Students` Evaluation of the Effect of Video Conferencing on Promoting Speaking Fluency = Students` Evaluation of the Effect of Video Conferencing on Promoting Speaking Fluency

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper presents the results of the study on how students evaluate video conferencing as a language learning tool. Keeping up with the current trend of learning English through Computer Mediated Communication (CMC), the researcher investigated how students evaluated the effect of a video conferencing tool on promoting speaking fluency. A total of 138 cyber students participated in the study which employed student surveys, telephone interviews, and document analysis. The research results showed that an overwhelming number of students thought that video conferencing could be an alternative to face-to-face interaction with native English speakers, by referencing no restrictions on time and space, utilizing text-chat function, and involving less psychological anxiety as major advantages of video conferencing. Students also favored video conferencing over audio conferencing since it allows students to utilize paralanguage such as gestures or facial expressions. The research results indicate that online video conferencing will be an effective tool to promote English learners` speaking fluency in Korea, especially by compensating for the lack of native English teachers` input in the Korean educational system.