisayar Destekli Dil Öğrenimi araştırma alanı ve Sakarya Üniversitesi İngilizce Hazırlık Programı’na kayıtlı öğrencilerin Bilgisayar Destekli Dil Öğrenimi ilişkin tutumlarına odaklanmıştır. Sakarya Üniversitesi İngilizce Hazırlık Programı’na kayıtlı 134 öğrenci bu çalışmaya örneklem grubu olarak katılmıştır. Bilgisayar Destekli Dil Öğrenimine ilişkin tutumlarında herhangi bir değişiklik olup olmadığını saptamak için, örneklem grubuna akademik dönemin başında ve beş ay sonra ön-test ve son-test formatında anketler verilmiştir. Çalışmadaki veriler 2008-2009 akademik döneminde toplanmıştır. Çalışmadan elde edilen sonuçlar, beş aylık tecrübe dönemi içerisinde örneklem grubunun Bilgisayar Destekli Dil Öğrenimine ilişkin tutumlarında genel olarak olumlu değişikliklerin olduğunu göstermektedir. Ama bazı öğrenci gruplarının davranışlarında birtakım düşüşler görülmüştür, bu da ileride yapılacak çalışmalara bir kaynak oluşturabilir. Halihazırdaki çalışma ve içerisinde bulunan anket, gelecekte farklı öğrenci grupları ve farklı eğitim ortamlarında oluşturulacak olan diğer araştırmalara uyarlanabilir. Anahtar kelimeler: Bilgisayar destekli dil öğrenimi, tutum değişikliği, maruz kalma süresi hedef dil, öğrenci profili i ABSTRACT This study generally focuses on computer assisted language learning research field and the attitudes of the learners who are enrolled in Intensive English Programme at Sakarya University, Turkey towards computer assisted language learning. 134 learners in Intensive English Programme at Sakarya University, Turkey participated in the study as subjects. They were given questionnaires in pre-test and post-test format at the beginning of the academic term and five months later to see whether there were any changes in their attitudes towards computer assisted language learning. The data were gathered in 2008-2009 academic term. The results revealed that there occurred generally positive changes in the attitudes of the subjects towards computer assisted language learning during five-month exposure time. However, some decreases were observed in the attitudes of some certain types of learners which can be undoubtedly a source for further researches. The current study and the questionnaire used inside it might be adapted to other researches in the future in different education contexts with different types of learners. Key words: Computer assisted language learning, attitude change, exposure time, target Language, student profile ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Assist. Prof. Dr. Erol BARUT, my thesis advisor, for his valuable guidance and support throughout this thesis. I would like to thank all the participants who supported me in this study, especially Assist. Prof. Dr. Metin Timuçin, the head of foreign languages department at Sakarya University, my colleagues Instructor. Mete Tekin and Instructor. Emine Göçet. Last, but not the least, I would like to thank my mother, Fatma Balkul, who has always supported me in the most difficult phases of the study. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Özet…………………………………………………………………. i Abstract……………………………………………………………… ii Acknowledgements…………………………………………………… iii Contents………………………………………………………………. iv List of Tables…………………………………………………………. vi Abbreviations…………………………………………………………. vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background of the Study………………………………………… 1 1.2. Purpose of the Study…………………………………………….. 1 1.3. Research Questions of the Study………………………………… 2 1.4. Organization of the Thesis………………………………………... 3 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Computer Assisted Language Learning ( CALL )…………… 4 2.2. The Development of CALL……………………………………… 5 2.3. The Role of the Computer and Teacher in CALL……………….. 7 2.4. The Advantages of CALL……………………………………….. 8 2.5. The Disadvantages of CALL……………………………………. 9 2.6. Use of CALL in All Four Skills of the Target Language……….. 10 2.6.1. Reading Skills……………………………………………. 10 . 2.6.2. Writing Skills……………………………………………… 11 2.6.3. Speaking Skills…………………………………………… 11 2.6.4. Listening Skills……………………………………………. 11 2.7. Some Researches About the Attitudes of the Learners towards CALL… 12 iv CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1. Introduction……………………………………………………… 19 3.2. Background of the Methodology………………………………... 19 3.3. The Subjects……………………………………………………... 20 3.4. The Institute………………………………………………………. 20 3.5. The Software…………………………………………………….. 22 3.6. Data Collection Instruments…………………………………….. 23 3.6.1. The Questionnaire………………………………………… 23 3.7. Data Analysis Procedure………………………………………… 24 CHAPTER 4 RESULTS 4.1. Introduction……………………………………………………. 26 4.2. The Answers of the Subjects to the Items in Pre-test and Post-test 26 4.3. The Results of Research Questions..…………………………… 31 4.3.1. The Results of Research Question 1………………………. 31 4.3.2. The Results of Research Question 2………………………. 34 4.3.3. The Results of Research Question 3………………………. 37 4.3.4. The Results of Research Question 4……………………… 39 CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION 5.1. Introduction……………………………………………………… 43 5.2. The Discussion of the Results of the Items in the Questionnaire… 43 5.3. The Discussion of the Results of Research Questions…………… 49 5.3.1. The Discussion of the Results of Research Question 1…… 49 5.3.2. The Discussion of the Results of Research Question 2…… 51 5.3.3. The Discussion of the Results of Research Question 3…… 52 5.3.4. The Discussion of the Results of Research Question 4…… 53 CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION 6.1. Summary and Conclusions………………………………………… 54 6.2. Further Research………………………………………………….... 56 REFERENCES………………………………………………………… 57 APPENDIXES ………………………………………………………. 60 Appendix 1 Questionnaire (Pre-Test)…………………………………... 61 Appendix 2 Questionnaire (Post-Test)………………………………….. 64 VITAE...................................................................................................... 66 v LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1 The Answers of the subjects to the Items in Pre-test and Post-test......... 27 Table 4.2 Demographic features of the subjects for Research Question 1………... 31 Table 4.3 Pre-test results of Research Question 1………………………………… 32 Table 4.4 Post-test results of Research Question 1………………………………... 33 Table 4.5 Paired-Samples T test for the subjects who have participated an IEP in previous education life…………………………………………………. 33 Table 4.6 Paired-Samples T test for the subjects who have not participated an IEP in previous education life……………………………………………… 34 Table 4.7 Demographic features of the subjects for Research Question 2………… 35 Table 4.8 Pre-Test results for Research Question 2……………………………….. 35 Table 4.9 Post-Test results for Research Question 2……………………………… 36 Table 4.10 Paired-Samples T test for the subjects registerd to IEP compulsory…… 36 Table 4.11 Paired-Samples T test for the subjects registerd to IEP willingly……… 37 Table 4.12 Demographic features of the subjects for Research Question 3………... 37 Table 4.13 Pre-Test results for Research Question 3………………………………. 38 Table 4.14 Post-Test results for Research Question 3……………………………… 38 Table 4.15 Paired-Samples T test for the subjects in science studies………………. 39 Table 4.16 Paired-Samples T test for the subjects in social studies………………… 39 Table 4.17 Demographic features of the subjects for Research Question 4………… 40 Table 4.18 Pre-Test Results for Research Question 4………………………………. 40 Table 4.19 Post-Test Results for Research Question 4……………………………… 41 Table 4.20 Paired-Samples T test for male learners………………………………… 41 Table 4.21 Paired-Samples T test for female learners…………………………….... 42 vi ABBREVIATIONS CALL : Computer assisted language learning ELT : English language teaching IEP : Intensive English programme e.t.c. : Adecetera vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background of the Study It is a well-known fact that technology has taken part in various fields of our life. With new technological developments, our life is getting easier and easier day by day. There is no doubt that computers are among the greatest devices presented us by technology. Today, computers are multifunctionally used in different parts of our life. They can be used in education, industry, medicine and etc. Despite the fact that computers have been in use since the first half of the 20th century, they were not used for educational purposes until 1960s. With the introduction of computers in education, there seemed some important changes in the mentality of teaching / learning process. Students got much more responsibilities to learn the expected information. The teacher got the role of being a facilitator in the classroom rather than being the unique authority. Here, it has to be stated that learner-centered approach helped computers be implemented in education easily. If the recent education philosophy history is examined carefully, it can be clearly seen that implementation of computers in education and the birth of learner- centered approach are nearly at the same time. 1.2. Purpose of the Study This research aims to find out the changes in the attitudes of the subjects enrolled in Intensive English Programme at Sakarya University towards computer assisted language learning in a five-month CALL exposure process. It is aimed to gather information whether there occured any changes in the attitudes of the subjects towards CALL during five months. If any changes occured in the attitudes of the subjects, it is vital to point out what kind of changes happened in what types of learners. 1 1.3. Research Questions of the Study The current study was aimed to investigate some research questions which were decided after a literature review. In previous studies, attitudes of learners about computer assisted language learning were examined from different perspectives and several different learner profiles were put forward. In this study, student profiles and research questions are a bit different from other studies. The current research questions are: 1-Are there any differences between the attitudes of the learners who have participated in Intensive English Programme in their previous education life and the ones who have not participated towards CALL at the beginning of the Intensive English Programme and after 5-month exposure process to CALL? 2-Are there any differences between the attitudes of the learners who are registered to Intensive English Programme obligatory according to the legislation in their departments and the ones registered to Intensive English Programme willingly towards CALL at the beginning of the Intensive English Programme and after 5-month exposure process to CALL? 3-Are there any differences between the attitudes of the learners whose departments are based on social studies and the ones whose departments are based on science studies towards CALL at the beginning of the Intensive English Programme and after 5-month exposure process to CALL? 4-Are there any differences between the attitudes of the learners who are female or male towards CALL at the beginning of the Intensive English Programme and after 5- month exposure process to CALL? 2 1.4. Organization of the Thesis The present study consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 is the introduction chapter. In this chapter, the background of the study and the purpose of the study are given. Also, the research questions on which the study is based on are presented and the organization of the thesis is given in this part. After the introduction part, a review of related literature is presented in Chapter 2. The studies are examined about computer assisted language learning. Chapter 3 presents the methodology of the study, describes the participants, the setting of the study, the data collection materials and procedures and data analysis. Chapter 4 is the presentation of the results. The statistical analysis of the research results was included here. Chapter 5 is dedicated to discuss the research questions and the items inside the questionnaire in the light of the findings obtained from the fourth chapter. In Chapter 6, the summary and the conclusion of the study are presented considering the result analysis with the limitations and implications of it and suggestions for further research. 3 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) The abbreviation CALL means Computer Assisted Language Learning. CALL stems from CAI (Computer Assisted Instruction) where computers were first viewed as an aid for teachers. However, CALL is more student-centered with the lessons giving chance to the learners to cope with language items on their own. There are different definitions of CALL among educationalists and English Language Teaching specialists. Hardisty & Windeaat (1989) describes CALL as the use of computers as a part of a language course. According to Davies (2002), CALL is the search for computer applications in language teaching and learning and research on the matter. Calico (2001) states that CALL adapts the research findings of second language acquisition, sociology, linguistics, psychology, cognitive sciences, culture examinations, and natural language processing to second language pedagogy and relates them to investigation into information processing, artifical intelligence, and telecommunication. Thus, the progress of language learning and teaching process are achieved. According to Wikipedia encyclopedia (2005), CALL is defined as an approach to language teaching and learning in which computer technology is used as an aid to the presentation, reinforcement, and assessment of material to be learned, usually including a substantial interactive element. Garrett (2000) defines Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) as "a relatively new and rapidly evolving academic field that explores the role of information and communication technologies in language learning and teaching." 