Textbook English Learning in The Digital Age Agency Technology and Context Shuang Zeng Ebook All Chapter PDF

English Learning in the Digital Age
Agency Technology and Context

Shuang Zeng
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://textbookfull.com/product/english-learning-in-the-digital-age-agency-technology
-and-context-shuang-zeng/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...
Information Technology and Organizational Learning:

Managing Behavioral Change in the Digital Age 3rd
Edition Arthur M. Langer
https://textbookfull.com/product/information-technology-and-
organizational-learning-managing-behavioral-change-in-the-
digital-age-3rd-edition-arthur-m-langer/
Digital International Relations : Technology, Agency

and Order 1st Edition Bjola
https://textbookfull.com/product/digital-international-relations-
technology-agency-and-order-1st-edition-bjola/
Technology and Creativity: Production, Mediation and

Evaluation in the Digital Age Jesper Strandgaard
Pedersen
https://textbookfull.com/product/technology-and-creativity-
production-mediation-and-evaluation-in-the-digital-age-jesper-
strandgaard-pedersen/
Technology Run Amok: Crisis Management in the Digital

Age Ian I. Mitroff
https://textbookfull.com/product/technology-run-amok-crisis-
management-in-the-digital-age-ian-i-mitroff/
Teaching English in Context Beverly Derewianka
https://textbookfull.com/product/teaching-english-in-context-
beverly-derewianka/
Communication and Learning in an Age of Digital

Transformation 1st Edition Susan Mancino
https://textbookfull.com/product/communication-and-learning-in-
an-age-of-digital-transformation-1st-edition-susan-mancino/
Technology Adoption in the Caribbean Tourism Industry:

Analyzing Service Delivery in the Digital Age Andrew
Spencer
https://textbookfull.com/product/technology-adoption-in-the-
caribbean-tourism-industry-analyzing-service-delivery-in-the-
digital-age-andrew-spencer/
Cinema in the Digital Age Nicholas Rombes
https://textbookfull.com/product/cinema-in-the-digital-age-
nicholas-rombes/
Competencies in Teaching Learning and Educational

Leadership in the Digital Age Papers from CELDA 2014
1st Edition J. Michael Spector
https://textbookfull.com/product/competencies-in-teaching-
learning-and-educational-leadership-in-the-digital-age-papers-
from-celda-2014-1st-edition-j-michael-spector/
Shuang Zeng
English
Learning in the
Digital Age
Agency, Technology and Context
English Learning in the Digital Age
Shuang Zeng
English Learning
in the Digital Age
Agency, Technology and Context
123
Shuang Zeng
University of Shanghai for Science
and Technology
Shanghai, China
ISBN 978-981-13-2498-7 ISBN 978-981-13-2499-4 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2499-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018955157
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar
methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from
the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or
for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to
jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721,
Singapore
Acknowledgements
This book is the result of a long journey through my doctoral studies at UCL
Institute of Education. I am indebted to too many scholars and friends who have
offered me tremendous help and support along the way. I am particularly grateful to
Prof. Norbert Pachler and Prof. Neil Selwyn, for their guidance and inspirations
throughout this journey. I am indebted to Prof. Yan Zhongzhi, Prof. Martin Oliver,
Prof. Regine Hampel, Dr. John Potter, Dr. Steven Cowan, Prof. Liu Qin, Dr. Zhang
Jingjing and Dr. Wang Liang for their detailed feedback, advice and criticism on the
manuscript of this book. In addition, I would like to thank Dr. Wang Danlu,
Dr. Huang Ruoyun, Dr. Anastasia Gouseti and Dr. Liu Lisha, for the conversations
that enlightened my understanding of educational research and presentations.
Particular gratitude is due to those who took part in this research project and
those who helped me access this large number of informants. Finally, I thank my
husband Dr. Wang Po for his love and support. I dedicate this book to my parents,
Gao Guifang and Zeng Xiangwu, and to those who have inspired the first gener-
ation of the so-called digital natives.
v
Contents
1 Towards ‘Learner Experience Research’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 1

1.1 Defining the Scope of This Book Within the Field of CALL .... 1
1.2 The Rationale for ‘Learner Experience Research’
with Chinese Undergraduates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 3
1.2.1 Experience as an English Learner in China . . . . . . . . .... 3
1.2.2 Experience as a CALL Practitioner in China . . . . . . . .... 5
1.2.3 Towards Researching Learner Experiences
in the Chinese University EFL Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 Chinese Universities as the Context for WELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3.1 Conditions for Technology Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3.2 Learning English in the Chinese University Setting . . . . . . 8
1.4 Research Questions, Theoretical Perspective and Methodology . . . . 12
1.5 Structure of the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2 Towards an Investigation of Language Learners’ (Non)Use
of Online Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 19
2.1 The Emergence of Web 2.0 Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 19
2.2 Web 2.0 and the Change of Language Learning Practices . . . .... 23
2.2.1 The Promises of Web 2.0 for Out-of-Class Language
Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 24
2.2.2 ‘Digital Natives’ as Second-Language Learners . . . . . .... 31
2.3 Challenges to Changing Language Learning Practices
in the Digital Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 32
2.3.1 On Arguments Against Web 2.0 Promises
for Out-of-Class Language Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 32
2.3.2 On Arguments Against the ‘Digital Native’ Rhetoric . .... 34
2.4 Peering into the (Non)Use of Technology in Out-of-Class
Language Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 36
vii
viii Contents
2.5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3 A Sociocultural Framework for the Study of WELL Use . . . . . . ... 45
3.1 Step 1: Towards a Sociocultural Understanding of Technology
(Non)Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 45
3.1.1 Recognizing the Weakness of Existing Accounts . . . . . ... 45
3.1.2 Sociocultural Theory: An Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 48
3.1.3 The ‘Mobile Complex’: Context, Agency
and Technology Appropriation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.2 Step 2: Understanding Second-Language Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . 50
3.2.1 Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
3.2.2 Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.2.3 Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.2.4 Situational Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.2.5 Individual Differences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.2.6 Towards a Sociocultural View of Language
Learning-Related Use of Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
3.3 Step 3: Developing the Analytical Framework for This Inquiry . . . . 60
3.3.1 Learner Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.3.2 English Learning-Related Use of Technology . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.3.3 Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3.3.4 Interpreting the Analytical Framework of the Study . . . . . . 66
3.4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
4 Questioning WELL Use in the Chinese University Context:
Research Questions and Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
4.1 Research Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
4.2 Questionnaires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
4.2.1 Choosing and Developing Questionnaires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
4.2.2 Introduction to the Survey Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
4.2.3 Quantitative Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.3 Semi-structured Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.3.1 Preparing the Interview Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.3.2 Introduction to the Interview Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
4.3.3 Qualitative Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
4.4 Introduction to the Research Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
4.5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Contents ix
5 The Trends of English Learning-Related Use of Technology:

The Role of Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
5.1 The View from the Quantitative Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
5.1.1 The Adoption of WELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
5.1.2 Locations of Self-accessed WELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
5.1.3 Choice of WELL Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
5.1.4 The Purpose of Using WELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
5.1.5 The Perceived Learning Outcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
5.1.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
5.2 The View from the Qualitative Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
5.2.1 English Learners as Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
5.2.2 Strategies for Coping with Academic Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . 100
5.2.3 Pragmatic Use for the Fulfilment of Learning Tasks . . . . . 103
5.2.4 Procedural Use for Academic Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
5.3 Summary: Are Internet Tools Used by Most of the Participants
for English Learning-Related Purposes Outside the Classroom?
If So, How Are Internet Tools Mainly Used? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
5.4 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
5.5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
6 ‘Breaking Away’ with Digital Technology: The Role of Agency . . . . 117
6.1 Breaking Away from the EFL Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
6.1.1 Creating an Input-Intensive Context with Digital
Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
6.1.2 Widening Opportunities for Natural Language
Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
6.2 Breaking Away from Traditional Learning Patterns
and Institutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
6.2.1 Constructing Opportunities for English Language
Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
6.2.2 Seeking Collective Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
6.2.3 Contributing to Online Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
6.2.4 Seeking English-Learning Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
6.3 Summary: Does the Use of Technology Facilitate a Different
Approach to Learning English as a Foreign Language? . . . . . . . . . 133
6.4 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
6.5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
7 Resistance to Moving to Web 2.0: The Role of Context . . . . . . . . . . 139
7.1 Access and Technical Issues . . . . . . . . . .......... . . . . . . . . . 140
7.2 Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......... . . . . . . . . . 142
7.3 Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......... . . . . . . . . . 144
x Contents
7.4 Intentions Towards WELL Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

7.4.1 English Learning Motives and Beliefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
7.4.2 Contextual Discourses About Learning English . . . . . . . . . 149
7.4.3 Existing Learning Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
7.4.4 The Cultural Artefact of Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
7.4.5 Deficiency as a Language Learning Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
7.5 Summary: How Does Such a Use or Lack of Use Relate
to the Wider Context of Language Learning? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
7.6 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
7.7 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
8 Understanding Language Learners’ (Non)Use of Digital
Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
8.1 English Learning-Related (Non)Use of Technology, Agency
and the Wider Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
8.1.1 Summary of the Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
8.1.2 Contribution of the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
8.2 Implications for Future Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
8.3 Acknowledging the Limitations of the Present Study . . . . . . . . . . 179
8.4 Implications for Future Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
8.5 Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Appendix A: A List of Abbreviations and Glossaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Appendix B: A Typology of Web 2.0 Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Appendix C: A Map of China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Appendix D: Information Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Appendix E: The Questionnaire of Online Technology Use
for Learning English (English version) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Appendix F: Example of Semi-structured Interview Guide . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Appendix G: Background Information of Interview Participants . . . . . . 205
Appendix H: Screenshots of SPSS Data Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
List of Figures
Fig. 1.1 Website content by language (from Wikipedia 2013) . . . . . . . . .. 8

