Assessment of effective teaching practices and the use of technology in English as a second language first-year composition courses.

摘要

The purpose of my study is to use classroom based research in order to evaluate the effectiveness of classroom teaching practices in improving learner's writing in English as second language (ESL) composition classes which incorporate technology to varying degrees. The initial frameworks used in this work provide background and describe the needs of ESL learners by looking at theory of second language acquisition (SLA), second language (L2) writing, and research on computer-assisted language learning (CALL) which demonstrates the benefits of using technology in ESL composition classrooms.; The methodology used in order to collect data for the study involves classroom research including observation, audio-recording, and note-taking for face-to-face classes. Online or technology classroom observations required analysis of classes in virtual classroom sites and of email correspondence between teachers and learners. Discourse analysis is also used to analyze audio-recordings of face-to-face classes and online discussions for features found to facilitate ESL learners' acquisition of language. Results from the data analysis reveal that much of the success and effectiveness of an ESL composition course comes down to teacher design and delivery of the course. Further, factors such as teacher training and education with ESL students and technology play a large part in designing and delivering an effective ESL composition course.