Abstract:
King Faisal University E-learning students differ from the regular students. This is why learning is also named distant learning which means the students do not receive lessons by teachers and they need more self-work for improving their English. But this situation caused the E-learning students to miss a key part in the language learning which is campus and classroom conversation. Therefore this study studies and discusses the conversation issues and problems for e-learning students to see how it is different form the regular students’ problems and also how they can improve themselves. Today the internet or the World Wide Web reach and connected itself with the smart phone so that the smart phone became a mini or pocket computer. The expected results from this study is that the E-learning students are poorer than the regular King Faisal University students in speaking proper English and making conversation. Also the E-learning students lack the classroom and campus chance of practicing conversation. But another result is that the students are not doing enough to create situations in which they can practice
Introduction:
The natural and fastest way of learning any language at all is through rote and living the environment in which the language is spoken according to Aaron (2013). This advice from an expert is understandable because it is also the way by which we all learned our own language. The same idea from another side is the fact that people spoke first and then wrote and wrote because literacy came after when people everywhere and all the time have been talking. From this fact it can be said learning a language in classrooms and under the hands of teachers is only one part of the process and there are more other parts that support it.
Conversation is speech and speech is one of the four language skills: speaking, listening, writing and reading in all the languages in the word. But linguists say the speech language skill is the latest one which people develop. The reason according to Ascione (1993) is that speech is in fact more than one skill at a time. When a person speaks a language it is necessarily he or she is composing sentences and to compose sentences the speaker needs to know required grammar rules of the spoken language, the acceptable amounts of vocabulary and also the minimum listening ability for comprehending the conversation. This means the speech skill is the mother of all languages and no learner can speak as good as she writes, as god as she reads or as good as she or he listens and understand.
Schools and colleges represent one important stage of learning a language. It is classroom where the learners are given the lingual foundation from which they take off on their own. English language learning materials and syllabuses include the basic reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. But these four skills are not always delivered in the same quality as Aaron (2013) says. In many Arab English syllabuses little concern is given to speech according to a study which USCR (2011) mentioned and said one of its finding is that in many English classes of the Arab world teachers use Arabic as a medium of instruction and also the textbook’s drills do not contain much conversation ones like pair-work and dialogue. This means the students need to practice speech first at classroom and then they are ready to participate in common English conversations in the streets, workplace and day-to-day life.
Literature review:
According to Ascione (1993) learners develop their speaking skill through both syllabus and extracurricular activities. The source discusses several elements in the criteria of an effective English as a second language syllabus that include graduate vocabulary, sentence structure works, speech and writing and says the balancing between these lingual areas is encumbered on the learning institutions. Also Gabriel (2011agrees with this view by saying the opposite which is that an English syllabus is ineffective when it does make the language livable. The source explains that English today is a livable language in the air we breath and the ESL learners should be able to feel that. According to University Language (2009) which discusses the Saudi situation says English is still the language of work in Saudi Arabia and it has not found its way to the street yet and the majority of Saudis prefer communicating in “the broken Arabic” with foreigners. According to Elias (2013)in fact is in the mind of many people who ask if the regular students have better learning environment than the distant or the students who study in the evening. The reason people ask this question is because they know general facts like for example in the regular students usually attend in the morning, feel fresh, had enough sleep and feel the energy around them and this help them to perform better. This idea agrees with the view of Ascione (1993) who says that the distant learning especially in English language is often at the pace of the student who can make up for what she/he misses in the class through online activities. But to know more about these two learning environments, a research like this is needed. There are sources which mention positive impacts in favor of the regular classes including the biological facts there are some types of brain cells that active only in the late night-early morning. The source explains that a pure form of oxygen (O3) is reported to come down to the lower layers of the atmosphere in that period of the day and said to have a positive impact on brain activities. The source by US College Search (2011) also agrees on the advantage of attending regular class aside from the biological factor and adds the fact in the advantage of regular classes is that the student’s mind is programmed to wake up in certain time and also to have capacity for certain load of activities and after that it tends to relax. There are also sources which mention positive impacts in favor of the distant learning classes. The source by Elias (2013) disagrees and states that the matter has nothing to do with which time of the day the student is learning as much as it is about what suits and what is convenient for the student. The source explains that the student’s convenience precedes the study schedule and it would be meaningless to pose theories. The same opposite views is in the sources by University Language (2009) which cite the study that in New Orleans when classes were shifted to distant during Katrina calamity, the performance of the students increased by 18% compared to their performance in the regular classes.