Fig. 1.2 Years of English study before attending university . . . . . . . . . . .. 9
Fig. 3.1 A developmental model of effective e-learning. From
Sharpe and Beetham 2010, p. 90 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 46
Fig. 3.2 Key components of a sociocultural ecological approach to
mobile learning. Adapted from Pachler et al. 2010a, p. 25 . . . . .. 50
Fig. 3.3 A framework for examining the components of SLA. From
Ellis 1985, p. 276 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 52
Fig. 3.4 A sociocultural view of language learning-related use
of technology. Adapted from Pachler et al. 2010a . . . . . . . . . . .. 60
Fig. 3.5 Analytical framework for this study. Adapted from
Gao 2010; Pachler et al. 2010a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 61
Fig. 4.1 Model for mixed methods design procedures (adapted
from Ivankova et al. 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 75
Fig. 5.1 Weekly hours spent on English learning-related use
of online technology. Note data are percentage
of all respondents (n = 1455). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 87
Fig. 5.2 Weekly hours spent on the use of the Internet. Note data
are percentage of all respondents (n = 1481) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 87
Fig. 5.3 Weekly hours spent on learning English. Note data
Fig. 5.4 Locations of WELL use and general web use. Note data
are percentage of all respondents; columns in red represent
locations of WELL use (n = 1376), and those in blue
represent locations of general web use (n = 1485) . . . . . . . . . . .. 88
Fig. 5.5 Comparison of students’ use of online applications for English
learning and general Internet use. Note data are percentage
of all respondents; bars in red represent online applications
used for WELL (n = 1376), and those in blue for general
Internet use (n = 1485) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 89
xi
xii List of Figures
Fig. 5.6 Students’ use of online tools for learning English. Note
data are percentage of the respondents reporting readily
use of that tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 90
Fig. 5.7 Students’ purposes for using WELL. Note data
Fig. 7.1 A framework for understanding L2 learners’ technology
resistance. Adapted from Gao (2010), Pachler et al. (2010) . . . . . 161
Fig. 8.1 A framework for understanding L2 learners’ (non)use of online
technology. Adapted from Gao 2010; Pachler et al. 2010a . . . . . . 170
Fig. 8.2 A model of effective use of digital technology outside
the classroom. Adapted from Sharpe and Beetham
2010, p. 90 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
List of Tables
Table 2.1 Four central themes surrounding Web 2.0 tools in language
learning (based on Crook 2008b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Table 4.1 Numbers of participants and response rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Table 4.2 Demographic features of the survey participants . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Table 4.3 Frequency of WELL engagement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Table 5.1 An overview of participants’ most used websites
for English learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 91
Table 5.2 Students’ perceived learning outcomes through WELL . . . . . .. 94
Table 5.3 Themes and subthemes regarding student trends
of WELL use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Table 6.1 Spectrum of themes regarding innovative uses of WELL . . . . . 134
xiii
Chapter 1
Towards ‘Learner Experience Research’
Abstract ‘Interactive’, ‘participatory’ and ‘socially connected’ are qualities that

feature heavily in recent discussions surrounding online tools and applications. With
a particular focus on the use of Web 2.0 technologies, this book aims to explore
Chinese undergraduates’ use and/or lack of use of the current web for their out-of-
class English learning. Thus, this introductory chapter starts by defining the scope
of this study and two important acronyms adopted in this book (i.e. ‘CALL’ and
‘WELL’). This chapter then illustrates how the present study is conceptualized, par-
ticularly why it is focused on learner voices and behaviours, and concerned with
Chinese undergraduates. While the more conventional topic of research in the rel-
evant academic field is often directed towards new technologies and their potential
for language teaching and learning, this study explores learner experiences. After
that, the English learning and technological conditions of Chinese universities are
introduced, which lay the foundation for researching learner behaviours against a
specific context of learning. Finally, this chapter briefly presents the research ques-
tions, theoretical foundation, methodology and the significance of the book before
moving to the outline of the book structure.
1.1 Defining the Scope of This Book Within the Field

of CALL
According to Levy and Hubbard (2005, p. 143), computer-assisted language learning

(CALL) involves the area of work that often deals with “the development and use of
technology applications in language teaching and learning”. CALL is acknowledged
as an established and vibrant field rich in diversity and controversy (Stockwell 2012).
One form of ‘diversity’ is manifested in the wide range of computing technologies
explored in CALL research (Bateson and Daniels 2012). Over the last ten years,
one trend of CALL research is to integrate Web 2.0 tools and applications into
the various scenarios of second-language learning and acquisition. Scholars have
captured the new wave of research with a few using the term ‘WELL 2.0’ (Web
2.0 Enhanced Language Learning) to represent the so-called latest form of CALL
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 1

S. Zeng, English Learning in the Digital Age,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2499-4_1
2 1 Towards ‘Learner Experience Research’
(e.g. Davies 2008; Martins et al. 2014). According to Davies (2008), WELL 2.0
indicates language learning that involves the use of Web 2.0 tools and applications
via computers, laptops or mobile technologies that are connected to either local or
global networks. In this sense, WELL 2.0 can be related to mobile-assisted language
learning (MALL), as mobile technologies could be employed in language learning
scenarios with Web 2.0. In other cases, WELL 2.0 does not necessarily involve the
use of portable devices or accentuate the mobility of the learner (Burston 2014). This
distinguishes WELL 2.0 from MALL. WELL 2.0 research is more focused on the
use of Web 2.0 technologies and their potential for language learning. As such, the
term WELL is adopted to indicate language learners’ use of online technologies in
this book. This is for two reasons. First, the present study is primarily concerned with
the use of the current web. Second, as the current web encompasses both Web 2.0
applications and a small number of Web 1.0 services, the term ‘WELL’ is employed to
indicate the use of the current web in general for language-learning related purposes.
The ‘controversy’ attached to CALL is reflected in the numerous debates in this
academic field. Even the acronym CALL has been challenged in terms of its appro-
priateness to cover the technologies encapsulated in the relevant research, especially
given the growing interest in MALL. Some scholars proposed the term TELL (Tech-
nology Enhanced Language Learning), for the reason that the latter is broader in
scope. However, others have pointed out that almost any digital device is “elec-
tronic, chip-driven and software related” (Egbert 2005, p. 4), and thus “a computer
of some shape or form at its heart” (Stockwell 2012, p. 11). Moreover, CALL is what
Levy and Hubbard (2005, p. 147) described a “well-positioned” term that is most
frequently used in publications. Thus, given its inclusiveness, I will adopt CALL as a
reference to this academic field, in the belief that it links the ‘past, present and future’
of research concerning technology and language learning. Other acronyms used in
this book are outlined in the list of abbreviations and glossaries (see Appendix A).
Finally, the book focuses on out-of-class language learning with digital tech-
nologies (for details, see Chap. 2). Out-of-class learning could be informal, which is
unstructured, implicit and unintended (Eraut 2004). Out-of-class learning can also be
intended and more structured, as learners may engage in learning activities for specific
and structured academic activities such as completing class assignments, preparing
for class presentations or practising certain language skills. However, compared to
formal learning in class, out-of-class learning is less structured and guided. Thus,
out-of-class language learning simply refers to learning activities that take place
beyond the language classroom. In this sense, learning can take place incidentally or
in a more planned and structured manner.
1.2 The Rationale for ‘Learner Experience Research’ … 3
1.2 The Rationale for ‘Learner Experience Research’

with Chinese Undergraduates
The term ‘learner experience research’ is taken from Rethinking Learning for a
Digital Age (Sharpe et al. 2010). The term is used in this book to indicate research that
focuses primarily on learners’ experiences of using digital technology in a learning or
educational context. My initiative of conducting ‘learner experience research’ with
Chinese undergraduates is indeed triggered by my personal experience as an English
learner and CALL practitioner in mainland China.
1.2.1 Experience as an English Learner in China
My own experience of over one decade of learning English in China has led me to
believe that language learners can be autonomous. As technology is ingrained in their
everyday life, language learners might explore it in an unexpected fashion outside
the classroom. When I was ten, my parents bought me a Windows 95 desktop. Yet,
I was not in the least thrilled by the purchase of the then latest technology, because
I was expected to do extra English learning exercises after school with the learning
software installed. Moreover, my parents did not connect my computer to the Internet.
They saw the Internet as a learning distraction and reminded me repeatedly of what
Gaokao1 meant—a better university and a brighter future. However, I never touched
those learning software programs then and was always keen to try the Internet.
This wish was especially strong when I was told by a classmate that one could
communicate with the world through online chat rooms. Never before had I had the
opportunity to communicate with a native speaker of English. I started to wonder
whether I could make myself understood by native speakers after three years of
English study. One day, with the classmate as my guide, I sneaked into an Internet
café, where I had my first ‘real’ conversation in English. However, my initial trial
with the Internet did not make me feel that I could learn much English of the sort
that would appear in my examinations. Yet, my view of the importance of English
learning was reinforced–perhaps it was not just a subject I had to deal with, but a
language that was interesting and practical to be learned.
When I was in college, the module of ‘Instructional technology for learning
English’ was opened and offered by a native speaker. However, although this course
took place in the university media laboratory, the computers were rarely used, in spite
of the course title. What we did most in class was to talk English in groups. Yet, the
teacher did keep a blog, where he would upload some English learning materials.
On the other hand, the Internet was then readily available in the university. Despite
my Windows 2003 laptop with Internet access, I seldom visited the teacher’s blog,
partly because I was insufficiently motivated to explore the then newest technology
1 Gaokao is the national college entrance examination in China.

just for the sake of downloading resources. Instead, I used the Internet for a broad
spectrum of learning needs and interests after class. I kept in contact with my interna-
tional friends whom I had met either online or offline. Moreover, as an enthusiast of
Western pop music, I started to visit the international community and online forums
that advertised and discussed music. I would also download English songs and the
interviews of my favourite singers into my newly purchased MP3 player and listen to
the English podcasts enthusiastically. When I was overwhelmed by academic tasks
and examinations, these pleasant experiences always functioned as a reminder of
why I chose to major in English in the first place. Although I did not intentionally
use the Internet to improve any specific language skill, it did assume an important
role and motivate my learning efforts throughout my journey in the Chinese EFL
(English as a Foreign Language) setting.
Nevertheless, the Internet was not always an appropriate tool for learning English.
One of the listening assignments in my first year of study was to take notes of
the Voice of America (VOA) special English news. The whole class was asked to
purchase radios and listen to the news every morning between 7:15 and 7:30. We
would be randomly selected to précis the news of the whole week at the beginning
of the English listening class. The idea was to get us to practise listening on a daily
basis and provide us with an English-speaking opportunity in class. In order not to
make a spectacle of myself, I forced myself out of the bed and took notes of the VOA
news every morning.
However, in the second year my roommate discovered the VOA website online
and suggested that we could download and listen to the news right before the class.
Later that term, she announced that we were officially freed from ‘boring news’, as
there was an English website which summarized the weekly VOA and BBC news in
text. This major discovery spread fast and many of my classmates started to report the
news in formal and polished English sentences. The teacher noticed our ‘progress’
and finally cancelled that listening assignment.
Taken together, these learning experiences of mine suggest that language learners’
use of technology might be very different from what has been expected by language
professionals and CALL practitioners. For example, I was reluctant to use learning
software and the teacher’s blog, but keen to explore other learning possibilities on
the Internet. As the Internet now is becoming more involving and interactive, what
about Chinese learners who are also motivated to communicate in English? And
those who do not major in English? And those who are supposedly more ‘digital’
and ‘tech-savvy’? That is, do Chinese undergraduates nowadays embrace Internet-
delivered learning opportunities out-of-class? How do they respond to the changing
and increasingly digitalized learning environment? Accordingly, it seems both inter-
esting and necessary to investigate how Chinese undergraduates are making sense of
the current web for their English learning beyond the classroom.
1.2 The Rationale for ‘Learner Experience Research’ … 5
1.2.2 Experience as a CALL Practitioner in China
Six years ago, in belief of the ‘transformative’ potential of the emerging technologies,
I went back to my college in Chongqing, China, and launched a small-scale CALL
project for my MA dissertation. Using the then much-discussed blogs and podcasts, I
adapted and digitalized Morley’s (1991) self-monitoring practices. In particular, the
participants were required to record their own speech or monologues, which were
either pre-planned or impromptu at their own choice. They were encouraged to lis-
ten to recordings of themselves repeatedly and share their work with the whole class
via a class blog. Thus, in addition to critical self-evaluation and correction embed-
ded in the metacognitive exercises, my initiative was to build an online community
where the students could improve their speaking skills in a collaborative manner.
The vast majority of the students expressed appreciation and excitement about this
learning approach, and particularly valued the availability of, and equal access to,
these speaking opportunities.
Nevertheless, the data also exposed the reality that technology did not magically
bring peer interactions and collaborations. Some students were significantly worried
about the consequences of initiating critical comments to their classmates. As they
presupposed that such comments could destroy the harmony established, they refused
to take risks. I realized then that CALL was a complex phenomenon. Yet, I came to
the field with a technology-deterministic mindset.
Furthermore, although almost all of the participants signified their willingness to
continue this learning approach after the research, their enthusiasm was not exercised
at the implemental level–none of them maintained the audio blog afterwards. Their
reticence led me back to the data, the scrutiny of which struck me with several
questions that stimulated my interest in researching learner voices. Firstly, some of
the students suggested that the CALL approach introduced was better implemented
at the beginning of the term, when they were least academically pressured. As all
the participants were English majors, this proposal was somehow paradoxical–why
was there a conflict between the academic study of English and the exercise of
strategies to improve English-speaking skills? The dilemma showed that the non-use
of technology was also a complicated phenomenon. It inspired me to take a closer
look at the choices of language learners. That is, where appropriate, why digital
technologies are not being used in the ways that they are expected to be used.
1.2.3 Towards Researching Learner Experiences