4 Most ELT specialists agree on the idea that CALL is not a method. On the other hand, CALL is a tool which helps instructors to facilitate language learning process. They put forward the assumption that CALL can be used to reinforce what has been learned in the classrooms. It might also be used as an alternative help for the learners who have low language mastery. 2.2. The Development of CALL At the beginning of 1970s, the traces of CALL can be seen in language studies. These were mostly for linguistic purposes, and they were referred as Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) During 1980s, with the spread of computers in any educational areas, CALL centers were opened in developed countries such as U.S.A. It can be clearly stated that computers have been used for language learning and teaching for more than three decades. For many years, foreign language teachers have used the computer to provide supplemental exercises. Recently, due to technological advancement, teachers have started to consider the use of computers as an essential part of foreign language teaching and learning process. Technology has the potential to play a major role in foreign language teaching and learning. A lot of attention has been paid to the use of CALL in foreign languages teaching and learning. There is no doubt that CALL has evolved a lot since the day it was introduced to education life. Warschauer & Healey (1998) divided the history of CALL into three important stages: Behaviouristic CALL, Communicative CALL and Integrative CALL. In each stage, CALL has been tried to be applied to a patricular pedagogical approach. On the other hand, Bax (2003) perceived those three stages as ‘Restricted Stage, Open Stage and Integrated Stage’. In this study, the stages in the history of CALL will be explained with the terms of Warschauer & Healey. 5 1-Behaviouristic CALL: Behaviouristic CALL can be defined as the mixture of behaviouristic theories of Skinner and use of computers in language learning. From the late of 1960s to the early 1970s, repeated exposure to the material in language learning was accepted to be useful or even crucial. Therefore, computers were considered ideal tools for this perspective. Because computers were rich in terms of supplying the students with excessive drills. It can be concluded that computers were seen as stimulus to the learners in learning process. 2-Communicative CALL: In the late 1970s and early 1980s, behaviouristic theories to language learning and teaching started to lose popularity. At this time, communicative CALL gained praise among educationalists. Communicative CALL is mainly based on communicative approach in language learning. In communicative CALL, it is argued that computer based activities should focus more on using forms. Also, there are many notes suggesting the importance of student-student interaction in communicative CALL among EFL specialists. For example, Gunduz (2005) asserts that in communicative CALL, the focus shouldn’t be so much on what students do with the computer but rather what they do with each other while working at the computer. 3-Integrative CALL: Integrative CALL which started in 1990s focuses on integrating the teaching of language skills into tasks or projects to provide coherence. With the development of integrative CALL, computer assisted language learning gained another perspective. In this period, CALL coincided with the development of multimedia technology such as providing texts, graphics, sound and animation. Warschauer (1998) claims that with the introduction of integrative CALL, CALL changed from the use of computers for drills and tutorial purposes to a medium for extending education beyond the classroom and reorginizing instruction. 6 2.3. The Role of the Computer and Teacher in CALL In CALL literature, there are different opinions among researchers about the role of computer and teacher in CALL programmes. The distinction between computer as tutor and computer as tool is the most common discussion in the field. Levy (1997) suggests that the assumptions underlying the computer as tutor are that computer is a temporary substitute for the teachers and also that work with the computer as tutor can occur outside the classroom without a teacher. It must be kept in mind that computer as tutor idea takes its theoretical roots in behaviourism. The role of computer as tool has been widely discussed as well. Ahmad et al. (1985) claims that computers are just tools without any innate wisdom and computers are incapable of learning or teaching. With his ideas agreeing with Ahmad, Philips (1987) states that computers are only tools used to augment human capabilities. If the nature of CALL is examined carefully, it can be easily recognized that the view of computer as tool became more prevalent with the advent of the multimedia computer and internet. Warschauer (2001) states that networked computers and multimedia made both synchronous and asynchronous global communication possible and provided learners with unprecedented access to a wide range of authentic materials which were regarded as essential to learn a second language. Meng Liu and Hong Huo (2007) assert that a review of CALL literature identifies two prevalent positions regarding the role of teacher in CALL: the traditional position and the progressive view. The traditional position is that the teacher is and will remain indispensable and that the teacher is the ultimate orbiter regarding the place of the computer in language learning. Ahmad et al.(1985) comments that far from threating the teacher’s position, the computer is totally dependent on the teacher in many ways. For example, it is unable to create educational materials without a human to direct it. 7 Warschauer & Healey (1998) says that the progressive view is that teacher should take a less intrusive role in managing language learning especially with the advent of multimedia and networked computers. Teacher should take the role of facilitator rather than being the unique authority. The researchers after Warschauer & Healey developed and modified their ideas on this topic. Gruba (2004) refers to the teacher as a ‘mediator’ between the computer and students throughout the learning process, serving the role of ‘keeping things running smoothly.’ 2.4. The Advantages of CALL Undoubtedly, the use of technology inside or outside the classroom tends to make the class more interesting. Sullivan (1993) claims that computer-mediated language classrooms encourage collaborative learning, social interaction, and invention that will eventually result in increased self-esteem. It can be surely stated that CALL is really motivating for students. However, certain design issues affect just how interesting the particular tool creates motivation. By personalizing information, the student’s name or familiar contexts as part of the programme or task can be integrated. Also, animate objects and practice activities that connect challenges and curiosity can be used. With all these, students can be motivated on the computer screen and they can be directed to spend more time on tasks or excercises. According to McCarthy (1994), the computers have some specific advantages: organizing of materials, including volume of material and random presentation, scoring and record-keeping, graphics and animation, including allowing student control, audio- cuing, recording and storage of student responses. It must be certainly accepted that CALL is an approach in which four skills of the target language can be practised effectively. By choosing the right software programme, both productive skills and receptive skills can be concentrated. But, here it 8 must be kept in mind that receptive skills are more focused on than productive skills because of current limitations in CALL. With new technological developments, surely there will be more emphasis on productive skills on CALL activities. It is a reality that being aware of target culture is a must in learning a foreign language. Another advantage of CALL is that target culture could be conveyed to the learners through authentic software programmes. In networked computer environments, students have a conscious feeling of being members of a real community. In this way, it would be easier for the learners to get more input about the everyday usage of the target language. Gunduz (2005) states some other advantages of CALL in the following sentences:  In CALL, carefully and professionally prepared software programmes can give students immediate feedback after their excercises on computer screen. Because of the fact that computers don’t have the feeling of anger, they can repeat the feedback and correct answers again and again.  Learners can find the chance of individualization in large classrooms.  CALL programmes will provide the learners with some sort of computer literacy which is becoming essential in our modern society and which could be great help in future training and career projects.  Computers can repeat an activity without any of the errors arising from repetition by humans. 2.5. The Disadvantages of CALL Despite the fact that CALL has an important place in foreign language learning, there are some disadvantages of CALL. Firstly, it has to be clearly expressed that it is not easy financially to bring a CALL system to an institute. This institute can be a university, a language school and etc. Secondly, it is a fact that computers are not good at teaching themselves, and the software does not run the lesson for the teacher. The teacher can adapt, improve and compensate for shortcomings in the software. It can take 9 longer to learn a piece of CALL software than handle a textbook for the teacher (Gunduz 2005). Thirdly, it is a fact that some students are never comfortable with using computers. This phobia might be stemmed from different reasons such as not having enough computer literacy, having some health problems or disliking to spend time in front of computer. Whatever instructors do, these students won’t make use of CALL activities effectively. Some other disadvantages of CALL can be listed as following:  Working with computers normally means that the learners work in isolation. This obviously does not help in developing normal communication among the learners, which is a crucial aim in any language lesson (Gunduz 2005).  Computers cannot handle with unexpected student behaviours such as anxiety, the feeling of failure and etc.  Computers cannot give satisfactory feedback to open ended questions.  It is more tiring to read from a computer screen than from a printed text, or to scroll the screen than turn over the page (Ahmed, Corbertt, Rogers & Sussex: 1985). 2.6. Use of CALL in All Four Skills of the Target Language In the part of ‘advantages of CALL’, it was said that carefully designed software programmes can be helpful to develop all four skills of the target language. Here, specifically each skill and the ways how to improve them in CALL will be focused on. 2.6.1. Reading Skills Warschauer & Healey (1998) state that there are three main ways which will help learners progress their reading skills. a) Incidental reading: A great many of CALL 10 programmes include the learner in reading text for the successful completion of the activity. b) Reading comprehension: Traditional questions are used in CALL programmes to measure reading comprehension of the learners. c) Text manipulation: In text manipulation part, shadow reading, sentence structure, speed reading and cloze- reading can be used. 2.6.2. Writing Skills Except from supplying academic writing skills, CALL programmes provide the learners with basic writing skills in word processing programmes. It can be said that the main principle of word processing programmes is based on the ability to manipulate text freely. Duber (2000) states that the word processor provides useful practice for guided and free writing. Punctuation, grammar and vocabulary have an obvious relevance to the sub-skills that are needed for writing. By supplying something to write about, the computer stimulates both writing and speaking. 2.6.3. Speaking Skills Hammersmith (1998) expresses that computer simulations provide a stimulus for oral skills in CALL. Computers have a useful contribution to the development of oral skills if they are used wisely. For instance, computer simulations are really motivating for the learners. Also, dialogue studies can be done with the help of the movie parts in computers and stress and intonation exercises might be added to these activities. Arguments and discussions can be held among the learners about the topics in software programme. 2.6.4. Listening Skills In CALL, many techniques can be used to enhance listening skills of the learners. Firstly, by just listening to the speakers in software programme without any subtitles, students will be exposed to natural sounds of the target language. Secondly, by listening 11 to the speakers in software programme with subtitles, students will pay attention to pronunciation of particular words and compare their own pronunciation with native ones. Thirdly, by watching videos in the programme, students will be able to listen exclamation words and see gestures of speakers, thus they will make use of all these in their daily foreign language usage. Another technique to use is listening comprehension questions in software programme so as to evaluate how well students understand the dialogues. Also, ‘fill-in blanks’ activities will help learners to follow the dialogue and distinguish seperate sounds and words in a context. 