Study On The Design Principles Of A Web-based College English Learning Environment

With the advance of the information technology, the new learning style of Web-based distance learning is posing both opportunities and challenges for the current physical classroom education with the powerful functions, flexible interactivity of the Web technology. For experts, instructors from different disciplines including English education, to conduct online distance learning and teaching has become a common concern, for which a Web-based learning environment is of basic necessity.The present descriptive study in this dissertation is an effort to discuss theoretical models and practical guidelines for designing an interactive and integrative Web-based college English learning environment. Through documentary studies of related supporting theories (including Skinner's, Piaget's and Vygotsky's learning theories, constructivist principles, distributed cognition, and language learning theories and CALL), review of the previous practices, analyses of data collected from investigations (including questionnaire survey with on-campus students and interviews with English teachers), the writer proposes a design model, which is based on considerations regarding pedagogy, technology and organization, and integrates six major components for Web-based language learning environment: instruction, interaction, knowledge construction, management, language resource repository, and interface. This design model can be followed to applications ranging from creating a specific online college English course to developing a comprehensive college English learning website, with the same aim to make supplement to the present instruction and facilitate college English learning and teaching. Some implications are also concluded from the study to throw some light on pedagogic reform of college English, especially on the design of effective Web-based English language learning environments.