A Study of self-directed learning in online English reading of secondary school students attending CALL learner training

Abstract

This study aimed to study the self-directed learning in online English reading of secondary school students after they attended a CALL (Computer-assisted language learning) learner training. The ten-week training was designed based on the framework of Knowles (1975) and Romeo & Hubbard (2011) which included three types of sessions--training, consultation, and self-learning. The training sessions were structured using six steps of self-directed learning and included three parts: pedagogical training, strategic training, and technical training in each session. Seven students voluntarily signed up to attend the training and all of them completed the training and all the required tasks. The findings were drawn from three sources of qualitative data including student's learning logs, consultation recordings, and interviews. Overall, the findings suggested that all participants were able to conduct self-directed learning in online English reading after they attended the training. However, two steps of self-directed learning, i.e., goal setting and material selection, seemed to be challenging for the participants. For further studies, examining how CALL learner training can be implemented with a diverse group of learners is recommended since in this study, the participants’ background was quite homogeneous.