04051001802 toanvan the use of snss in forstering learner autonomy at a high school = (sử dụng mạng xã hội trong việc nâng cao năng lực tự chủ cho người học tại một trường trung học phổ thông).
INTRODUCTION
Rationale of the study
Learner autonomy is widely recognized as a core element contributing to the success in language learning, and it affects learning progress and learning outcome as well Numerous studies on developing learner autonomy via in-class and out-of- class activities conducted reveals that this matter is worth considering
In Vietnam, the term “learner autonomy” is a buzzword that has been grasping increasing attention in a nationwide effort to improve the quality of the country‟s education Developing learner autonomy is one of the main targets in national education reforms because it not only enhances student‟s chance of success in learning but also results in an active workforce It is believed that people who are educated to be autonomous in learning can embark on lifelong learning and adapt to new developments and changes in the world (Q.K Nguyen and Q.C Nguyen,
2008), therefore they are closely involved in the nation‟s economic growth
Putting this matter in the current context that social network sites (SNSs) have come into focus of media and research for the past few years thanks to their rapid increase in the number of registered accounts all over the world, it is worth considering the potential use of SNSs in enhancing learner autonomy Presently, Facebook and Zalo are standing at the top positions among the most frequently visited social network sites in Vietnam These sites have gained such a huge popularity that they have been used as channels supporting educational activities beyond classroom boundaries by teachers and learners Offering users such convenience as friendly- user apps and instant information transfer, the existence of Facebook or Zalo communities such as groups, pages or chat rooms is becoming a crucial platform to maintain the connection between teachers and students This reality inspires the idea of enhancing learner autonomy by exploiting Facebook or Zalo communities
Back to the high school that is the setting of this study, for the past few years, the English teachers there have created Facebook and Zalo chat rooms, pages and groups with students to support them outside the classroom Some of them are successfully implementing social groups while some of them are still struggling with running an effective community For the successful teachers, they reported the positive changes in their student‟s behaviors and attitudes towards learning English in class Wondering about the potentiality of Facebook and Zalo groups that they can be a worth tool to foster learner autonomy in the era of technology, I decided to conduct a study in order to discover how autonomous the students are with the use of SNSs, concretely Facebook and Zalo communities such as chat rooms, pages and groups, and also to explore the possibility of SNSs in enhancing learner autonomy I expect that the findings will be valuable information for the teachers‟ application in this school later
In broader view, I recognized that using SNSs to foster learner autonomy is not very well- researched, which leads to small quantity of extensive literature available, so this project addressed this gap with the hope that the finding of my research can provide empirical evidences on this field.
Objectives of the study
The present study is planned to:
Probe the phenomenon of learner autonomy when students participate in the social network communities
Explore the potentiality of SNSs in fostering learner autonomy
Research questions
In order to accomplish the objectives as mentioned above, the research seeks to answer the following questions:
Research question 1: How autonomous are the students when participating in their classes‟ social network communities?
Research question 2: In what ways could SNS potentially enhance learner autonomy?
Scope of the study
The research will be conducted with the participation of an English teacher and her students of grade 12 at a high school on using SNSs to develop learner autonomy The researcher only focuses on their use of Facebook or Zalo online chat rooms or pages, groups together with the teacher‟s mentoring, other uses of SNSs are beyond the scope of the study.
Method of the study
This current study employs mixed methods research design to fulfill the research questions The procedure of conducting this research includes the following steps:
Firstly, the researcher piloted the questionnaires to the group of 10 students in another class to finalize the items
Afterwards, the final questionnaires were distributed to the official participants twice The first time of administering the questionnaire was in December 2020, the second time was in May 2021 At the end, a private semi-structured interview with the English teacher was held so as to:
- Figure out how autonomous her students expressed
- Explore the potential ways in which SNSs enhanced learner autonomy
The author decided to conduct the survey twice in order to have more reliable results regarding the researched issues At the first time of being administered the survey, the students had a short interruption of using their classes‟ network communities due to having experienced their summer holiday Therefore, the collected results might not appropriately reflect what the researcher was going to investigate With the second one, the author will have more reliable information due
4 to the students „regular operation of SNSs, and the comparison of the results between these two times will be more persuadable
The data were collected, sorted and analyzed, and compared, which led to the certainty that realistic results were obtained
Finally, the findings would be the foundation for the researcher to propose implications for exploiting Facebook or Zalo communities in enhancing learner autonomy and further study.
Significance of the study
The result of this research is to assist students and teachers to fully utilize Facebook or Zalo communities such as chat rooms, pages, or groups
For teachers, the results of this study can give some pedagogical implications so that they can operate the social network communities more effectively to help their students to become more autonomous
For students, the expected findings can shed light on how to use social network sites usefully to increase their autonomy in learning
Besides, I also hope that my study can yield insights about using SNSs to boost learner autonomy which is poorly researched, and fill the gap in the literature of this matter.
Structure of the study
My thesis is going to be presented in chapters as follows:
This overview part is made up of specific information about rationale, objectives of the research, the research questions, the scope and method of the study In addition, the researcher also expounds the significance of the research and provides a general introduction of the research‟s structure
The researcher reviews the theories of learner autonomy, social network sites, and revises the previous studies on SNSs to promote learner autonomy
A detailed description of the method used in the study will be provided in this part, including information of the participants, the instruments used to collect data, and the data analysis
Chapter IV: Findings and discussion
This chapter focuses on analyzing and discussing the results obtained through questionnaires and interview
This last part offers the researcher‟s summary of the findings and conclusion of the remarks Besides, the researcher will present the recommendations for further research and pedagogical applications
LITERATURE REVIEW
LEARNER AUTONOMY
II.1.1.The concept of autonomy
Autonomy etymologically originates from the Greek word autonomia, which derives from autonomous meaning “having its own laws” (Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 2011)
Autonomia first appeared in the ancient Greek society, closely related to the political realm In the political context with the earliest expression of democracy that time, the word “autonomy” meant “the independence and self-determination of the community in its external and internal relations” (Lakoff, 1990: 388) Concretely, that term was used to describe the relationships among political groupings and also the relationships between individual human beings (Lawson,
Literally defined in some English Dictionaries, the meaning of autonomy is also varied In the respect of individualist meaning, autonomy refers to an individual‟s self – determination which is defined as “freedom to determine one own‟s actions, behavior, etc” (Collins English Dictionary, 1998), or “freedom of action” (Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 2011) Besides, as defined in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2009), autonomy is “the ability or opportunity to make your own decisions without being controlled by anyone else'' This definition not only reiterates “ability” and “make one‟s own decision” as two crucial constructs but also highlights the individuals‟ central role which allows them to freely act without depending on others‟ control and take responsibility for their own decisions
Appropriately understanding the meaning of autonomy will help navigate the researcher not be far from the consensus in such a context that there has been a
7 substantial amount of literature with attempts to give definition of learner autonomy, propose teaching models and approaches to enhance it, and scrutinize its applicability in various educational circumstances
II.1.2 Definition of learner autonomy in language education
The concept of learner autonomy has drawn many researchers‟ attention for decades It is such a complicated concept that it has been understood in various ways in the development of educational ideology and philosophy
The theory of autonomy was mentioned early in Knowel„s research as self- directed learning in 1975 The focus on adult self-directed learning became more popular in the 1970s and 1980s In 1981, Holec introduced the term “learner autonomy” as “the ability to take charge of one‟s own learning‟ and in detail, “to hold the responsibility for all decisions concerning all aspect of this learning; i.e., determining the objectives; defining the contents and progressions; selecting methods and techniques to be used; monitoring the procedure of acquisition properly speaking (rhythm, tie, place, etc.); evaluating what has been acquired'' (Holec, 1981:3) Following this definition, an autonomous learner is able to take charge of his or her own learning in the sense that he or she can set goals, choose appropriate tasks, methods, and evaluate his or her own learning Holec also confirms that such kind of ability “is not inborn, but must be acquired either by natural means or (as most often happens) by formal learning, i.e., in a systematic, deliberate way” (Holec, 1981:3) Apparently, Holec‟s definition plays an important role in the field of language education because he considers autonomy is an attribute of learners rather than learning situations
From Holec‟s definition, subsequent definitions of learner autonomy in language learning are given Learner autonomy, as stated in Dam‟s study, is characterized as “a readiness to take charge of one‟s own learning in the service of one‟s need and purposes This entails a capacity and willingness to act
8 independently and in cooperation with others, as a social, responsible person” (Dam et al 1990) This definition also mentions the activity of taking charge of one‟s own learning but it is different from Holec‟s view in the way that it involves
“willingness” and “ capacity”, and also mentions the relations between the learner and others or society
Inspired by Holec‟s work, Little (1991) sees learner autonomy as an ability and willingness to make choices independently By doing that, they can figure out their best suitable learning strategies so that they can learn actively and independently Besides, he also thinks that “autonomy in language learning depends on the development and exercise of a capacity for detachment, critical reflection, decision making and independent action” (Little, 1991:4)
Contributing to the conceptualization of learner autonomy, Benson (2001) defined learner autonomy as the capacity to take control of one‟s own learning based on the learner‟s desire, ability, and freedom The author explained his purposeful use of desire to avoid the term motivation when describing learners‟ motivation to take an active role in learning Ability is referred to as learners‟ knowledge and skills in their learnt language, their learning plan, and their evaluation of their efforts The last one, freedom is the chance and space for learners to take an active role of some kind Benson acknowledged these three aspects are interconnected
The idea that learner autonomy does not mean that learning takes place in isolation but also by collaborating with others was also acknowledged by some scholars later (Kohonen, 2010; Murray, 2014 Lewis 2014) Learner autonomy is a social construct According to Palfreyman (2013), promoting learner autonomy always happens in cultural context no matter how we understand culture Murray
(2014) also pointed out that learning spaces facilitating activities that promote learner autonomy is necessary, and should enable students to work with each other
A social network, with its dynamics and architecture, provides its users with
9 opportunity to develop and exercise learner autonomy interactively and motivation to belong to multiple communities of practices Most of emotions generated on these sites most will be of social origin However, learner autonomy on social network sites challenges the existing educational practices, which may lead to new attitudes, beliefs and way of life
II.1.3 Characteristics of an autonomous learner
Despite the variety of learner autonomy definition, behaviors and attitudes of learners are found to be the frequently-used indicators of an autonomous learner
As one of the earliest advocates of learner autonomy, Holec (1981) characterizes autonomous learners as “who are capable of assuming the role of manager of their learning They know how to make all decisions involved In other words, they know how to learn” Obviously, Holec stresses student‟s ability of self- management in language learning which involves the abilities to set appropriate goals for their academic achievement, manage their behaviors to reach their goals
In addition, autonomous learners in Holec‟s view are capable of defining the contents and progression, selecting learning methods and techniques to get success in the learning process In particular, they can monitor the procedure of acquisition, and self-assess what they acquire in studying (Holec, 1981, as cited in Little, 1996:2)
In 1987, Wenden stated several characteristics of autonomous language learners such as: being more efficient at learning and the second language using, and being capable of self-directing these efforts in the course of study She posited that they are self-confident learners and they believe in their choice of learning strategies This attitude allows them to direct and manage their own learning To the author, autonomous learners are successful and intelligent ones who have learned how to learn Learner are said to be autonomous if they are able to use learning
10 strategies effectively and use those strategies flexibly in the new environment, independently of the teacher
According to Dickinson (1993), there are four characteristics of autonomous learners First, they can identify what is being taught in their classes Second, they are able to set learning goals, and attempt to improve their language skills outside the classroom Third, they have the ability to employ appropriate learning strategies Fourth, they can evaluate the effectiveness of such learning strategies and make adjustments if necessary
Dam (1995) describes an autonomous learner as an active learner in the learning processes of classroom context Concretely, they can process new information actively based on their knowledge, then apply it into their learning situations later on
SOCIAL NETWORK SITES
II.2.1 Definition of social network sites (SNSs)
When referring to social network sites (SNSs), internet users can list out some names such as Facebook, Twitter in a blink Actually, social network sites have more channels with different functions than these two popular sites above In the context that there are more academic interests in SNSs, it is necessary to understand what SNS actually is
Ellison and Boyd (2007) defined a social network site is a networked communication platform in which participants (1) have public or semi-public profiles that consist of user – supplied content, and/or system – provided data; (2) can publicly articulate a list of other users that they have connections; and (3) can view and traverse streams of user – generated content provided by their connections on the site (Boyd and Ellison, 2007:2)
Boyd and Ellison also differentiate social network sites from social networking sites For them, they consider network sites are the space where users are involved in numerous activities rather than being solely preoccupied with forming networks around themselves By contrast, they believe that the term “networking” only refers to a particular set of sites, it is the main preoccupation In addition, their use of the
“network” term is quite broad, which allows them to open up the types of site that can be referred to in future discussions
II.2.2 Social network sites and language education
The proliferation in studies of SNSs in language education proved their increasing influences on this field
According to Blattner and Fiori (2009), the immense popularity of SNSs has provided language learners with new opportunities to interact with peers,
18 instructors, native speakers, which were previously difficult to achieve Besides, SNS also contributes to fostering positive relationships among students
That SNSs has been used as teaching and language learning tools is undeniable SNSs are examples of using technology as a supporting channel outside the classroom – the context alters the conventional teaching and learning The findings of studies investigating teacher‟s roles in promoting autonomous learning conducted by Lai, Yeung, and Hu (2016) reveal that students expect their teacher to play greater roles in providing them with support for their autonomous learning, for example, recommending learning resources This raises the need for the teachers to build essential knowledge and skills to meet such roles
In addition, some researchers point out that Facebook can be effective in language learning Ru- Chu, (2011) concluded that Facebook – integrated instruction can promote students‟ interests and motivation Meanwhile, Kabilan, Ahmad, and Abidin (2010) state that Facebook in students‟ views is a useful tool to support, and strengthen their English learning Moreover, Facebook facilitates students‟ active discussions (Kho and Chuah, 2012) or improves both their language skills and communication skills (Mahmud and Ching, 2012)
II.2.3 Previous studies about SNSs on enhancing learner autonomy
As acknowledged at the beginning of my work, although SNSs are attracting scholars, there has been limited literature on SNSs‟ influence on learner autonomy Within my scope of study, I found some studies conducted by foreign researchers presenting this matter
In the article “Developing learner autonomy through Facebook: Problem – solving dynamics in online peer collaboration”, which was published in 2016 in T Pattinson, IAEFFL 2015, Manchester Conference Selections Ward Peeters describes his experimental research aiming at analyzing the communication patterns and educational outcomes of the first year English majors when collaborating with
19 their peers on Facebook He established a Facebook project at the University of Antwerp, Belgium in 2013 and 2014, named Antwerp project In this project, he formed a closed Facebook forum functioned as an online support network without the interference of a tutor for an academic writing course The students collaborated on pre-designed learning tasks towards a common learning goal in four months, and they had to individually submit three 300-word essays undergoing peer correction Regarding developing learner autonomy, Peeters finds that the participants on the Facebook forum act collaboratively with others in the sense that they analyze their peers‟ issue, process new information, and share personal learning experiences By doing so, they take ownership of their own learning He comes to the conclusion that learners on a closed network forum are capable of defining their learning problems and clarifying what is needed to overcome the problem, hence their ability to determine new learning objectives They also illustrate autonomy by using the Facebook community as a sound board, sharing responsibilities and constructing an effective online support network Although this study‟s goal is not to measure learner autonomy via peer collaboration in a Facebook forum, the author‟s findings and conclusions about the participants taking in the project share similarities with some scholars‟ definitions of learner autonomy, and autonomous learners (Holec, Dam, and Little) This proves that the online Facebook community can enhance learner autonomy The study‟s results also propose implications for further studies on this matter whose primary research objective is to figure out the potentiality of Facebook forum on fostering learner autonomy so that a confirmation can be surely given convincingly
Another research that investigates the degree of autonomy as one of variables to explain the differences in terms of self - determination between a group learning English on Facebook pages (the experimental group) and a face- to – face group (the control one) also revealed that the students participating in the Facebook group are more autonomous than those of the face – to – face one This quantitative experimental study named “Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in foreign
20 language learning through Facebook '' was conducted by a group of researchers from the Netherlands including Elham Akbari, Albert Pilot, P Robert – Jan Simons in 2015 The participants are Iranian PhD students living in Schengen zone countries and have an intermediate command of English All of them have to participate in some tests by answering questionnaires before and after the course The finding that the Facebook group‟s degree of learner autonomy is higher than the control group one highlights that online social networks have potential to increase the degree of learner autonomy for English language learning
In 2018, a group of researchers from University Teknologi MARA including Syazliyati Ibrahim, Sharina Saad, Norlizawati Md Tahir and Phaveena Primsuwan conducted a research named “Promoting learners‟ autonomy by using Facebook to enhance students‟ writing skills'' Their study report was posted on Journal of Creative Practices Language Learning and Teaching, volume 6 Their research was conducted with 30 students form Sekolah Menegah Bakar Arang in order to investigate whether online chatrooms on Facebook improves students‟ writing skills and to examine whether online chatrooms on Facebook promotes learner‟s autonomy A pre –test was conducted in the classroom, then followed by a post- test after the students‟ one month participation in VELLP An interview also was used The finding of the research revealed that online chatrooms on Facebook enhanced the students‟ writing skills and also made the students more autonomous This research helped to confirm that learner autonomy can be developed by online chatrooms on Facebook However, this study involved almost all students who are homogeneous in language capacity, and it mainly focused on learner autonomy in writing skills Therefore, a study on various levels of learners may provide a broader view
In conclusion, although none of the above studies initially subject to study whether Facebook can enhance learner autonomy, their findings as discussed strengthen the hypothesis that SNSs can increase the level of learner autonomy
Being aware of what those studies have not done, I hope that my study can yield insights about the potential of SNSs, in my case Facebook and Zalo communities in fostering learner autonomy in English learning
METHODOLOGY
Objectives of the study
The objectives of this study were twofold First, the study aims at probing the level of students‟ autonomy under the influence of social network communities Second, it attempts to explore their potentiality of social network sites in fostering learner autonomy In order to achieve these objectives, the following two research questions were investigated through a mixed method design combining the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Restatement of research questions
In pursuit of these aims, this current study seeks the answer for the following research questions:
1 How autonomous are the students when participating in their classes‟ social network communities?
2 In what ways could SNS potentially enhance learner autonomy?
Research design
According to Creswell, mixed methods research is “an inquiry involving collecting both quantitative and qualitative data, integrating two forms of data, and using distinct designs that may involve philosophical assumptions and theoretical frameworks The core assumption of this form of inquiry is that the combination of
23 qualitative and quantitative research approaches provides a more complete understanding of a research problem than either approach alone” (Creswell, 2014) Quantitative method focuses on testing the theories deductively, explaining and generating and replicating the findings by measuring variables and analyzing those using statistical procedures On the other hand, qualitative method tends to make interpretation of the meaning of the data Therefore, with the use of both qualitative and quantitative methods, a mixed methods research design can help the researcher
“simultaneously answer confirmatory and exploratory questions, and therefore verify and generate theory in the same study” (Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2003, p 15)
In this study, the researcher aims to probe the level of autonomy students gain when participating in their classes‟ social network communities, and hopes to discover the potential of social network sites in enhancing learner autonomy Thus, a mixed methods research design is suitable to be applied into this study
In addition, although qualitative and quantitative research approaches have their own strengths, they still have weaknesses Combining elements of quantitative and qualitative research approaches, mixed methods design neutralize the weaknesses of single methods (Creswell, 2014) Therefore, the use of this research type allows the researcher to get insights about the researched problems that may be missed if only single method research is employed.
School setting
The study was conducted at a high school in Nam Trực District, Nam Định Province There are currently 5 English teachers in the school, most of who are at the age ranging from 30 to 40, and have more than 8 years of teaching experience These teachers have been receiving ongoing training on technology and computer applications, and incline to apply technological advances in teaching Developing student‟s autonomy is highly valued and focused together with increasing the academic results At the beginning of each school year, these teachers have their students create their social network communities such as Facebook private groups, Facebook messenger groups, and Zalo ones The teachers use these channels not
24 only to contact their students but also to support them outside the classroom, and these social network communities become dispensable channels for teachers and students at this school At this time of the study, all the teachers have more than 4- year experience of running these social network communities with their students‟ involvement One of them has been exploiting these channels with the hope to promote her students‟ autonomy for 3 years.
The participants
The study has the participation of 76 grade 12 students and an English teacher at a high school in Nam Dinh province These participants will be introduced in the following sections
As stated, 76 grade-12 students participated in the survey They were chosen in accordance to the criteria as followings:
(1) They join at least one social networking community with their English teacher
(2) Their social network communities are still operating regularly
(3) They share the common background of English language proficiency
In detail, these students are in two different classes, 12A and 12B There are 29 females and 47 males They are heterogeneous in their language capacity All of them have participated in Facebook chat rooms (12A) or Zalo chat group (12B) with their English teachers since they were in grade 11 Besides, they also interact with their English teacher via a Facebook private group and a Facebook page in addition to their class chat rooms
A female 32 –year- old English teacher is purposely invited to join the interview She owes advanced computer skills, and prefers applying technology into her teaching career She has been running her social networking communities with her students‟ participation for more than 3 years, aiming at not only supporting her students outside the classroom but also enhancing her students‟ autonomy.
The researched social network communities
The studied class‟s social network communities include a Facebook messenger group, a Facebook page, a Facebook private group, and a Zalo group Both classes had chat groups created by students themselves with the suggestion of their English teacher (12A‟s one is Facebook, the other‟s one is Zalo group) Besides, each class also owned another social network community created by their class‟s members 12A had a Facebook page while 12B chose a private Facebook group instead Their English teacher was sent an invitation to join such communities together
In terms of the students‟ willingness to join such communities with the English teacher, most students were willing to join with overall percentages approximately 82% However, there still exist a small number of students who are not willing to join or remain neutral toward the participation in such communities This reality is shown in the following pie chart
Figure 2: The willingness to join class‟s social network communities with the teacher
Despite being created in 2019 when the students were at grade 11, these social network communities had months temporarily not working due to summer holiday Activities with these communities were officially reactivated in December 2020 when the 2020- 2021 school year started
Regarding the activities within these network communities, the messages normally posted in such communities were reported to be videos, articles, pictures or Facebook posts that they found interesting or beneficial for them in English learning such as jobs demanding English, tips to learn English or English lessons They also share their predicaments while learning English to seek for their teacher‟s and their friends‟ help Meanwhile, the English teacher mostly initiated the discussions in both classes‟ social communities However, the active role of the students was reported differently at the two classes Data collected from class 12A reveals that although most of the time English teacher initially raised discussion, the number of times that the students in the class actively posed questions is considerable In contrast, 12B‟s responses show that they spend most of the time following their teacher‟s topic for discussion; few times in a long period do several students share their ideas in their class social network communities
Not at all Neutral Willing
Instruments
The researcher utilized three sources of data, including student questionnaire, and teacher interview Data from different sources can increase the validity and reliability of the study, and help the researcher minimize the weakness, bias and problems caused by single method study
The questionnaire used in this study includes three sections serving the collection of such information as the student‟s background information, the level of learner autonomy, and the ways in which social network communities can enhance learner autonomy The researcher applied Holec‟s, and Nunan‟s theories on learner autonomy in designing this questionnaire in order to find out how autonomous students are when taking part in social network communities The image of an autonomous learner vividly characterized in Holec‟s theories as well as detailed descriptions for each level of learner autonomy in Nunan‟s frame is useful guidelines to help me fulfill my research objectives
The first section is to find out background information about the students such as their classes, their purposes of learning English, the issues related to their classes‟ social network communities
The second section focuses on measuring the level of student‟s autonomy in reference to some criteria such as ability to self-management, freedom to act The aspects investigated were learning objects, learning process, and outcome Totally, there are 26 closed items They were designed in the form of the 5-point Likert scale: 1 Strongly disagree (SD) 2 Disagree (D) 3 Neutral (N) 4 Agree (A)
After the closed items for each aspect, there is an open- ended question to clarify their choices so that the researcher can collect the information about the ways in which social network communities enhance the learner's autonomy
The researcher invited the English teacher to participate in a semi-structured interview with interview protocol to get the information about the use of social network communities, her own evaluation of her students‟ autonomy achievement under the influence of these channels, and her viewpoint about how the social network communities affect the student‟s autonomy
Data collection procedure
The student questionnaire was piloted twice with ten grade 12- students of two other classes to finalize the items The students were asked to read the items carefully, indicate the unclear points, and suggest how to rewrite the items This ensures that the questionnaire was clearly written, useful and applicable After the first piloting, the author changed the expression of some items for better understanding For example, “be able to identify pedagogical strategies” was changed into "be able to identify my own learning strategies” After the second time, the questionnaires continued to be amended to avoid unreliable answers Because there were still some words causing misunderstanding, the researcher changed some terms for students‟ clearer understanding, for example “topics” was changed into “messages”
The researcher officially started to collect data for the study on the 15 th of December, 2020 for the first time The second data collection was at the end of the second semester, the 3 rd of May, 2021 The researcher aims at comparing the levels of learner autonomy at different times of using social network communities to gain the knowledge of how these channels affect the learner autonomy
The interview with the teacher was done immediately after the students finished the questionnaire in May 2021.
Data analysis procedure
After collecting the data through Likert-scale items in the student questionnaires and teacher interviews, the researcher took several stages to analyze the collected data
The raw quantitative data were collected through Likert-scale items in the student questionnaires The questionnaires were administered two times and filed separately for each For each time, the options “strongly disagree”, “disagree”,
“neutral”, “agree”, “strongly disagree” were marked for each participant in accordance with their answers, applying in all items Then the researcher counted the total numbers of participants for each option in each item and converted these numbers into percentages by using Microsoft Excel The statistical results of two times were compared so that the researcher could have insights about learner autonomy when the participants joined their classes‟ social network communities
Qualitative data in this study were collected through two sources: open- ended questions in the student questionnaires, and teacher interview They were analyzed using content analysis, mixed approach
First, open - ended questions in the student questionnaires were analyzed using a bottom-up approach Second, transcripts of the teacher interview were analyzed deductively The researcher started with the ideas in the research questions to make the interview questions for the teacher and filtered the information in the teacher‟s answers to conclude the findings
In order to analyze the qualitative data, the researcher followed the following steps
In this step, the researcher got familiar with the collected qualitative data and planned for data organization The researcher read the responses of the students in the collected questionnaires repeatedly, listened and re-listened to the interview recording, and reviewed the interview transcripts In terms of interview transcripts, they were produced exactly as what the teacher said without any of the researcher‟s amendments
The aim of this step was to produce a coding system to organize the data Codes can be words, sentences, or paragraphs which are assigned to particular segments of document or whole documents by which sorting and sifting through text can be facilitated so that the researcher identifies particular categories and themes (Miles and Huberman, 1994).In this study, the researcher highlighted words and phrases mentioned in the student‟s written answers and the teacher interview, and then I defined, constructed conceptual category codes for them The selections of text were tagged and named For example, when the words such as “English games”, “Quizz”, or “Competition” were mentioned in the participants‟ answers, they would be coded as “interesting activities”
This step followed the initial coding process in the previous one In this step, the research identified connections between the codes and created the categories Having looked for a good fit between codes sharing the relationships, they researcher created 05 categories, including “ friendly chats”, “ interesting activities”, “shared contents”, “vivid presentation” and “smart functions” All of
31 them were linked to the facilitators by which SNSs could potentially enhance learner autonomy
The researcher described the participant‟s responses and linked to each researcher question to interpret the data The categories created in the previous steps were foundations for my interpretation.
Summary
To conclude, this chapter provided an overview of the study‟s methodology First, the researcher conducted mixed methods research at a high school in Nam Dinh to investigate the level of learner autonomy when the students participated in social network communities by using questionnaires and interview as the main instruments of gathering data 76 grade – 12 of two different classes were purposely chosen to complete the questions at two different timescales, then followed by a teacher interview Microsoft Excel was used in the data analysis procedure to deal with the raw quantitative data Descriptive statistical analysis, comparative method was applied in analyzing the quantitative data For qualitative data, the research employed content analysis, mixed approach to find the answers for the research questions
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Findings and discussion regarding research question 1
IV.1.1 Quantitative findings and discussion
The quantitative results come from 26 Likert - scale items in the student questionnaires Of the initial cohort, 76 subjects completed and returned the questionnaires The response rate is 100% at the second time of administering questionnaires after approximately 8 months The student‟s responses allow the researcher to generate the necessary findings
With the majority of students agreeing to the items when being administered the questionnaire two times, it can be confirmed that students become autonomous when taking part in social network communities such as Facebook/ Zalo chat rooms, Facebook page or groups
In the first time of administering student questionnaires, the level of learner autonomy was measured referring the Nunan‟s frame of level of learner autonomy and Holec‟s concept of learner autonomy The results were obtained from the
33 second section of the student questionnaire including 26 closed five point Likert – scale items The results for section 2 are shown in the table 2
1.1 Be aware of the learning objectives of English subject
1.2 Be Able to modify / Adapt the objectives of English subject
1.3 Create my own learning objectives 0 0 3.95 25 71.05
2.1 Be aware of my strengths and weaknesses
2.2 Be able to plan my weekly work in advance
2.3 Be able to identify my learning styles
2.4 Be able to identify my own learning strategies
2.5 Be aware of the content of materials used in my learning process
2.6 Create my own learning tasks 17.94 6.89 5.26 52.63 14.47
2.7 Decide what materials to use to learn English
2.8 Decide what activities to use to learn
2.9 Choose the techniques used in my learning process
2.10 Facilitate my learning by my self – revisions
2.11 Maintain my study independent from teacher
2.12 Make necessary adjustments while learning
2.13 Ensure that I make progress in the
2.14 Make links between the content learnt in the classroom and the outside world
2.15 Freely express opinions 0 5.26 11.84 42.11 40.79 2.16 Freely raise issues 0 35.53 32.89 10.53 21.05 2.17 Freely do what I like 0 10.53 11.84 72.37 5.26
3.1 Have ability of learning independently
3.2 Harbor what I like in the future 0 0 17.11 39.47 43.42
3.3 Be confident to communicate effectively
3.4 Be confident to communicate independently
3.5 Self- access what has been acquired
3.6 Self- evaluate the effectiveness of learning strategies
Table 2: Degrees of learner autonomy under the influence of SNSs – the 1st data collection
The results reveal that the students gain autonomy to some extent because the vast majority of them strongly agreed or agreed with most of the items in the second section of the questionnaire while there are still a number of students strongly disagree, disagree or they are not sure about some items However, the total percentages of students strongly agreeing and agreeing mostly surpass the percentages of those who strongly disagreed, disagree or were not sure
The average percentage of students agreeing is around 73.38% It can be seen clearly from the table 2 that all students express agreement (93.42% SA, 6.57A) with the item 1.1 in which all of the students confirm their social network communities helped them to be aware of the learning objectives of English subject This is one of the features proving that students are autonomous at the very basic degree according to Nunan‟s frame In addition, the items 2.5 and 2.14 in which the students agree that their social network communities help them to be aware of the contents of the materials used in their learning process and make links between the content learnt in the classroom and the outside world got the highest agreement among all the questioned items with the maximum percentages of students‟ agreement
On the other hand, the relatively low percentages of students agree that their class‟ social network communities help them to be confident to communicate independently (item 3.4), 14.47%, or admit their social class communities‟ roles in helping them to self-evaluate the effectiveness of learning strategies (item 3.6),
6.58% At the same time, these items also have the comparatively high percentages of students who disagreed (D/ SD) These statistics reflect that there are small quantity of students can achieve some higher degrees of learner autonomy in Nunan‟s frame
In addition, according to the results shown in table 2, the number of items that students stay neutral to the questioned items is considerable Eighteen out of twenty six items were marked “neutral” ranging from very small percentages such as items 1.2, 2.3 (2.63% for each of them) to such a relatively large percentage like 32.89% for item 2.16 and 30.26% for item 2.11 Obviously, that the quantity of students not sure whether they can modify or adapt the objectives of English subject, identify learning styles thanks to the social network communities, feel free to raise issue or maintain their study independent from the teacher demonstrate that several students are wavering between progressing to the higher levels in the Nunan‟s model of LA of remaining at the basic level
Overall, the first time of data collection on December 15 th 2020 demonstrates that most students agree with the items, which means they become autonomous when taking part in their classes‟ social network communities However, there are not many items that have distinct differences between percentages of supporters for agreements and those of advocators for disagreement or neutral ideas
For more insight into the influence of SNSs on learner autonomy, at the end of the 2020 – 2021 school year, on May 3rd 2021, the second data collection was completed so that the researcher could have a comparison with what had been collected in the first one for reliable answers to the research questions The results of this second time are shown in the table 3 below:
1.1 Be aware of the learning objectives of English subject
1.2 Be Able to modify / Adapt the objectives of English subject
1.3 Create my own learning objectives 0 0 3.95 28.95 67.11
2.1 Be aware of my strengths and weaknesses
2.2 Be able to plan my weekly work in advance
2.3 Be able to identify my learning styles
2.4 Be able to identify my own learning strategies
2.5 Be aware of the content of materials used in my learning process
2.6 Create my own learning tasks 11.
2.7 Decide what materials to use to learn English
2.8 Decide what activities to use to learn
2.9 Choose the techniques used in my learning process
2.10 Facilitate my learning by my self – revisions
2.11 Maintain my study independent from teacher
2.12 Make necessary adjustments while learning
2.13 Ensure that I make progress in the
2.14 Make links between the content learnt in the classroom and the outside world
3.1 Have ability of learning independently
3.2 Harbor what I like in the future 0 0 9.21 68.42 22.37
3.3 Be confident to communicate effectively
3.4 Be confident to communicate independently
3.5 Self- access what has been acquired 0 0 18.42 39.47 42.11
3.6 Self- evaluate the effectiveness of learning strategies
Table 3: Degrees of learner autonomy under the influence of SNSs – the 2nd data collection
The table shows that most participants still agreed (A/ DA) with the questioned items Although there are items that the percentages of the students disagreeing (SD/ D) or staying neutral, they account for several items with relatively low percentages
The average percentage of the students agreeing is 84.68% According to the table 3, all students remain agreeing with the ideas that their classes‟ social network communities helped them be aware of the learning objectives of English subject (item 1.1) In addition, maximum percentage of students also agree that their classes‟ social network communities can help them be able to identify their learning styles, be aware of the content of materials used in their learning process, be able to facilitate their learning by their self – revisions, or make necessary adjustments while learning (see items 2.3, 2.5, 2.10, 2.12) In contrast, about 81.58% students disagree that their classes‟ social network community helped them to ensure that they make progress in the English lessons, and 72.37% of them disagree these channels‟ role in helping them to self- evaluate the effectiveness of learning strategies (items 2.13, 3.6) Besides, the number of students stay neutral to the questioned items is also relatively small, except for the items 2.2- 27.63%, 2.7- 26.32%, 2.9s-23.68%, and 2.11- 30.26% Apparently, this statistic reflects that students are more autonomous in the second time of the survey
In comparison to the results of the first data collection which are presented in table 2, there are profound differences existing among the results of the second data collection shown in table 3 Almost all the items experience changes in the second round
Firstly, the increase in the percentages of agreement for the items at the second time of data collection is also considerable This is reflected via the statistic that the average percentage of agreement 84.68% in the second round is much higher than the 1st average one, 73.38% In addition, the number of items with maximum percentages of the students agreeing increases There are three more items that get 100% of agreement adding to three ones staying unchanged as mentioned above This proves that the students‟ learner autonomy is higher after a time of using SNSs
Secondly, the items marked for “neutral” sharply decrease in number and percentage as well In table 3 we see that eighteen out of twenty six with “neutral” option, 8 of which have the percentages over 20% and 2 Meanwhile, there are 16 items with “neutral”, 2 of which have the percentages over 20% and none of which reach to over 30% These changes mean there are switches to other degrees of learner autonomy
Findings and discussion regarding research question 2
Ideas which occur in the students‟ clarification for their choices in the questionnaire and the teacher interview offer some ways in which Facebook and Zalo communities can enhance learner autonomy The researcher found that these social network sites with their features can affect student‟s awareness, motivation, understanding, interest and autonomous learning
The questions for the information that in what way students can become autonomous thanks to social network communities were designed in the form of a requirement for further explanation for the students‟ choices in section 2 Although not all students gave detailed answers for these written questions, some common ideas were collected and categorized The results are illustrated in the following chart:
Figure 4: The facilitators of SNSs in enhancing learner autonomy
Firstly, friendly chats among the teacher and her students in such communities develop the students‟ autonomy by changing their awareness positively and
40 friendly chats raised topics interesting activities vivid presentation smart functions
50 motivating them to act These changes are also explained by the students when they justify their choices There were 37 students who shared the same explanation that they become more aware of learning objectives of English subject thanks to friendly chatting with their English teacher or their friends in the classes‟ chat rooms This finding is consistent to the quantitative results about the changes in the students‟ learning objectives There are a number of students changed their purposes of learning English (see figure 3) Similarly, more students agreed (A/ SA) that their social network communities help them be able to modify or adapt the objectives of English subject (see table 3) With such results, the researcher believes that the students are affected by the information they get through the messages in the chat groups, which leads to their changes in minds, hence their changes in action
Moreover, chatting in groups like Facebook messenger or Zalo group is also confirmed to contribute to the student‟s freedom to express their opinions or to raise issues by 14 other students As stated in extract 05, the teacher confirms that it is the friendly discussions among the teacher and students in those social network communities that encouraged students to freely express their opinions because they are not as shy as they are in class due to their face – to – face teacher‟s and their friend‟s witnesses This reality supports the assertion of Blattner and Fiori (2009) that SNSs provide learners opportunities to interact with peers, instructors In my opinion, virtual interaction on SNSs can create friendly atmosphere among the class‟ member and the teacher, which erase the gap between them, therefore it motivates students to raise their idea more actively than in class
Secondly, shared contents also contribute to developing student autonomy by providing them with useful knowledge and deeper understandings Scholar Ommagio visualized the image of an autonomous learner (cited in Wenden, 1998) in which they have deep understanding about their learning In this study, 03 students reported that they understand more about the issues related to English learning such as how to learn it effectively and can personalize learning methods In
51 detail, they explained that the topics raised in their chat groups were very up – to – date and beneficial for themselves The topics raised either by their classmates or the teacher are normally hot issues at that current time, what they care for, or what is related to the things that had occurred in the class Discussing with their friends and teacher helps them understand more about issues related to the English subject such as: ways to learn English effectively, personalized methods of studying English They also confirmed that they changed their goals thanks to the knowledge they got via the articles or news shared in the classes‟ chat rooms
Another interesting point is that the discussions among members in the social network communities can affect the students‟ perception According to extract05, whose responsibilities in some aspects of English learning had been discussed further in the classes‟ chat groups at the beginning of the school year so that the teacher and her students could work well together The students were free to take responsibility if they perceive those are what they should take responsibility for Besides, the teacher also shared:
Our classes’ social network communities are good channels for the students to share useful news, or to talk together without caring for any unexpected attention from people outside their communities I also frequently share useful articles, quotes or videos in order to provide more knowledge for my students because I hope that they can change their minds and behaviors (Extract 06)
The teacher‟s answer reveals that SNSs can provide students with knowledge and affect their perception SNS broaden students‟ knowledge was found by Yunus, Salehi and Chenzi in 2012 in the article “Integrating Social Networking Tools into ESL Writing Classroom: Strengths and Weaknesses” Clearly, this finding is informative enough to conclude the changes in the student‟s perceptions result in their freedom to take responsibility At the same time, with the finding that the students become more autonomous at the time of the second data collection, the researcher asserts that shared contents broaden student knowledge and understanding, hence increasing their autonomy
Another noticeable information obtained through student questionnaires is the influence of interesting activities on Facebook on student‟s autonomy 20 asked students gave the justification that interesting English games, quizzes related to English created by their English teacher on their Facebook page or Facebook group attracted them a lot Taking part in those games gave them opportunities to recognize their weaknesses, strengths, and revise their English knowledge to make adjustments to get better Besides, they also admitted that these kinds of activities were chances for them to practice using English outside class, however, mainly in the form of writing Apparently, these interesting activities arouse the students‟ interest and result in the student's ability of self- management This finding strengthens Ru-Chu‟s conclusion that Facebook promotes students‟ interest (Ru- chu, 2011)
In addition, vivid presentations for English lessons are credited to enhance the student‟s autonomous learning 07 students reported that they love spending time revising, looking for the English lessons on the Facebook group or fan page because these channels explain and illustrate language rules, vocabularies so vividly that they could easily remember, and felt easy to learn English They could easily download pictures to save in their phones for later revisions or for sharing with their friends It can be concluded that students are attracted by the convenience and visual display of the contents which are not frequently seen in the traditional materials such as book or handouts These activities reflect that the students are autonomous thanks to the social network sites Again, this finding lends a support to the conclusion of Ru-Chu Shih about SNSs‟ provoking students‟ interest
Finally, it is interesting that smart functions of Facebook also contribute to enhancing learner autonomy 13 students exploit resources on Facebook to serve their English learning thanks to the recommendation function of Facebook When the typical features of their groups or Facebook page were identified, not only did they join and operate within their class Facebook group but they also had chances to
53 discover other similar groups or pages with the same aspects thanks to “ suggestion” functions of the Facebook In addition, the keywords with high repeated frequencies they search for are usually provided recommendations for posted contents by Facebook As detailed description in the student‟s questionnaires, Facebook has various contents on it which can be suggested via the frequently searched keywords or topics The users can easily approach English resources Moreover, the teacher noticed that more students actively shared the videos about English lessons that she posted or shared from other Facebook pages, and commented to interact with her and their friends about the issues mentioned in those posts, which surprised her a lot Obviously, it can be seen that the students in this study used Facebook as a learning tool for their own learning outside class Coincidently, this finding shares the similarities to the findings of Kabilan, Ahmad, and Abidin in 2010 that Facebook in students‟ views is a useful tool to support and strengthen their English learning
In conclusion, based on the results obtained through student questionnaires and teacher interview, the researcher finds out that when students operate on their classes‟ social network communities such as Zalo or Facebook chat rooms, Facebook page or Facebook group, their autonomy is positively affected by some factors such as friendly communication, shared contents, interesting activities, vivid presentations and smart functions Concretely, friendly communication raises their awareness and motivates them to freely act; shared contents broaden their knowledge and deepen their understanding of English learning matters; interacting activities arouse their interest; recommendation function of Facebook together with visual presentation provides them with learning resources useful for their autonomous learning outside class Apparently, the social network sites are not only the places where the students show their autonomy but also these channels are proved to be effective tools to enhance the students‟ autonomy The results are in line with the previous findings in this aspect