chapter three

The Impact of using Multimedia on Saudi Students Learning the English language

Students Name

Institution

Abstract

This paper presents chapter three of the study titled The impact of using multimedia on Saudi students learning the English language. It explores the setting of the study, conceptual framework, validity and rationale, as well as tools used in the study.

Key words: methodology, conceptual framework, validity, reliability

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Chapter 3

Methodology

Introduction; Setting and University Profile

The setting of my study is in QASSIM University located in the capital of Saudi Arabia. QASSIM University is a national university under the management of the government and teaches a number of courses to students. Majority of the students who study at the university are Saudis. The university is among the most recognized universities in the country for teaching foreign language, and especially English as a second language. Normally teaching is done in Arabic which is the official language of Saudi Arabia. However, because of globalization and internationalization of job opportunities many students at the university are required to have English as a second language in their studies. From the analysis of the records obtained in 2012 from office of academic officer at the university, 98 per cent of students at the university are of Saudi origin, and 93 per cent of these students take English as a second language. Apparently, the university management has agreed to make English a second language and a common course, thus compulsory to all students who study at the university.

Participants

My study will take place at the QASSIM University which is located in the capital City of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. As such, it will imperative to understand how the study is structured to enable its success. Two resource items will be consulted; that is, a selected sample of first and second year students and teachers who teach them English as a second language. The office of academic registrar will also be contacted to help to determine the number of students who opt to register for English language willingly the moment they join the university. This is important as it will help to discover the motivational factors that lead students to enroll for ESL courses immediately they join the university and what makes some to drop along the way. ESL teachers will provide information on the methods and approaches that they use to teach ESL and skills that they consider as lacking to facilitate and make their work easier

Conceptual Framework

As a student at QASSIM University, I have participated in a number of classes in which English is taught as a second language to students at the university. In many of these classes I have observed with interest as students enroll with enthusiasm to these classes only to drop after a few months. Most of the teachers who teach these lessons have not bothered themselves finding out why over 90 per cent of students drop out as soon as they start learning. Among the reasons that students that I have enquired about gave for their drop out is that they could not keep up with the pace at which the teacher was teaching them the language. Most students have argued that they could not understand anything however much they tried to listen to the teacher. Some have also indicated that the lessons lack necessary tools in the form of media to help them to learn English as a second language in a better way. To them, English presents new phonological and syntactical rules that require visual techniques to supplement the traditional conversational approach which is common in many classes of language, especially second languages. As such, I have developed an interest in the way media could be used to help Saudi students to learn English as a second language.

Therefore, the manner in which I approach this study, including selecting the sample of students to participate reflects my experience first as a student and then as a teacher of ESL to Saudi students. Thus, it implies that I might have a prior list of expectations/findings from my study. However, I am confident that by not explaining to the participant the purpose of my study, they will be able to answer my questionnaires objectively without any biasness and hence give the precise data for my analysis. More often than not, this approach is efficient in ensuring that the respondents do not provide untruthful data which is influenced by the purpose of the study.

Research Orientation and Rationale

The data that I will need will focus on the students learning capability for ESL using different media. To be able to get data on this capability, several assessment approaches will be used. Average scores from the examinations in ESL will be analyzed. Additionally, results from the qualitative analysis of teachers use of media in teaching ESL to Saudi students will be done. The study will also consider comparing performances of students in QASSIM University with those of others from where English is their first language. This will provide the necessary information of the level of listening and performance with and without the aid of the media in learning English as a second language. I intend to analyze the performance of students in ESL before and after use of media to teach them and apply Chi-square test to analyze the comparison at the beginning and the end of the study. Essence will be to establish the trend on the influence of media in learning English as a second language to students who initially enrolled for these lessons and later dropped against those who did not drop prior to the introduction of media tools to teach ESL

Validity and reliability

As a teacher of ESL to Saudi students, my biasness is centered on the fact that teaching approaches for ESL in Saudi Arabia are not build alongside the media to help students to better listen and understand what teachers teach them in class. I have a wealth of knowledge on the factors that determine the interest of a student in ESL at QASSIM University as well as the opinions of other teachers. These will definitely form a strong background for my study and therefore introduce unparalleled biasness.

My colleagues are also likely to challenge the rationale for my study questions since not all students who enroll for ESL drop out and some go ahead and become masters of the language to professional level. As a professional in ESL, my knowledge will most likely shape my hypothesis especially with regard to the use of media as learning tools for ESL classes. However, in order to have valid and reliable findings, I intend to have the study conducted in a systematic and disciplined approach as a way of gaining reliability.

Methodology

Most researchers around the world recognized the importance of using multimedia in teaching. It becomes basic in programs of teaching in several schools and universities around the world. So we need to answer this question what about using multimedia in Saudi schools to teach listening skill? How can we help teachers to use multimedia in a classroom? We need to tell students about the importance of dealing with multimedia and using CALL.

Tools

Students enrollment rate will be assessed using data from the academic registrar and their dropout rate from ESL classes summarized. A regular evaluation of class attendance will be recorded to determine the impact of introduction of media as learning tools to ESL classes. The Chi-square test will be used to analyze the trend and determine the impact of media introduction in classrooms on the attendance of the lessons for students learning ESL. This will be done for the entire period of the study

Conclusion

This chapter has presented the setting of my study and approaches that I will use in determining the impact of using multimedia on Saudi students learning the English language. The chapter also evaluates the methodology, valid and reliability, and tools that I will use in analyzing the data that I will collect from the study sample populationn.

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