2.7. Some Researches about the Attitudes of the Learners towards CALL If books, research papers, articles and case studies are examined in CALL literature, it can be clearly seen that most of them concentrate on either basic knowledge about the philosophy of CALL or design of CALL programmes. Also, there are a lot of books and research papers that discuss whether classic class lessons or CALL programmes are more effective in foreign language learning. After a dedicated research on the field, several articles have been found which are trying to reflect learners’ feedback about CALL. In this part of the current study, these articles will be presented in order to show the similar studies whose perspectives are somehow similar with this study. Firstly, the article of Chapelle & Jamieson (1986) will be presented here. That article reports the result of a study of the effectiveness of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in the acquisition of English as a second language by Arabic and Spanish speaking students in an intensive programme. Also, authors examined two student variables- time spent using and attitude toward the CALL lessons- as well as four cognitive / affective characteristics- field independence, ambiguity tolerance, motivational intensity, and English class anxiety. English proficiency of the learners was measured by TOEFL and an oral test was applied to measure learners speaking skills. In that article, results showed that the use of CALL lessons predicted no variance on the criterion measures beyond what could be predicted by the cognitive and affective 12 variables. What’s more, it was found that time spent using and attitude toward CALL were significantly related to field independence and motivational intensity. Overall, the results indicate that certain types of learners may be better suited to CALL activities than other ones and it is necessary to consider many learner variables when researching the effectiveness of CALL. Secondly, the study of Ayres (2002) will be shown here. Generally, that article examines student attitudes towards the use of CALL and their perceived view of its relevancy to their course of study. The writer also tries to clarify just how students see the role of CALL- as main competitor with classroom teacher or as one of many useful tools? Besides, the study reports whether there was any link between the perceived usefullness of CALL, and the students’ level of computer literacy, language level and age. In the study, the setting is the School of English and Applied Linguistics at UNITEC Institue of Technology. The learners taking part in the research are 157 non- native speakers who are enrolled in various certificate and diploma courses at the School of English and Applied Linguistics. The native languages of the learners change from Chinese to Korean and Arabic. To give information about the age and gender of the learners, the age range of them is from 18 to 65 and 58 % of the learners are female while 42 % of them are male. The language proficiency of the learners changes from beginner to upper-intermediate as well. A specific software is used in that institue to facilitate CALL activities. In order to take reflections of the learners about the programme, an initial questionnaire was used and results were analyzed by SPSS. To give the results of the research, it was found that there were no statistical differences between learners of any particular gender or age when analyzed according to perceived usefullness, ease of use and importance to course. Besides, there was no statistical difference between the various nationalities. With the help of analysis, it can be understood that 80 % of the learners think that CALL is relevant to their needs. 77 % of the learners think that the computer tasks provide information that is useful to them and 60 % of the learners agree that CALL should be used more in foreign language learning. On the other hand, it is surprising to 13 say that majority of the learners find the software programme easy to use despite the fact that they confess they do not have computer literacy very much. Thirdly, the research of Ateş, Altunay, Altun (2006) will be mentioned here. The purpose of the study is to discern the effects of computer assisted English instruction on English language preparatory students’ attitudes towards computers and English in a Turkish high school with an intensive English programme. Because of the fact that the study takes part in a Turkish context, it has prior importance. To talk about the authors of the research, they are lecturers in different Turkish universities. While two of them are education specialists, one of them is interested in computer Technologies. To speak frankly, it is surprising to read this article by researchers who are not from foreign language departments of the universities. The students who participate in the study are ninth grade high school students who are selected randomly. Total student body is 30 students (20 female and 10 male). Age and language proficiency level of the learners are very similar. A quasi-experimental time series research design is used in the research. The instruments to gather data collection are a Scale for Attitudes towards English and a Scale for Attitudes towards Computers, which are given to learners three times at intervals of two weeks. As data analysis techniques, the statistical techniques Mean, Standard Deviation, t-Test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Pearson Correlation Coefficient were used. To indicate the results of the research, it can be said that the students’ scores of attitude towards computers and English after computer assisted English instruction increased significantly. However, the correlations between the increases in students’ attitude scores, their gender, and their families’ monthly income were found to be insignificant. Fourth article to be presented here is the research of Victoria Fernandez Carballo- Calero (2005). In this study, attitudes of a group of university students towards using computers to study English in a Spanish context are investigated. The main focus of this research is to determine whether familization with computers to learn foreign language 14 can improve students’ attitudes towards CALL. Totaly, there were 50 students in the research who had experienced computer assisted language learning for one hour a week in an entire semester. An anonymous survey in Spanish was administered to the students. Items in the questionnaire were answered on a five-point Likert scale and SPSS was used to analyze the data. In particular, it was found that, after having used computers to learn foreign language once a week in a semester, students showed more positive attitudes towards CALL than students who had never used them before. Fifth study on the attitudes of learners towards CALL to be discussed is the article of Almekhlafi, Abdurrahman Ghaleb (2006). This study investigated the effect of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) on elementary-prep school students' improvement in English as a foreign language (EFL). Eighty-three students in Al- Tamayoz Elementary-prep School, United Arab Emirates, were selected and divided into experimental and control groups (43 and 40 participants respectively). Results of Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a significant difference between CALL users and nonusers in favor of the experimental group (p < .05). In addition, a questionnaire was administered to CALL users to investigate their attitude, perceived utility, and intention to use CALL in the future. Students in the experimental group had a positive attitude toward CALL, perceived its utility for helping them learn EFL, and had a strong intention to use it in the future. Results of this study have provided evidence of the effect of CALL on learning English as a foreign language. Sixth study to focus on here is the research of Scholfield and Ypsilandis (1994). A group of Greek learners of English were asked to use three different programs in three modes: “Independent” “Group” and “Class” uses. Then, the subjects answered the questionnaire which elicited their experiences of and feelings about CALL. The results of the correlational study indicated that age was largely irrelevant to the student responses to the questions, and that experienced CALL users were no longer charmed by superficialities. The authors suggested classroom teachers recognize that “CALL is not something to be just tacked on to a language course but that it must be made integral with what is going on in the rest of the course” 15 Seventh study to mention in the literature review part is the article of Warschauer (1996). It is a study on the relationship between CALL and motivational aspects of learners. He researched the effects on student motivation of using computers for writing and communication in the language classroom. He reported that the subjects overall had a positive attitude toward using computers and that this attitude was consistent across a number of variables which included gender, typing skills, and access to a computer at home. In addition, he identified that self-reported knowledge of computers and amount of experience using e-mail correlated positively with student motivation. Eighth article which helped this study to develop the ideas about the learners’ reactions towards CALL is the study of Fujieda and Matsuura (1999). This study attempted to explore the characteristics of Japanese EFL learners who would benefit most from computers. For this purpose, 65 college students with various majors and levels of English proficiency were sellected as subjects randomly. They were asked to answer two kinds of questionnaires before and after five CALL sessions. In addition, the subjects were asked to take an English proficiency test called CELT. The pre- session questionnaire was designed to find the students’ motivation in learning English and to elicit their general attitudes toward language learning, computers, technology, people, and so on. As a result of factor analyses, six factors were found to be useful for this study. The post-session questionnaire included such statements as “CALL was fun because it was just like playing games,” and “I was tense when using a computer,” and rating scales of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). In the research, the results indicated that the subjects were more or less positive to CALL. The following points were noted: Female students reacted a little more positively to CALL than their male counterparts; the lower a subject’s age, the more positively he/she reacted to CALL; impression ratings of both with and without computer experience groups were not significantly different; and the subjects’ English proficiency did not seem to correlate with their reactions to CALL. 16 Another study to mention is the article of David Lasagabaster and Juan Manuel Sierra (2003). The authors here applied a questionnaire consisting 18 items to 59 university students to get their real opinions about the software in a CALL programme. All the students were studying in different departments of University of the Basque Country in Spain. The questionnaire was given to the students in their mother language in order to get reliable results which don’t involve any misunderstanding because of language problem. To talk about the results of the study, it can be said that the most repeated comments of the students were about error correction in the software. Students were very worried about the lack of any comprehensive explanation in the software programs. When a mistake was made, the machine only informed the student about their incorrect choice, but without any clarifying explanation. Another complain about the software was that some skills were hardly present in the programme, especially reading, writing and speaking Although some activities to work on these skills were included, students felt that there was still much to improve. Furhermore, the lack of interaction was another complaint clearly stated by the participants. Although much of the software claims to display interactive activities, students did not fully appreciate this value. Lastly, students claimed that. They basically missed contact with another person in order to establish authentic communication, and they even underlined certain note of derision when talking to the machine: You may feel as a fool talking to a machine. After presenting these results of the study, authors underline that teachers / lecturers should be fully aware of these drawbacks when making use of software courses and when it comes to integrate them successfully into their syllabuses. The last study to be placed here is the doctorial thesis of Cheryl H. Fante (1995). The purpose of that study was to examine whether computer-assisted instruction would improve students’ performance in developmental English when compared to a traditional lecture / discussion instructional method. The research questions in that study were: 17 1-Is there a difference in the achivement among students who are taught developmental English using either INVEST or PLATO software as compared to students who receive instruction through traditional lecture / discussion method? 2-Is there a difference in the achivement among students in Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree programmes who are taught developmental English using either INVEST or PLATO software as compared to students who receive instruction through traditional lecture / discussion method? The multiple assesment programmes and Services (MAPS) language pretests and posttest scores were used to measure writing achivement for all groups. A one-way Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyze the relative effectiveness of the different instructional methods and to determine if differences existed between writing scores of Associate of Arts degree-seeking students and Associate of Science degree-seeking students by the different instructional methods. Totally, there were 180 subjects in the study equally from Associate of Arts and Associate of Science. If it is required to mention the results of the thesis, it can be claimed that the computer assisted groups, which are integrated with traditional lectures, were the most effective instructional method to teach developmental English. When degree type (Associate of Arts and Associate of Science) was considered, no statistically significant difference was found. To say the last comment about this study, the results support the research on effectiveness of the computer assisted instructional method for developmental English students. 