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大學生遠距與實體教學學習覺知模式研究：以某醫護型大學通識英文課為例
Investigating College Students' Learning Awareness for Face-to-Face English Teaching and Synchronous Online English Teaching: A Study of General English at a Medical University
摘要
本研究旨在探討醫護型大學生對於實體和遠距英文學習覺知的現況和差異以及課堂互動模式和學生學習感受之間的關係。在預試階段，隨機取樣選取107位大學生填寫研究者自編「大學生對遠距與實體英文教學之學習覺知問卷」，經由專家效度檢驗、項目分析及探索性因素分析，實體學習和遠距學習各萃取出兩個分量表，命名為「學習感受」、「課堂互動」，各自能解釋60.59%及59.72%變異量。正式研究階段以便利取樣選取修讀通識大一英文課433位學生參與本研究，經由驗證性因素分析發現，實體學習覺知及遠距學習覺知兩份總量表皆達良好適配度標準。透過相依樣本及獨立樣本t檢定、單因子變異數分析、內容主題分析及卡方檢定發現：不同性別或不同英文能力的學生在兩個分量表皆呈現實體學習分數顯著高於遠距學習分數，而女大學生及高分組的學生在「課堂互動」偏好實體學習達極高效果量。此外，結構方程模式發現，實體課堂互動以「關注全體學生」呈現最顯著的正向預測解釋力，其次為「關注個別學生」、「小組討論」和「直接向教師提問」。而遠距課堂互動則以「直接向教師提問」達最顯著正向預測解釋力，其次為「關注個別學生」。
並列摘要
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all the schools in the world, starting from the year of 2020, have adopted online teaching to help students keep learning. This emergency remote teaching (ERT) not only brought convenience for education but also revealed the challenges and pressure of teaching and learning at the same time. Many studies have shown that low digital skills, imperfect teaching facilities, unstable networks on the internet, insufficient computer equipment, etc. are common phenomena found in the interim although ERT indeed helped prevent the spread of COVID-19 (Carrillo & Flores, 2020; Gao & Zhang, 2020; Yi & Jang, 2020; Zhang et al., 2020). So far, research on online language teaching and learning has been mainly conducted in general universities as well as primary and secondary schools, while relevant research in medical universities is scant. Therefore, this study investigated medical college students' learning awareness for face-to-face English teaching and synchronous online English teaching. Literature has suggested that digital network technology plays an important role in language education. If combined with the flipped learning instructional approach, online technology can meet the need for interactions in language courses and strengthen learners' autonomy (Han, 2015; Marshall & Kostka, 2020). Some researchers have discovered that classroom interactions in online language courses or online EMI (English Medium Instruction) courses, especially teacher-student interaction, positively affect students' engagement and satisfaction with courses (Lin et al., 2017; Luan et al., 2023; Yüksel, 2022). With respect to learning strategies, studies have found that higher English achievers tend to use more interactive learning strategies, such as asking questions and discussing with peers (Chen, 2018; Chen & Tsai, 2015). As to gender differences, female students value connections, teamwork, and intimacy, expect teachers to be friendly (Yang & Huang, 2018), and use more learning strategies than male students (Tam, 2013). By contrast, male students pay much more attention to their social status and independence, prefer one-way lectures, and are more confident with using computers than female students (Durndell & Haag, 2002; Kirkup & Li, 2007; Matud, 2019). Numerous empirical studies on ERT in language classrooms have reported mixed results. Yoon's study (2020) revealed that higher achievers can learn independently and hold positive attitudes toward online learning compared to lower achievers. Lo and Chen's study (2021) found that all students give high praise for online learning, and lower achievers express their preference for online chatrooms. Other studies have indicated that some students prefer face-to-face learning in oral practice courses (Lu et al., 2021), believe in lower learning effectiveness in online courses, and are concerned about the fairness of remote tests (Chang, 2021), while other students are of the opinion that ERT can help their writing and oral practice skills (Bailey et al., 2021). In view of the mixed results about ERT and the scarce literature on online learning in medical universities, the purpose of the current study is to investigate medical college students' learning awareness toward face-to-face English teaching and synchronous online English teaching, examine the influence of English proficiency levels and gender on their learning awareness, and analyze the relationship between classroom interactions and students' awareness toward course content and the assessment of learning effectiveness. The research questions for this study are as follows: (1) Do medical college students have different learning awareness toward face-to-face English teaching and synchronous online English teaching? (2) Do medical college students with diverse backgrounds, viz. gender, and English proficiency levels, have different learning awareness toward face-to-face English teaching and synchronous