Premium
No improvement—reflections and suggestions on the use of Skype to enhance college students’ oral English proficiency
Author(s) -
Yang YaTing C.,
Chang LingYin
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
british journal of educational technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.79
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1467-8535
pISSN - 0007-1013
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00769.x
Subject(s) - library science , citation , sociology , teacher education , psychology , pedagogy , mathematics education , computer science
The article discusses an experiment performed to determine the effectiveness of conversations using the Skype Internet telephone service in improving the English language skills of Taiwanese college students. Students in the experimental group used Skype to practice English amongst themselves, while a comparison group attended university English classes. Results indicated the Skype users showed no improvement over the comparison group in terms of oral proficiency in English. The authors discuss several possible reasons for this outcome.