Understanding Students’ English-Speaking Difficulties: An Exploratory Practice Approach with Web 2.0

Abstract

Education literature has advocated the adoption of Exploratory Practice, a form of practitioner research developed for teachers and students to work on local puzzles (what puzzles them in their teaching and learning) for understanding. Despite the popularity of Exploratory Practice in different contexts, there has been little exploration of how Web 2.0 can be employed in Exploratory Practice to enhance language learning and teaching, considering the reality of a digital world for both language teachers and learners. This article bridges this gap by introducing Exploratory Practice with Web 2.0 to a Chinese high school English class, prompted by a teacher's puzzle regarding her students’ English-speaking difficulties. Normal classroom activities were used as data-collection tools. This innovation was found effective in boosting students’ confidence and comfort in speaking English in class and in enhancing teaching and learning experiences. The innovation, therefore, affirms Exploratory Practice as a viable research proposal for practitioners and the value of integrating Web 2.0 with Exploratory Practice to explore issues in language classrooms.