Volume 23 Number 2, June 2019
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
1 - 10 of 11
-
ItemAnnouncements and news from our sponsors(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-06-01)
-
ItemThe impact of video and written feedback on student preferences of English speaking practice(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-06-01)This study examined the differences in perceptions of the value of feedback for improving English speaking performance between students who received video feedback and those who received written feedback and their preferences for written or video feedback. A total of 43 English as a foreign language students participated in this study to produce a video clip to which their peers responded with either written or video feedback. The collected data included (a) students’ video clips before and after receiving peer feedback, (b) the video and written feedback they received, and (c) a survey which the students completed after receiving video or written feedback to examine their own English speaking performance in terms of pronunciation, intonation, fluency, grammar, and word usage. The findings showed that both written and video feedback was useful for English speaking skill development. Written feedback helped the students learn grammar rules and word usage to achieve greater linguistic accuracy in their English speaking performance. Video feedback helped students improve their intonation. However, neither video feedback nor written feedback could help them significantly improve their pronunciation and fluency. The students also preferred written over video feedback due to its efficiency and clarity.
-
ItemDoes a 3D immersive experience enhance Mandarin writing by CSL students?(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-06-01)This study aimed at enhancing the Mandarin essay writing by learners of Chinese as a second language (CSL) in Singapore by using authentic contexts in Second Life (SL). The participants were students in two classes of eighth graders from a junior high school in Singapore, and the study lasted for 5 weeks. A quasi-experimental design was adopted by randomly assigning the two classes to the experimental group (N=26) or the control group (N = 34). The two groups received identical writing instructions and were asked to write essays about identical topics within an identical time period. The only difference between the two groups was the activities performed at the prewriting stage: with or without immersive exploration in SL. Three kinds of qualitative data were collected and analyzed: students’ writing plans, students’ compositions, and in-class observation data. The analysis results show that the writing motivation and performance of the CSL students varied depending on whether or not they performed immersive exploration before writing. Those who explored the authentic contexts in SL before writing performed significantly better at constructing a prewriting plan and exhibited significantly higher writing quality compared to those without such an immersive experience. The former group also demonstrated higher motivation.
-
ItemVocabulary learning and retention through multimedia glossing(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-06-01)Drawing on Mayer’s (2014) cognitive theory of multimedia learning, the purpose of this study was to examine which modes of gloss presentation (i.e., L2 definition, aural, and video animation) are effective for learners’ vocabulary learning and delayed word recollection. One control group and three experimental groups were formed by 132 intermediate language learners. Pre- and post-tests of productive recall and multiple-choice productive recognition were administered, and learners’ perceptions toward glossing were examined through a questionnaire and interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using ANCOVA, and themes that emerged from the qualitative data were identified. The quantitative findings revealed that dual glossing modes were more effective than single glossing modes for many test sessions. However, single glossing was also effective for a few test sessions. The questionnaire and interview data showed that learners preferred the dual glossing mode of L2 definition and video animation. The findings provide insights for vocabulary learning and teaching.
-
ItemHow captions help people learn languages: A working-memory, eye-tracking study(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-06-01)Captions provide a useful aid to language learners for comprehending videos and learning new vocabulary, aligning with theories of multimedia learning. Multimedia learning predicts that a learner’s working memory (WM) influences the usefulness of captions. In this study, we present two eye-tracking experiments investigating the role of WM in captioned video viewing behavior and comprehension. In Experiment 1, Spanish-as-a-foreign-language learners differed in caption use according to their level of comprehension and to a lesser extent, their WM capacities. WM did not impact comprehension. In Experiment 2, English-as-a-second-language learners differed in comprehension according to their WM capacities. Those with high comprehension and high WM used captions less on a second viewing. These findings highlight the effects of potential individual differences and have implications for the integration of multimedia with captions in instructed language learning. We discuss how captions may help neutralize some of working memory’s limiting effects on learning.
-
ItemThe effect of two forms of computer-automated metalinguistic corrective feedback(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-06-01)This study investigated whether the effect of two forms of computer-automated metalinguistic corrective feedback in drills transferred to subsequent writing tasks. The English simple past tense, a learned structure, was selected as the target structure. Participants included 117 intermediate learners of English as a foreign language assigned to two feedback groups, one no-feedback group, and one control group. These groups completed writing tasks before the drills, immediately after the drills, and two weeks after the drills. In the drills, the feedback groups completed an untimed error correction test (ECT 1) in which they received either metalinguistic feedback or metalinguistic feedback with corrections. After that, the feedback groups completed another untimed ECT (ECT 2). The no-feedback group completed the two ECTs without receiving any feedback. The results showed that the feedback groups performed better than the no-feedback group on ECT 2. However, no effect for group was found on the learners’ improvement from the first to the second writing task and from the first to the third writing task.
-
ItemEffect of using texting on vocabulary instruction for English learners(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-06-01)This article reports on a study that examined the effectiveness of an intervention using text messages to enhance the academic vocabulary acquisition of English language learners (ELLs). With a random control trial design, we compared students’ learning gain of target vocabulary (direct effect) and its subsequent impact on academic vocabulary learning (transfer effect) with and without the intervention treatment. The study included 108 undergraduate ELLs in a large Canadian university in Ontario. The intervention was aligned with the lesson plans of two comparable content-based courses on English for academic purposes required for the ELLs and aimed at teaching frequently used academic words embedded within the assigned course readings. The results indicated that, with the intervention, students learned significantly more target words. However, there was no difference between the treatment and control groups on academic vocabulary post-test performance measuring the transfer effect. The pedagogical implication of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.
-
ItemCollaborative writing and text quality in Google Docs(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-06-01)Linking research on task-based collaborative L2 writing and computer-mediated writing, this study investigates the relationship between patterns of collaboration and the linguistic features of texts written during a computer-supported collaborative writing task using Google Docs. Qualitative analyses provide insights into the writing process of successful collaborative groups. Twenty-eight first-year learners of German at a U.S. university participated in the study. Working in small groups, they completed a creative writing task, developing a hypothesized ending to a German feature film. The results suggest that collaboratively-oriented groups produced texts with more propositional content and better coherence than less-collaborative groups. These findings confirm previous observations that learner-to-learner engagement encourages meaning-making. They also expand existing research by connecting collaborative patterns to the quality of L2 output. Other linguistic features typically used for evaluating writing quality in task-based language learning research (i.e., grammatical or lexical accuracy, syntactic complexity, or lexical diversity) did not seem to be related to collaborative patterns. The article concludes with pedagogical and research insights into computer-supported collaborative writing among lower-proficiency L2 learners and the possibilities and limitations of Google Docs for analyzing data in such environments.
-
ItemReview of LearningBranch(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-06-01)
-
ItemReview of Technology-enhanced teaching and learning of Chinese as a foreign language(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-06-01)