in the Chinese University EFL Context
Over the last ten years, there has been a rapid growth of initiatives to integrate
the emerging Web 2.0 technologies into the various scenarios of second-language
acquisition (SLA). These pedagogical innovations and research agendas have shaped
academic understandings of ‘new’ advances in CALL. Nevertheless, my personal
experiences as an English learner and CALL practitioner in mainland China have

revealed that the recurring issues in CALL are also found in the emerging research
of WELL 2.0. Firstly, many of these developments have focused on the ‘newness’ of
technology rather than language learners or language learning (Egbert et al. 2007).
The technological deterministic view shows itself devoid of a considered consid-
eration of what technologies can and cannot do, thus resulting in a wave of Web
2.0-related hyperbole. Secondly, the actual needs and behaviours of students have
often been neglected and marginalized by the drive to implement the new technolo-
gies in some predefined paths (Wild et al. 2008). Thus, not enough study has been
directed towards language learners today, who are seen to be “self-directed, vital,
self-managed and active in the generation of new ideas” (McLoughlin and Lee 2007,
p. 664). Relevant literature on Web 2.0 and language learning will be reviewed in
Chap. 2.
All these considerations have shifted my research intention from the focus of what
technology can possibly do for language learning (the future) to language learners’
experiences with WELL beyond the classroom (the present). My particular focus
on Chinese undergraduates is a timely choice which can be justified in the light of
an analysis of literature and statistical reports. In particular, Chinese students are
found to be the largest group of ‘English as a Foreign Language’ (EFL) learners
around the world, but with limited opportunities for target language communication
and production (Jin and Cortazzi 2002; Jung 2006). In addition, Chinese students are
given much more freedom at university than in K-12 schooling in terms of taking
control of their English learning and Internet use (Jin and Cortazzi 2006). In fact,
both arguments are evident in my personal experience as an English learner and
CALL practitioner in mainland China. It is therefore compelling to investigate and
understand Chinese undergraduates, particularly their engagements with the current
web in terms of seeking language learning opportunities after class.
1.3 Chinese Universities as the Context for WELL
This section focuses on the EFL context at Chinese universities, making links with
available digital tools, English learning requirements and culture, and wider changes
in educational policies and society. It is expected that knowledge of the wider context
will aid in understanding Chinese undergraduates’ experiences of WELL in practice.
1.3.1 Conditions for Technology Experiences
China has a fast diffusion of information and communication technology (ICT) prod-
ucts and facilities, underpinned by the country’s exponential economic growth (Jung
2006). As a result of this ICT development and a series of educational expansion, the
Ministry of Education (MoE) has established ‘e-learning’ as the key concept to build
1.3 Chinese Universities as the Context for WELL 7
a knowledge-based society (Kang and Song 2007). This national policy has resulted
in a sequence of ICT investments and projects that may have a profound influence
on the technological experiences of Chinese undergraduates.
Firstly, contemporary Chinese undergraduates are living in a technology-rich
environment. Almost two decades ago, projects such as the ‘China Education and
Research Network’ (CERNET) were launched and heavily invested in by the MoE.
The intention was to establish and improve ICT infrastructure for educational institu-
tions. The project has connected over 1,500 Chinese universities and colleges with the
world and provided Internet services for approximately 31.2 million Chinese under-
graduates. On campus, the Internet is made accessible in faculty offices, classrooms,
computer laboratories and student dorms.2 Some institutions also enable wireless
Internet access on campus (Kang and Song 2007). In the meantime, digital devices
that support online activities and products are proliferating on campus. As early as
2005, personal devices such as the ‘computer, mobile phone and MP3 player’ were
already named as ‘the three indispensable pieces’ for campus life (Chen et al. 2005a).
Statistics collected in 2012 revealed that 83.5% of young people under the age of 25
in China access the Internet via mobile phones, 69.1% through desktops and 48.5%
using laptops (CNNIC 2013a).
As to the quality of the Internet, statistics show that although Internet users in
China have reached 564 million by the end of 2012, the average Internet speed is
below that of the global standard (CNNIC 2013b). Besides, English is still the dom-
inant language on the Internet (see Fig. 1.1). Moreover, a number of iconic Web 2.0
websites are not accessible in China due to political sensitivity (Yang 2013). Websites
such as Facebook, Myspace, YouTube and Twitter are substituted by Renren, Qzone,
Youku and Weibo, respectively. These Web 2.0 services are localized in the sense that
the language of the interface is predominantly Chinese and their users are mostly of
Chinese nationality. Notably, university students are found to be the most active user
group of the Web 2.0 tools and applications. By 2012, 76.5% of Chinese university
students had adopted the social networking site of Renren; the user percentages of
Qzone and Weibo reached 82.4 and 80.7% respectively. 84.1% of Chinese univer-
sity students are using media-sharing sites exemplified by Youku (CNNIC 2013a).
Thus, the statistics suggest that although Internet fluency and democracy still need
improvement in China, the life of Chinese undergraduates is significantly mediated
by digital technology and Web 2.0 in particular.
Finally, like their counterparts in Western society, contemporary Chinese under-
graduates are labelled as a generation of ‘digital natives’ (Gu et al. 2012). That is,
they also grow up digital. Their technological experiences in the past were enhanced
by a sequence of policies and projects initiated by the MoE. In particular, when
they were in primary school, the MoE (2001) launched the “Every Campus Wired”
project, which aimed to bring Internet access to K-12 schools across the nation.
That is, equal Internet access was promoted among young people, regardless of their
geographic location and family background. Moreover, the purchase of computers
for educational purposes became widespread in urban areas in the early 2000s. With
2 Chinese undergraduates normally live in student dorms while at university.

Others10%
Portuguese2%
Italian 2%
French 4%
Chinese 5%
Spanish 5%
Japanese 5% English 57%
Russian 5%
German 7%
Fig. 1.1 Website content by language (from Wikipedia 2013)
the permission of the MoE, many Internet cafés were also opened near schools,
making the Internet affordable and convenient to those who had no Internet access at
home (Wang 2002). These facilities and political schemes made Internet experiences
possible among young people at that time. Meanwhile, the module ‘Computer Liter-
acy’ was integrated into the national curriculum, which means that it is compulsory
for young people to receive training in computer skills in both K-12 and university
education (Liu et al. 2004). Accordingly, contemporary Chinese undergraduates are
expected to have been in contact with digital technology from a young age. They are
viewed as China’s ‘net generation’ (Gu et al. 2012).
Of course, a digital divide still exists in China, especially between urban and rural
areas. Although rural inhabitants account for almost half of the Chinese population,
only 27.6% of Internet users in China live in rural areas (CNNIC 2013b). This
statistic suggests that there is a gap between rural and urban Internet availability and
infrastructure. This means that individual students might come to university with
different technological experiences and levels of familiarity with ICT.
1.3.2 Learning English in the Chinese University Setting
China is experiencing an “unprecedented English fever” (Li 2009, p. 211), as

the country is becoming “interconnected” and “interdependent” with the English-
speaking world politically, socially and technologically (Graddol 2000, p. 32). This
Fig. 1.2 Years of English study before attending university
‘fever’ is manifested at macro-, meso- and micro-levels. At macro level, English lan-
guage education has been acknowledged by the MoE as a basic policy to prepare the
country for its so-called ‘modernization process’ (Gao 2009). Since 2001, Chinese
students have been required to begin their English studies at the upper primary level,
instead of in the junior middle school (MoE 2001). This means that a Chinese student
has normally studied English for almost one decade before entering university (see
Fig. 1.2).
English language education continues at the tertiary level regardless of academic
disciplines. Non-English majors have to attend at least four English classes on a
weekly basis, each being 45 min. The English classroom usually accommodates up
to 60 students (Hu 2002). In addition to mid-term and final English examinations,
all students are required to pass the MoE administered College English Test Band 4
(CET 4)3 in order to obtain a BA degree certificate. A range of first tier universities
even require that their students pass the College English Test Band 6 (CET 6).4 In
the universities where CET 6 is not a requirement, many students still try to pass this
exam so as to be more competitive in the job market (Jin 2009).
English majors receive up to 13 or 14 h of English instruction per week with class
sizes reduced to about 30 students. English learning is divided into listening, speak-
ing, intensive reading, extensive reading, writing and translation, which facilitate a
more skill-based approach to language teaching. However, in most cases only about
two hours per week are devoted to teaching and practising communicative or speak-
ing skills in class. English major students also have to sit a number of examinations
set by their institutions. In addition, the MoE administered Test for English Majors
3 CET 4 is a national English test that is mandatory for all non-English major undergraduates in the
mainland China. The goal is that undergraduates will be able to meet the English level specified
in the National College English Teaching Syllabuses by the time of graduation. The vocabulary
requirement for this test is around 4000 words (Wikipedia 2014).
4 CET 6 is a national test and its format is similar to CET 4. The vocabulary requirement for this
test is around 6000 words (Wikipedia 2014).

