Abstract

In this age, computers and courseware are becoming essential tools in teaching and learning Various research has shown that these tools have a great impact on the teaching and learning of English. Due to that, this paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of a courseware used in a polytechnic in Malaysia as a learning tool to support students’ learning in terms of language, learning potential, learner fit, meaning focus, authenticity, impact and practicality. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with four ESL lecturers at the polytechnic. Findings show that that the courseware is effective as a tool to support language learning for its appropriateness in terms of language learning potential, learner fit, meaning focus, authenticity and positive impact. However, in terms of practicality, problems such as time and quality of the computers are seen as the barriers which hinder the successfulness of the use of the courseware in learning the English language.