Beyond Parroting: Using English Fun Dubbing to Improve English Oral Performance

Abstract

Abstract The present paper is a response to the current problematic situation of oral English teaching at the tertiary level in China and the increasing popularity of web-based mobile oral English learning in oral English classes. Our paper focuses on the use of mobile-phone-based educational software known as “English Fun Dubbing” (EFD) and its advantages in terms of teaching and learning phonetics and oral English in the college classroom. The starting point was a needs analysis which revealed the lack of practice regarding English speaking. In this study, an action research method was adopted, involving 40 second-year students, who employed “classroom teaching + English Fun Dubbing” model as the intervention. Extensive examples from this model were used to build up a picture of the blended learning processes at work. Several imitation tasks, a conversational activity and a speech-delivering task were designed and implemented. Direct observation and the results of the questionnaire survey provided the evidence of the improvement in the students’ oral performance. It is our aim to develop the present project to incorporate oral proficiency. The main results of this action research were reflected in the adjustments in the pedagogical treatment, the changes in the role of the teacher and the student, and the shifts in the students’ attitudes towards their learning process.