Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the effects of an electronic course management tool in first year college Spanish courses

The purpose of this study was to complete an analysis of one of the elements of the current beginning Spanish program at Kota University. The goal was to determine whether or not the addition of WebCT® Course Management component was beneficial to the students at Kota University, and provide a qualitative analysis of the views of students and instructors towards this program. The study was conducted over the course of two semesters of language instruction in Spanish 102: Spring 2002 and Fall 2002. Data collection and analysis included review of all student-generated work for the Fall 2002 semester, as well as quantitative data from both semesters. The findings of the study showed that (a) Students are able to use the WebCT component to help them achieve the ACTFL Foreign Language standards, (b) Interaction is vital to student learning; (c) Students need to be educated in terms of the reason and value in doing the work in small groups. It may also be beneficial for them to understand how they learn. (d) Instructors need training beyond the classroom. They need to be aware of not only procedures to follow, but also how students learn. Instructors need to be aware of the effect that their feedback can have on student language learners, (e) feedback is a vital link in the interaction between students, with instructors and with course content. However, to be effective, feedback must be fair and appropriate. Finally, it is important to take into account the student and instructor perspectives in any program development. The study also offers suggestions for additional program development and future research. Additionally, this research has implications not only for Kota University\u27s beginning language program, but also for the field of technology in foreign language learning and the field of education as a whole