Significance of Research:
1) Campus and classroom conversation lack in the e-learning university and colleges students is the topic of this study and it is useful for the thousands of King Faisal University and other universities’ E-learning students because their problem is addressed.
2) This study is also important because it gives the students the alternative for the campus and classroom conversations which they miss. In the conclusion and also the recommendation of this study King Faisal University students will make up for the shortage in the campus and classroom conversations by suggested ways.
3) This study is also important because it helps King Faisal University administration and also other researchers to plan instructions, advice or help to E-learning students on knowing why they are poor in making conversations and also suggesting ways for them to treat this problem..
Research Question(s):
The main research question in this study is “Can and do King Faisal Unversity E-learning students participate in basic conversations?” Then other questions are made around his main one include:
– Can King Faisal University E-learning students make simple day-to-day conversations?
– Do King Faisal University E-learning students have enough chances to make conversations?
– Are there alternatives for King Faisal University E-learning students to participate in more conversations?
Research Methodology:
Method:
The method of research in this study composes of two parts; a survey from and literature review. The findings of the survey plus the findings from the literature sources give the researcher the needed information for the analysis.
The survey is composed of two parts: the first parts are questions for the students about: how often they face situations that require speaking English; for how long and if they create their own situations. The second part is sentences in Arabic which the students are asked to say them in English.
Objective
The objective of the this study is examining the ability and effectiveness of King Faisal University E-learning students in participating in English conversations.
Focus of the research:
The focus of this study are areas like: are the students in touch with the language; are they motivated in making conversations; are they making use of the internet for improving their conversation skill.
Research instrument:
The research instrument in this study is matching. This by matching the students’: time frequency, time length and the quality of her speech in simple daily conversations.
The participants
The participant’s are all King Faisal University E-learning students . The elected sample will be 30 participants of different levels or years of studying English.
Limitation:
The limitation in this study project is selecting the correct and standard sentences which the students are asked to make conversations with them. It is because there are too many situations and topics to suggest and the interests of the students differ from one another.
Expected results:
In the end of the study it is expected that the assumption about King Faisal University E-learning conversation abilities are all true. First I expect the students do poor conversations when do even they seldom do it. It is also expected that King Faisal University E-learning are poorer than King Faisal University regular students because of the lack of classroom and campus conversations. It is also expected that both the E-learning and the regular students are behind in the conversation skill compared to the other three skills: reading, writing and listening and even they are not expected to be excellent but they are far behind where they are supposed to be.
References:
Ascione, ME., (1993). Fluency development in second language. From:
https://www.uleth.ca/dspace/bitstreamE.pdf?
Aaron, FB., (2013). Factors affecting English speaking skills. Academic presentations Dec 9, 2013. From:
www.slideshare.net/pristine/factors-affecting-english-speaking-skills
Elias, F., (2013) A study morning classes versus even classes: challenges and prospects. PDF
https://www.researchgate.net/.
Gabriel, W., (2011). Factors affecting students’ speaking abilities. multi Disciplinary journals. From:
www.multidisciplinaryjournals.com
USCR (2011) The pros and cons of day and evening classes. US College Search E-215
www.uscollegesearch.org/…/the-pros-and-cons-of-day-evenning-classes
English classes: Tips for Success for College Students. (May 11, University Language, 2009). From:
www.universitylanguage.net/
Investigating factors leading to speaking fluently. (21 October, Academia, 2012). From:
www.academia.edu