This is a multiple case study of three students of English as a Second Language (ESL) who were exposed to computers. The study sought to explore the expectations of these first time users and the roles played by culture and motivation in regard to hardware and software preferences. / The subjects worked within two environments of quite differing degrees of interaction. The less interactive consisted of an Apple II microcomputer, the workhorse of education, running a well-known ESL drill and practice program. The more interactive environment consisted of games, simulations, graphics programs, and word processing on the Apple Macintosh microcomputer. These provided one set of parameters for the study. / Another was the subjects. None had worked with computers before, and all three were receiving ESL instruction. The articulation between the subjects' parent cultures and their present circumstances in the United States was a variable which, it was hypothesized, would affect the quality of their computer experiences in predictable ways. / Accordingly, interviews, observation, and the analysis of artifacts were used in order to discover data. Profiles of the subjects and their educational environments were gathered. Computer sessions were taped, clarified with interviews, and transcribed. Classifications of behavior and areas of interest and concern were identified. Finally, propositions were made in regard to the success or failure of humans and technology to interface. / In general, all subjects displayed a preference for the less interactive program on the Apple II. In addition, the quality of their experiences in both environments corresponded positively with their apparent motivations for language learning. As these, in turn, were at least partially products of their parent cultures, the study implies that their experiences and preferences might be generalized to others. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-08, Section: A, page: 2371. / Major Professor: Frederick L. Jenks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_78034 |
| Contributors | LeMon, Richard E., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 166 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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