18 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1. Introduction The methodological procedures of the current study are described in this chapter. It shows the background of the methodology, subjects, the institue, the software, data collection instruments and data analysis procedure. 3.2. Background of the Methodology If it is necessary to repeat the purpose of the study, there are two main purposes of the study. Firstly, English language programme in Intensıve English Programme at Sakarya University is discussed with its main frames and its integration with CALL is focused on. Secondly, the attitudes of the students towards computer assisted language learning and possible changes in their attitudes towards CALL in a five-month process are investigated in this study. In order to get necesarry information about English language programme in Intensıve English Programme at Sakarya University and its integration with CALL, some help was taken from the head of department, Assist. Prof. Dr. Metin Timucin, and experienced colleagues. To get information about the software, offical documents about the software were examined and coursebook of the software was reviewed. For this research, qualitative approach is considered to be the most convenient one because it is based on the idea of making sense of the data. Therefore, the data gathered from the questionnaire were evaluated in the light of qualitative approach; however, quantitative approach was also used to count and measure the data in order to analyze the results. Seliger and Shohamy (1990: 120) say that ‘ the ultimate goal of qualitative approach is to discover phonemena such as patterns of second language behavior not previously 19 described and to understand those phonemena from the perspective of participants in the activity.’ 3.3. The Subjects The subjects of the current study are the students of Intensive English Programme at Sakarya University during 2008-09 academic term. These students are actually enrolled in different departments and they are at Intensive English Programme just for a year. The departments of the subjects were categorized into two main groups: Departments of Social Sciences and Departments of Science and Technology. The students are instructed in the institute as three shifts: morning shift, afternoon shift and evening shift. Total student body is 474; however, 134 of them were taken as subjects into the current study. The majority of the learners have not attended an intensive English programme in their previous life. While the learners come from different education background and economic backround, they have equal rights in the institute. The students’ ages generally range from 18 to 21. But there are some learners whose ages are high above the average. The subjects were taken inside the research randomly and nearly all of them were interested in the questionnaire and they stated that they wanted to learn the results of the questionnaire in the following semesters. 3.4. The Institute The present study took place at Intensive English Programme of Sakarya University. Intensive English Programme was opened in 1993; however, computer assisted language learning has been in use since 2001. The institute was provided with computers, necessary hardware and technicians. Because of the fact that the instructors were not familiar with this new system, they were trained by specialists sent by the software company. 20 By 2008, Intensive English Programme was optional for the students. The students who wanted to learn English and participate the programme would register in the system and attend the classes. With a new legislation, the students of Industry Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Department of Tourism Management and International Affairs were exposed to attend Intensive English Programme obligatory. On the other hand, the students who want to attend Intensive English Programme willingly are accepted to the programme. Regular attendance to the classes is strongly expected from the students. The learners who do not attend 130 classes (% 30 of legal education duration) automatically fail in the class. And these students do not have the opportunity to sit final exam.The students have weekly quizes which are aimed to help learners grasp the topics instructed each week. The learners have 3 midterm exams each semester and have a final exam which is at the end of the second semester. 50 % of the average of all midterms and 50 % of the final exam are calculated and the students who get at least 70 points (100 points at most) are accepted successful and pass the course. Totally, there are 19 instructors including experienced ones and inexperienced ones who are graduates of different universities. There is no native speaker instructor in Intensive English Programme. Team work is especially emphasized in the institue and all the instructors share a large room in order to co-operate with their colleagues while preparing materials, discussing about topics to be taught in classes. Except from the exercises in coursebook, instructors prepare weekly worksheets which are very helpful for the learners as a means of having chance to do more exercises. In the process of preparing worksheets, all the instructors cooperate and create the material by adding and editing some items. It can be clearly stated that implementation of CALL into foreign language learning is highly stressed in the institute. For this reason, every new member of academic staff is trained how to use CALL effectively in teaching / learning process. Recent updates 21 of the sofware are gradually informed to the academic staff by programme designers of the sofware. The learners have 20 hours of English lessons a week. 10 hours of these English lessons are traditional class sections; on the other hand, the learners have 10 hours of lessons in computer equipped classes in which they have chance to explore the language by CALL. In the institue, equal distinction of traditional class sections and the lessons in computer equipped classes is strongly emphasized. Actually, these two different lesson types are not independent from each other. When the learners are exposed to some language items in class sections, they find similar examples and activities in computer equipped classes about them as well. In a paralel way, in class sections, the students have the chance of practising new language items and words which they are exposed in computer equipped classes. 3.5. The Software The software was prepared by experienced American and English specialists. The software which is used in more than forty countries in the world gives the learners chance of learning English in a multi-media environment. In the software’s multi-media materials, there are learning activities based on proved pedagogical principles, interesting themes and topics, wide range of tests evaluating the language development level, integrated reading passages with videos, graphs and sound exercises, the chance of recording your voice and comparing it with native speakers’ pronunciation and extended counselling equipments such as dictionary and grammar part. Also, there are paper-based materials in the system. Paper-based materials were prepared for grammar instruction in the guidance of a teacher, teaching academic writing, developing learners’ listening skills. The system includes sophisticated learner administration software. Instructors and administrators in the school can accomplish the following tasks: 22  Registering the instructors in the system  Registering the students and monitoring their system usage  Monitoring the learners’ indivual and group works and their success level  Observing the system usage and reporting it In the current software system, there are some supporting services as well. These are:  Loading the software  Instructor seminars  Updating the materials  Technical and pedagogical support  The software website During the offical controls, it was found out that the system was more flexible, more motivating and more effective comparing with the other softwares. 3.6. Data Collection Instruments Since the aim of this study to find out the possible answers to the research questions, a questionnaire was used as a data collection instrument to answer those questions. 3.6.1. The questionnaire It is a well-known fact that questionnaires are widely used data collection instruments in descriptive studies. Ekmekci (1999: 22) states that questionnaires enable to reach large populations, to find out the objects’ judgements and opinions, to investigate their experiences on a specific topic and to identify a problem related to the subjects and their priorities in relation to a specific topic. To learn the attitudes of the students who are enrolled in Intensıve English Programme at Sakarya University towards CALL, a questionnaire was applied to them 23 twice in the format of pre-test and post-test. Questions in both pre-test and post-test were the same so as to observe probable differences in their attitudes towards CALL in a five month process. The questionnaire was prepared as Likert-Scale and it involved totally 14 questions. 4 of 14 questions were prepared in order to get some necessary information about the participants and the rest of the questions were prepared to get their attitudes towards CALL. In the process of building questionnaire, questions were prepared carefully regarding the purpose of the study. Questions were written by the writer; in other words, they were not adapted from other questionnaires. Before the application phase, questions were analyzed in order to see whether they were consistent among themselves and a pilot questionnaire was administered to thirty students to get their feedback about the research and questions inside the questionnaire. After getting positive reactions and encountering no problem about the understandability of the questions, the questionnaire was applied to the subjects in their mother language (Turkish), and an explanation about the questionnaire was given to the students by the instructors for better understanding. During the application phase, the subjects were assured that they did not have to write their names on the sheets and the current study had nothing to do with grades in their lessons. However, questionnaire sheets were enumarated according to the registration list of the classes so as to match the same student’s pre-test and post-test which was applied after 5 months. In the application phase of post-test, the subjects were made sure that the questions were the same with pre-test and they were expected to answer the questions with keeping 5-month CALL experience in mind. 3.7. Data Analysis Procedure In the evaluation phase of the questionnaire, all data were processed in SPSS and analyzed using different analysis programmes such as Independent-samples T test, and Paired-Samples T test. 24 While coding data obtained from the questionnaire into SPSS, the following procedure was used:  Strongly Disagree 1 point  Disagree 2 points  Uncertain 3 points  Agree 4 points  Strongly Agree 5 points Because of the fact that Item 7, Item 8 and Item 10 are negative items according to the mentality of the questionnaire, data coding was done opposite to the previous one.  Strongly Disagree 5 points  Disagree 4 points  Uncertain 3 points  Agree 2 points  Strongly Agree 1 point 25 CHAPTER 4 RESULTS 4.1. Introduction This chapter focuses on the presentation of the results of the questionnaire obtained from the studies in SPSS. The purpose of the current questionnaire was to learn whether there occured any changes in the attitudes of Sakarya University Intensive English Programme students towards CALL in a 5-month process. For this reason, the present questionnaire was applied to the subjects twice to see the possible changes in their attitudes towards CALL. Firstly, the answers of the subjects to the questions in pre-test and post-test will be shown, secondly the research questions of the present thesis will be focused on and the results of the research questions will be demonstrated. 4.2. The Answers of the Subjects to the Items in Pre-test and Post-test In Table 1, X symbolizes arithmetical average and s.d. symbolizes standard deviation. In the evaluation part of the data, it should be kept in mind that the items whose values are above 3.50 are positive ones according to the meaning of the question and the items whose values are below the 3.50 are negative ones. Inside the explanation part of each item, necessary information will be given. 26 Table 4.1. The Answers of the Subjects to the Items in Pre-test and Post-test The Answers of the Subjects to the Items in Pre-test and Post-test PRE-TEST POST-TEST QUESTIONS X SD X SD 1. I think that computer assisted language learning is really an 4,13 0,80 3,66 0,99 effective approach in foreign language learning. 2. I have the assumption that computer assisted language learning can be 4,12 1,10 4,19 0,94 an effective approach if it is combined with face to face classes. 3. I believe that using computers in foreign language learning is a motivation increasing way in many aspects. 3,84 1,03 3,26 1,14 4. I think that computer assisted language learning is an approach which students can make use of without feeling a need to a teacher. 1,85 1,10 1,80 0,98 5. During my studies in computer assisted language learning, I believe that computers will give me necessary feedback when I make mistakes 2,87 1,15 3,40 1,16 and be a good guide for me to reach the right point. 