An analysis on the application of CD-ROMs for English teaching in Korean elementary schools

Abstract

This study investigated the current ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) use in Korean elementary English classes in relation to the use of English CD-ROM to suggest ideas for improvement. It is widely accepted that the use of ICT in schools has potential positive effects in many aspects of education such as school achievements, learner motivation, and school administration. However, for the successful implementation of ICT teaching/ learning material, many factors should be considered, for example, educational policy, infrastructure, content ware, personnel and financial resources. Therefore, it is important to investigate the effects of ICT teaching/learning materials continuously, such as the English CD-ROM which is being widely used in elementary English classes as one of the main tools of ICT teaching material. In this study, 161 elementary school students and 54 elementary school teachers participated in a survey. This survey intended to find out the participants’ frequencies of using the English CD-ROM and the activity preferences. The survey results indicate that the English CD-ROM should be considered for improvement to increase learners’ interest and frequency of use. As a conclusion, this study suggests several implications which may help to design more helpful ICT English teaching/learning materials. The main idea of the suggestion is related to learners’ interests, the connection between school work and home study, and user interface design.