Zoom Publication

LANGUAGE LEARNING THROUGH ZOOM

Keya Shanbhag GD 201, Fall 2021

Zooming in “

THE APPLICATION WAS WIDELY USED FOR REMOTE EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES, PROVIDING A SPACE FOR STUDENTS TO CONTINUE THEIR LEARNING ONLINE.

The Platform

Zoom is an American telecommunications company, headquartered in San Jose. The company was founded by Eric Yuan in 2011 and launched in 2013, providing services for video chat, telephone, and online chat. The application is used for teleconferencing, telecommuting, distance education, and socializing with people worldwide. It has a multitude of intricate features including collaboration, screen and application sharing, dynamic voice detection, scheduling, recording, large room and webinar, and mobile devices.

Moving Online

The pandemic and stay-at-home order stopped educational institutions from staying in person, so the application was widely used for remote educational purposes , providing a space for students to continue their learning online.

The Stance

The intended stance of the following research is to explore the positives and negatives of a student’s experience learning English through the Zoom platform

With the sudden switch to online education, some students found the new format of learning to be helpful, while others found it to be harmful. Each article focuses on the English language skills acquired and student’s proficency in the learning process in the case of a remote education. The main skills the research focuses on are reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills.

It is also important to take into consideration the circumstances of the world during the time-period of this research, where the pandemic was at its initial peak in the months of April and May, and the newness of the remote learning format for most students. These circumstances may have caused distress and discomfort, which could have also affected their educational experience.

Positive

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Video lectures in real-time using Zoom technology had a positive effect on improving learners’ reading achievement in English. About 70% of learners were “very satisfied” with the Zoom-based video lectures with a popular reason being an increase in learning interest and developing selfdirected learning skills.

60% easily communicate

Student’s E-Learning Experience on Synchronous Zoom2

Based on their experience with communication, materials, and study process in the class, more than 60% of participants agreed that they could communicate at ease in e-learning and 45% participants agreed that they understood the lesson materials easily in e-learning. Students agreed to being able to ask and answer questions with the lecturer and strongly agreed (43%) to participating in answering questions through the whiteboard/shared screen as well as collaborating with their classmates in breakout rooms. Largely, students found Zoom-learning to have a positive impact on their learning with consideration to their experience with the communication, materials, and study process of the course.

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Negative

Student’s Attitudes towards Learning on Zoom4

Zoom-Learning Impact

on Student’s Attitude and English Aptitude3

Over 45% chose the “slightly interested” option for expressing motivation in learning English through Zoom, and 42% found their listening as well as speaking skills to have diminished learning remotely. The online learning format eliminated the social stimulation students receive from being face-to-face in a classroom with peers.

In particular, student’s English speaking and listening skills were greatly affected as a result of remote education. Altogether, learners of the English language through the Zoom application face negative experiences when dealing with motivation to learn and performance of skills important to learn a new language.

Zoom had the following impact on the students’ experience: over 50% disapproved of using it in other classes and 70% agreed that it reduced their confidence in the subject. From open-edned questions the study found that Zoom makes for a distracted learning environment and creates a lack of connection with others.

Students had a negative attitude toward the use of Zoom towards their learning experience and motivation to learn, which made their proficiency in English skills tremendously decrease . They preferred to learn face-to-face than through Zoom due to the distractions as well.

LANGUAGE

SKILLS

When learning a new language certain skills are necessary to comprehend its every nuance, especially with online learning.

Reading Writing

Reading skills were tested by taking reading comprehension achievement tests , which resulted in imporved scores than the initial baseline tests taken earlier in the course. A majority of English learners benefitted in the reading departement.

Students found typically practiced writing through written assignments or during virtual discussions, where they could utilize the chat feature to write out their statements.

Speaking Listening

During Zoom lectures, students asked questions and were able to converse with one another through various activities conducted in class to practice their speaking skills with their peers and instructor.

Through class discussions and breakout room activities , students got to listen to their peers and instructors speaking along with listening to videos of native speakers in order to get a better understanding of the English language.

LEARNING

STYLES

Through Zoom, students underwent different learning methods to practice their English language skills.

Students faced a lack of motivation to attend class or do schoolwork due to the online learning format, which eliminates the social stimulation students receive from being face-to-face in a classroom with peers and their teacher.

Lectures Virtual Discussions

Subjects felt more confident speaking English, found people to speak it with, and improved their speaking skills through an online platform like Zoom.

Online Tests

On the first day of class, participants took a pre-test to determine their baseline reading competence. Then, participants were given two achievement tests, the first conducted during the 8th week of class and the second in the 14th week.

Breakout Rooms

In terms of study process, students agreed to being able to ask and answer questions with the lecturer and strongly agreed (43%) to participating in answering questions through the whiteboard/shared screen.

Conclusion

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EDUCATION WORLDWIDE WAS SUBJECT TO AN ONLINE FORMAT, WHERE EVERYONE HAD DIFFERENT LEARNING EXPERIENCES.

As a result of the pandemic, education worldwide was subject to an online format and a majority of students attended classes remotely via the Zoom platform , where everyone had different learning experiences. Some students found that Zoom benefitted their learning by being able to communicate with peers more easily, having the ability to re-watch recorded lectures, and staying more focused in class compared to face-to-face learning.

On the other hand, some students found Zoom to have a negative effect on their learning by reducing motivation, decreasing accessibility to materials and lessons, and creating room for distractions. Through Zoom student’s English learning skills were put to the test in a new way with online learning and students had to adapt to these methods in order to succeed.

Bibliography

2 3 4

Kim, HyeJeong . “ The Efficacy of Zoom Technology as an Educational Tool for English Reading Comprehension Achievement in EFL Classroom. ” International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology, vol. 8, no. 3, Sept. 2020, pp. 198–205, doi:10.17703/ IJACT.2020.8.3.198.

Rahayu, Dwi. “ Synchronous Zoom Web Conference System: An Exploratory Study on Students’ E-Learning Experience. ” JER| Journal of ELT Research, (2020).

Fujiono, Fujiono, Paulina paulina, Nurul Hidayati, & Farah Natchiar. “ Impact of Distance Learning through Zoom Application and WhatsApp Group on Students’ Attitude and English Aptitude: A Case Study on Students of ICT due Covid-19 Outbreak .” Kontribusia, 4.2 (2021): 455-458. Web. 30 Aug. 2021

Serhan, D. “ Transitioning from face-to-face to remote learning: Students’ attitudes and perceptions of using Zoom during COVID-19 pandemic. ” International Journal of Technology in Education and Science (IJTES), 4(4), 335-342. 2020.