6. I think that using computers in foreign language learning is more 3,93 0,98 3,74 0,99 effective than coursebooks in terms of being aware of the target culture. 7. Computer assisted language learning which is not supported by classic classroom lessons can cause students’ teamwork skills 2,19 1,20 2,31 1,01 to disappear. 8. Due to the fact that the studies in computer assisted language learning are mainly individual and there is no intereaction among the learners, 2,99 1,40 2,63 1,29 these studies can be regarded boring. 9. I have the opinion that computer equipped classes are the places in which students investigate mechanically reason-cause relations like 2,81 1,30 2,76 0,94 the laboratories of natural sciences 10. I am afraid of failure in computer assisted language learning 3,93 1,20 3,58 1,23 process owing to the fact that I don’t like studying individually. 27 Item 1: I think that computer assisted language learning is really an effective approach in foreign language learning. If we look at the answers of the subjects to Item 1, they seem really positive in pre- test. The aritmetical average is 4,13; however, the arithmetical average decreases in post-test to 3,66. Because of the fact that the arithmetical average is still above 3.50, we can say that the subjects think that computer assisted language learning is really an effective approach in foreign language learning before and after they are exposed to CALL process which lasts five month. Item 2: I have the assumption that computer assisted language learning can be an effective approach if it is combined with face to face classes. In Item 2, the subjects are rather optimistic to CALL. In pre-test, the aritmetical average is 4,12. If we turn our perspective to post test, it can be clearly seen that the aritmetical average increases 0,7 and it reaches at 4,19. After stating these numbers, it can be said that the subjects have the assumption that computer assisted language learning can be an effective approach if it is combined with face to face classes. Item 3: I believe that using computers in foreign language learning is a motivation increasing way in many aspects. This item was prepared to see whether computers are motivation increasing devices in foreign language learning. If we look at the answers of the subjects in pre-test, we can say that the subjects believe that using computers in foreign language learning is a motivation increasing way in many aspects with the arithmetical average of 3,84. But the results we got from post-test indicate that the subjects’ thoughts have changed a bit and they do not consider computers as efficient as they consider in pre-test in terms of motivation. The aritmetical average is 3,26 in post-test. 28 Item 4: I think that computer assisted language learning is an approach which students can make use of without feeling a need to a teacher. In this item, the subjects are expected to state whether they need a teacher or not in computer assisted language learning. If we look at the arithmetical average of pre-test which is 1,85, it can be easily understood that the subjects are in need of a teacher during CALL activities. The result has not changed a lot in the arithmetical average of post-test which is 1,80. Item 5: During my studies in computer assisted language learning, I believe that computers will give me necessary feedback when I make mistakes and be a good guide for me to reach the right point. Here, it can be understood that the subjects had the idea that the computers would not give necessary feedback when they make mistakes and be a good guide for them to reach the right point during their CALL activities in pre-test. The aritmetical average of pre-test was 2,87. But after five-month CALL exposure, their ideas have changed and they started to have a positive attitude on this topic. We can see this fact in post-test whose arithmetical average is 3,40. Item 6: I think that using computers in foreign language learning is more effective than coursebooks in terms of being aware of the target culture. The purpose of this item is to learn the idea of the subjects on conveying the target culture through computers and comparing the use of computers and coursebooks from this perspective. According to the answers of the subjects to the questions in pre-test, it can be stated that the subjects think that using computers in foreign language learning is more effective than coursebooks in terms of being aware of the target culture. The arithmetical average of pre-test is 3,93. In post-test, the arithmetical average declines a bit and the result is 3,74. However, we can conclude that the learners stil have positive attitudes towards learning the target culture through computers after five-month CALL exposure. 29 Item 7: Computer assisted language learning which is not supported by classic classroom lessons can cause students’ teamwork skills to disappear. According to the results obtained from pre-test, it can be put forward that the subjects disagree with the idea that computer assisted language learning which is not supported by classic classroom lessons can cause students’ teamwork skills to disappear. The arithmetical average of pre-test is 2,19. If we turn our perspective to post-test, we can observe that the subjects’ opinions have not changed a lot after five months. The arithmetical average is 2,31 here. Item 8: Due to the fact that the studies in computer assisted language learning are mainly individual and there is no intereaction among the learners, these studies can be regarded boring. If the arithmetical average of Item 8 (2,99) in pre-test is examined, it can be seen that the subjects don’t regard the studies in CALL boring. The situation has not changed a lot in post-test, what’s more, there are more students who do not think CALL activities boring. The aritmetical average of post-test is 2,63. Overall, we can say that the subjects do not regard the studies in CALL boring before and after five-month CALL exposure. Item 9: I have the opinion that computer equipped classes are the places in which students investigate mechanically reason-cause relations like the laboratories of natural sciences. This item was asked to the subjects to get their opinions about the philosophy of computer equipped classes. With the arithmetical average of pre-test (2,81) , it can be understood the subjects disagree with the idea that I have the opinion that computer equipped classes are the places in which students investigate mechanically reason- cause relations like the laboratories of natural sciences. In post-test, we can see that the subjects have similiar ideas with pre-test. The arithmetical average of post-test is 2,76. 30 Item 10: I am afraid of failure in computer assisted language learning process owing to the fact that I don’t like studying individually. In both pre-test and post-test, we can say that the subjects are afraid of failure in computer assisted language learning process owing to the fact that they don’t like studying individually. The arithmetical average of pre-test is 3,93 and the arithmetical average of post-test is 3,58. With these results, it can be concluded that the subjects have negative attitude towards self-studying. 4.3. The Results of Research Questions In this part of the study, the research questions of the thesis and the answers of them will be presented. 4.3.1. The Results of Research Question 1 Are there any differences between the attitudes of learners who have participated in Intensive English Programme in their previous education life and the ones who have not participated towards CALL at the beginning of the Intensive English Programme and after 5-month exposure process to CALL ? Demographic features of the subjects Table 4.2. Demographic features of the subjects for Research Question 1 Research Group Frequency (f) Percentage (%) Participating Intensive English Programme or not Participants 34 25,4 Non-participants 100 74,6 31 Totally, one hundred thirty-four students took part in the current research. Thirty-four of these students have participated in Intensive English Programme in their previous education life ( 25,4 % ) but a hundred of them have not participated ( 74,6 % ) . Pre-Test Results Independent-samples T test was applied to see the difference between the groups. Table 4.3. Pre-test results of Research Question 1 Research Group Measure x s.d. t p Instrument The subjects participating an IEP in previous 32,38 4,28 education life Pre-test -1,12 0,27 The subjects who have not participated an IEP in 33,44 4,91 previous education life According to the results presented above, the attitudes of the subjects who have not participated an Intensive English Programme in previous education life towards CALL are higher than the attitudes of the subjects who have participated Intensive English Programme in previous education life towards CALL. But, the difference between the groups is not meaningful statistically (p>0.05). Post-Test Results Independent-samples T test was applied to see the difference between the groups. 32 Table 4.4. Post-test results of Research Question 1 Research Group Measure x s.d. t p Instrument The subjects who have participated an IEP in 31,97 4,50 previous education life Post-test 1,61 0,11 The subjects who have not participated an IEP in 30,40 5,02 previous education life If the table above is examined carefully, the decline in the attitudes of both groups towards CALL can be seen after five-month CALL exposure. When we compare the average of post-test and pre-test , we can understand that the attitudes of the subjects who have not participated an IEP in previous education life decreased more than the other group. According to the post-test results, the difference between two groups is not meaningful statistically (p>0.05). When we look at the results of pre-test and post-test, we can see the decline in the attitutes of both groups towards CALL. Paired-Samples T test was applied in order to see whether this decline is meaningful or not for each group. The obtained data will be presented in the table below. Table 4.5. Paired-Samples T test for the subjects who have participated an IEP in previous education life Research Group Measure N x s.d. sd t p Instrument The subjects who Pre-test 32,38 4,28 have participated 34 33 0,34 0,74 an IEP in previous Post-test 31,97 4,50 education life 33 According to the table above, five-month CALL exposure did not make any meaningful change in the attitudes of the subjects who have participated an IEP in previous education life towards computer assisted language learning. The change in the attitudes of this group after pre-test and post-test is not meaningful statistically (p>0.05). Table 4.6. Paired-Samples T test for the subjects who have not participated an IEP in previous education life Research Group Measure N x s.d. sd t p Instrument The subjects who Pre-test 33,44 4,91 have not participated an 100 99 4,53 0,00 Post-test 30,40 5,02 IEP in previous education life In the table above, the effect of five-month CALL exposure on the subjects who have not participated an IEP in previous education life can be seen. At the end of five- month CALL exposure, a decline can be observed in the attitudes of the present group towards CALL. This decline is important statistically (p<0.05). 4.3.2. The Results of Research Question 2 Are there any differences between the attitudes of learners who are registered to Intensive English Programme obligatory according to the legislation in their departments and the ones registered to Intensive English Programme willingly towards CALL at the beginning of the Intensive English Programme and after 5-month exposure process to CALL? 34 Demographic features of the subjects Table 4.7. Demographic features of the subjects for Research Question 2 Research Group Frequency(f) Percentage(%) Registiring IEP compulsory or willingly Compulsory 95 70,9 Willingly 39 29,1 Among the subjects participating in the study, ninety-five of them (70,9 %) are registered to IEP compulsory and thirty-nine of them (29,1 %) are registired to IEP willingly. Pre-Test Results Independent-samples T test was applied in order to see the difference between the groups. Table 4.8. Pre-Test results for Research Question 2 Research Group Measure x s.d. t p Instrument The subjects registered to 33,28 4,63 IEP compulsory Pre-test 0,43 0,67 The subjects registered to 32,90 5,14 IEP willingly According to pre-test results, the attitudes of the subjects registered to IEP compulsory towards CALL are higher than the attitudes of the subjects registered to IEP willingly towards CALL. However, the difference between the groups is not meaningful statistically (p>0.05). 35 Post-Test Results Independent-samples T test was applied to see the difference between the groups. Table 4.9. Post-Test results for Research Question 2 Research Group Measure x s.d. t p Instrument The subjects registered to IEP 30,95 5,19 compulsory Post-test 0,54 0,59 The subjects registered to IEP willingly 30,44 4,29 At the end of five-month CALL exposure time, it can be seen that the arithmetical average of the groups is rather near to each other. If we compare pre-test results and post-test results, we can see that the attitudes of the two groups towards CALL decreased. According to post-test results, the difference between the groups is not meaningful (p>0.05). Paired-Samples T test was applied in order to see whether the decrease in the attitudes of both groups towards CALL is meaningful or not. The results are shown in the table below. Table 4.10. Paired-Samples T test for the subjects registerd to IEP compulsory Research Group Measure N x s.d. sd t p Instrument The subjects Pre-test 33,28 4,63 registered to IEP 95 94 3,33 0,00 Post-test 30,95 5,19 compulsory Looking at the data above, it can be clearly stated that the difference in the attitudes of the subjects registered to IEP compulsory before and after five-month CALL exposure is meaningful statistically(p<0.05). 