The Influence of Online Education on the Quality of Chinese Middle School Students’ English Learning

Full text

The Influence of Online Education on the Quality of
Chinese Middle School Students' English Learning
Qianshen Gao
Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, Dalian, 116000, China
qg00086@surrey.ac.uk
Abstract. The period between the start of 2020 and the end of 2022 was a special
time that COVID-19 pandemic attacked the whole world and made people strug-
gled a lot. In those three years, Chinese people are asked by government to stay
inside once the virus breaking out so that it may decrease the risk of infection.
Under such a condition, students had no alternative but to take part in online live
classes to continue studying. The article aims at analyzing how the online educa-
tion helps Chinese middle school students with their English learning. By using
the questionnaire researching method, 47 Chinese students answer the questions
and 38 of them ar e valid. They are aske d to estimate the outcome s of t heir Englis h
learning influenced by online class. It is discovered that most middle school stu-
dents regard online education as a useful tool in English learning while only a
few ones think differently. Also, they come up with some practical suggestions
on future development of this new kind of learning platform.
Keywords: Online education, Questionnaire, English learning, Students.
1Introduction
1.1 Researching Background
At the very beginning of 2020, a new type of virus called COVID-19 pandemic broke
out in a sudden and almost nobody could be able to adjust to it in time. With high-rate
infection and serious toxicity, the virus crushed the world at an unimaginable speed.
Governments from many areas over the world took emergency measures even though
some were not confirmed by legislatures [1]. At first, people knew nothing about it thus
the only thing they could do is getting away and controlling the distance from each
other. In most western countries it was taken by self-willing, while in China was carried
out compulsorily by central and local government. To cope with that situation, schools
are advised to deny or cancel the after-school assemblies, gathering at a restaurant, a
shopping mall or a house is also discouraged [2]. These steps are taken to ensure the
lower risk of infection, but the progr ess of education must keep moving on. As isolated
from each other, students need a virtual classroom through the Internet and participate
in online live classes or find available resources by themselves. In order to meet the
requirements of society and education sustainability, online education is thought as a
© The Author(s) 2023
S. Yacob et al. (eds.),
Proceedings of the 2023 7th International Seminar on Education, Management and Social
Sciences (ISEMSS 2023)
, Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research 779,
https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-126-5_20

more efficient and cost-effective mode compared with traditional system [3]. That’s wh y
online education became a popular way of English learning at that time. According to
a former secretary from an American school, the lesson they learn from that crisis is to
prepare a backup system, which allows the school to transfer to online education seam-
lessly. Besides, a permanent system is also required to be developed to make most use
of the crisis and make up th e gap between affluent students and disadvantaged ones [4].
1.2 Researching Topic and Method
The article focuses on the influences of online education on the online quality of Chi-
nese middle school students’ English learning. Defined as a language subject, English
differs from other subjects that focus on book knowledge. It requires more proper com-
munication and getting to know each other through that way. Sometimes even though
students practice communicative skills during the class, they still don’t reach the de-
sired results since they are not provided with more opportunities to use the language to
orally interact [5]. Changing from conventional face-to-face classes to online teaching
and learning, it requires a process for both teachers and students to adjust to it. In a
classroom, teachers are able to conveniently communicate with students in English or
explain some problems to them. However, looking at a screen is a definitely distinct
feeling. That causes some new ways as well as new problems in learning.
A questionnaire program called ‘Wenjuanxing’ will be used to analyze this study. It
can be published on a particular platform and automatically collect the data provided
by people who fill in it. Therefore, it is more accessible to compare the different an-
swers in both horizontal and lengthwise ways.
1.3 Researching Purpose
As mentioned, online education plays a two-sided role in English learning, which brings
some new opportunities and leads to new issues under solving at the same time. As
introduced, experimental learning is divided into sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste,
which cover the long-term memory portion in the brain. Nevertheless, online learning
may only consist of two types of them, increasing the difficulty of deep learning [6].
What this article plans to do is concluding an outcome that whether the advantages of
online education overweight disadvantages. In other words, it’s more like an estimation
questionnaire to assess whether middle school students in China are satisfied with
online learning. Besides, a few suggestions are also put forward for the long-term de-
velopment. That emphasis on the innovation of online techniques and fun ctions of ed-
ucation platforms, being beneficial to rebuild the new type of education into a mature
system, allowing students to reach a better experience.
162 Q. Gao