Band 4 (TEM 4)5 is the minimum level of requirement to secure graduation, but
many English majors strive for TEM 8.6
Nevertheless, it is widely claimed that these written examinations focus primarily
on linguistic knowledge and grammar, rather than basic language skills (Luchini
2004; Gao 2009). One important element of these examinations is multiple choice
testing (Gu and Liu 2005). Later, ‘English speaking’ as an independent section has
been included in the standardized examinations, but is taken on a voluntary basis and
does not count towards the overall mark (Gan et al. 2004). These institutional and
standardized examinations have a profound influence on the teaching and learning
practices of college English. Much criticism is lodged against university teachers for
teaching how to take tests rather than speak a language, mainly because communica-
tive skills are not emphasized at the implemental level (e.g. Luchini 2004; Su 2004;
Zhu and Yang 2004). Instead, the taken-for-granted frameworks of an English lesson
are to explain and highlight linguistic features and grammar that would appear in
major examinations. In this sense, university teachers are predominantly attentive to
“covering the syllabus” and “maintaining control” in the classroom (Dai and Zhang
2004; Du and Wagner 2005, p. 1). The role of students is to make a concerted effort to
digest and remember teacher-delivered content. For instance, Jin and Cortazzi (2006,
p. 11) found that some university students have made an analogy between classroom
learning and stuffing a Peking duck–“we Chinese get used to a pouring and filling
method”.
This teacher-dominated, textbook-based and examination-orientated classroom
learning is by no means new to university students. This is because contrary to what
has taken place in the West where communicative language teaching dominates,
English is often taught through grammar translations and audioliguisim in Chinese
secondary schools (Wen and Clement 2003). Students are often required to concen-
trate on their teacher’s demonstration, think carefully and take notes, as well as to
read aloud and recite paragraphs in textbooks. These practices may be interpreted as
‘rote-learning’ by Western educators, but many Chinese EFL teachers and students
see them as effective practices which facilitate the understanding and internalization
of linguistic inputs (Watkins and Biggs 2001). Moreover, by the end of senior middle
school, English teaching usually centres on national college entrance examinations
(Jin and Cortazzi 2006). In this case, memorizing vocabulary and sitting mock papers
are important activities for exam preparation.
The paramount importance of examinations is indeed seen as a cultural phe-
nomenon in China (Bachman 2010). Influenced by Confucian classics which define
education in terms of moral cultivation and service to society, the Civil Service
Examination system lasted over 1,300 years in Imperial China and was ended in
1905 (Elman 1991; Cheng 2010). Thus, for a long time, examinations were not
viewed as a form of assessment but a social ladder that led to the ruling class.
5 TEM 4 is an annual test mandatory for English-major undergraduates in China. The vocabulary
requirement for this test is around 8000 words (Wikipedia 2014).
6 TEM 8 is the uppermost test for four-year English major students. The vocabulary requirement
for this test is around 13,000 words (Wikipedia 2014).

This is reflected in the Chinese poem–“to be a scholar is to be the top of society”

( ). The influence of such a view is still evident in modern
Chinese society. Excellence in examinations is seen to generate opportunities for
social mobilization (Gao 2009), and thus highly valued and emphasized by teachers,
parents and students themselves. As such, the study of English is closely linked to
the future of Chinese students, because English as an academic subject is assessed at
various stages of Chinese schooling–i.e. primary school, secondary school, college
education and postgraduate study. In this vein, English learning is viewed as a seri-
ous matter associated with ‘dedication’, ‘hard work’, and ‘self-discipline’ (McGrath
et al. 2007, p. 63). This learning spirit is not in line with communicative language
teaching in the West, where learning a foreign language is often based on personal
interests and characterized as a pleasant and joyful experience (Hu 2002).
Echoing the classroom teaching, students’ self-study of English at university is
predominantly examination-orientated, and thus is seen as a continuation of English
learning in the secondary school (Jin and Cortazzi 2006). That is, for university stu-
dents, one important part of English study continues to be using test-practice and
vocabulary books for examination preparation (Jin and Cortazzi 2002). Commonly
seen on Chinese university campuses are many students reading aloud vocabularies
or texts of paragraphs in the early morning. Apparently, these students are mem-
orizing English words and sentences through repeated reading (Jin and Cortazzi
2006). Moreover, instead of involving themselves in communicative practices, many
university students are inclined to do test-based exercises. As Gao (2009, p. 65) com-
mented: “such tests (CET 4 and 6) have tied learners to mechanical multiple-choice
skills, but failed to direct their attention to communicative competence, resulting in
job seekers who have only ‘deaf and dumb English’”.
Nevertheless, although priority is usually given to knowledge-based examinations,
the appetite of university students for English language skills has sharply increased
(Zhu 2003). With China’s economic explosion, English skills have become impor-
tant to seeking education overseas and future career development (Jin and Cortazzi
2002; Jung 2006). Thus, there has been a gradual shift in the learning emphasis
from linguistic competence to a broader context of communicative competencies,
within which linguistic competence remains the essence (Jin and Cortazzi 2002). As
perspectives on language learning are changing, an increasing number of students
are not satisfied with traditional classroom learning. This was observed by Gan and
colleagues (2004, pp. 235–237), in their research when some Chinese undergrad-
uates noted that: “We have rarely had any opportunity to develop communicative
competence in English in class”; “Listening and speaking training is very limited in
class; you have to rely on yourself to seek opportunities to improve them”.
As students are given much learning freedom at university, some creative and
principled contributions to practise English skills have arisen in recent years, with
a small but steady movement towards some ‘new looks’ in English learning after
class. For example, ‘English corner’ is a student-led activity in which enthusiastic
EFL learners gather together to communicate in English only. As observed by Zhang
(2007), this activity is burgeoning on university campuses across China. At the same
time, some students attend the commercial programme ‘Crazy English’ after class,
which takes an unusual motivational approach to encourage Chinese EFL learners to

speak out and communicate in English. In a typical scene at a ‘Crazy English’ class,
students shout slogans such as “no pain, no gain” and “I love losing face”, so as to
stimulate their willingness to take risks and overcome the earlier mentioned ‘deaf
and dumb English’ (Li 2009, p. 65).
However, learning English is still a daunting task in mainland China. After all,
in addition to the elements of ‘large class size’, ‘teacher-dominated’ and ‘grammar-
based’ pedagogy, the opportunity to use English is traditionally seen to be far from
rare in the EFL context (Chen et al. 2005b). Extracurricular activities such as ‘English
corner’ and ‘Crazy English’ might have broken the ice for a number of Chinese EFL
learners, but these activities are not universally accepted and subject to physical
constraints. However, the Internet is increasingly seen as a popular tool for English
learning outside the classroom (Lai 2014). This has opened up our imagination,
as CALL researchers, of what Chinese undergraduates are currently doing on the
Internet for the purposes of English learning.
Taken together, influenced by social norms and past educational experiences,
many Chinese university students have been socialized into a “culture of learning”,
which values note-taking, test-practice, memorization, and disciplined and attentive
learning efforts (Jin and Cortazzi 2006, p. 12). However, some students have begun
to call for a more expressive or communicative approach to English learning. As
university students are reported as the most active group of Web 2.0 users in China
(CNNIC 2013a), it is imperative to explore how they are making sense of the English
learning opportunities available on the Internet in this digital age.
1.4 Research Questions, Theoretical Perspective

and Methodology
In the light of my personal experiences, this book will address the complexity of
English-learning related use of the current web among Chinese undergraduates out-
side the classroom. As this is an interdisciplinary area, I started to review literature
in academic fields of CALL, Educational Technology and Second Language Acqui-
sition (SLA) early on. However, I found relatively little literature in CALL that could
inform me on the topic of interest; instead, I identified a gap in literature. Given the
optimistic discourses surrounding ‘digital native’ learners, I intended to focus more
on how technology is used by learners to support EFL learning in their particular
context, but I was also open to other possibilities. After all, the area was relatively
less explored when I was conceptualizing the research, but the consideration of
context was established fairly early on. The overarching concerns of the book are
encapsulated in three research questions:
(1) Are Internet tools used by most of the participants for English learning related
purposes outside the classroom? If so, how are Internet tools mainly used?
1.4 Research Questions, Theoretical Perspective and Methodology 13
(2) Does the use of technology facilitate a different approach to learning English
as a foreign language?
(3) How does such a use or lack of use relate to the wider context of language
learning?
In order to investigate the phenomenon of WELL in depth, a cross-sectional research
design is adopted–in particular that of a mixed sequential study. Accordingly, the
empirical research consists of two distinct parts, with an initial survey phase to
identify the behavioural trends and patterns of WELL use. This is followed by a
sequence of semi-structured interviews with a targeted sub sample of the respondents.
More weight is given to the qualitative phase, which aims to detail and explain the
usage patterns obtained. The mixed sequential design is especially helpful. This is
because through initial empirical findings, I discovered a strong resistance towards
digital technology and, as a result, I paid much more attention to technology non-use.
Thus, the initial findings, rather than pointing me to read literature in other domains,
led me to narrow down the research focus to understanding technology resistance
in the follow-up interview study. Thus the research questions are mainly addressed
through the analysis of the qualitative data collected (for details, see Chap. 4).
As a result, the book focuses on Chinese undergraduates’ choices and behaviours
surrounding digital technology in their particular context of English learning. The
conceptual framework of the book is developed from the work of sociocultural theo-
rists in the academic fields of Educational Technology and Second Language Acqui-
sition. Such efforts provide the conceptual foundations for exploring and explaining
how Chinese EFL learners’ choices and behaviours are mediated by their wider
context in a critical manner (for details, see Chap. 3).
The technique of descriptive analysis is performed using SPSS software to analyse
the quantitative data collected. NVivo is used to assist the thematic content analysis
of qualitative data. The codes and themes generated from the qualitative data are then
compared with the elements embedded in the conceptual framework of the book.
The realistic picture of undergraduate English language learning presented by
this research has three outcomes. First, this research uncovers Chinese undergrad-
uates’ use and/or non-use of technology outside the classroom and thus identifies
the possible changes in language learning practices facilitated by digital technology.
Second, the research identifies the enablers and contextual barriers underlying such
technology use and/or non-use. Third, the research provides implications that can
maximize the potential of online technology for Chinese EFL students the university.
As Sharpe et al. (2010, p. 5) suggested:
In these changing times, the value of learner experience research has been to provide detailed,
rich accounts of actual use alongside an aggregate body of empirical data from which it is
possible to extrapolate future trends and patterns of use.
1.5 Structure of the Book
The remaining seven chapters of the book are structured as follows.

