An Investigation of Using Search Engines to Enhance English Majors&;apos;&;apos; Writing Performance

• Main Authors: Xin-Rong Zhu, 朱信融
• Other Authors: Feng-Sheng Hung
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/32120731656248076770

碩士 === 國立高雄第一科技大學 === 應用英語系應用語言學與英語教學碩士班 === 102 === This study surveyed a group of university students majoring in English in order to identify (1) what is the relationship between the students’ prior computer experience and the frequency with which they use search engines when composing English texts, (2) what is the relationship between the students’ prior computer experience and the perceived usefulness of search engines as a learning tool for English compositions, and (3) whether the students who use search engines more frequently perceive the search engines to be more useful. There were 190 students from three universities in southern Taiwan taking part in this study. A three-part questionnaire was employed to collect the data needed. In addition to Part I of personal information, there are two major parts in the questionnaire. Parts II and III consist of twenty-five items using a five-point Likert scale for the participants’ frequency and perceived usefulness of using search engines for English compositions. There were three major results obtained from this study. First, a significant positive correlation was found between the participants’ prior computer experience and frequency of search engine use. The more computer experience the participants had, the more often they were likely to search for writing information online. Second, there was a significant positive correlation between a student’s prior computer experience and perceived usefulness of using search engines for composing English texts. The students who had more computer experience tended to be more likely to perceive search engines as a useful tool. Third, a significant positive correlation was found between frequency of search engine use for English compositions and perceived usefulness of search engines for this purpose. The students who used search engines with higher frequency were inclined to perceive search engines to be more useful. Finally, this study proposed pedagogical implications and suggestions for future research.