Investigating an application of speech‐to‐text recognition: a study on visual attention and learning behaviour

One major drawback of previous research on speech‐to‐text recognition (STR) is that most findings showing the effectiveness of STR for learning were based upon subjective evidence. Very few studies have used eye‐tracking techniques to investigate visual attention of students on STR‐generated text. Furthermore, not much attention was paid to learning differences, such as learning ability, learning style preferences and gender, to use STR texts. Therefore, this study carried out one experiment. Firstly, participants' visual attention on STR‐generated text was investigated by employing eye‐tracking technique. Secondly, how differently effective STR‐generated texts can be to influence participants' learning achievement was tested. Thirdly, this study compared visual attention and learning behaviour with the different characteristics of participants, such as learning ability, learning style preferences and gender, to use STR‐generated texts. Finally, this study explored students' perceptions regarding usefulness of STR‐generated texts for learning. This paper discusses results, research findings and implications along with conclusions and several suggestions for future development and research.     

Performance,cognitive load,and behaviour of technology‐assisted English listening learning: From CALL to MALL

This study examines differences in English listening comprehension, cognitive load, and learning behaviour between outdoor ubiquitous learning and indoor computer‐assisted learning. An experimental design, employing a pretest‐posttest control group is employed. Randomly assigned foreign language university majors joined either the experimental group (outdoor ubiquitous learning), with 80 participants (26 males and 54 females), or a control group (indoor computer‐assisted learning), with 80 participants (27 males and 53 females). The experiment lasted 3 weeks. Both groups were administered a test of English listening proficiency before and after the experiment along with a questionnaire of cognitive load postexperiment. Prior English listening proficiency forms a covariate for the multivariate analysis of covariance. Results show (a) students in the experimental group exhibit significantly better English listening comprehension after the experiment compared to the control group; (b) students in the experimental group reported significantly lower cognitive load than the control group; (c) English listening comprehension and cognitive load exhibited a statistically significant negative relationship; and (d) outdoor ubiquitous learning enhanced self‐reported learning interests and interactions more than indoor computer‐assisted learning. Contributions and significances of this study are presented based on these results. Finally, implications for teaching practices are proposed.     

The impact of computer‐based instruction on the development of EFL learners' writing skills

The current study investigated the application and effectiveness of computer assisted language learning (CALL) in teaching academic writing to Iranian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners by means of Microsoft Word Office. To this end, 44 sophomore intermediate university students majoring in English Language and Literature at an Iranian university who had enrolled in a course called Advanced Writing were randomly divided into two groups. As a pre‐test, a pen‐and‐paper writing task was given to both groups at the beginning of the semester. The control group including 24 male and female students was taught based on traditional approach while the experimental group including 20 male and female students was taught based on CALL. At the end of one semester, a pen‐and‐paper writing task was given to both groups. The results of the post‐test revealed that the students who were exposed to computer‐based instruction outperformed their counterparts in terms of using appropriate articles, tense, plural forms and spelling. Moreover, the students in the experimental group produced paragraphs of higher quality. The findings of this study confirmed the efficacy of computer‐based instruction in the development of EFL learners' writing skills.     

Promoting contextual vocabulary learning through an adaptive computer‐assisted EFL reading system

The study developed an adaptive computer‐assisted reading system and investigated its effect on promoting English as a foreign language learner‐readers' contextual vocabulary learning performance. Seventy Taiwanese college students were assigned to two reading groups. Participants in the customised reading group read online English texts, each of which was customised by the developed system to offer immediate and repeated meetings with previously encountered unknown words, while participants in the typical reading group read online texts without control on unknown word recurrence. After the 4‐week online reading treatment, the two groups of learners were tested by online immediate and delayed vocabulary tests, and the students from the customised reading group were also required to complete the questionnaire regarding system use. The results showed that the vocabulary mean scores from both immediate and delayed testing demonstrated significantly better results in word gain and word retention with the customised reading group and that the adaptive reading system was appealing for the students. The study demonstrated that by providing customised reading with word recurrence specific to individuals' unknown words, this adaptive computer‐assisted English as a foreign language reading system creates a more favourable condition for foreign language vocabulary growth.     

Internet cognitive failure and fatigue relevant to learners' self‐regulation and learning progress in English vocabulary with a calibration scheme

To determine the factors of learning effectiveness in English vocabulary learning when using a calibration scheme, this study developed a freshman English mobile device application (for iPhone 4) for students with low levels of English proficiency to practise vocabulary in the beginning of their Freshman English course. Data were collected and validated from 243 subjects for confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The findings revealed that Internet cognitive failure (i.e., trait cognitive disability) was positively correlated to Internet cognitive fatigue (i.e., state cognitive disability). Both types of Internet cognitive disability were negatively correlated to self‐regulation in English vocabulary learning (SREVL). SREVL was positively correlated to the degree of learning improvement. The findings implied that the use of a calibration design for mobile English vocabulary learning could benefit students with low levels of Internet cognitive disability but high levels of SREVL.     

A personalized recommendation-based mobile learning approach to improving the reading performance of EFL students

In this paper, a personalized recommendation-based mobile language learning approach is proposed. A mobile learning system has been developed based on the approach by providing a reading material recommendation mechanism for guiding EFL (English as Foreign Language) students to read articles that match their preferences and knowledge levels, and a reading annotation module that enables students to take notes of English vocabulary translations for the reading content in individual or shared annotation mode. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, an experiment was conducted on a senior high school English course by assigning three classes of students to two experimental groups and a control group. One experimental group learned with the recommendation system with the individual annotation function, the other experimental group learned with the recommendation system with the shared annotation function, while the students in the control group learned with the individual annotation function, but without the recommendation system. The experimental results show that both experimental groups outperformed the control group, but there was no difference in learning outcome between the two experimental groups in terms of learning achievements.     

Computer Network Assisted Test of Spoken English

With the development of computer network technology, the means of foreign language teaching have changed. Computer aided spoken English test is a new test method, and there is a great advantage compared with the traditional oral test. In order to further understand the superiority of the computer aided spoken English test, this study took the sophomores of Foreign Language Department in Henan University of Chinese Medicine, China, as the subjects and carried out the traditional interview-type spoken English test and computer-assisted spoken English test. The score system based on Hidden Markov Model (HMM) was used, and then the two tests were carried out. The performance in the two tests was compared, and the attitudes of the participants to the computer assisted Spoken English test were analyzed in the form of questionnaires. The results showed that the computer aided spoken English test could better reflect the true level of the students, and the teachers and students clearly stated that the computer aided spoken English test could relieve tension and reduce the burden of teachers. The research verified the feasibility of the computer-assisted spoken English test, which provides a reference for the promotion of the computer-assisted spoken English test.     

Computer‐assisted foreign language instruction: task based vs. form focused

The purpose of this article is twofold: to describe a prototype for a computer‐assisted task‐based language instruction (CATBI) tool designed and developed for Turkish as a Foreign Language, and to report on the effectiveness of the CATBI tool. More specifically, this work discusses an experimental study that examined the role of teaching approach in foreign language development by comparing CATBI to computer‐assisted form‐focused language instruction (CAFFI) on language production in terms of accuracy, lexical complexity, and fluency. For a duration of 7 days, two intermediate‐level Turkish as a Foreign Language classes consisting of 28 high school students participated in this experiment. The classes were randomly assigned to two treatment groups: an experimental group with CATBI and a control group with CAFFI. Statistical analyses revealed that students in the CATBI group produced significantly better and more fluent language than students with CAFFI. However, no significant effects were found in terms of accuracy and lexical complexity of the language produced. Based on these results, it was concluded that CATBI is more effective than CAFFI in enhancing language production in general, and fluency in particular.     