36 Table 4.11. Paired-Samples T test for the subjects registerd to IEP willingly Research Group Measure N x s.d. sd t p Instrument The subjects Pre-test 32,90 5,14 registered to IEP 39 38 2,17 0,04 Post-test 30,44 4,29 willingly According to the data in Table 10, the difference in the attitudes of the subjects registered to IEP willingly before and after five-month CALL exposure is meaningful statistically(p<0.05). 4.3.3. The Results of Research Question 3 Are there any differences between the attitudes of learners whose departments are based on social studies and the ones whose departments are based on science studies towards CALL at the beginning of the Intensive English Programme and after 5-month exposure process to CALL? Demographic features of the subjects Table 4.12. Demographic features of the subjects for Research Question 3 Research Group Frequency (f) Percentage (%) Department Science Studies 47 35,1 Social Studies 87 64,9 According to Table 12, forty-seven of the subjects ( 35,1 % ) are in the departments related to science studies and eighty-seven of them ( 64,9 % ) are in the departments related to social studies. 37 Pre-Test Results Independent-samples T test was applied in order to see the difference between the groups. Table 4.13. Pre-Test results for Research Question 3 Research Group Measure x s.d. t p Instrument The subjects in science studies 32,64 5,02 Pre-test -0,95 0,34 The subjects in social studies 33,46 4,63 According to pre-test results, the attitudes of the subjects in social studies towards CALL are higher than the other research group. However, the arithmetical avarage of both research groups is very near to each other and the difference between the groups is not meaningful statistically(p>0.05). Post-Test Results Independent-samples T test was applied in order to see the difference between the groups. Table 4.14. Post-Test results for Research Question 3 Research Group Measure Instrument x s.d. t p The subjects in science studies 31,36 4,67 Post-test 0,97 0,30 The subjects in social studies 30,49 5,06 At the end of five-month CALL procedure, it can be seen that the attitudes of the subjects in science studies towards CALL are higher than the other research group but the difference between the groups is not meaningful statistically(p>0.05). 38 If we look at pre-test and post-test results together, we can witness the decline in the attitudes of both research groups towards CALL. Paired-Samples T test was applied in order to see whether the decrease in the attitudes of both groups towards CALL is meaningful or not. The results are shown in the table below. Table 4.15. Paired-Samples T test for the subjects in science studies Research Group Measure N x s.d. sd t p Instrument The subjects in Pre-test 32,64 5,02 47 46 1,22 0,23 science studies Post-test 31,36 4,67 According to the data presented in Table 15, the difference in the attitudes of the research group in pre-test and post-test is not meaningful statistically(p>0.05). Table 4.16. Paired-Samples T test for the subjects in social studies Research Group Measure N x s.d. sd t p Instrument The subjects in Pre-test 33,46 4,63 87 86 4,14 0,00 social studies Post-test 30,49 5,06 In Table 16, it is seen that there is a meaningful difference statistically in the attitudes of the current research group between pre-test and post-test (p<0.05). 4.3.4. The Results of Research Question 4 Are there any differences between the attitudes of learners who are female or male towards CALL at the beginning of the Intensive English Programme and after 5-month exposure process to CALL? 39 Demographic features of the subjects Table 4.17. Demographic features of the subjects for Research Question 4 Research Group Frequency Percentage (f) (%) Gender Male 92 68,7 Female 42 31,3 Among the participants in this research, ninety-two of them (68,7 %) are males and forty-two of them (31,3 %) are females. We can see male dominancy in the current study. Pre-Test Results Independent-samples T test was applied in order to see the difference between the groups. Table 4.18. Pre-Test Results for Research Question 4 Research Group Measure x s.d. t p Instrument Male 32,51 4,88 Pre-test -2,40 0,02 Female 34,62 4,21 According to the Pre-test which was applied to the subjects at the beginning of IEP, the attitude difference towards CALL between research groups is meaningful statistically (p<0.05). If we examine the table above, we can witness that the attitudes of females towards CALL are higher than the attitudes of males. 40 Post-Test Results Independent-samples T test was applied in order to see the difference between the groups. Table 4.19. Post-Test Results for Research Question 4 Research Group Measure x s.d. t p Instrument Male 30,96 4,59 Post-test 0,55 0,59 Female 30,45 5,65 To give the results of the post-test, it can be said that the attitudes of males towards CALL is higher than the attitudes of females which is different from the results of pre- test. However, the difference between the research groups is not meaningful statistically (p>0.05). If we look at pre-test and post-test results, we can see the decrease in the attitudes of both research groups towards CALL. Paired-Samples T test was applied in order to see whether the decrease in the attitudes of both groups towards CALL is meaningful or not. The results are shown in the table below. Table 4.20. Paired-Samples T test for male learners Research Group Measure N x s.d. sd t p Instrument Pre-test 32,51 4,88 Male learners 92 91 2,13 0,04 Post-test 30,96 4,59 According to the data presented in the table above, the difference in the attitudes of male learners towards CALL before and after five-month CALL exposure is meaningful and the decrease in the attitudes of male learners towards CALL is important statistically(p<0.05). 41 Table 4.21. Paired-Samples T test for female learners Research Group Measure N x s.d. sd t p Instrument Pre-test 34,62 4,21 Female learners 42 41 4,31 0,00 Post-test 30,45 5,65 In the table above, we can see difference in the attitudes of female learners towards CALL before and after five-month CALL exposure process. According to Table 21, it can be said that the decrease in the attitudes of female learners is meaningful statistically (p<0.05). 42 CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS 5.1. Introduction In this part of the study, a discussion of the findings in Chapter 4 is presented. The results of the questions in the questionnaire and the results of the research questions are discussed one by one. If it is necessary to repeat the purpose of the current thesis, it can be said that this study was aimed to find out possible changes in the attitudes of Sakarya University Intensive English Programme students towards computer assisted language learning during five-month CALL exposure. 5.2. The Discussion of the Results of the Items in the Questionnaire Item 1: I think that computer assisted language learning is really an effective approach in foreign language learning. This item was prepared to get the general ideas of the subjects towards CALL. In Chapter 4, it was indicated that the learners had a positive attitude towards computer assisted language learning with the aritmetical average more than 3.50 in both pre-test and post-test. Despite the fact that the subjects had some negative ideas in some questions in the questionnaire towards CALL, they generally believe that computer assisted language learning is an effective approach in foreign language learning. If we turn our perspective to the decrease in their attitudes in post-test, it can be said that the subjects had the lack of motivation in the second semester because of long academic term. Therefore, they started to make use of CALL activities less and their attitudes towards CALL decreased. The result obtained from this item agrees with the study of Victoria Fernandez Carballo-Calero (2005). In her research Victoria Fernandez Carballo-Calero (2005) says that the subjects who are totaly 50 students have, in general, very positive attitude 43 towards the use of computers for language learning, with all items (21 items) being rated more than 3. Also, the result obtained from this item agrees with the studies of Chapelle & Jamieson (1986), Warschauer (1996), Ayres (2002), Ateş , Altunay , Altun (2006) and Almekhlafi, Abdurrahman Ghaleb (2006). Item 2: I have the assumption that computer assisted language learning can be an effective approach if it is combined with face to face classes. The present item investigates whether the subjects think CALL can be an effective foreign language learning approach if it is combined with face to face classes. In other words, the purpose of this item is to find out the opinions of the subjects about the place of CALL in foreign language learning process. With the numbers in the Results section, it can be clearly said that the subjects agree with the statement in Item 2 in both pre-test and post-test. What’s more, the attitudes of the learners increase in the post-test. We can express that the learners understood the importance of the integration of CALL with face to face classes in five-month CALL exposure process. In the Institute, the instructors try to bring the activities to the classrooms which are similar to CALL activities and they try to go on classroom lessons parallel to the topics in the software. Here, the use of the coursebook of the software is really an advantage for both the learners and the instructors. The integration of CALL with face to face classes is an important topic in CALL literature. Scinicariello (1997) highlights that technology is simply a tool to be used in the language learning process. While it has very high appeal, learners view it as enhancing, not replacing, their classroom-based instruction. CALL needs to be used carefully and judiciously and must be tightly integrated into the learning curriculum in order for learners to obtain maximum benefit from its use. 44 Item 3: I believe that using computers in foreign language learning is a motivation increasing way in many aspects. The aim of this item is to learn the ideas of the learners about the motivational aspect of using computers in foreign language learning. With the results we got from pre-test, it can be said that the subjects find using computers motivational in foreign language learning. The results of the current study for this item coincide with the results of Victoria Fernandez Carballo-Calero (2005). In the mentioned study, Victoria Fernandez Carballo-Calero found that using computers in foreign language learning is a motivation increasing activity in many aspects as well. In that study, the arithmetical average of the item which investigates students’ motivation in CALL is 4,18 which is pretty high. As everybody knows, today’s students use computers in many fields of their life. However, it is not common to use computers in foreign language learning among young people in Turkey. The subjects might have thought that using computers could be interesting and motivational to learn a foreign language at the beginning of IEP. If we turn our perspective to the results of post-test, we can see that the subjects started to disagree with the statement in Item 3. This disagreement might have caused from the repeated activities in the software or the learners might have found the activities in the software boring or uninteresting. Item 4: I think that computer assisted language learning is an approach which students can make use of without feeling a need to a teacher. The present item was put inside the questionnaire in order to get the opinions of the subjects about teacher factor in CALL studies. In both pre-test and post-test, it can be easily understood that the subjects need a teacher in CALL activities to guide them. Most probably, the subjects felt the presence of a teacher in understanding the philosophy of computer assisted language learning and effective ways to make use of 45 CALL ultimately. Teacher factor is widely discussed topic in CALL literature. There are some educationalists and academics who think that a teacher is a must in computer equipped classes and there are others who think opposite. Here, the necessity of an instructor in CALL is supported with the result we got from this item. Item 5: During my studies in computer assisted language learning, I believe that computers will give me necessary feedback when I make mistakes and be a good guide for me to reach the right point. The purpose of this item is to get the ideas of the learners about the computers’ giving necessary feedback when they make mistakes during CALL activities. In pre- test, it can be seen that the subjects had a negative attitude towards computers’ giving necessary feedback when they make mistakes during CALL activities. However, the situation changes in post-test and the arithmetical avarage increases dramatically. Looking at this dramatic change, it can be inferred the subjects witnessed that the computers are good helpers for them with their mistakes during language studies. Also, it can be put forward that the subjects learners how to use computers effectively during five-month CALL exposure process and they discovered that computers are good correctors with mistakes and excellent guides to reach the right point in language exercises. However, the result gotten from this item disagrees with the result obtained from the research of David Lasagabaster and Juan Manuel Sierra (2003). In the mentioned study, the subjects claimed that they were very worried about the lack of any comprehensive explanation in the software program. When a mistake was made, the machine only informed the students about their incorrect choice without any clarifying explanation. Here, the importance of well-designed software programmes can be seen clearly. 