Mei-Mei Chang

Department of Modern Languages, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan // mmchang@mail.npust.edu.tw

Hsiu-Ting Hung

Department of English, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan // hhung@nkust.edu.tw

ABSTRACT

A meta-analysis was conducted in this study to synthesize research on technology-enhanced language learning published from 1990 to 2015. The purpose of this meta-analytic review was twofold, namely to investigate the effectiveness of improving students’ second language acquisition with the assistance of technology, and to identify variables that might moderate the effectiveness. Relevant empirical studies reported in journal articles, conference proceedings, theses, and dissertations were screened for their eligibility, and 84 were included as the primary studies for this meta-analytic review, comprising a combined total of 6,296 participants. The results revealed a large mean effect size of 0.993 for the primary studies, suggesting that technology interventions exert a remarkable positive effect on students’ learning of a second or foreign language. The results further indicated that technology interventions might generate greater impacts than non-technology integrated instruction, particularly when involving small samples of participants recruited from higher education, with the instruction being delivered via general-purpose applications on mobile phones. These findings provide concrete evidence in favor of technology use and offer practical implications for guiding future practice.

Keywords

Meta-analysis, Second language acquisition, Technology use, Technology-enhanced language learning

Yi-Ju Ariel Wu

Department and Graduate Institute of English Language & Literature, Chinese Culture University, Taiwan // yjarielwu@gmail.com

Yu-Ju Lan

Department of Chinese as a Second Language, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan // yujulan@gmail.com

Sin-Bao Paul Huang

Department of Palliative Care, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan // heartbao@gmail.com

Yen-Ting R. Lin

Department of Chinese as a Second Language, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan // roylin1003@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

This study explores the effects of how collaborating in a virtual world (VW) enhanced learners’ healthcare professional-patient communicative skills, including physician-patient and inter-professional communication in medical discourse. Through a quasi-experimental design case study, 47 Taiwanese Freshman English students from a College of Medicine participated in this study for 3 weeks. Research data included video analysis of students’ role-play creations in two different media (on the stage versus VW program), transcripts of learners’ role-plays, and questionnaire results of students’ perceptions of role-playing. The results include (1) rich description of the scenarios and plots created by students in the VW group, (2) VW group learners’ better performance in using effective communicative skills when role-playing via the VW, including building rapport with the patients and colleagues and showing empathy and understanding toward patients; and (3) VW group learners’ higher evaluation of how the role-play helped their English language skills, healthcare professional-patient communication and learning in general. The study concludes by discussing the theoretical and pedagogical implications of the results.

Keywords

3D Virtual World (VW), English for specific purposes, English for medical purposes, healthcare professional-patient communication, inter-professional communication

Cheng-Huan Chen

Department of M-Commerce and Multimedia Applications, Asia University, Taiwan // chchen@asia.edu.tw

Chien-Yuan Su

Department of Curriculum and Learning Sciences, Zhejiang University, China // bredysu@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

This study introduced BookRoll, a digital teaching material delivery and e-book reading system, to record and trace students’ preview status through the BookRoll dashboard in a university course and further support their self-regulated learning. One hundred nine freshmen from two separate classes at a university located in central Taiwan participated in this study, and their self-regulated learning and self-efficacy as well as academic achievement were evaluated. One class of 53 students was assigned to an experimental group using the BookRoll system embedded in Moodle, and the other class of 56 students was assigned a control group using Moodle without embedded BookRoll. This study indicated that the group of students using BookRoll exhibited significant improvements in self-regulated learning and self-efficacy; furthermore, the gain scores of the experiment group in self-regulated learning and self-efficacy were both significantly higher than those of the control group. In addition, a significant difference in academic achievement was also found between the two groups. Moreover, students’ online e-book reading behaviors including attaching bookmarks, adding/deleting markers, attaching/removing/editing memos, and slide switching (next/previous/jumping page) were positively significantly correlated to their academic achievement.

