Hong Kong students' heavy reliance on their teachers is the biggest obstacle to online English learning, according to the chair professor of applied linguistics at the University of Hong Kong.
Professor David Nunan, the director of HKU's English Centre, said the Internet was a rich resource that could increase the amount of time students spent learning English without taking up class time.
'In a reading lesson, for example, students can do the reading, then some multiple choice or other questions online before going to class for discussions,' said Professor Nunan. 'But Hong Kong students are used to being teacher-directed and so asking them to be self-directed is a really big challenge. That's probably the biggest challenge in Internet-based instruction.'
Lack of self-motivated learning was not only a problem in Hong Kong. Professor Nunan said teachers in Taiwan had told him their students would not practise outside the classroom.
At a seminar last week on English online learning, Professor Nunan said the internet could help free up classroom time for interactive activities. Class notes and materials for reading, listening and writing could all be made available on the internet.
'It's a waste of time to have children spending 20 to 30 minutes reading in class. What the classroom is ideal for and best set up for is interactive learning - learning through the teacher and in small groups,' Professor Nunan said.