46 Item 6: I think that using computers in foreign language learning is more effective than coursebooks in terms of being aware of the target culture. The current item was in the questionnaire for the evaluation of CALL in terms of conveying the target culture. In Chapter 4, it can be easily seen that the learners find the computers successful from this perspective and they regard that the computers accomplish superior job than coursebooks in conveying the target culture while teaching the foreign language. The interesting topics, reading passages and videos about the target culture in CALL activities must have caught the learners’ attention and helped them to be more aware of the target culture. To sum up, the computers in the network of the school seem helpful for the learners to learn the target culture. Item 7: Computer assisted language learning which is not supported by classic classroom lessons can cause students’ teamwork skills to disappear. The subjects of the research do not agree with the statement in Item 7. Probably, they don’t know computer assisted language learning style without being supported by classic classroom lessons. Because, in the institute, they have equal hours for CALL activities in computer equipped classes and classic classroom lessons. If they had been aware of CALL style which is not supported by classic classroom lessons, they might have given more critical answers for the current item. Another reason for the answers of the learners for this item can be the fact that the subjects are in contact with their classmates and the teacher during CALL activities although the mentioned interaction is too limited. For this reason, they may have thought that the activities in computer equipped classes are not the activities which will cause their teamwork skills to disappear. 47 Item 8: Due to the fact that the studies in computer assisted language learning are mainly individual and there is no intereaction among the learners, these studies can be regarded boring. The learners don’t agree with the statement in the present item. In other words, they don’t regard CALL activities boring due to the lack of interaction with other learners. Here, the importance of the teacher’s organization of the activities in computer equipped classes outshines. If the teacher succeeds in organizing student-student and teacher-student interaction as much as possible, CALL activities can be more interesting for both students and the teacher. The result obtained from Item 8 agrees with the study of Victoria Fernandez Carballo- Calero (2005). In her research’s questionnaire evaluation, the highest rated item was item 10 (Using a computer makes language lessons more interesting to the students), which was rated 4,36. Item 9: I have the opinion that computer equipped classes are the places in which students investigate mechanically reason-cause relations like the laboratories of natural sciences. In Chapter 5, it was clearly stated that the learners disagree with the statement in Item 9. Based on their experiences in secondary school and high school, they must have understood that computer equipped classes are not the places in which students investigate mechanically reason-cause relations like the laboratories of natural sciences. During five- month CALL exposure time, the subjects witnessed that computer equipped classed are the places where they can explore the target language individually with user-friendly software far away from investigating mechanically reason-cause relations. Item 10: I am afraid of failure in computer assisted language learning process owing to the fact that I don’t like studying individually. 48 Individual study in large classrooms can be difficult for some types of learners who have concentration problems. These learners can be distracted by the movements of others, even their presence can stop them focusing on their studies. Also, there are some types of learners who do not like individual study in any context. Classroom atmosphere can bore them a lot and there is a possibility that these students might be afraid of failure in CALL process. With the results obtained from Chapter 4, it can be said that the majority of the subjects participating in the current research are afraid of failure in CALL process owing to the fact that they do not like studying individually. The phobia of studying alone in large classrooms can be stemmed from student experiences which go back to their primary school years. In many countries, the learners are advised to study together. Of course, this is a useful way of studying, but this conception might affect the learners’ individual study habits badly. 5.3. The Discussion of the Results of Research Questions 5.3.1. The Discussion of the Results of Research Question 1 Are there any differences between the attitudes of learners who have participated in Intensive English Programme in their previous education life and the ones who have not participated towards CALL at the beginning of the Intensive English Programme and after 5-month exposure process to CALL? Because of the fact that there has been no research studying the difference between the attitudes of the learners towards CALL who have not participated in IEP in their previous education life and the attitudes of the learners towards CALL who have participated in IEP in their previous education life, there won’t be any compare and contrast with the other studies for this research question. Instead, the writer will be presenting his ideas and criticism about the topic. 49 In pre-test results, it was clearly shown that the attitudes of the learners towards CALL who have not participated in IEP in their previous education life are higher than the attitudes of the learners who have participated in IEP in their previous education life. However, the current difference between the groups is not meaningful statistically. Here, it can be assumed that the learners who have not participated in IEP in their previous education life are more positive to CALL. Because they have no experience about Intensive English Programme and they have the assumption that CALL is a part of IEP. To talk about the learners participated in an IEP in their previous life, it can be said that they have an IEP model in their mind and they have the idea that this model is the ultimate way of learning a foreign language. CALL is something new for them and they approach to CALL with their previous teachings unlike the other research group. In post-test results, a particular decline can be seen in the attitudes of both groups towards CALL. While the decline in the attitudes of the subjects towards CALL who have participated an IEP in their previous education life is not important statistically after five-month CALL exposure time, the decline in the attitudes of the subjects towards CALL who have not participated an IEP in their previous education life is important statistically. It can be concluded that the attitudes of the subjects towards CALL who have not participated an IEP in their previous education life decreased a lot in pre-test compared to post-test. The reason for this decline might have stemmed from inaccurate learning styles of this type of learnes during CALL studies or their lack of English language background. 50 5.3.2. The Discussion of the Results of Research Question 2 Are there any differences between the attitudes of learners who are registered to Intensive English Programme obligatory according to the legislation in their departments and the ones registered to Intensive English Programme willingly towards CALL at the beginning of the Intensive English Programme and after 5-month exposure process to CALL? Similiar to previous research question, this research question was not investigated in any other study before. For this reason, it is impossible to compare and contarast the results of the current question with the other studies. The writer will try to comment on the results according to his understanding of the situation. If the pre-test results are examined carefully, a surprising result can be witnessed. As a guess before analyzing the results, most people can think that the attitudes of the learners towards CALL who are registered to IEP willingly would be higher than the attitudes of the learners registered to IEP obligatory. Because volunteer learners are expected to have more positive attitudes to any learning style. However, the results are really different. Although the difference between the groups is not meaningful statistically, the attitudes of the learners registered to IEP obligatory towards CALL are higher than the attitudes of the learners towards CALL who are registered to IEP willingly. In post-test results, a particular decline can be observed for both research groups. The reason for this decline can be the lack of motivation of the groups in CALL studies. They might not make use of CALL activities effectively and they might have lost their concentration during the studies. The difference in both groups’ attitudes towards CALL before and after five-month CALL exposure time is meaningful statistically. 51 5.3.3. The Discussion of the Results of Research Question 3 Are there any differences between the attitudes of learners whose departments are based on social studies and the ones whose departments are based on science studies towards CALL at the beginning of the Intensive English Programme and after 5-month exposure process to CALL? In CALL literature, this research question was not investigated before like the previous questions. Especially, this research question aims to indicate whether there is a difference between the learners towards CALL who are more interested in social studies and the learners who are more interested in science studies. In pre-test results, it can be seen that the attitudes of the learners whose departments are based on social studies towards CALL are a bit higher than the attitudes of the learners whose departments are based on science studies. However, the arithmetical average of both research groups is very near to each other and the difference between the groups is not meaningful statistically. This result is a bit interesting because there is a general assumption that the learners who are more interested in natural studies and science studies are much more into computer applications. And the learners who are more interested in social studies are much deep into reading, writing and expressing themselves by art. In post-test results, the mentioned general assuption about the learners and computer usage come true. The attitudes of the learners whose departments are based on science studies towards CALL are higher than the attitudes of the learners whose departments are based on social studies. However, there is a particular decline in the attitudes of both groups towards CALL after five-month CALL exposure time. 52 5.3.4. The Discussion of the Results of Research Question 4 Are there any differences between the attitudes of learners who are female or male towards CALL at the beginning of the Intensive English Programme and after 5-month exposure process to CALL? The current research question was investigated by a couple of researchers in different contexts with different types of learners. In the present study, the research question was searched from a different perspective. If pre-test results are focused on carefully, it can be seen that the attitudes of female learners towards CALL are higher than the attitudes of male learners and the attitude difference towards CALL between research groups is meaningful statistically. This result contrasts with the result of the research of Ateş, Altunay, Altun (2006) and Scholfield and Ypsilandis (1994). In their research, Ateş, Altunay, Altun (2006) found that the correlations between the increases in students’ attitudes towards CALL and the gender were found to be insignificant. Scholfield and Ypsilandis (1994) found that age was largely irrelevant to the student responses to the research questions about CALL in their articles. However, the result of the research of Warschauer (1996) agrees with the result in this thesis. Warschauer found that gender factor was effective in the answers of female and male participants to the research about CALL activities. Also, the results of the article of Fujieda and Matsuura (1999) agree with the results of the current study. Fujieda and Matsuura found that female students reacted a little more positively to CALL than their male counterparts in the questionnaire they applied to the participants. To give information about the results of post-test, it was found that the attitudes of males towards CALL are higher than the attitudes of females which is different from the results of pre-test. However, the difference between the research groups is not meaningful statistically. 