近年來學者們倡導於高等教育中善用「線上專案學習」與「部落格」以俾助將以教師為中心 (teacher-centered) 之傳統式教學法導向以學生為中心 (student-centered) 之教學趨勢。雖然在教育領域中已經有許多研究開始探討「線上專案學習」與「部落格」對學生學習成效之影響，但先前較少有文獻研究針對EFL (以英文為外國語言) 學生作相關性之研究；此外，大部分先前研究者傾向於對相關討論議題作短期性之研究。為了彌補先前文獻之不足，本研究將執行整學年度之研究以探討將 「線上專案學習」與班級「影音部落格」融入大學之口語訓練課程。依據 Community of Inquiry之理論架構，本研究將探討EFL學生於結合網路與課室學習之環境 (blended learning environment) 中口語能力之發展。本計劃案將採用混合式 (mixed-method) 資料蒐集法，受試者包括 50位大學部一年級學生，其中25位學生為實驗組，另外25位則為控制組。實驗組與控制組將於接受不同實驗教學法之前、之中、與之後分別參加口語能力測驗。此外，其他自實驗組蒐集之資料來源包括問卷、訪談、與線上討論訊息。本研究主要目標為: (1) 探究「線上專案學習」與班級「影音部落格」對EFL學生之口語能力發展成效， (2) 引起語言教育學者重視採用網路科技輔助語言學習所存在之優點與挑戰，以及(3) 根據研究結果提供建議以規劃有助於EFL學生提昇口語能力之課程。 因應全球高等教育專家學者們已致力於探究「線上專案學習」與「部落格」之成效，本計劃案所研究之臺灣情境樣本將提供語言教育學者們相關論據以探討運用此兩項學習法之可行性。 Online project-based learning and blog pedagogy have recently been promoted to make a shift from traditional teacher-centered pedagogies to student-centered approach in higher education. Although a bank of studies have documented students’ learning experiences in online project-based learning and blogging in the general educational field, research as to the effects of these two pedagogical approaches on English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ oral proficiency development remains less studied. Moreover, a majority of the extant studies tended to conduct a short-term investigation on the issues being discussed. To fill in the literature gap, this yearlong research project hence seeks to conduct a yearlong investigation on applying online project-based learning and a class video blog into an undergraduate Oral Training Course. Relying on the theoretical framework of Community of Inquiry, this study will depict EFL students’ learning to speak in a blended learning environment. This research project will employ a mixed-method approach to collect multiple data sources from 50 university freshmen in an experimental group (n=25) and a control group (n=25). Both groups will take an oral proficiency test before, during, and after receiving different instructional treatments. The other data collected from the experimental group will include surveys, interviews, and online discussion messages. The primary goals of this study are of three points: (1) to examine the effects of online project-based learning and a class video blog on EFL students’ learning to speak, (2) to make language educators pay more attention to how computer-mediated communication (CMC) technologies would feature in student learning outcomes, and (3) to further suggest how to design a course that may enhance EFL students’ oral proficiency skills according to the research findings. As the global higher education scholars and researchers have endeavoured to document the effects of online project-based learning and blog-based pedagogy, the example from a Taiwanese university context in this project will provide additional evidence to the related issues in the language education field.