2Method
2.1 Researching Target
This article is planning to analyze the Chin ese students in secondary school and senior
school through a questionnaire. In China, students in those two kinds of schools occupy
the most proportion of online English learning. Usually, the number of primary school
students is not as many as secondary and senior ones and they may not be fully aware
of the effects of online education due to less mature knowledge, while college students
who don’t embark on English courses seldom care about English study as well. Thus,
middle school students are regarded as the most representative gr oup of online English
learning.
2.2 Questionnaire Designing
Generally, the whole questionnaire is composed of 3 single choice questions, 2 multi-
ple-choice questions and a blank-filling question. As the target group is Chinese middle
school students, the first question is to confirm whether the interviewee is a student in
target one. Next, they will be asked whether they have used an online platform for
English learning. If the answer is ‘No’, the answer will not be valid as well. Then,
students would think about what advantages and disadvantages online education pos-
sess compared with traditional face-to-face mode, and to what extent they think online
live classes may help with their English learning. Lastly, some practical suggestions
are welcomed to come up with.
2.3 Data Collecting
The questionnaire is provided through an online platform called ‘Wenjuanxing’, which
can keep the data altogether automatically after being answered. Lasting for about 24
hours, it has collected 47 portions totally. With 7 interviewees studying at university
and other 2 people having never experienced online learning, the number of valid data
will be 38 at last.
3Result
3.1 Positive Feedback
According to the collected data, in the third question that asks about the advantages of
online education, the proportions of interviewees who ch oose ‘Not limited by time or
space’ ‘Watch for several times whenever you want’ and ‘Various of educational
sources are available’ count for 65.96%, 91.94% and 53.19% respectively. All of them
are larger than 50%, which critically proves their dominance in the advantages of online
education. The data ar e showed in Figure 1, which represents compared with traditional
education mode, what advantages online teaching and learning possess. It could be
The Influence of Online Education on the Quality of Chinese Middle School 163

discovered more directly in this way. Over half of interviewees regard these three fac-
tors are the basic advantages especially the second one, over 90%. Also, nobody has an
additional remark about it.
Fig. 1. The advantages of online education compared with traditional mode
3.2 Negative Feedback
Besides positive factors, online learning and teaching also associate some bad aspects.
As the next question shows, when being asked what disadvantages exist in online edu-
cation compared with traditional mode, interviewees who choose ‘Hard to concentrate
on classes’ ‘Worse effects on class interaction’ and ‘Affected by website fluctuation or
relevant issues’ dominate 61.7%, 68.09% and 55.32% (see Fig. 2). By comparison, all
of these three data are over 50% as well, but it seems more equal in the distribution
since none of them exceeds 70%. They are definitely important factors no one is ex-
tremely outstanding. Also, like positive feedback, nobody adds an extra answer in th e
blank.
Fig. 2. The disadvantages of online educat ion compared with t raditional mode
65.96%
91.49%
53.19%
0%
0.00%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
100.00%
Not limited by
time or space
Watch for
several times
whenever you
want
Various of
educational
sources are
available
Others
The advantages of online education
compared with traditional mode
61.70% 68.09% 55.32%
0%
0.00%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
Hard to
concentrate on
the class
Worse effects on
class interaction
Affected by
website
fluctuation or
other issues
Others
The disadvantages of online education
compared with traditional mode
164 Q. Gao

