| Summary: | 碩士 === 高雄師範大學 === 英語學系 === 98 === ABSTRACT
The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of implementing an English counseling program (ECP) in the General Biology class at National Kaohsiung Normal University (NKNU) as measures to further help promote Biotechnology- majored students’ English skills for their academic purposes. Specifically, the students’ self-perception of their English speaking, listening and reading skills in Biology, their perception of English anxiety, and their comments and suggestions after the application of ECP are explored.
The subjects in this study were 40 Biotechnology-majored freshmen of NKNU at Yan-chao Campus. During the eight-week ECP counseling sessions, the subjects were given an all-English environment in which they received a planned instruction of Biology vocabularies, reviews of chapters in accordance with the process of the General Biology lecture, discussions of in-class Biology questions and handouts, and exam reviews before subjects’ in-class midterms and final examination. Before the ECP was administered, the researcher invited the students to participate the counseling sessions and then had the students fill out the pre-study questionnaires. During the ECP, the subjects were invited to fill out a sign-up form after each counseling session that they have attended so as to track the attendance and persistence of the participants. At the ECP, the subjects answered a post-study questionnaire. Later on, the student responses to the pre-study and post-study questionnaires were compared by a paired samples t-test and analyzed quantitatively. In addition, the student’s comments and suggestions for the ECP to the open-ended questions in the post-study questionnaire as well as to the five open-ended questions in the interview forms for four students were analyzed qualitatively.
Based on the quantitative and qualitative data analyses, the major findings of the present study are summarized as follows:
1. There are significant differences in the students’ perception of English speaking skills of Biology before and after the ECP. According to the increased mean scores, the ECP is effective in boosting student English skills to the students’ speaking in Biology subject matter.
2. There are significant differences in the students’ perception of English listening skills of Biology before and after the ECP. To be exact, according to the increased mean scores, the students’ listening comprehension of Biology-related discussions and their interests and confidence in English listening are enhanced.
3. There are significant differences in the students’ perception of English reading skills of Biology before and after the ECP according to the increased mean scores. For instance, before ECP, the students were lost while trying to comprehend Biology textbooks in English. After ECP, the students could understand the specialized terminologies used in the Biology textbook, be able to focus on the main points, and find reading of Biology textbook as an enjoyable activity.
4. There is a significant difference in the students’ perception of English anxiety before and after the ECP according to the increased mean scores. Most students showed a noted drop in English anxiety and an increase in self-confidence after participating in the ECP.
5. According to the students’ comments and suggestions for the two open-ended questions in the post-study questions and to the questions in the interview, the students responded positively to and were supportive of the instruction of ECP. In terms of the students’ perception of speaking of Biology in English, students expected to increase the time of ECP sessions. In addition, the students hoped the ECP counselor could devote more time to guiding them to pronounce specialized terms of Biology correctly. In relation to the students’ perception of listening of Biology in English, the students expected the counselor to provide detailed Chinese explanations when explaining difficult Biology vocabularies and concepts. Moreover, the students preferred the counselor to speak English statements at a slower pace to allow time to comprehend and instill meaning. With regard to the students’ perception of reading of Biology in English, the students expected the ECP sessions to cover only the chapter reviews. In the light of the students’ perception of English anxiety, students suggested that the ECP sessions should be placed at a better time slot so their feelings of fatigue and exhaustion after a three-hour lecture could be alleviated. As for ECP activities, the students hoped the ECP sessions could include more relaxing games and topics outside of the Biology content to make the ECP less anxiety-provoking.
On the basis of the study findings, it is suggested that the implementation of the ECP of Biology incorporated in a university setting is effective in promoting the students’ perception of English speaking, listening and reading of Biology and helping to lower the students’ perception of English anxiety. The findings of the study justified the students’ self-perception of being much less anxious in their approach to the learning of English in a content-based atmosphere and of having acquired confidence that they themselves could really learn to speak, as well as listen and read English academically and for personal growth. Such an experience might therefore better prepare them for further ordinary classroom learning in other course subjects.
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