Keywords

E-book system, Self-regulated learning, Self-efficacy, Academic achievement, Reading behavior

Jo Shan Fu

Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA // elfyfu@gmail.com

Shih-Hsien Yang

Department of Applied Foreign Languages, National Formosa University, Yunlin, Taiwan // shiyang@nfu.edu.tw

ABSTRACT

Although videos are now used pervasively in English as a Foreign Language settings, most existing literature centers on learners as knowledge receivers or passive video viewers (Lialikhova, 2014; Fisher & Frey, 2015; Bakar et al., 2019). Rarely do studies involving videos engaged learners as knowledge generators or active, self-directed learners. To fill this research gap, the current study examined the effects of the online-video pronunciation dictionary YouGlish, which employs a lexical approach on learners’ speaking skills, including pronunciation, intonation, word usage, and strategies that learners applied while using YouGlish as well as their reactions to it. The results revealed that YouGlish can help learners make progress in their oral skills, especially in terms of word usage, by providing meaningful context that helps them comprehend how oral English is used in real life. The findings revealed the process of using YouGlish generated students to become more active and self-directed learners, rather than remained as passive receivers of knowledge.

Keywords

Learning tools, Learning technologies, Speaking skills, Lexical approach

Siska Wati Dewi Purba

Graduate Institute of Network Learning Technology, National Central University, Jhongli City, Taiwan // siskapurba20@gmail.com

Wu-Yuin Hwang

Graduate Institute of Network Learning Technology, National Central University, Jhongli City, Taiwan // wyhwang@cc.ncu.edu.tw

Shih-Chun Pao

Graduate Institute of Network Learning Technology, National Central University, Jhongli City, Taiwan // dike456789@gmail.com

Zhao-Heng Ma

Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Central University, Jhongli City, Taiwan // maxma1021@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

This study developed a mobile app called Ubiquitous-Physics (U-Physics), which helps students explore inclined plane phenomena in authentic contexts and consolidates their physics learning in everyday contexts. The study investigated inquiry behaviors such as interpreting graphs, applying formulas, drawing conclusions, and peer sharing, and how these influenced learning achievements. The app’s effects on learning perceptions and motivation were also analyzed. The study was conducted at a vocational senior high school and two activities (indoors and outdoors/authentic contexts). The results show that the experimental group using U-Physics significantly outperformed the control group, who used traditional tools such as a stopwatch for the inclined plane experiment in terms of learning achievements. Analysis of the correlations among inquiry behaviors and learning achievement revealed that the number of posts in authentic contexts had the greatest influence on learning achievement, confirming the importance of applying physics concepts in authentic contexts. Additionally, most students reported positive perceptions of the U-Physics app and were highly motivated to use it for future learning. The findings indicate that using U-Physics in authentic contexts is very meaningful and can contribute to physics learning, particularly when using mobile devices with sensors to facilitate inquiry learning in authentic physics scenarios.

Keywords

Inquiry behaviors, U-Physics, Interpreting graphs, Applying formulas, Drawing conclusions

Zi-Gang Ge

School of Network Education, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, China // shouzhou11@126.com

Ai-Yang Zhang

School of Network Education, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, China // zayjenny@126.com

Yan-Fei Li

School of Network Education, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, China // lyfxu-2005@163.com

Jing Su

School of Network Education, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, China // sujing01@163.com

ABSTRACT

This study tries to examine the impact of teachers’ verbal immediacy on e-learners’ emotional states and hence explore the influence of emotions on their language learning performance. Sixty e-learners from a cyber-education college were selected as the participants and were randomly assigned to two groups, with 30 members in each. One group (the experimental group) received the positive emotion induction treatment (the teacher’s verbal immediacy behaviors) and the other one (the control group) received the neutral emotion treatment (lacking the teacher’s verbal immediacy behaviors). Data were collected through a pretest, a posttest, a questionnaire survey and also the simultaneous recording of the synchronous lecturing. The findings show that positive emotions could be generated on the e-learners through the teacher’s verbal immediacy behaviors and the two emotion induction procedures could influence the e-learners’ learning. The result of the posttest shows that the positive emotion induction procedures had produced a better learning outcome in the e-learning environment. The result also indicates that the teacher’s verbal immediacy behaviors may also bring about some side effects on learning.

Keywords

Emotion induction, Emotion mediating, Verbal immediacy, Adult e-learners, Language learning