Chapter I: introduction

I wrote some paragraphs yesterday while I was in my room and my teacher checked it after I sent them to her. I corrected my sentences again using her feedback. I also listened to various audios and answered the questions about them. (S1)

Another student wrote that:

I chatted with my friends in English through the chatting application of the MeLab program. We talked about a movie we watched in the lesson. I can express my ideas more easily this way. (S4)

In the student interviews, the eight interviewees mentioned that they liked the opportunity to do activities related to their classroom practices both inside and outside of the classroom by using the software program (Interview Item 2). One student said that:

I continued studying according to my learning plan after the class with the online materials. I could find the similar activities as we did in the classroom. This helped me to study on my own when I’m at home. (S3)

The data reveals that students continued to use the language outside of the classroom and it was also emphasized the appropriateness of the online content was also helpful.

The frequencies for Items 6 and 7 reveal that all of the students were able to evaluate their learning process, (Item 6) and conduct the learning plan alone (Item 7) at least some of the time. Although the items are not directly related to each other, the pattern of responses is the same. This might be due to the fact that conducting a learning plan alone includes evaluating one’s learning process. Many of the students mentioned in the learning logs that they were able to see their weaknesses or strengths and make changes in their plan accordingly. Many of the student logs included information about evaluating their learning process and how they conducted their learning plan, as in the following excerpts:
I had a learning plan last module but I made it after I got a bad grade from the exam. However, I was able to do my own learning plan with my teacher at the beginning of the lessons this module. It helped me because I was aware of my weaknesses before the exam so that I had time to study. (S6)

Another student stated that:

There were some parts in my learning plan that I couldn’t complete this week. But I want to add them for the next week. I asked my teacher to help to do a plan and she helped me according to my needs. When I check my plan, I can see how much I learned and what I need. So I can make changes in the plan. (S8)

These excerpts reveal that the students were not conducting their learning plans ‘alone’ but they were asking for help from their teachers about their learning plans. It is obvious from the data that they needed the teacher’s guidance at some point while following their plans. This situation also reveals the importance of the teacher’s presence in class during students’ working on the software program.

For Item 8, the frequencies show that applying learning strategies alone was rather a difficult action for some of the students. The majority said that they were able to do this, at least some of the time. However, five participants reported that
they were rarely able to do this. This might be linked to the fact that the students needed the teacher’s help since there might not have been enough time for them to get used to applying these strategies ‘alone’. This result is supported by the following student log entry: