Native Englishspeaking teachers’ perspectives on using videoconferencing in learning English by Taiwanese elementary-school students

Abstract

With the rapid development of computer technology, videoconferencing has been widely applied for social and educational purposes. Issues relevant to the use of videoconferencing in second-language instruction have been raised and researched. However, little attention has been paid to videoconferencing projects implemented outside class for elementary school students, particularly in the efl context. To fill the gap, the current study aims to contribute to our understanding of the outof-class videoconferencing language-learning activities for young learners by exploring how 40 native English-speaking teachers perceived out-of-class videoconferencing in learning English by elementary school students in Taiwan. Data consisted of teacher responses to a post-videoconference survey with open-ended questions. Through qualitative, inductive, and interpretive analysis of the data, the study identified three emerging themes: uneven student performance, technical issues, and suggestions for the videoconferencing activity. The study contributes to our understanding of the videoconferencing experience of language teachers and broadens our understanding of implementing videoconference activities. Further research could explore teacher metacompetence (Guichon, 2009) by analyzing videotaped videoconferencing sessions.