53 CHAPTER SIX CONCLUSION 6.1. Summary and Conclusions The current study focused on computer assisted language learning, its history, its implication areas, its advantages and disadvantages during implementation phase to foreign language learning and several studies investigating the attitudes of the learners to computer assisted language learning in different contexts and with different types of learners. The present study was contextualized at Sakarya University Intensive English Programme. With the help of a questionnaire, it was aimed to explore the students’ ideas and attitudes towards CALL and CALL applications. Also, this research was carried out to find out the following research questions: 1-Are there any differences between the attitudes of the learners who have participated in Intensive English Programme in their previous education life and the ones who have not participated towards CALL at the beginning of the Intensive English Programme and after 5-month exposure process to CALL? 2-Are there any differences between the attitudes of the learners who are registered to Intensive English Programme obligatory according to the legislation in their departments and the ones registered to Intensive English Programme willingly towards CALL at the beginning of the Intensive English Programme and after 5-month exposure process to CALL? 3-Are there any differences between the attitudes of the learners whose departments are based on social studies and the ones whose departments are based on science studies towards CALL at the beginning of the Intensive English Programme and after 5-month exposure process to CALL? 54 4-Are there any differences between the attitudes of the learners who are female or male towards CALL at the beginning of the Intensive English Programme and after 5- month exposure process to CALL? The data for the answers of the preceding research quesions were obtained from the learners who are enrolled in Intensive English Programme at Sakarya University. The instrument to collect data was a questionnaire which was applied to the subjects in the format of pre-test and post-test. The questionnaire was prepared by the writer of this research after examining CALL literature and drawing the limitations of the study. In other words, the questionnaire was not adapted from another study. The probable needs and expectations of the subjects for CALL applications were also taken into consideration during preperation phase of the questionnaire. Pre-test was applied to the learners at the beginning of 2008-2009 academic term and pos-test was applied to the learners after five-month CALL exposure time to see whether there occured a progress in the attitudes of the learners towards computer assisted language learning. In the analysis of the gathered data, both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Each statement in the questionnaire was analyzed item by item with the help of the tables. According to the answers of the subjects to the questions in the questionnaire, it can be understood that the subjects generally had positive attitudes towards computer assisted language learning and CALL implications. For some items, it was observed that five-month CALL exposure time had a positive effect in the attitudes of the subjects towards CALL; however, for some items, it was observed that there occured decrease in the attitudes of the subjects towards CALL after five-month CALL experience process. In Chapter five, the probable causes of the mentioned decrease in the attitudes of the subjects were tried to be explained from different perspectives. 55 6.2. Further Research This research was carried out to find out whether there occured any changes in the attitudes of the subjects towards computer assisted language learning during five-month CALL exposure time. The subjects are the students who are enrolled in IEP at Sakarya University. Since the data was gathered from 134 learners, it may not be true to generalize the results to overall student body in the institute. So, in a further study, the number of the subjects can be increased to obtain more reliable data. What’s more, this research was contextualized in a Turkish EFL setting with mainly Turkish learners but there was only one foreign student. So, in further studies, it might be useful to carry out the study in a multinational institute with the learners whose cultural background, computer literacy background, education background and English language experience background are so different from each other. Another point is that this study aimed to explore student attitude changes towards CALL during a certain amount of time which is five months. In a further study, CALL exposure time can be much or less than five months and the result can be compared and contrasted with the present study. This research’s goal is to find the answers for four main research questions which are listed in 6.1. In other studies, the student profile can be changed or modified to get different results with the same research questions. Last, but not the least, it can be said that the attitude change of the subjects in the research was generally positive after five-month CALL exposure time. But some decreases were witnessed in the attitudes of some types of learners in post-test. In further researches, the sources of these decreases might be investigated deeply and possible solutions to hinder these decreases can be suggested. 56 REFERENCES Ahmad, K., Corbett, G., Rogers, M. & Sussex, R. 1985 “Computers, Language Learning and Language Teaching”. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ateş, A., Altunay, U. & Altun, E. 2006 “The Effects of Computer Assisted English Instruction on High School Preparatory Students’ Attitudes towards Computers and English”. Journal of Theory and Practice in Education. 2: 97-112. Ayres, R. 2002 “Learner Attitudes towards the Use of Call”. Computer Assisted Language Learning. 15: 241-249. Barette, C. 2001 “Students′s Preparedness and Training for CALL”. CALICO Journal. . 19: 5-36 Bax, S. 2003 “CALL- past, present and future”. System. 31:13-28. Carballo-Calero, V. 2004 “Does Familirization with CALL improve Students’ Attitudes towards CALL? ”. Porta Linguarum. 4: 69-75. Chapelle, C. & Jamiesson, J. 1986 “Computer-assisted language learning as a predictor of success in acquiring English as a second language”. TESOL Quarterly. 20: 27-46. 57 Chapelle, C. 1990 The discourse of computer-assisted language learning: Toward a context for descriptive research ”. TESOL Quarterly. 24: 199-225 Chapelle, C. 2001 “Computer Applications in Second Language Acquisition ”. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Felix, U. 2005 “Analyzing Recent CALL Effectiveness Research: Towards a Common Agenda”. Computer Assisted Language Learning. 18: 1-32. Fischer, R. 2007 “How do we know what students are actually doing? Monitoring Students’ behavior in CALL ”. Computer Assisted Language Learning. 20: 409-442. Fujieda, M. & Matsuura, H. 1999 “Japanese EFL Learners’ Attitudes toward CALL”. Language Laboratory. Ghaleb, A. 2006 “The effect of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) on United Arab Emirates English as a Foreign Language (EFL) School Students' Achievement and Attitude”. Journal of Interactive Learning Research. Gruba, G. 2004 “Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). Handbook of Applied Linguistics”. Oxford: Blackwell. Gunduz, N. 2006 “Computer Assisted Language Learning”. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies. 1: 193-214. 58 Hardesty, D. & Windeatt, S. 1989 “CALL”. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kenning, M.J. & Kenning M. M. 1983 “Introduction to computer assisted language teaching”. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Levy, M. 1997 “Computer Assisted Language Learning: Context and Conceptualization”. New York: Oxford University Press. Liu, M., Moore, Z., Graham, L. & Lee, S. 2003 “A Look at the Research on Computer-Based Technology Use in Second Language Learning: A Review of the Literature from 1990-2000”. Journal of Research on Technology and Practice in Education. 2: 97-112. Liu, M. & Huo, H. “Computer Assisted Language Learning in China: Some Common Concerns”. Asian EFL Journal. 19: 1-8. 2007 Philips, S. “Language, gender & sex in comparative perspective”. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1986 Scholfield, P.J. & Ypsilandis, G.S. 1992 “Evaluation of CALL programmes”. Greek Applied Linguistics. 2: 270- 280. Sullivan, N. 1993 “Teaching writing on a computer network”. TESOL Journal. 3: 34-40. Warschauer, M. & Healey, D. 1998 “ Computers and language learning: An overview”. Language Teaching. 31: 57-71 59 APPENDIX 1 QUESTINNAIRE (PRE-TEST) Dear Students! The following questionnaire was prepared to learn your ideas about computer assisted language learning.You are expected to answer the questions carefully in order to make use of computer assisted language learning approach effectively in this institue. With your answers, it will be indicated whether computer assisted language learning is useful for you or not. It will be enough to point the correct answer for you in any way. Thank you for your participation. Instructor. Halil İbrahim BALKUL Gender: 1- Male 2- Female Have you ever attended an Intensive English Programme in your life? 1- Yes 2- No Why did you enroll in Intensive English Programme? 1-Compulsory 2- Willingly Write the name of your actual department at Sakarya University: 1-I think that computer assisted language learning is really an effective approach in foreign language learning. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 2- I have the assumption that computer assisted language learning can be an effective approach if it is combined with face to face classes. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 3-I believe that using computers in foreign language learning is a motivation increasing way in many aspects. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 60 4- I think that computer assisted language learning is an approach which students can make use of without feeling a need to a teacher. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 5-During my studies in computer assisted language learning, I believe that computers will give me necessary feedback when I make mistakes and be a good guide for me to reach the right point. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 6- I think that using computers in foreign language learning is more effective than coursebooks in terms of being aware of the target culture. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 7-Computer assisted language learning which is not supported by classic classroom lessons can cause students’ teamwork skills to disappear. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 8-Due to the fact that the studies in computer assisted language learning are mainly individual and there is no intereaction among the learners, these studies can be regarded boring. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 61 9-I have the opinion that computer equipped classes are the places in which students investigate mechanically reason-cause relations like the laboratories of natural sciences. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 10-I am afraid of failure in computer assisted language learning process owing to the fact that I don’t like studying individually. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 62 APPENDIX 2 QUESTINNAIRE (POST-TEST) Dear Students! The following questionnaire was prepared to find out whether there occured any changes in your attitudes towards computer assisted language learning in a five-month process. This questionnaire is exactly the same one which you answered at the beginning of Fall Semester. You are expected to answer the questions carefully again considering your experiences with computer assisted language learning. With your answers, it will be indicated whether computer assisted language learning is useful for you. It will be enough to point the correct answer for you in any way. Thank you for your participation. Instructor. Halil İbrahim BALKUL Gender: 1- Male 2- Female Have you ever attended an Intensive English Programme in your life? 1- Yes 2- No Why did you enroll in Intensive English Programme? 1-Compulsory 2- Willingly Write the name of your actual department at Sakarya University: 1-I think that computer assisted language learning is really an effective approach in foreign language learning. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 2- I have the assumption that computer assisted language learning can be an effective approach if it is combined with face to face classes. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 3-I believe that using computers in foreign language learning is a motivation increasing way in many aspects. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 63 4- I think that computer assisted language learning is an approach which students can make use of without feeling a need to a teacher. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 5-During my studies in computer assisted language learning, I believe that computers will give me necessary feedback when I make mistakes and be a good guide for me to reach the right point. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 6- I think that using computers in foreign language learning is more effective than coursebooks in terms of being aware of the target culture. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 7-Computer assisted language learning which is not supported by classic classroom lessons can cause students’ teamwork skills to disappear. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 8-Due to the fact that the studies in computer assisted language learning are mainly individual and there is no intereaction among the learners, these studies can be regarded boring. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 64 9-I have the opinion that computer equipped classes are the places in which students investigate mechanically reason-cause relations like the laboratories of natural sciences. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 10-I am afraid of failure in computer assisted language learning process owing to the fact that I don’t like studying individually. a)Strongly Disagree b)Disagree c)Uncertain d)Agree e)Strongly Agree 65 ÖZGEÇMİŞ Halil İbrahim Balkul 1984 yılında Balıkesir’de doğdu. Hacettepe Üniversitesi İngiliz Dili Eğitimi Bölümü’nden 2007 yılında mezun oldu. 2008 yılından bu yana Sakarya Üniversitesi Yabancı Diller Bölümü’nde okutman olarak çalışmaktadır. VITAE Halil İbrahim Balkul was born in Balıkesir in 1984. He graduated from English Language Teaching Department, Hacettepe University in 2007. He has been working as an instructor in Foreign Languages Department at Sakarya University since 2008. 66