Hui-Chin Yeh

Facilitating metacognitive processes of academic genre-based writing using an online writing system

Few studies have investigated how metacognitive processes foster the application of genre knowledge to students’ academic writing. This is largely due to its internal and unobservable characteristics. To bridge this gap, an online writing system based on metacognition, involving the stages of planning, monitoring, evaluating, and revising, was developed to investigate how such a system contributed to the understanding and application of genre knowledge to students’ academic writing. The data included three different versions of each students written research proposal, action logs, discussion transcripts in discussion forums, and an open-ended questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, a typical case sampling, and the constant comparison method were used to analyze the data. The results suggested that the students made greater improvements in academic writing performance after experiencing metacognitive processes. Particularly, collaborative efforts throughout the metacognitive processes were important in supporting students to understand the academic genre, recognize the problems of unstructured academic papers, and apply genre knowledge to academic writing. The online writing system features, designed to nurture students’ metacognitive processes, served as useful cognitive stimuli to raise students’ metacognitive awareness. The systems functions overcame the limitations of observing students’ metacognitive processes described in previous studies, and enabled teachers to provide follow-up instruction. Implications and recommendations are also addressed.

The use of online annotations in reading instruction and its impact on students’ reading progress and processes

Studies suggest that the incorporation of online annotations in reading instruction can improve students’ reading comprehension. However, little research has addressed how students use online annotations in their reading processes and how such use may lead to their improvement. This study thus adopted Reciprocal Teaching (RT) as an instructional framework to support students’ reading comprehension progress and processes, facilitated by the use of online annotations. A total of 54 English language learners at a university were recruited to read with online annotations based on the RT procedure, namely predicting, clarifying, questioning, and summarizing. The data collected included the students’ scores on pre- and post-tests and their participation records in a collaborative learning environment. The results reveal that the students enhanced their reading comprehension after the intervention. Their reading processes were also analyzed, and the major differences between the groups making more and less progress were identified. Those who made more progress not only frequently reviewed their previously generated predictions, clarifications, questions, and summaries but also actively provided feedback to their peers in a reciprocal manner. Pedagogical implications and recommendations are discussed.

A Review of Trends in Digital Game-Based Language Learning Research

Former literature reviews or research syntheses on digital game-based learning have provided important results, but little is known about the use of digital games in specific learning domains, with language education being one fertile area for additional research. While the use of digital games for educational purposes varies in different contexts, understanding the emerging trends of how digital games are currently implemented in language learning can inform both language educators and researchers of game use for learning, and thus help to improve their professional practices. Accordingly, the current review aims to identify emerging trends of digital game-based language learning (DGBLL) articles published during years 2010 to 2014. Major findings of this review indicate that: 1) Only 4% of the articles are identified as related to DGBLL within the reviewed corpus, 2) most DGBLL researchers employed mixed methods, 3) higher education learners were the most frequently examined group of participants in DGBLL studies, 4) English was the target language studied by the majority of DGBLL researchers, and 5) Off-the-shelf digital games, particularly the type of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG), are the most commonly implemented games in the DGBLL literature. This review provides a panoramic overview of the trends in DGBLL research and draws attention to areas where there are prominent gaps within the literature.

Investigating readers' mental maps of references in an online system

Referential identification and resolution are considered the keys to help readers grasp the main idea of a text and solve lexical ambiguities. The goal of this study is to design a computer system for helping college students who learn English as a Foreign Language (EFL) develop mental maps of referential identification and resolution in reading. Four modules, Natural Language Processing (NLP), User Interface, Recording, and Feedback Tool, are implemented in the system. Results of this study showed that the more-proficient EFL readers were able to identify and resolve most of the references to form a coherent mental map from different parts of a text. The less-proficient readers commonly resolved references by relying on grammatical rules instead of semantic contextual clues. They often referred references to incorrect objects. To overcome the difficulties in figuring out the relationship between two words, the less-proficient readers usually asked for more feedbacks. As students progressed in reading, they requested fewer feedbacks in the online system. Some recommendations for future studies are discussed.

Integrating reciprocal teaching in an online environment with an annotation feature to enhance low-achieving students’ English reading comprehension

ABSTRACT Reciprocal teaching (RT) has been used to improve English as Foreign Language (EFL) students’ reading comprehension in face-to-face instruction. However, little was known about how they use the RT to comprehend English texts in an online environment. This study explored how the implementation of RT strategies with the use of an annotation tool to improve low-achieving students’ English reading comprehension in an online environment. A total of 22 low-achieving EFL students participated in this study. The pre- and post- reading comprehension tests showed that the students’ English reading comprehension improved after practicing RT strategies with annotation tools. Questioning and predicating strategies were ranked as the two most useful strategies, as both promoted successful collaborative reading among students. Summarizing and clarifying were less useful than questioning and predicting strategies because the low-achieving EFL students faced language difficulties when summarizing and clarifying. The annotations supported RT strategies by (1) establishing a collaborative environment for students to discuss RT strategies any time, (2) organizing and indexing reading content in multimodal forms, and (3) helping students review and revise their comprehension.

A Review of Design-Based Research

This paper intends to offer a general introduction to Design-Based Research (DBR). Based on this purpose, the paper firstly identifies the dual goals of DBR, and then explains the role of Design in DBR along with the main procedures for conducting DBR. Finally, the paper provides concrete examples related to the use of DBR to support student learning and teacher professional development.

Investigating Students’ Use and Evaluation of Video as a Form of Computer Assisted Language Learning Material

This study examined a group of English language learners’ use and evaluation of digital videos as a form of computer assisted language learning (CALL) material, as they were engaged to complete a video-based vocabulary learning task using a CALL system. The results indicated that the students were able to watch the assigned video clips for task completion with reasonable time and effort, without any major learning difficulties. It was also found that the top three most frequently used functionalities of the CALL system that enabled learner-content interaction were video subtitles, followed by the built-in dictionary, and adjustable playback speed. On the whole, the students considered the way that the video material was integrated in the vocabulary learning task was facilitative and capable of enhancing their English learning experiences, indicating the overall appropriateness of such video use.

An Investigation into English Language Learners’ Argumentative Writing Performance and Perceptions

The current study aimed to understand the feasibility of using an adapted version of a well-established model of argumentation, termed as the Assertion, Reasoning, and Evidence (ARE) model in the present study, for argumentative writing instruction in an English language classroom. Seventy-six university students were given explicit instruction on English argumentative writing using the ARE model for a semester. After the instructional intervention, two sets of data were collected, including the participants’ argumentative writing passages and their responses to a post-intervention questionnaire. The results showed that although the students provided highly positive feedback on both the instructional intervention and their self-efficacy in English argumentative writing, the analysis of the students’ argumentative writing performance indicated that many of the participants were unable to produce logical and reasonable arguments. This paper concludes that while the ARE model is potentially helpful, when teaching argumentative writing to second or foreign language learners, teachers should be aware of their students’ difficulties in reasoning and thus place more emphasis on training logical reasoning skills in argumentation, as a means to enable its effective use by learners.