online English teaching? (3) What is the relationship between classroom interactions and students' awareness toward course content and the assessment of learning effectiveness? To answer the research questions, this study employed a questionnaire about students' English learning awareness developed by the investigators of this study. In the pilot test, 107 medical college students were asked to fill out the questionnaire. After the expert validity tests, the item analysis, and the exploratory factor analysis were conducted, the set of five-point scale questionnaire items for either face-to-face teaching or synchronous teaching was divided into two dimensions, viz. "cognition and assessment" (11 questions) and "teaching strategy" (4 questions). The cumulative variance contribution rate of face-to-face teaching and that of synchronous teaching were 60.59% and 59.72%, respectively. Apart from the five-point scale questionnaire items, there were two open-ended questions recruiting students' viewpoints on which English courses can be delivered successfully and effectively in face-to-face or online mode that were presented in the questionnaire. In the main study, we used convenience sampling to recruit 433 freshmen from General English courses at a medical university. The confirmatory factor analysis on the five-point Likert-type scale questionnaire items revealed that all fit indices were good in either the face-to-face teaching section or the synchronous teaching section. In addition to the two open-ended questions in the pilot test, the main study had four more open-ended questions asking students' suggestions for course contents, teaching strategies, and assessments in online English teaching, as well as their learning gains and difficulties in online English courses. By conducting pairwise and independent t-tests, ANOVAs, theme content analyses, and chi-square tests, we found all the students, regardless of gender or English proficiency levels, prefer face-to-face teaching to synchronous online teaching in both dimensions. They consider that courses containing group discussions and interactions, like oral practice courses, should be delivered in face-to-face mode, while teacher-lecturing courses, such as reading and listening courses, can be given in online mode. Regarding online teaching, they suggest teachers supplement extracurricular knowledge by using internet resources, adjust student assessments, replace group discussions with in-class exercises or individual reports, interact with students by asking questions randomly or setting up online meeting rooms for group discussions, and record class videos for students to review later. Results also seem to suggest that female students and high-achieving students have great preferences for "the face-to-face teaching strategy." Compared to the opposite sex, female students are more worried about self-discipline in online learning, while male students care more about the advantages of technology. As for students of diverse English proficiency levels, high achievers emphasize the importance of group discussions in face-to-face courses and suggest teachers enrich online courses with internet resources. On the other hand, average or low achievers confess themselves being easily distracted in online courses, and even skipping classes, but they also note that online courses give them higher confidence to talk in English. Additionally, structural equation modeling suggested that "paying attention to all the students" could best predict "the face-to-face teaching strategy" positively, followed by "paying attention to individual students," "group discussion" and "asking teachers questions directly," while "asking teachers questions directly" could best predict "the synchronous online teaching strategy," followed by "paying attention to individual students." Unlike face-to-face teaching, online teaching hardly allows teachers to observe students' learning processes in class, which contrarily helps decrease students' learning anxiety and encourages them to ask questions via chatrooms. The teacher-student interaction in chatrooms in turn increases opportunities for teachers to pay attention to individual students and reflects the need for teacher-student interaction in online teaching (Sason & Kellerman, 2021). Based on these findings, we may conclude that students prefer face-to-face English teaching to synchronous online English teaching, yet they still think that online teaching is valuable and expect that it could bring more possibilities in the future. Although this study inevitably has its limitations, it is hoped that it can serve as a basis for pedagogy in online courses and for further study in online teaching.