Improving the effectiveness of English vocabulary review by integrating ARCS with mobile game‐based learning

Memorizing English vocabulary is often considered uninteresting, and a lack of motivation exists during learning activities. Moreover, most vocabulary practice systems automatically select words from articles and do not provide integrated model methods for students. Therefore, this study constructed a mobile game‐based English vocabulary practice system, which imitates the popular block elimination game and combines test items of article, difficulty, and teacher model in accordance with curriculum objectives and demands. The participants were first‐year students and classified into traditional group (Group T) and game‐based group (Group G), and learning effectiveness and motivation were analysed in this study. According to statistical analysis results, students who used the game‐based vocabulary practice system, which could captivate their attention and interest, had higher learning effectiveness and provided positive feedback of learning motivation. Furthermore, English teachers could select teaching materials that are consistent with the features, knowledge, and cultural background of learners to improve the relevance dimension of learning motivation.     

The impact of team‐based learning on students with different self‐regulated learning abilities

Team‐based learning (TBL) stresses applying knowledge rather than absorbing knowledge in class; studies have investigated the use of TBL and its merits in different teaching courses (e.g., medical science and business). TBL is most effective when students learn autonomously before class. However, the ability of autonomous learning is highly associated with the ability of self‐regulated learning (SRL); most importantly, not every student possesses good (or high) SRL ability. Nevertheless, few studies have compared the effectiveness of TBL in students with different SRL abilities. To address this issue, this study analyzed approximately 90 students, whose course teaching involves office application software (Microsoft Excel). This study also developed an online TBL system (called Online TBL) to facilitate performing TBL and to collect the learning behaviours of students with different (high or low) SRL abilities on each TBL stage. The analytical results show that compared with the low‐SRL students, the high‐SRL students were more prepared for class because they spent more reviewing material and had better scores on personal uploaded Excel and Individual Readiness Assurance Test. From the feedback of the peer evaluation, the results also show that the high‐SRL students received more credits than the low‐SRL students did. The questionnaire survey revealed that both low‐SRL and high‐SRL students had a favourable impression of TBL. Further discussion is given to explain the above results.     

Using 3D printing technology with experiential learning strategies to improve preengineering students' comprehension of abstract scientific concepts and hands‐on ability

This study combined 3D printing technology with experiential learning strategies (ELS) to design a hands‐on curriculum for preengineering students. The participants learned interdisciplinary knowledge and abstract scientific concepts through the curriculum. The study implemented a quasi‐experimental design to examine whether the students who learned using the 3D printing technology with ELS demonstrated better learning performances regarding the comprehension of abstract scientific concepts and hands‐on ability. This study selected 184 10th‐grade students from five classes, which were divided into three groups. The experimental process was conducted over a period of 11 weeks (for a total duration of 960 min). It was found that all of the preengineering students improved their comprehension of abstract scientific concepts. The students who learned using the 3D printing technology understood abstract scientific concepts better than those who learned using the traditional hands‐on tools, and the students who learned using the 3D printing technology with ELS demonstrated better hands‐on ability than the other two groups. Using 3D printing technology with ELS resulted in significant positive effects on the participants' handmade processes, in which the students reinforced the connection between knowledge and handmade products, resulting in better comprehension of abstract scientific concepts and hands‐on ability.     

Effectiveness of MMORPG‐based instruction in elementary English education in Korea

This study investigated the effectiveness of massive multiplayer online role‐playing game (MMORPG)‐based (massive multiplayer online role‐playing game) instruction in elementary English education. The effectiveness of the MMORPG program was compared with face‐to‐face instruction and the independent variables (gender, prior knowledge, motivation for learning, self‐directed learning skills, computer skills, game skills, computer capacity, network speed, and computer accessibility) were examined to see how accurately achievement was predicted in MMORPG instruction. The results indicated that students studying English utilizing online role‐playing games showed higher scores in areas of listening, reading, and writing than those who attended face‐to‐face instruction classes. It was also found that prior knowledge, motivation for learning, and network speed were factors affecting achievement in English learning. These findings suggest that MMORPGs can play an important role in improving English communicative skills.     