Chapter 2 reviews discussions and debates in the academic fields of CALL and
educational technology. This chapter explores why emerging online technologies
are seen to hold promise for bringing changes to out-of-class language learning.
It argues for a realistic and solid understanding of what takes place beyond the
language classroom in the digital age. Thus, in the light of a critical review of the
existing literature, this chapter explains why it matters to research language learners’
use and non-use of the current web. Several studies that focus on language learners
and their out-of-class technology use are also reviewed in this chapter.
Chapter 3 argues for a sociocultural understanding of the research topic. It illus-
trates how sociocultural thinking is neglected and yet particularly useful when
explaining the choices and behaviours of language learners in terms of their technol-
ogy use. The conceptual framework of the book is developed in this chapter. Work in
both the fields of second-language acquisition and educational technology has been
taken into consideration.
Chapter 4 questions the WELL use of Chinese undergraduates and demonstrates
the research instruments and procedures. This is followed by a full account of the
research sites. This chapter lays the foundation for the report on the empirical data
in Chaps. 5–7.
Chapter 5 reports on the data used to answer the first research question. This
chapter employs the data from both the survey and the semi-structured interviews
to uncover the trends of WELL use among the participants. It found that the use
of online technology is often non-interactive and unspectacular. This chapter paints
a picture of what the students are actually doing with the current web for English
learning-related purposes.
Chapter 6 addresses the second research question. It uses the interview data to
demonstrate the minority cases of ‘good practices’. Specifically, this chapter dwells
on the cases where students exercise their agency and make a difference to their
English learning, via the use of the current web. These are the exemplary cases of
how technologies can be used to support out-of-class English learning.
Chapter 7 deals with the third research question. It explores why, among the
participants, cases of ‘good practices’ are limited to a small group of the researched
students. It investigates the non-use and the lack of use of learning technology. This
chapter found that resistance towards the use of online technology is indeed mediated
by the wider context of English learning.
Chapter 8 concludes by summarizing the empirical findings and drawing out
the contribution of these findings to existing knowledge. While acknowledging the
importance of researching learner voices, this chapter highlights the role of con-
text and agency when seeking to understand language learners’ digital technology
behaviours. Thus it adopts a sociocultural approach to explaining the change of out-
of-class language learning in the digital age. This chapter also outlines the limitations
of the book, as well as the implications for future practice and research.
References 15
References
Bachman, L. F. (2010). Foreword. In L. Cheng & A. Curtis (Eds.), English language assessment
and the Chinese learner. New York: Routledge.
Burston, J. (2014). MALL: the pedagogical challenges [online]. Computer Assisted Language
Learning (ahead-of-print), pp. 1–14. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2014.
914539.
Bateson, G., & Daniels, P. (2012). 8 Diversity in technologies. In G. Stockwell (Ed.), Computer-
assisted language learning: Diversity in research and practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Cheng, L. (2010). The history of examinations: Why, how, what and whom to select? In L. Cheng
& A. Curtis (Eds.), English language assessment and the Chinese learner. New York: Routledge.
China Internet Network Information Centre. (2013a). 2012年中国青少年上网行为调查报告 (The
2012 survey report on young people’s use of the Internet in China). Available at: http://www.cnnic.
net.cn/hlwfzyj/hlwxzbg/qsnbg/201312/P020131225339891898596.pdf. Last accessed August
10th, 2014.
China Internet Network Information Centre. (2013b).
(The 31th statistical report on Internet development in China). Available at: http://www.cnnic.
net.cn/hlwfzyj/hlwxzbg/hlwtjbg/201403/P020140305344412530522.pdf. Last accessed August
10th, 2014.
Chen, J. F., Warden, C. A., & Chang, H. T. (2005b). Motivators that do not motivate: The case
of Chinese EFL learners and the influence of culture and motivation. TESOL Quarterly, 39(4),
609–633.
Chen, Y., Huang, X. & Huang, H. (2005a). 当代大学生消费观存在的问题极其引导 (Investigation
on university students’ consumption concept). Journal of Guangdong University of Technology
(Social Science Edition), 5, 366–367.
Davies, G. (2008). ICT4LT Module, 1.5: Introduction to the Internet. In Information and Commu-
nication Technologies for Language Teachers (Modules in English) [Online]. Available at http://
www.ict4lt.org/en. Last accessed August 2nd, 2010.
Dai, L., & Zhang, X. (2004). A survey on the qualification of English teachers in the university
setting. Journal of PLA University of Foreign Language, 27(2), 42–47.
Du, H. S., & Wagner, C. (2005). Learning with weblogs: An empirical investigation. Paper presented
at the 38th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences [Online]. Available at: http://
ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/9518/30166/01385240.pdf?tp=&isnumber=&arnumber=1385240. Last
accessed July 12th, 2010.
Egbert, J. L. (2005). Conducting research on CALL. In J. L. Egbert & G. M. Petrie (Eds.), CALL
research perspectives. London: Routledge.
Elman, B. A. (1991). Political, social, and cultural reproduction via civil service examinations in
late imperial China. The Journal of Asian Studies, 50(01), 7–28.
Eraut, M. (2004). Informal learning in the workplace. Studies in Continuing Education, 26(2),
247–273.
Egbert, J., Hanson-Smith, E., & Chao, C. (2007). Introduction: Foundation for teaching and learning.
In J. Egbert & E. Hanson-Smith (Eds.), CALL environments: Research, practice and critical issues
(2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: TESOL.
Gan, Z. D., Humphreys, G., & Lyons, L. H. (2004). Understanding successful and unsuccessful
EFL students in Chinese universities. The Modern Language Journal, 88, 229–244.
Gao, Y. (2009). Sociocultural contexts and English in China: Retaining and reforming the cultural
habitus. In J. Bianco, J. Orton, & Y. Gao (Eds.), China and english: Globalization and the
dilemmas of identity. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Graddol, D. (2000). The future of English? A guide to forecasting the popularity of the English
language in the 21st century. London: The British Council.
Gu, W. P., & Liu, J. (2005). Test analysis of college students’ communicative competence in English
(Online). Asian EFL Journal, 7(2), 7. Available at: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/June_05_
wg.pdf?origin=publication_detail.
Gu, X., Lin, Z., & Wang, Y. (2012).
(Understanding and response: The millennium learners’ characteristics and their appeals for
learning technology). 现代远程教育研究 (Journal of Modern Distance Education Research),
1(8), 23–29.
Hu, G. (2002). Potential cultural resistance to pedagogical imports: The case of communicative
language teaching in China. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 15(2), 93–105.
Jin, Y. (2009). The national college English testing committee. In L. Cheng & A. Curtis (Eds.),
English language assessment and the Chinese learner. New York: Routledge.
Jung, S. H. (2006). The use of ICT in learning English as an international language. Unpublished
PhD dissertation. University of Maryland. Available at: http://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/1903/
3885/1/umi-umd-3733.pdf. Last accessed June 7th, 2014.
Jin, L., & Cortazzi, M. (2002). English language teaching in China: A bridge to the future. Asia
Pacific Journal of Education, 22(2), 53–64.
Jin, L., & Cortazzi, M. (2006). Changing practices in Chinese cultures of learning. Language,
Culture and Curriculum, 19(1), 5–20.
Kang, F., & Song, G. (2007). E-learning in higher education in China: An overview. In H. Spencer-
Oatey (Ed.), E-learning initiatives in China. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Lai, C. (2014). Perceiving and traversing in-class and out-of-class learning: accounts from for-
eign language learners in Hong Kong [Online]. Innovation in language learning and teaching,
(ahead-of-print), 1–20. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17501229.
2014.918982#.U-LwVHJO6UQ.
Li, J. Y. (2009). Motivational force and imagined community in ‘Crazy English’. In J. Bianco, J.
Orton, & Y. Gao (Eds.), China and English: Globalization and the dilemmas of identity. Bristol:
Multilingual Matters.
Luchini, P. L. (2004). Developing oral skills by combining fluency-with accuracy-focused tasks: A
case study in China. The Asian EFL Journal, 6(4), 129–138.
Levy, M., & Hubbard, P. (2005). Why call CALL “CALL”. Computer Assisted Language Learning,
18(3), 143–149.
Liu, C., Lin, H. F., & Gu, W. (2004). Bring Internet into campus: experience from main-
land of China and Taiwan [Online]. In AE1MC Midwinter Conference. Available at:
http://iip/ist/psu.edu/publication/students/aejmc2004.pdf. Last accessed May 5th, 2008.
Martins, M. L., Moreira, G., & Moreira, A. (2014). Web 2.0 enhanced language learning: Fact
or fad? Paper presented at the 6th International Conference on Education and New Learning
Technologies. Barcelona, Spain. July 7–9, 2014.
McGrath, I., Sinclair, B., & Chen, Z. (2007). Designing an innovative online course in language
teaching methodology for middle school teachers of English in China: Encouraging learner and
teacher autonomy. In H. Spencer-Oatey (Ed.), E-learning initiatives in China. Hong Kong: Hong
Kong University Press.
McLoughlin, C., & Lee, M. J. (2007). Social software and participatory learning: Pedagogical
choices with technology affordances in the Web 2.0 era [Online]. In ICT: Providing choices
for learners and learning. Proceedings of ascilite Singapore 2007 (pp. 664–675). Available at:
http://www.dlc-ubc.ca/wordpress_dlc_mu/educ500/files/2011/07/mcloughlin.pdf. Last accessed
July 31th, 2014.
Ministry of Education. (2001). 基础教育课程改革纲要 (Curriculum development and teaching
requirements for Schools). Beijing: Ministry of Education.
Morley, J. (1991). The pronunciation component in teaching English to speakers of other languages.
TESOL Quarterly, 25(3), 481–520.
Su, D. F. (2004). 外语教学改革:问题与对策 (EFT IN China: Problems and suggested solutions).
Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Press.
References 17
Stockwell, G. (Ed.). (2012). Computer-assisted language learning: Diversity in research and prac-
tice. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Sharpe, R., Beetham, H., & De Freitas, S. (Eds.). (2010). Rethinking learning for a digital age.
London & New York: Routledge.
Wang, W. (2002). Bridging the digital divide inside China [Online]. In Annual Confer-
ence of the Association of Internet Researcher, Available at: http://wendang.baidu.com/view/
1e955cdbce2f0066f533229f.html. Last accessed July 31th, 2014.
Wikipedia. (2013). Languages used on the Internet [Online]. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Languages_used_on_the_Internet. Last accessed September 20th, 2013.
Wikipedia. (2014). College English Test [Online]. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
College_English_Test. Last accessed September 20th, 2014.
Watkins, D. A., & Biggs, J. B. (2001). Teaching the Chinese learner: Psychological and pedagogical
perspectives. Hong Kong: CERC and ACER.
Wen, W. P., & Clement, R. (2003). A Chinese conceptualization of willingness to communicate in
ESL. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 16(1), 18–38.
Wild, F., Modritscher, F., & Sigurdarson, S. (2008). Designing for change: Mash-up personal learn-
ing environments [Online]. ELearning Papers, 9. Available at: http://oro.open.ac.uk/25253/1/
media15972.pdf. Last accessed June 7th, 2012.
Yang, G. (2013). The power of the internet in China: citizen activism online. New York: Columbia
University Press.
Zhang, Z. M. (2007). What hinders the way of Chinese to be an English master—Concerning
differences between English and Chinese. Sino-US English Teaching, 4(2), 18–24.
Zhu, H. M. (2003). Globalization and new ELT challenges in China. English Today, 19(4), 36–41.
Zhu, L. Z., & Yang, A. X. (2004). (The madness of English learning). Chang-
sha: People’s Press.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
somebody else, surely that would show him 'twas wasting his time to
grizzle any more about her."
"I'll thank you to look at it different, Jerry," said Jane sharply. "If I hate
a man, for very good reasons, then you ought to do the same. I can see into
things a lot deeper than what you can, as you've always granted, and I can
see into Maynard. He's the silent, shifty sort, deep as a well—and I won't
have you sticking up for him against me, so now then."
Jerry whistled.
"I've nothing for, or against him," he answered slowly. "I scarcely know
the man, but there's my father and others speak well of him; and I'm always
wishful to think well of everybody, unless there's a reason against."
"I'm the reason against then," she declared, "and you've got to put me
and my opinions first, I should hope. I'm a kindly creature enough, God
knows, and ban't quick to think evil."
"Certainly not," admitted Jerry.
"But I look to you to pay me the respect due," she continued, "and if I
tell you a man's doubtful, then 'tis for you to believe me and act according."
"I will," he promised. "We'm all doubtful for that matter. Us will speak
and think of the man as we find him. We needn't go out of the way to make
trouble."
"I ban't one to make trouble," she retorted; "but, next to you, John's
more to me than anybody, and I won't stand by and see him wronged by that
hateful woman, nor yet by that man, if I can stop it."
Jerry felt this attitude unreasonable, but decided the subject had better
be dropped.
"If wrong's done, I'll help to right it, that I'll swear," he promised.
"I'd right it myself," she said. "If I could prove the man had stole her
from my brother, I'd lie behind a hedge for him!"
"Do shut up and stop telling such dreadful things," he answered roughly.
"'Tis hateful to hear such words from your mouth—Sunday and all. I won't
have it, Jane. What the hell's the matter with you?"
They were silent for a time; then having reached Hazel Tor, Jerry helped
his sweetheart to climb the great rocks. Soon they were perched high on the
granite, and Jane opened a white and blue parasol, while he stretched his
vast limbs at her feet and smoked his pipe. His elephantine playfulness and
ideas on the tobacco shop won Jane's smiles presently, and at heart Jerry
regretted the moment when his future brother-in-law ascended through the
pine-trees from the river and joined them.
The fret and sting of his hopeless quest had marked John Bamsey, and
now he was come to the knowledge that no hope remained. His dream
dissolved. Until now he had defied reason and lived on shadows spun of
desire. He had sunk beneath his old pride and returned to Dinah's hand. He
had not grovelled; but he assumed an attitude, after the passing of the first
storm, that astonished his family. And Dinah it astonished also, filling her
with fresh pain. He had hung on; he had asked her to forgive his words
upon the bridge; he had returned into the atmosphere of her and gone and
come from home as before. Dominated by his own passion, he had endured
even the wonder in his mother's eyes, the doubt in Jane's. Dinah could not
be explicit to him, since he had been careful not to give her any opportunity
for the present. But, under his humility, he had bullied her. The very
humility was a sort of bullying, and she felt first distracted and then
indignant that he should persist. To him she could not speak, but to Faith
Bamsey and Jane she could speak; and to the former she did.
Mrs. Bamsey therefore knew that Dinah was not going to marry John,
and in her heart she was thankful for it; while none the less indignant that
John's perfections should have failed of fruition for Dinah. She resented
Dinah's blindness and obstinacy, and felt thankful, for John's sake, that the
girl would never be his wife. As for Jane she had never shared her brother's
whispered hope that Dinah would return to him. She hated Dinah, and while
hot with sympathy for her brother, rejoiced that, sooner or later, her father's
foster-daughter must disappear and never be linked to a Bamsey.
Johnny's present attitude, however, she did not know; and it was left for
this hour amid the tree girt rocks of Hazel Tor to teach her. She longed to
learn what he would say if any other man were hinted of in connection with
Dinah. She much wanted Johnny to share her opinion of Dinah, and now,
ripened for mischief by the recent sight of Maynard, she prepared to sound
Johnny. Jerry suspected what was in her mind and hoped that she would
change it. They spoke first of their own secret, and informed John, after
exacting from him promises of silence.
He was moody and his expression had changed. Care had come into his
face and its confidence had abated. He had always liked to talk, and
possessed with his own wrongs, of late, began to weary other ears. To his
few intimate friends he had already spoken unwisely and salved the wounds
of pride by assuring them that the rupture was not permanent. He had even
hinted that he was responsible for it—to give the woman he designed to
wed a lesson. He had affected confidence in the future; and now this was
not the least of his annoyances, that when the truth came in sight, certain
people would laugh behind his back. Upon such a temper it was easy to see
how any mention of another man in connection with Dinah must fall; and
had Jane really known all that was tormenting her brother's mind, at the
moment when it began to feel the truth, even she might have hesitated; but
she did not.
John considered their dreams of a shop without much sympathy and

