Using E-mail Pal Exchanges in an Intermediate English Writing Course

電子郵件交筆友在一門中級英文寫作班之應用

邱智仁(Chi-Yen Chiu)

《國立虎尾科技大學學報》 31卷3期 (2013/09) Pp. 91-101

https://doi.org/10.6425/JNHUST.201309_31(3).0007

摘要

本研究旨在探索一所國立科技大學中級英文寫作班，運用電子郵件結交外國筆友之課後語言學習活動（Benson & Reinders，2011）。本班同學於學期末自由填寫了一份問卷，用於了解他們對於結交電子筆友之寫作課後活動的評價與看法。我們的問卷內容包含了四個大項：學生的寫作能力、信件互動、網路文化以及學習動機。研究結果顯示：雖然本班同學皆是外語學習者，大部分的同學對於用英文交筆友並不感到困難。然而，有83%的學生很在意自己的文法，發信之前會做拼字檢查的動作。部分參與者（17%）甚至得到外國筆友主動給予改正文法的熱情協助。即使許多同學發現不容易找到能夠一直保持聯繫的外國筆友，有不少同學（71%）與筆友培養了良好的友情。儘管有少數同學遭到筆友騷擾或是被要求寄個人的生活照，大多數的同學仍然感到通過網路交筆友是安全的，能因此學習到不同的生活方式與語言文化。總而言之，大部分的同學喜歡這個用電子郵件結交筆友的課後寫作活動，許多參與者並表示課程結束後仍會與筆友繼續通信。本研究的成果著重在學生對於用電子郵件結交筆友的反應與實際生活運用，至於網際網路的溝通方式對於培養學生自主學習能力的影響，則有待更進一步的深入分析與探索，以能利益更多台灣或者其他國家的有志於學好英語的學生及社會人士。

關鍵字

網際網路溝通 ； 電子郵件筆友 ； 英語為外國語

並列摘要

This study explored the use of an e-mail pal activity as out-of-class language learning (Benson & Reinders, 2011) in a course of Intermediate English Writing at a national university of science and technology. The students were asked to respond to a questionnaire that examined their perspectives of the e-mail pal activity incorporated into this particular course. The results of the questionnaire revealed that most of the students in this EFL writing class did not feel it difficult to exchange e-mails in English. However, many participants (83%) did concern a lot about grammar and checked for grammar mistakes before sending out a message. Some of the participants (17%) even received help from their foreign e-mail pals who actively offered kindly assistance to correct the students' writing. During the process of e-mail interactions, a good number of students (71%) had developed friendship with their e-mail pals although so much fewer students found it easy to find a foreign e-mail pal (32%, M=2.98) or to maintain the connections with their e-mail pals (39%, M=3.10). Despite the fact that some students had ever been harassed by their foreign e-mail pals or were asked to send personal photos, a lot of the students still considered it safe to make e-mail pals on the Internet and had learned about different cultures from the e-mail pal exchange activity. In sum, the majority of the students in this class liked the experience of e-mail pal exchanges and would continue to write e-mails to their pals in their own time after the class was finished. The findings of this study had provided some insights into the use of e-mail pal exchanges as out-of-class language learning in an English composition class in Taiwan. Further research is recommended to be conducted to scrutinize and examine the relationship between the technology of computer-mediated communication and the development of learner autonomy for foreign language learners of English (EFL) in Taiwan or other countries.

並列關鍵字

Computer-mediated communication ； E-mail pal exchange ； English as a Foreign Language (EFL)

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