The Effect of Computer Assisted Language Learning in Teaching English Grammar

2. Statement of the Problem In the light of the information revolution and the scientific challenges of the 21st century, there is a sweeping trend to use computers in al aspects of life and education is no exception. On the other hand, the world is heading towards knowledge economy and a lot of money will be invested in computer assisted language learning instructional software programs. Therefore, it is worth investigating the effectiveness of such CALL programs on the performance of learners. 2.1. Aims of the Study The general aims of this study are the following: • Developing an instructional program for teaching a grammatical item of English language which is the passive voice, and • Investigating its effect on developing students' achievement in English grammar. All in all, the study attempts to answer the following questions: • Are there any statistically significant differences (α < 0.05) between the students' achievement mean scores in grammar attributed to the instructional method of teaching (traditional& computerized)? • Are statistically significant differences (α< 0.05) between the students' achievement mean scores in grammar attributed to the stream of study (scientific & literary)? • Are there any there any statistically significant differences (α< 0.05) between the students' achievement mean scores in grammar attributed to gender (male & female)? 2.2. The Importance of Study The domain of CALL in Jordan is in need of more research. To the researchers' best knowledge, studies about computer-based instruction in Jordan are not so many. A few studies about the use of CALL in teaching grammar to Jordanian EFL learners have been conducted. It is anticipated that this study will shed light on the benefits of using computers in language learning in general, and in learning English grammar in particular. This study also attempts to bridge the gap between the theoretical and practical sides of using CALL in teaching grammar. Thereupon, the findings of this study may be functional for different categories of people; it may help EFL curricula designers and EFL methodologists develop teaching materials which suit various ways of teaching and match students’ level of achievement in English lanstructures in particular. Moreover, this study may help teachers by facilitating their role as well as students by helping them absorb the structures and rules of English quite easily and smoothly. Finally, this study may encourage other researchers to conduct further studies on the same topic, which will enrich both the local and international literature. 3. Limitations of the Study This study has the following primary limitations: • This study is confined to the first secondary students in the academic year 2005/2006. In AlZarqa Directorate of Education. • The results of this study may be confined to the first secondary stage students only. • The study is restricted to one aspect of language which is the passive voice. 4. Review of Related Literature Many researchers are interested in using computers as a medium for teaching / learning. Therefore, many studies were conducted on using CALL for teaching English. To the researchers' best knowledge, a few studies were conducted on using CALL in teaching English grammar in Jordan. However, this section contains studies conducted on teaching other components of the language via computer. Pattern and Cadienno [24] compared the relative effectiveness of traditional instruction and processing instruction, both for interpreting and producing Spanish object pronouns in OVS and OV order .The traditional instruction involved grammatical explanation and output practice, while the processing instruction involved grammatical explanation and comprehension practice. The processing group performed significantly better than the traditional group. [7] Investigated the achievement of fifth grade students who used computer in different subjects with their colleagues who only followed traditional methods. The students were distributed into three groups; group 1 use computers for 60 minutes every week, group 2 use the computer in less duration and fewer tasks, and group 3, the control group, use traditional instructions. The results show significant differences in the achievement of students in favor of the groups who use computers. [19] Investigated the use of computer-based L2 grammar instruction. The results of these studies seem to indicate that computer-based grammar instruction can be as effective as or more effective than traditional instruction (e.g., workbooks and lectures). [21] Conducted a study concerning the relative effectiveness of computer-assisted production (output) practice and comprehension (input) practice in second language acquisition. The results of the study indicate that the output-focused group developed more grammatical skills than the input-focused group, suggesting that the production practice required more syntactic processing on the part of the learner than the comprehension practice. [26] Replicated Van Pattern and Cadierno's study. He found no significant difference between the input processing group and the output-processing group. [3] Investigated the effect of using computers in the teaching of L2 composition on the writing performance of learners. The findings revealed that there are considerable differences for using computers as an effective writing tool. [23] Conducted a study comparing the computer-based grammar instruction and the teacher-directed grammar instruction .The results showed that for all levels of English proficiency, the computer - based students scored significantly higher on open-ended tests covering the structures in question rather than the teacher-directed instruction. The results indicate that computer-based instruction can be an effective method of teaching L2 grammar. [1] Conducted a study to explore the effect of a CALL program on students' writing ability in English by teaching the program cooperatively and collectively. The findings of the study revealed that there were statistically significant differences between the experimental group, who studied via computer, and the control group, who studied in the traditional method. The difference was in favor of the experimental group who studied via computer. Al-Qumoul [2] conducted a study to investigate the effect of an instructional software program of English language functions on tenth graders' achievement. . The results reveal that the students who studied the English language functions through CAI lessons performed better than those who learnt by the traditional method. [27] Examined the overall effect of using e-mails on the writing performance of Taiwanese students in English. The major findings demonstrated that students made improvements on syntactic complexity and grammatical accuracy. The results also revealed that the e-mail writing was a positive strategy that helped improve their foreign language learning and attitudes towards English. In conclusion, having reviewed the above studies, we find that many researchers assert the importance of computer-assisted language learning. It is clear from the studies that using CALL is more beneficial and helpful than using the traditional methods, e.g., [17], Pattern and Cadienno, [24], [7], [21], [3], [23], [1], [2]. However, only few of them report that there are no significant differences between the CAI lessons and the traditional methods of instruction, e.g., [19]. This study is different from the previously mentioned studies. It deals with a component, which was neglected by many researchers, English grammar. To the researchers' best knowledge; a few studies were conducted on teaching grammar through computer in guage in general and in grammatical Jordan. For this purpose, the researchers developed an instructional program for teaching the passive voice.