doubted their wisdom.
"You're a woodman and only a woodman—bred to it," he declared.

"What the mischief should you make messing about among shops and
houses in a town? You know you'd hate it, just so much as I should myself,
and you know well he would, if he don't, Jane."
"You forget his feeling for me, Johnny," explained his sister. "It
wouldn't be natural to him I grant; but there's me; and what's my good be
Jerry's good when we'm married."
"You ought to think of his good, too, however. I shouldn't hide this up.
You'd do well to talk to mother before you do anything."
"You don't think father will change about the five hundred pound?"
asked Jane. "'Twas fear of that kept us quiet."
"No; he won't change. I was to have had the same."
"And so you will have," she said. "'Tis only a question of time."
"You'll get one as feels for you, same as Jane feels for me, presently,"
ventured Jerry.
"And Dinah Waycott will get hell," added Jane; "and I dare say it may
happen to her afore so mighty long, for that matter."
Jerry shrank, for Jane's brother fastened on this.
"What d'you mean?" he asked, and she was glad he did.
"Nothing, Johnny; only I've got eyes. I ban't one to think evil; but I can't
help being pretty quick where you are concerned. You're next to Jerry, and I
shan't be a happy woman till you're a happy man, and you know it."
"What then, Jane?"
"We met Lawrence Maynard walking down the road a bit ago."
"And if you did?"
She dared greatly.
"I suppose you haven't ever heard his name along with hers?"
"'Hers'? D'you mean Dinah's? No, by God—nor any other man's! If I

did——Out with it. What are you saying, Jane?"
To hear him swear made Jerry wonder, for John had never sworn in the
past. The woodman, regarding him very anxiously, now perceived how his
face and the tone of his voice had altered. That such phenomena were
visible to Jerry's intelligence argued their magnitude.
"She went for a long walk with him a few weeks back," said Jane. "She
made no secret about it. He took her to see a stone out Hey Tor way."
"Did he? And why didn't you tell me?"
"I was going to; but I waited to see if there was more to tell. There is no
more than that—not yet."
Johnny fell silent. His mind moved quickly. Love had already begun to
suffer a change, half chemical, half psychological, that would presently
poison it. Such passion as he had endured for Dinah would not fade and
suffer extinction in Johnny's order of mind. He came to the ordeal untried
and untested. He had till now been a thief of virtue, in the sense that he was
good and orderly, peace-loving and obedient by native bent and instinct. He
fitted into the order of things as they were and approved them. Nothing had
ever happened to make him unrestful, to incite class prejudice, or to foment
discontent with his station. He had looked without sympathy on the struggle
for better industrial conditions; he had despised doubt in the matter of
religion. He was born good: his mother had said the Old Adam must surely
be left out of him. But now came the shock, and pride prevented John from
admitting his failure to anybody else; pride, indeed, had assured him that
such a man as he must have his own way in the end.
He debated the past, and his self-respect tottered before his thoughts, as
a stout boulder shakes upon its foundations at the impact of a flood. He
stared at Jane and Jerry unseeing, and they marked the blood leap up into
his face and his eyes grow bright. This idea was new to him. What Jane said
acted perilously, for it excused to himself his gathering temper under defeat
and justified his wrath in his own sight.
"Be careful," he said. "D'you know all it means you'm saying, Jane?"
"For God's sake, unsay it, Jenny," urged her sweetheart. "You can't
know—nobody can know."
"If any other man thinks he'll have that woman——"

John said no more; but his own thoughts surged up and seemed to be
bursting his head. A mountain of wrongs was toppling down upon him. He
forgot his companions; then became suddenly conscious of their eyes
staring into his. He looked at them as though they had been strangers,
started up, went down the rocks at a pace to threaten his neck and then was
gone through the trees, plunging straight ahead like a frightened animal.
Jerry Withycombe declared great alarm; Jane only felt the deepest
interest.
"Now you've done it," said the man.
"So much the better," she answered. "It was bound to come. I'm glad."
Meantime Maynard, musing on Jane Bamsey's curt attitude, had reached

Buckland to spend an hour or two by invitation with Enoch Withycombe.
"Time drags for you sometimes I expect," said Lawrence.
"No, I wouldn't say time drags," declared the sick man. "Time don't run
more than sixty minutes to the hour with me, though I can't say it runs less,
like it does for the young and hale and hearty people. Give me a new book
and life don't drag. And there's always memory. I've got a very good
memory—better than many who come to see me I reckon. My mind keeps
clear, and I still have the power to go over my great runs with hounds. And
I don't mix 'em. I can keep 'em separate and all the little things that
happened. You'd think they'd get muddled up; but they do not."
"That's wonderful," said Lawrence.
"Yes, I can shut my eyes and get in a comfortable position and bring it
all afore me and feel my horse pulling and my feet in the stirrups. And once
or twice of late I've dreamed dreams; and that's even better, because for the
moment, you're in the saddle again—living—living! When I wake up from
a dream like that, I make a point of thanking God for it, Maynard. I'd sooner
have a dream like that than anything man can give me now."
"They're terrible queer things—dreams," declared the younger. "I've had
a few of late. They take hold of you when your mind's more than common
full, I reckon."
"Or your stomach—so doctor says. But that's not right. I've stuffed once
or twice—greedy like—just for the hope that when I went to sleep I'd be
hunting, but it never did anything but keep me awake. No, dreams hang on
something we can't understand I reckon; and why the mind won't lie down
and sleep with the body, sometimes, but must be off on its own, we can't
tell. But there's things said about dreams that ban't true, Lawrence. I read
somewhere that you never see the faces of the dead in dreams. That's false.
You do see 'em. I saw my brother none so long ago—not as he was when he
died, but as a little boy. And dreams be very reasonable in their unreason,
you must know, for I was a little boy too. I saw his young face and flaxen
hair, and heard him laugh, and we was busy as bees climbing up a fir-tree to
a squirrel's dray in a wood. A thing, no doubt, we'd done in life together
often enough, sixty years agone; and 'twas put into my dream, and I woke
all the better for it."
"Don't you get no sad dreams?" asked Lawrence.
"They come too. They leave you a bit down-daunted, I grant. And some
be lost, because you can't call 'em home when you wake up. You'll dream a
proper masterpiece sometimes and wake full of it; and yet, for some
mysterious working of the brain, 'tis gone, and you try to stretch after it, but
never can catch it again. I woke in tears—fancy! Yes, in tears I woke once,
long ago now; and for the life of me I didn't know what fetched 'em out of
my eyes."
"Perhaps you'd had a cruel bout of pain while you was asleep?"
"No, no; pain don't get tear or groan out of me. I'll never know what it
was."
He broke off suddenly, for a previous speech of his visitor gave him the
opening he desired.
"You said just now you'd been dreaming, along of your mind, that was
more than common full. Was it anything interesting in particular on your
mind, or just life in general?"
"Just life as it comes along I reckon."
Enoch regarded him.
"You be looking ahead, as you've the right to do. You're a man a thought
out of the common in your understanding. You don't want to work for
another all your life, do you?"
"I never look much ahead. Sometimes the past blocks the future, and a
man's often less ambitious at thirty than he was ten years before. I don't
particular want a home of my own. A home means a lot of things I've got no
use for."
"Pretty much what some of the maidens think," said Enoch with craft.
"For them a home means a man; and for us it means a woman, of course,
because we can't very well establish anything to be called home without
one. Orphan Dinah wants badly to be off, so Ben Bamsey, her foster-father,
tells me. And yet he's in a quandary; because he feels that if a happy home
were in sight for her, he'd far sooner she waited for it, a year or more, than
left him to go somewhere else."
"A very reasonable thought. But these things don't fall out as we want
'em to."
They fenced a little, but Lawrence was very guarded and committed
himself to no opinion of Dinah until Enoch, failing in strategy, tried a direct
question.
"What do you think of Orphan Dinah as a woman?" he asked.
"I like her," answered the other frankly. "Since you ask, there's no harm
in saying I think she's a very fine character. She haven't shone much of late,
because there was a lot of feeling about what she done; and it's been made
the most of I can see by women, and some men. But she's made it clear to
me and to you, I hope, that she did right. She's built on a pretty big pattern
and she's had a lot to put up with, and she's been very patient about it."
"A bit out of the common you'd say?"
"I think she is."
"I may tell you, for your ear alone, Maynard, that she thinks very well
of you."
Lawrence tightened his lips.
"No, no—don't you say that. She don't know me. I dare say, if she was
to, she'd feel different."
"Dinah can't hide herself from her foster-father's eyes," explained

Enoch. "She don't try to for that matter, and Ben sees that there's something
about you that interests her; and you've told me there be something to her
that interests you. And what follows? I'm only an old man speaking, and
you mustn't take offence whether or no."
"There's no offence," answered Lawrence. "You'd not offend anybody.

