Issues in the Design and Implementation of Web-Based Language Courses

Background of the Study
Computer technology has brought the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) to educational settings. As use of and access to the Internet and the WWW have increased, educators have realized their potential for changing educational practices through the support of web-based instruction (WBI). Khan defines web-based instruction as a “hypermedia-based instructional program which utilizes the attributes and resources of the World Wide Web to create a meaningful learning environment where learning is fostered and supported” .
The WWW is a popular tool in language teaching because the WWW enables greater distance education. The Web/Internet plays a crucial role in web-based instruction by providing new modes of communication and information retrieval and allowing educators to explore new pedagogical possibilities and resources in the teaching-learning process. Distance education through WBI allows for flexibility and innovation in instruction which may meet the needs of students more effectively than current face-to-face methods. Through distance learning, many people who cannot attend courses regularly have the chance to attend web-based courses in order to complete their higher education. The expanded possibilities for distance education which WBI has created may help promote greater learner autonomy, defined as a “capacity for detachment, critical reflection, decisionmaking, and independent action” ⁵. One of the aims of new teaching pedagogies, including WBI, is to help students take control of their own learning. In a non-face-to-face environment, learners have the possibility to make their own choices and affect learning outcomes, which can increase learners’ selfesteem and motivation positively. However, for this to be successful, concerns about course design must be met.
Educators and researchers are exploring and developing new instructional design models and frameworks for web-based courses. When educators decide to use the Internet for web-based courses, one of the issues they have to take into consideration is the quality of the course that they are going to design.
Course designers need to be careful when they are designing and implementing their web-based courses as this process is an emerging field in education and there are not many sources to consult when designing a web-based course. Wood believes that web-based instruction improves educational outcomes to a certain extent, but it also poses great challenges to educators from the point of view of course design.
Designing and implementing a web-based course also increases the workload of designers and the teachers who implement it because of the need to rely directly on new technology.
While preparing a web-based course, it may be useful to ask other more skilled web-based course designers to evaluate and comment on their own experiences in developing and implementing web-based courses. The experiences of web-based designers and implementers can be a valuable source of information for individuals wanting to make use of this new instructional medium. According to Saracho, evaluation of web-based courses, a crucial step for improving an educational program, can help the other designers learn what to do and not to do while designing their own web-based courses. Learning about the problems associated with web-based courses might be beneficial to new course designers; with the knowledge, they can try to avoid and not repeat the problems of others in new web-based course designs. With the help of solutions that have already been found, new and existing web-based courses can be improved for better instruction.