Can the Videoconferencing English Class Help the Educationally Underprivileged Students?

This study investigates the learning style preferences of middle school students of EFL and their attitudes towards the videoconferencing English class. The participants were 128 middle school students in the first and second years of study of middle schools in the Korean countryside. They have been taking the videoconferencing English classes for six months from August in 2008. Videoconferencing was introduced by the local office of education as a substitute for expensive private tutoring and as a supplementary course for the students who are in rural schools. Ten schools were chosen for this special program by the local office of education. The participants were asked to respond the Reid’s PLSPQ questionnaire and the self-check learning styles questionnaire. Results indicate that 50% percent was identical in the participants’ major and minor learning preferences between the two questionnaires. More than half of the participants are visual and audio learners who are appropriate for the videoconferencing classes. In order to understand how satisfied the participants were with the classes, another survey was devised, and the findings show that they were satisfied with the type of the classes in question and their overall satisfaction was strongly affected by the teachers, the instruction and the contents in that order. The participants’ survey showed that repetitive learning is the strong point whereas too many classes are what make the program less attractive. Also, the survey from the teachers implies that, to improve this program, something has to be done to encourage the students’ participation and to enhance the quality of the instruction of native assistant teachers.