An Analysis of the Effect of a Cyber Home Learning System on Korean Secondary School Students' English Language Achievement and Attitude

This study examined the effectiveness of a Cyber Home Learning System (CHLS), an online learning system currently being employed in South Korea to improve the access and quality of public education as well as to reduce private tutoring expenditures. The quasi-experimental research design used experiment and survey methods to learn about the impact of CHLS on student performance and to ascertain students' perceptions of the system. The results of the experiment indicated that no statistically significant differences in test performance existed between the experimental and control groups. This finding suggested that CHLS did not have an impact on student performance overall. However, after the data were disaggregated according to ability level, students in the advanced level showed statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups. Results from the survey indicated that the CHLS was particularly effective for those who are motivated to voluntarily participate in academic activities and who have the capability for self-initiated study. The CHLS can be considered a useful supplement but not a replacement for secondary private tutoring. To better address the needs of other learners, the English content of CHLS may need to be further modified to match students' varying proficiency levels and learning styles.