Abstract:
The main purposes of this study were to construct a multi-media computer-assisted instruction (MCI) program for assisting first-year Chulalongkorn University students to learn Foundation English 2 (FE 2) by themselves, and to make the program effective and suitable for them. The subjects were 75 first-year from 3 sections and 3 faculties namely: Education, Commerce and Accountancy, and Pharmaceutical Science. They were from a population of 3,804 students registering to learn FE 2 in the second semester of the academic year 1999. The instruments used were 3 sets of tests 1 set of attitude scales and a 4-chapter multi-media CAI program. The subjects were divided into 3 groups namely: Poor, Moderate and Advanced, based on their general English proficiency test scores taken prior to the actual treatment. Throughout the semester, they were required to use the program at least for 1 hour a week by themselves in a computer lab, to study in class with an instructor (the researcher) for 2 hours and to study by themselves for 2 hour in a self-access learning center. They took the mid-term, the final and listening comprehension tests provided by the Language Institute. In the last week of the semester, they were asked to answer the attitude scales and to take the general English proficiency test again as a post test. The data were then analyzed by SPSS/PC program using t-test, ANOVA, ANCOVA, Scheffe tests and chi-square tests. The findings can be summarized as follows: 1. The constructed multi-media CAI program could be used to assist the first-year students to learn FE I by themselves in the areas of reading comprehension, vocabulary items, listening comprehension and semi-writing (err-r-recognition). 2. The effectiveness of the program was rather high and its suitability was also rather high. For example, a. its effectiveness index was high (E[subscript1]/E[subscript2] = 81.13/82.19, b.the subjects' general English proficiency scores increased significantly, c. there was a tendency showing that the subjects' achievement in learning FE 2 was significantly higher than that of those who were in the same faculties but did nor use the multi-media CAI program, d. approximately 36%-40% of the subjects got higher grades than what they got from their FE 1 course, and e. on average, the subjects had good attitudes towards the design, the content and the utilization of the program