But I'd rather not have any speech about it, Mr. Withycombe."
Enoch had said all he desired to say and learned all he wanted to learn.
"And quite right and proper," he answered. "These things are very safe
where they belong, and I wouldn't rush into a man's private affairs for
money."
"You've been a very good friend to me and made my mind bigger,"

declared Lawrence. "A man that can preach patience from your bed of pain,
like you do, did ought to be heard. It ain't easy I should reckon."
They talked of Enoch's books and his master, who had lately been to see
him.
"There's one who fears not to look the truth in the face," said the
huntsman. "He told me things that only I say to myself, because the rest are
too tender to say them. Doctor looks them, but even he won't say them out.
But master could tell me I'd soon be gone. He believes in the next world,
and don't see no reason in the nature of things why there shouldn't be fox-
hunting there."
Another visitor dropped in upon Mr. Withycombe. It was Arthur Chaffe

in his Sunday black.
"If one's enough at a time, I'll be off," he said, "and fetch up again next
Sunday."
But Enoch welcomed him.
"I'm in good fettle, Arthur, and be very willing to make hay while the
sun shines."
Arthur, however, doubted.
"You'm looking so grim as a ghost, my old dear," he answered, "and so

white as a dog's tooth."
Mr. Withycombe laughed.
"You be a cheerful one for a death-bed, sure enough," he answered.
"There's no death, Enoch, and you know it so well as what I do."
"And you an undertaker! Mind you deal fair and square with me,
Chaffe; for death, or no death, 'tis as certain as life that I shall want some of
your best seasoned elm afore very long."
But Mr. Chaffe steadied the conversation.
"You be quiet, Enoch," he said. "This is the Lord's Day and us didn't
ought to be joking, like as if 'twas Monday."
The hunter took up the challenge and they went at it again, in the best of
humour, till Melinda returned and gave the three men tea.
They spoke of Dinah and gave examples of her quality and difference
from other young women. Mrs. Honeysett tended rather to disparage her of
late, having been influenced thereto in certain quarters; but Arthur Chaffe
supported Dinah, and Lawrence listened.
He presently, however, quoted.
"Long ago, before she had to break with poor Bamsey, I remember a
word she said to me," he remarked. "It showed she knew a bit about human
nature and was finding out that everybody couldn't be relied upon. She
asked me if I was faithful. It seemed a curious question at the time."
"And you said you was, no doubt?" asked Melinda.
"We must all be faithful," declared Arthur Chaffe. "Where there's no

faith, there's no progress, and the order of things would run down like a
clock."
"The world goes round on trust," admitted Mr. Withycombe, "and the
more man can trust man, the easier we advance and the quicker. 'Faithful' be
the word used between us in business and it wasn't the one we fixed upon
for nothing. 'Yours faithfully' we say."
"Yes, oftener than we mean it, God forgive us," sighed Mr. Chaffe. "'Tis
often only a word and too few respect it. Us have all written so to people we
hate, and would like to think was going to be found dead in their beds to-
morrow. Such is the weakness of human nature."
"We must be civil even to enemies," said the sick man.
"I wonder," mused Melinda. "It's a bit mean to hide our feelings so
much."
"Warner Chave was a fine example," answered Mr. Chaffe. "Foes he

had a plenty, as such a straight and pushing chap must; but he never
quarrelled with man or mouse. He never gave any living soul a straw to
catch hold of. His simple rule was that it takes two to a quarrel, and he'd
never be one; and he never was. Why! He got on with his relations even!"
"How?" asked Maynard.
"Never criticised 'em. Such was his amazing skill that he let them live
their lives their own way, and treated 'em with just the same respect he
showed to everybody else."
They enjoyed tea in a cheerful temper, and Arthur Chaffe had

continually to remind them it was Sunday.
Then he prepared to depart and Maynard left with him. In the high road
they, too, separated, for their ways were opposite.
"I laugh, but with sorrow in my heart," said Arthur, "for that dear man
be going down the hill terrible fast to the experienced eye. We shall miss
him—there's a lot of Christian charity to him, and I only wish to God he'd
got the true Light. That's all he wants. The heart be there and the ideas; but
his soul just misses the one thing needful."
"I hope not," said Maynard. "He's earned the best we can wish for."
"It may come yet," prophesied Arthur. "It may flash in upon him at the
last. Where there's life, there's hope of salvation. Us must never forget that
the prayers of a righteous man availeth much, Maynard."
"And the life of a righteous man availeth more, Mr. Chaffe," answered
Lawrence.
"That we ain't told," replied the elder. "We can only leave the doubter to
the mercy of his Maker; and there's many and many got to be left like that,
for doubt's growing, worse luck. Us say 'sure and certain hope' over a lot of
mortal dust, when too well our intellects tell us the hope ban't so certain nor
yet sure as us would like to feel."
He perked away on his long, thin legs, like a friendly stork, and
Maynard set his face upward for his home.
CHAPTER XVII
DINAH
Though circumstances had of late baffled Dinah Waycott and tended

sometimes to beget a reserve and caution foreign to her; though she found
herself hiding her thoughts in a manner very unfamiliar and keeping silent,
where of old she would have spoken, or even allowing by default an
opinion to pass unquestioned as hers which of old she would have
contradicted; there was still no confusion in her mind when she communed
with herself. Therefore, when she found that she stood face to face with a
new thing, she pretended no doubt as to the name of it. Bewilderment, none
the less, filled her mind, and elements of joy, that might be supposed proper
to such an experience, could not at present live with the other more
distracting sensations her discovery awakened. Something like dismay she
did feel, that any such paramount event should have overtaken her at this
stage in her life; for Dinah was not insensitive, though so plain-spoken, and
now painfully she felt this was no time to have developed the burning
preoccupation that already swept into nothingness every adventure and
emotion of the past.
There had happened a precious wonder beyond all wonders, but Dinah
felt angry with herself that, under present conditions of stress and anxiety,
any loophole existed for such a selfish passion. It had come, however, and it
could not stand still; and selfish she had to be, since the good and glory of
the thing must be shared with none at present.
Silent, however, she could not be for long. There was one to whom she
never feared to talk and from whom she had no secrets. To him, her foster-
father, Dinah had taken every joy and sorrow, hope and fear since she could
talk. Only once, and that in the matter of his own son, John, had she hidden
her heart from Ben Bamsey, yet found it possible to show it to another.
She remembered that now; and it was that same 'other,' who, from the
first, had possessed a nameless quality to challenge and arrest Dinah.
Gradually he had occupied a larger and larger domain in her mind, until he
overwhelmed it and her gradual revelation was complete. For gradual it had
been. Together they walked once more at her wish, after their first long
tramp, while, agreeably to the invitation of Mr. Bamsey, Lawrence Maynard
again visited Green Hayes upon a Sunday afternoon. Then, indeed, under
the eyes of Jane and her mother, Dinah had hidden her heart very
effectually, and even made occasion to leave the house and go elsewhere
before Maynard's visit was ended; but she knew by signs in her body and
soul that she was in love. The amazing novelty of her thoughts, the
transfiguration they created in her outlook upon all things, the new colours
they imparted to any vision of the future, convinced her that there could be
no doubt. Against this reality, the past looked unreal; before this immensity,
the past appeared, dwarfed and futile. That cloudy thing, her whole
previous existence, was now reduced to a mere huddled background—its
only excuse the rainbow that had suddenly glowed out upon it.
She was honestly ashamed that love could have happened to her at this
moment and thrust so abruptly in upon her sad experience with Johnny. It
seemed, in some moods, callous and ungenerous to allow such wayward
delights and dreams to enter her heart while well she knew that his was
heavy. But, at other times, she would not blame herself, for her conscience
was clear. Maynard had meant nothing to her when she gave up her first
lover, and it was no thought of him, or any man, that had determined her to
do so.
Her love at least was pure as love well could be, for she did not know
that he returned it; sometimes, at first, she almost hoped he would not. But
that was only in the dim and glimmering dawn of it. Love cannot feed on
dreams alone. She put it from her at first, only to find it fly back. So she
nursed it secretly and waited and wondered, and, meantime, strove to find a
way to leave Green Hayes. But still Ben opposed her suggestions, and then
there came a time when, from the first immature fancy that to love him
secretly, herself unloved, would be enough, Dinah woke into a passionate
desire that he should love her back again. Now she was mature,
accomplished, awake and alert, lightning quick to read his mood, the
inflexion of every word he uttered when he was beside her, the faintest
brightening of his eyes, his dress, his walk, the inspiration of every
moment.
She could not help it. Often she returned dull and daunted, not with him
but herself; and as she began to know, from no sign of his but by her own
quickened sex endowment that he cared for her, she grew faint and ashamed
again. He had taught her a great deal. He seemed to be very wise and
patient, but not particularly happy—rather unfinished even on some sides of
his experience. There were a great many things he did not know, and he
seemed not nearly as interested in life as she was, or as desirous to have it
more abundantly. Johnny had evinced a much keener appetite for living and
far greater future ambitions than Maynard. Lawrence was, in fact, as
somebody had said, "a twilight sort of man." But it was a cool, clear, self-
contained twilight that he moved in, and he appeared to see distinctly
enough through it. Dinah thought it was twilight of morning rather than
night. She imagined him presently emerging into a wonderful dawn, and
dreamed of helping him to do so. She checked such fancies, yet they were
natural to her direct temperament, and they recurred with increasing force.
Her native freedom of mind broke down all barriers to private thinking, and
sometimes she longed for him; then she chastened herself and planned a
future without him and found it not worth remaining alive for. She began to
sleep ill, but hid the signs. She plotted to see Maynard and was also skilful
to conceal the fact that she did so. He always welcomed her, sometimes
with a merry word, sometimes with a sad one. The milch cows grazed upon
the moor now, and once or twice, sighting them a mile off upon her way
home, Dinah would creep near and wait for Lawrence and the sheep dog to
round them up and turn them to the valley for milking. She would hide in a
thicket, or behind a boulder, and if he came would get a few precious
words; but if Neddy Tutt appeared, as sometimes happened, then she would
lie hid and go her way when he was gone.
She knew now that Maynard cared for her; but she discounted his every
word and granted herself the very minimum. She was fearful of hoping too
much, yet could not, for love's sake, hope too little. She longed to set her
mind at rest upon the vital question; and at last did so. Making all
allowance, and striving to chill and belittle his every word, she still could
not longer doubt. He was often difficult to understand, yet some things she
did now clearly comprehend. She had already seen a man in love, and
though the love-making of Johnny differed very widely from that of
Lawrence, though indeed Lawrence never had made a shadow of love to
her, yet she knew at last, by mental and physical signs that curiously
repeated Johnny's, he did love her.
She hugged this to her heart and felt that nothing else mattered, or
would ever matter. For a time she even returned to her first dream and
assured herself that love was enough. He might tell her some day; he might
never tell her; but she knew it, and whether they came together, or lived
their lives apart, the great fact would remain. Yet there was no food in any
such conclusion, no life, no fertility, no peace.
She came to Ben Bamsey at this stage of her romance, for she hungered
and thirsted to tell it; and to her it seemed that her foster-father ought to
know. She came to him fresh from a meeting with Lawrence, for she had
been, at Mr. Bamsey's wish, with a message to Falcon Farm, and she had
met Maynard afterwards as she returned over the foothills of the Beacon.
The year was swinging round, and again the time had come for scything
the fern, that it might ripen presently for the cattle byres.
He stopped a moment and shook hands with her.
"Just been up to see Soosie-Toosie," said Dinah. "Terrible sorry Mr.

