Copyright by Anwar Ibrahim Hobrom 2004 The Dissertation Committee for Anwar Ibrahim Hobrom certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: ONLINE RESOURCES AND LEARNER AUTONOMY: A STUDY OF COLLEGE-LEVEL STUDENTS OF ARABIC Committee: ______________________ Elaine Horwitz, Co-Supervisor ______________________ Paul Resta, Co-Supervisor ______________________ Jerry Bump ______________________ Zena Moore ______________________ Diane Schallert ONLINE RESOURCES AND LEARNER AUTONOMY: A STUDY OF COLLEGE-LEVEL STUDENTS OF ARABIC Anwar Ibrahim Hobrom, B.A., M. A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin December 2004 DEDICATION To my parents: The dream has finally come true. To my wife: You are my true reward. To my sons: Always believe. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS During my journey to fulfill a lifelong dream, so many persons have helped me with guidance, advice, and support. I would like to start my acknowledgements by thanking my mentor, graduate advisor, and dissertation co-supervisor, Professor Elaine Horwitz. Dr. Horwitz has supported me since I first met her. She inspired me in her classes with her knowledge and eloquent presentation. She always gave me advice on what my next step would be. And she saw to it that this project see the light in a professional manner. Her dedication and enthusiasm are unmatchable. Second, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my other co- supervisor, Professor Paul Resta. I was very impressed by the level of expertise Dr. Resta showed in his classes. He was my inspiration to choose the topic of my dissertation. Throughout the process of writing this study, he was always there for me with guidance and encouragement. Next, my appreciation goes to my committee members: Professor Jerome Bump, Professor Zena Moore, and Professor Diane Schallert for their continued help. Their comments on and revisions of this dissertation have made it a finer product. My thanks also go to Professor Mohammad Mohammad and Amjad Al-Masri for giving me the opportunity to carry out my research on their students and supporting me all the way. No research is complete without full cooperation from participants. The five students who participated in this study endured my questioning and provided valuable data that was the core of this project. v Last, but not least, this study would not have been completed were it not for the relentless support of my wife, Rawan Chaaban. In addition to Rawan’s help in typing and editing, she made sure that I work in a quiet environment, took care of our sons while I was busy doing my research, put up with the long hours it took to finish this dissertation, and was a continuous source of comfort, encouragement, and assistance. She inspired me when I needed more enthusiasm to work and pushed me forward when I lagged behind on my schedule. Rawan, thanks for everything. vi ONLINE RESOURCES AND LEARNER AUTONOMY: A STUDY OF COLLEGE-LEVEL STUDENTS OF ARABIC Publication No.____________ Anwar Ibrahim Hobrom, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2004 Co-supervisor: Elaine Horwitz Co-supervisor: Paul Resta This is a study about online resources and learner autonomy for college-level students of Arabic. The three research questions guiding this study were: How do college-level learners of Arabic perceive themselves as autonomous learners? What is the value of online resources as a learning aid for the autonomous language learner? What are the inherent features in online resources that empower the autonomous language learner? The sample for this descriptive study consisted of five second- semester students of Arabic at a major university in the U.S. Data were collected through interviews with the participants and their instructor as well as documents such as written journals and class syllabi. The participants were asked to express their views on autonomy, online resources, and how they might have been empowered by using such resources in their language learning experience. The findings suggested vii that the participants perceived themselves as autonomous learners in two ways. One had to do with such characteristics as taking more responsibility, being more motivated, etc. The other was about them as learners such as improvement in their skills and being able to evaluate themselves. The findings also indicated that the participants appreciated the opportunity to practice their language skills interactively, especially speaking and listening, at their convenience and without feeling embarrassed in front of the instructor or their classmates. Finally, it was found that having many multimedia-type materials online made the learning experience interesting, engaging, and exciting for the participants. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures xi Chapter One: Introduction 1 1.1. Background 1 1.2. Defining learner autonomy 2 1.3. The learner autonomy picture 2 1.3.1. The learner 3 1.3.2. The teacher 3 1.3.3. The materials 3 1.3.4. Learning the context 4 1.4. Open issues in language learner autonomy research 5 1.4.1. The learner’s perspective versus the teacher’s perspective 6 1.4.2. The effect of multimedia instruction on student perceptions 6 How college-level learners of Arabic perceive themselves as autonomous learners 7 1.4.3. What students want in an online environment 7 1.5. Purpose of the study 8 1.6. Research questions 9 Chapter Two: Literature Review 10 2.1. Review outline 10 2.2. The advantages of using online resources as an educational tool in language programs 11 2.3. The disadvantages of online resources as an educational tool in language programs 16 2.4. The educational applications of online resources in language programs: communication and research 18 2.5. Language students’ attitudes toward and perceptions of online resources 19 2.6. The relationship between using online resources and enhancing the learning of language skills 20 2.7. Fostering autonomy in language learning through using online resources 25 2.8. Conclusion 28 Chapter Three: Method 30 3.1. Overview 30 3.2. Sampling 31 3.3. Participants 32 3.4. Data collection 36 3.4.1. Interviews 37 3.4.2. Documents 40 ix 3.5. Data analysis 40 3.6. Research questions 41 Chapter Four: Results and Discussion 43 4.1. Autonomy features 43 4.1.1. Autonomous learners understand what is being taught 47 4.1.2. Autonomous learners are able to formulate their own learning objectives 51 4.1.3. Autonomous learners are able to select and make use of appropriate learning strategies 52 4.1.4. Autonomous learners are able to monitor their use of these strategies 59 4.1.5. Autonomous learners are able to self-assess, or monitor their own learning 61 4.1.6. Profile 63 4.2. Online resources 70 4.2.1. The class website 70 4.2.2. Other websites 78 4.3. Online resources empowering the autonomous language learner 81 4.3.1. The best part about using online resources to learn Arabic 82 4.3.2. The most frustrating part about using online resources to learn Arabic 83 4.3.3. Comparing the learning situation in the classroom with that online 84 4.3.4. Improvement in skills during the semester 85 Chapter Five: Conclusions and Implications 86 5.1. Summary of findings and conclusions 86 5.1.1. How do college-level learners of Arabic perceive themselves as autonomous learners? 86 5.1.2. What is the value of online resources as a learning aid for the autonomous language learner? 89 5.1.3. What are the inherent features in online resources that empower the autonomous language learner? 91 5.1.4. An additional conclusion: Does the fact that Arabic is the foreign language under investigation affect learner autonomy? 92 5.2. Limitations of the study 94 5.3. Pedagogical implications 95 5.4. Theoretical implications 97 5.5. Suggestions for further research 99 Appendix A: Computer literacy survey 101 Appendix B: Interview questions 104 Bibliography 107 Vita 113 x