Motivation and attitude toward integrated instruction through technology in college-level EFL reading and writing in Taiwan (China)

The purposes of this study are: (1) to examine the attitudes and motivation of both teachers and students toward integrated instruction through technology (IITT) for college English reading and writing (ERW) in Taiwan; (2) to identify the relationship between teachers' and students' technological knowledge and their willingness to apply IITT in a class; (3) to investigate the ways teachers and students are using technology currently in teaching and learning ERW; and (4) to explore effective ways of using technology to promote English literacy.; The researcher conducted a convenience sampling survey for investigating students' and teachers' motivation and attitude toward IITT among three different school systems (public university, private university, and military academy). Descriptive statistics demonstrated that the students and teachers have high motivation and positive attitudes toward IITT, but they lack experience applying it. T-tests showed that there is no significant relationship between either students' or teachers' technological knowledge and their willingness to enroll in or teach a class using IITT. Correlation analyses showed that English grades are significantly correlated with the students' computer experience. The more students use computers for learning ERW, the higher their English grades would be. Furthermore, the qualitative analyses demonstrated that bad experiences and technical problems with using technology in teaching English influence teachers' motivation and attitudes toward IITT.; Furthermore, the majority of students can access computers at school or at home, but they lack opportunities to utilize technology for high-level thinking activities. Constructivism is the most popular learning theory of computer-assisted language learning (CALL). Teachers need to know how to design suitable CALL activities for students to construct meaning from their learning experiences. Computer technology can be an effective teaching/learning tool, but whether its potential can be developed depends on how teachers and students use it. The literature review supports that integrated instruction is a beneficial teaching approach for ERW and that technology is an effective tool to strengthen language teaching/learning. If IITT can be integrated into the curriculum, it can promote students' English literacy in Taiwan.