Palk's cut his hand so bad."
"Yes; it'll have to go in a sling for a bit. He thought it would mend and
didn't take no great count of it, and now it's festered and will be a fortnight
before it's all right."
"I wish I could help," she said. "If you was to do his work and Mr.
Stockman would let me come and milk the cows for a week——"
"No, no—no need for any help. Tom can do a lot. It's only his left hand
and master's turning to. He says if he can't do the work of Tom's left hand,
it's a shame to him."
"Did Mr. Palk get his rise he was after?"
"He did not, Dinah. But Mr. Stockman put it in a very nice way. He's
going to raise us both next year. And you? Nothing turned up?"
She shook her head.
"A funny thing among 'em all they can't find just the right work. I wish
you was away from Green Hayes."
She had told him all about her difficulties and he appreciated them. He
thought a great deal about Dinah now, but still more about himself. He had
been considering her when she appeared; and for the moment he did not
want to see her. His mind ebbed and flowed, where Dinah was concerned,
and he was stubborn with himself and would not admit anything. He
persisted in this attitude, but now he began to perceive it was impossible
much longer to do so. If Dinah had read him, he also had read her, for she
was not difficult to read and lacked some of the ordinary armour of a
woman in love with a man. He knew time could not stand still for either of
them, yet strove to suspend it. Sometimes he was gentle and sometimes he
was abrupt and ungenial when they met. To-day he dismissed her.
"Don't you bide here now," he said. "I'm busy, Dinah, and I've got a
good bit on my mind too."
"I'm sorry then. You ask Soosie if I shall come and milk. That would
give you more time. Good morning, Lawrence."
He had seen how her face fell.
"I wish I could think of a way out for you. Perhaps I shall. I do have it
on my mind," he said. "But there's difficulties in a small place like this. Pity
you ain't farther off, where you could breathe easier."
For some reason this remark cheered her. She left him without speaking
again and considered his saying all the way home. The interpretation she
put upon it was not wholly mistaken, yet it might have surprised the man,
for we often utter a thought impelled thereto by subconscious motives we
hardly feel ourselves. He did not for the moment associate himself, or his
interests, with the desire that Dinah should go away, yet such a desire really
existed in him, though, had he analysed it, he had been divided between two
reasons for such a desire. He might have asked himself whether he wished
her out of her present difficult environment in order that his own approach
to her should become easier and freer of doubtful interpretation in the
mouths of other people; or he might have considered whether, for his own
peace, he honestly wished to see Dinah so far away that reasonable excuses
should exist for dropping her acquaintance. Between these alternatives he
could hardly have decided at present. He lagged behind her, for love seldom
wakens simultaneously, or moves with equal pace on both sides. He might
continue to lag and fall farther behind, or he might catch her and pass her.
He was at a stage in their approach when he could still dispassionately
consider all that increase of friendship must imply. He hardly knew where
the friendship exactly stood at the moment. Actual irritation sometimes
intervened. He suffered fits of impatience both with himself and her. Yet he
knew, when cool again, that neither was to be blamed. If blame existed, it
was not Dinah's.
She went home now, and after dinner on that day, found opportunity to
speak with her foster-father. They were cutting oats and she descended to
the valley field beside Ben and made a clean breast of her secrets, only to
find they were not hidden from him. He treated her as one much younger
than she really was, and seeing that she was indeed younger than her age in
many particulars of mind, this process always satisfied Dinah and made her
feel happier with Ben Bamsey than his family, who made no such
concession, but, on the contrary, attributed qualities to Dinah she lacked.
"Foster-father," she said, "I'm wishful to have a tell and here's a good
chance. I be getting in a proper mizmaze I do assure 'e."
"You must be patient, my little dear," he answered.
"I've been patient for six months, though it's more like six years since I
changed about poor Johnny. And other people, so well as I, do feel I'd be
better away."
"Have I ever said you wouldn't be better away, Dinah? I know only too
well how it is. But a father can look deeper into life than his child. I'm wide
awake—watching. I understand your troubles and try to lessen 'em where I
can."
"If you wasn't here, I'd have runned away long ago. For a little bit, after
that cruel come-along-of-it, I wouldn't have minded to die. Now that's
passed; but you, who never did such a thing, can't tell what it is to know
that you're fretting and galling two other women. And Mrs. Bamsey and
Jane have a right to be fretted and galled by me. I can well understand,
without their looks, how I must be to them; and 'tis a sharp thorn in your
flesh to be hated, and it's making me miserable."
He had not guessed she much felt this side of the position.
"You'm growing up, I see, like everybody else," he said. "I forget that I
can't have it both ways, and can't have you a loving, watchful daughter and
a child too. And if you can think for me, as you do so wonderful, then
you'm old enough to feel for yourself, of course. Still you'm so parlous
young in some ways, that it ain't strange I still think of you a child in
everyway. I suppose you must go and I mustn't find nothing against no
more. And yet——"
He broke off, his mind upon Maynard.
While he was hesitating and wondering whether he should name the

man, Dinah saved him the trouble.
"Only this morning coming home from Falcon Farm I met Lawrence—
Lawrence Maynard and he—even he, an outsider so to say, said he thought
I'd be better far ways off. And I well know it. I didn't ought to be breathing
the same air as Johnny. It ain't fair to him, especially when you know he's
not taking it just like I meant it. And I wouldn't say it's right, foster-father."
He, however, was more concerned for the moment with the other man
than his own son.
"Johnny's beginning to understand. His good sense will come to help
him," he answered; "but when you say 'Lawrence Maynard,' Dinah—what
do you say? Why for has he troubled his head about your affairs?"
"You like him?" she answered.
"Granted. And so do you seemingly. And how much do you like him?
Do you like him as much as I think you do, Dinah?"
She was astonished but pleased.
"I'm glad you ask me that; but I hope Mrs. Bamsey and Jane——?"
"So do I. No, they haven't marked nothing; or if they have, they've hid it
from me very close. But Faith wouldn't hide nothing. Tell me."
She hesitated.
"What do you think?" she asked.
"I think you care about the man."
"I love him then."
"Ah!"
"It sounds a fearful thing spoke out naked. But truth's truth, and I'm very
thankful to tell you. Don't you call it wicked nor nothing like that. It only
happened a very little while—not till long, long after I dropped Johnny. But
it has happened; and now I know I never loved dear Johnny a morsel."
He reflected.
"The man himself told you to go—Maynard, I mean? What was in his
mind when he said that?"
"I've been wondering. It ought to have made me sad; but it hasn't. Ought
it to have made me sad?"

Textbook English Learning in The Digital Age Agency Technology and Context Shuang Zeng Ebook All Chapter PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Textbook English Learning in The Digital Age Agency Technology and Context Shuang Zeng Ebook All Chapter PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

English Learning in the Digital Age

Agency Technology and Context

Information Technology and Organizational Learning:

Digital International Relations : Technology, Agency

Technology and Creativity: Production, Mediation and

Technology Run Amok: Crisis Management in the Digital

Communication and Learning in an Age of Digital

Technology Adoption in the Caribbean Tourism Industry:

Cinema in the Digital Age Nicholas Rombes

Competencies in Teaching Learning and Educational

ISBN 978-981-13-2498-7 ISBN 978-981-13-2499-4 (eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018955157

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018

1 Towards ‘Learner Experience Research’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 1

5 The Trends of English Learning-Related Use of Technology:

7.4 Intentions Towards WELL Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Fig. 1.1 Website content by language (from Wikipedia 2013) . . . . . . . . .. 8

Abstract ‘Interactive’, ‘participatory’ and ‘socially connected’ are qualities that

1.1 Defining the Scope of This Book Within the Field

According to Levy and Hubbard (2005, p. 143), computer-assisted language learning

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 1

1.2 The Rationale for ‘Learner Experience Research’

1.2.1 Experience as an English Learner in China

1 Gaokao is the national college entrance examination in China.

1.2.2 Experience as a CALL Practitioner in China

1.2.3 Towards Researching Learner Experiences

experiences as an English learner and CALL practitioner in mainland China have

1.3 Chinese Universities as the Context for WELL

1.3.1 Conditions for Technology Experiences

2 Chinese undergraduates normally live in student dorms while at university.

Japanese 5% English 57%

Fig. 1.1 Website content by language (from Wikipedia 2013)

1.3.2 Learning English in the Chinese University Setting

China is experiencing an “unprecedented English fever” (Li 2009, p. 211), as

Fig. 1.2 Years of English study before attending university

test is around 6000 words (Wikipedia 2014).

for this test is around 13,000 words (Wikipedia 2014).

This is reflected in the Chinese poem–“to be a scholar is to be the top of society”

which takes an unusual motivational approach to encourage Chinese EFL learners to

1.4 Research Questions, Theoretical Perspective

1.5 Structure of the Book

The remaining seven chapters of the book are structured as follows.

"Certainly not," admitted Jerry.

John considered their dreams of a shop without much sympathy and

"You're a woodman and only a woodman—bred to it," he declared.

"No; he won't change. I was to have had the same."

Jerry shrank, for Jane's brother fastened on this.

"What d'you mean?" he asked, and she was glad he did.

"What then, Jane?"

"And if you did?"

She dared greatly.

"'Hers'? D'you mean Dinah's? No, by God—nor any other man's! If I

"Did he? And why didn't you tell me?"

"If any other man thinks he'll have that woman——"

"Now you've done it," said the man.

Meantime Maynard, musing on Jane Bamsey's curt attitude, had reached

"Time drags for you sometimes I expect," said Lawrence.

"That's wonderful," said Lawrence.

"Don't you get no sad dreams?" asked Lawrence.

"Just life as it comes along I reckon."

Enoch regarded him.

"What do you think of Orphan Dinah as a woman?" he asked.

"A bit out of the common you'd say?"