3.3 Collective Feedback
Generally, both the positive and negative issues are highly admitted by interviewees
according to the collected data. Their influences may happen at the same time when
participating the online classes and contribute to the final consequence of students’
learning. In the fifth question, interviewees are requested to estimate to what extent
they think online live classes may help with their English learning. Except for 9 answers
which are not valid, 6 people choose ‘Pretty helpful among the 38 interviewees, 25 of
them choose ‘Limited help’, while the other 7 regarded it as ‘Absolutely useless, even
does harm’. Obviously, most students who complete the questionnaire think online
classes may help, but just a little. Linked to the previous data, most middle school stu-
dents benefit from the repetitive watching function, which could be a sign that they are
more likely to reach progress by learning the specific class for several times. Not only
the memory of knowledge can be built stably, but also students could always find some-
thing that has not to be mastered in such a period.
4Discussion
4.1 Basic Reasons
During the process of learning English, the most important thing for middle school
students to acknowledge is memorizing. In order to adjust to the final graduation ex-
amination, a large number of new words have to be learnt and mastered. Thus, if stu-
dents find something tough to understand during the class and hesitate to ask teachers
for help, they may prefer to watch it again later, and that could be vital to their learning
outcomes. Another reason for accounting for that is motivation. According to Chunmei
Long, Zhu Ming and Liping Chen, English learning motivation can be divided into
intrinsic and extrinsic one, as intrinsic motivation comes from the bottom of learners’
minds, the extrinsic one is determined by what they could get during this process [7]. By
finding different types of educational sources, students are likely to give intrinsic mo-
tivation since some sources on the Internet are not as boring as conventional classes,
instead, they could be presented in various of new forms so that attract students’ interest
in learning English. Also, the advantage of ‘Not limited by time or space’ could be
regarded as the combination of these two factors, which represents that students are
able to take care of their schedule more freely.
As for the reasons of disadvantages, it can be easily imagined that, unlike a brick-
and-mortar class, nobody can supervise each student on an online platform. Even
though in Chinese middle schools, most teachers may ask their students to turn on the
camera and ask them questions at any time to examine whether they are focusing on
the class, it is still pretty difficult to ensure the quality is as high as conventional classes.
For students themselves, middle school age is the key period that stimulates the ability
to self-control and self-learning. An influential experiment shows students who are in
well self-disciplined behave better in test scores and competitive academic programs.
Even IQ is not as important as self-control [8]. If they feel completely free to do whatever
they want, it may cause unsatisfactory consequences at last. Plus, as a language subject,
The Influence of Online Education on the Quality of Chinese Middle School 165

the key factor of English learning is supposed to be frequent communication. But ap-
parently, an online class is a virtual platform short in communication functions com-
pared with a face-to-face one. Therefore, students are likel y to earn theoretical
knowledge but fail to depart it to others in an efficient way[9]. What’s more, for students
who live in a village or other places with weak website signal, taking part in an online
class gives them an uncomfortable experience. With serious fluctuation, nobody is will-
ing to battle with the website connection.
4.2 Future Development
At the last question from the questionnaire, students are welcome to provide their sug-
gestions about the future development of the online education system. After screening
the contents, there are 8 valid answers left. Among those answers, 4 of them concentrate
on the significance of interaction during th e class, emphasizing the variety of interac-
tion as well. A comment also says that online teaching is supposed to vary from the
conventional one and combine interest with effective communication at the same time.
There is no suspicion that communication plays a key role in education. As described,
communication could be defined as a dynamic process that requires the mind and cour-
age to transfer others’ information [10]. Thus, in a virtual classroom, the efficiency of
communication is even more valuable than in a real class. An other three suggestions
support the long-term progress of online education as well. In contrast, it advocates not
communication but the function of supplementary towards main subjects. In other
words, it is able to add up something not mentioned by teachers during the class.
The rest one suggestion looks interesting, which recommends less use of online plat-
forms for a class as possible. This statement, objecting to the future development of this
new kind of mode, is really a unique point compared with the others. It is likely to be
predicted that the person who fills the answer has a sense of trouble in using the online
technique for English study.
Generally, most of the valid answers show a positive attitude to future development
and put forward some practical advice, sorted out communication progress and supple-
mentary assistance. Most online platforms used for teaching and learning, like Ding
Talk or Tencent Meeting, have already got enough communication tools. Students can
turn the camera on and raise their hands to answer the questions. Moreover, the whole
class could be recorded and sent to the database, where the video will be available to
all students. On the Ding Talk platform, homework is fixed up by teachers and com-
pleted by students online. It is admitted that the functions of online education have
reached a high standard during the three-year process of the pandemic. In the future,
what should be promoted deeply is the combination of teaching and entertainment, tak-
ing full advantage of online technology. During the pandemic time, meeting with each
other face-to-face is almost impossible, and it is likely to feel boring when getting iso-
lated. For the design ers of the education platforms, they are supposed to support the
structure of platforms. One way to build it better is to repair some errors that may bother
the website connection in order to offer students a stable environment to study online.
Another issue is, some resources on the Internet are useful but cost an expensive price
on account of the copyright of their pr oducers. That is not wrong, but if more low-price
166 Q. Gao

