CALL: Implications For English Major Education

Computer assisted language learning (CALL) has been taken as an ideal way to facilitate second language acquisition in recent years (e.g. Egbert, 1999; Gu, 1995; Jonassen. 1999; Kenning & Kenning. 1990; Pennington. 1996; Warschauer, 2000; etc.). This thesis investigates the effects of a computer-assisted "Fundamental English" course teaching program on the development of English-majors' motivation, learner autonomy, ning strategies and interactive & cooperative learning in a Chinese context. By exploring its impact on learners, this thesis aims to improve our ability to design CALL programs that can create optimized language environment for learners so that we can implement such programs more effectively in future. The theoretical base for this study is a constructivist view of learning.In the study, both quantitative and qualitative methods are employed. The quantitative data are collected from two surveys of 30 first-year English major students who have undergone a computer assisted "Fundamental English" course teaching program in the academic year of 2002-2003 at Anhui University, China. Besides, interviews, the subjects' forum records, the subjects' reports and writer's observation notes are employed as qualitative data in order to gain insights into the process and underlying reasons of learner changes. The major findings of the study can be summarized as follows:CALL environment uplifts learners' motivation;CALI environment improves learners' autonomy;CALL environment enriches learners' learning strategies; CALL environment enhances learners' interactive & cooperative learning.Based on the findings, the writer concludes that CALL does facilitate EFL learning in the Chinese context and thus its related issues are worth further researching. Thethesis finally reveals some implications for effective application of CALL in the Chinese context and points out some limitations of this study.