English Classroom Face-to-face and Online Discussion Based on Information Technology

With the introduction of information technology, face-to-face discussion and online discussion have become the common formats of classroom communication, which is the necessity motivated by the willingness to communicate for language learning. Based on the previous studies into the influence factors of the willingness to communicate and the advantages of online discussion conducted on the online teaching platforms, this study explores the use of in-class face-to-face discussion and synchronous online discussion in English classrooms. After learning three types of English courses required by the College English curriculum, a group of Chinese university students completed a survey on their perception of the discussions organized during the English class time in the classroom. From the statistic analysis done by both the quantitative approach and the qualitative approach, the findings suggest that students’ interest and usefulness of the content are the major drives to motivate students to join in in-class discussion. However, lacking quick feedback from the interlocutors within limited time in class, more than half of students prefer face-to-face discussion, which implies that online teaching platforms are in need of being improved in terms of the function of grouping ideas so as to make quicker responses and feedback possible.