or free materials can be used by students without excellent living conditions, they may
feel reasonable.
In addition, artificial intelligence is a brilliant choice to make use of. AI implications
like simulation and communication programs support practice skills and stimulate real-
life skills [11]. For instance, a popular app called IELTS Bro is widely used by Chinese
students since it covers the database of IELTS exams and has a unique function that
provides a mock speaking test between the learner and artificial intelligence, with the
same rhythm as real tests. That may also work in the English study of middle school
students. Usually, a class is composed of about 40 students and some of them who are
shy to communicate with teachers are likely to be ignored by teachers sometimes. How-
ever, talking with an advanced AI assistant is truly helpful to solve it.
5Conclusion
From what have been discovered, the online education system acquires the satisfaction
of most Chinese middle school students. They are offered more sources compared with
the traditional mode and are able to save time, which seems more flexible. Through
that, students will not feel so exhausted to meet time sch edule every day, instead, it can
be regulated by themselves due to their own habits and arrangemen t. Some students are
energetic at the daytime so they can take part in classes as usual, while others prefer to
stay up until midnight or even later so they don’t need to complete their tasks at the
original time. In the end, most of them find a suitable learning method as well as reach
a positive progress.
However, current problems also require attention. It is not strange that without any
compulsory management, students seldom take control of themselves. If they don’t
want to focus on a live class, teachers have not so much effort to supervise each of
them. If they copy the homework from the Internet or their classmates, no one can
prevent them from doing so. If they try to cheat in online tests, their grades can’t be
trusted at all. Students who are good at self-control keep a balance between learning
and entertainment, but unconscious ones are very likely to waste time at home. The
middle school in China is a place filled with pressure and competition, once getting rid
of that particular environment, students are likely to seek freedom and fall behind fi-
nally.
Fortunately, more and more Chinese students are building an awareness of studying
hard. Even though they can be managed by teachers or parents to study sometimes,
eventually it is an affair that must be dealt with by themselves. As more students are
willing to be strict with themselves from the bottom of heart, being online will not be a
reason to be lazy any more. With the overwhelming progress of technology, the online
education system will become multi-functional one day. A number of issues that can’t
be solved today are hopeful to be coped with in the future. Ever ything in the world is a
coin with two opposite sides and both of them are worth concentrating on. At a basic
period of learning, it is important for middle school students to critically think about
what may help them, and what will become a sense of crisis for their studying. Take
The Influence of Online Education on the Quality of Chinese Middle School 167

the essence and discard the dross, and they are able to make use of the online platform
as a tool rather than a barrier.
References
1. Zysset, A., Vidal-Marti, N. Consti tutionalism and Covid-19 : Broadening the Lens with Jus
Cogens. Jus Cogens. 4: 203–205 (2022).
2. McCar thy, K. The Global Impact of Coronavi rus on Education. Retri eved on March 15,
2023. Retrieved from: The global impact of coronavirus on education - ABC News
(go.com). March 7, 2020.
3. Rajiv, Rana, H., Lal, M. E-l earning: Issues and Challenges. Internati onal Journal of Com-
puter Applications. 97(5): 20-24 (2014).
4. Mineo, L. Time to fix American education with race-for-space resolve. Retrieved on March
15, 2023. Retrieved from: The pandemic’s impact on education – Harvard Gazette. April
10, 2020.
5. Toro, V., Minuche, G., Tapia, E., et al. The Use of the Communicative Language Teaching
Approach to Improve Students’ Oral Skills. English Language Teaching 12(1): 110-118
(2018).
6. Arnall, J. 16 Problems with Online/Virtual Learning. Retrieved on March 16, 2023. Re-
trieved from: 16 Problems with Online/Virtual Learning | Unschooling To University (And
College Too). May 3, 2020.
7. Long, C., Ming, Z., Chen, L. The Study of Student Motivat ion on English Learning in Ju nior
Middle School -- A Case Study of No.5 Middle School in Gejiu. English Language Teaching
6(9): 136-145 (2013).
8. Cherr y, K. How to Improve Your Self-Control. Retrieved on March 18, 2023. Retrieved
from: Imp rove Self-Cont rol: Tips to Help You Succeed (verywellmind.com). November 09,
2022.
9. Parker, A. 15 Disadvantages of Onlin e Learning Everyone Should Kn ow. Retrieved on
March 10, 2023. Retrieved from: 15 Disadvantages of Online Learning Everyone Should
Know (prosperityforamerica.org). February 26, 2023.
10. Khan, A., Khan, S., Islam, S. et al. Communication Skills of a Teacher and Its Role in the
Development of the Students’ Academic Success. Journal of Education and Practice. 8(1):
18-21 (2017).
11. Mukhallafi, T. R. Using Artificial Intelligence for Developing English Language Teach-
ing/Learning: An Analytical Study from University Students’ Perspective. International
Journal of English Linguistics. 10(6): 40-53 (2020).
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/),
which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any
medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the
source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.
The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's
Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material
is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not
permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain
permission directly from the copyright holder.
168 Q. Gao