<PAPERS and REPORTS> Educational Effects of Streaming and the Utilization of ICT in English Teaching

At Kindai University, Fukuoka Campus, 1st year students are required to take a TOEIC Bridge test twice a year in April and December, being streamed according to their test scores. Little research has been conducted, however, to analyze the test data so far. In addition, due to the spread of the Coronavirus, the form of English classes drastically changed, i.e. from face-to-face to online from 2020. The effect of this newly introduced method of instruction, however, has not been evaluated, either. In this paper, I will first give a short overview of the old and new TOEIC Bridge tests, explaining the difference of the sections and the score ranges. The main focus of this paper will be to examine the effect of streaming (tracking) to enhance students’ English ability. Another focus will be to examine if teaching online works better than or at least as well as teaching face-to-face. Finally, I will closely look into students’ answers of questionnaire and examine if there is a correlation between their answers and their levels of English.