Developing a diagnosis system of work‐related capabilities for students: A computer‐assisted assessment

A gap exists between students' employment needs and higher education offerings. Thus, developing the capability to meet the learning needs of students in supporting their future aspirations should be facilitated. To bridge this gap in practice, this study uses multiple methods (i.e., nominal group technique and instructional systems development) and robust tests (e.g., reliability and validity) to develop a diagnosis system of work‐related capabilities. The research participants are twofold. At the early stage, this study invites three professors and three senior Human Resources managers to join the panel and help this study develop required capabilities. At the design and implementation stages, the research participants are freshman students at a famous university in Taiwan. This system enables college students to evaluate their capability scores by comparing themselves with the performances of prior students. The diagnosis results not only help students make learning plans during their university education, but also assist educators in adjusting the structure of the curriculum. Future studies are invited to use or adapt the assessment of work‐related capabilities, as well as proposed system procedure and architecture this study developed.     

Designing a smartphone app to teach English (L2) vocabulary

The researcher developed a Basic4Android smartphone app (named as Word Learning-CET6) and investigated its effectiveness as a tool in helping English as a Foreign Language college students learn English vocabulary. The app, containing 1274 English words, was designed to be installed into smartphones with Android operating system. To test the program's effectiveness, two groups of students were set up as a test group (those with Word Learning-CET6) and a control group (those without Word Learning-CET6). Knowledge of the vocabulary was tested before and after the study to assess the impact of the program. The study showed that the students using the program significantly outperformed those in the control group in acquiring new vocabulary. At the conclusion of this study, the researcher designed an app and established a pedagogical paradigm which can be followed as a way of mobile learning.     

The impact of text‐based CMC on improving L2 oral fluency

This paper reports on a study investigating the potential effect of synchronous and asynchronous text‐based computer‐mediated communication (CMC) on oral fluency development of second‐language (L2) learners. Sixty‐three intermediate learners of English were randomly assigned to one of three groups (two experimental groups and one control group), each consisting of 21 participants. The participants in the experimental groups completed four communicative tasks under two different instructional environments: synchronous text‐based CMC environment and asynchronous text‐based CMC environment. The average length of pauses, the articulation rate, the fluent‐run, the phonation‐time ratio and the speaking rate served as dependent variables. The study found that the participants in synchronous CMC group improved their L2 oral fluency significantly compared with their peers in the other two groups. The results also revealed the students in asynchronous CMC group obtained higher mean scores than those in the control group, although the differences between groups were not statistically significant.     

Designing a technology‐enhanced flipped learning system to facilitate students' self‐regulation and performance

In recent years, the flipped classroom has become prevalent in many educational settings. Flipped classroom adopts a pedagogical model in which short video lectures are viewed by students at home before class so that the teacher can lead students to participate in activities, problem‐solving, and discussions. Yet the design or use of technology that employs planned instructional strategies with sustainable support of self‐regulation is scant. We propose a technology‐enhanced flipped language learning system (Flip2Learn) that provides facilitation and guidance for learning performance and self‐regulation. A quasi‐experimental study was carried out to examine whether Flip2Learn could enhance college students' self‐regulatory skills and later contribute to the learning performance in the flipped classrooms. The results showed that Flip2Learn not only better prepared students for flipped classrooms but also better promoted learning performance compared to the conventional flipped classrooms. The results of this research advanced our understanding of the dynamics of flipped classrooms and represented a revolutionary new approach to the technology‐enhanced learning for flipped classrooms.     

A novel approach for enhancing student reading comprehension and assisting teacher assessment of literacy

For students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), reading exercises are critical not only for developing strong reading comprehension, but also for developing listening, speaking, and writing skills. Prior research suggests that social, collaborative learning environments are best suited for improving language ability. However, opportunities for English learners to collaboratively practice reading comprehension are minimal, and due to resource constraints and a lack of accurate evaluation methods, English instructors rarely assess student literacy effectively. In response to these problems, we propose a Tag-based Collaborative reading learning System (TACO) that makes use of Web 2.0 Internet social tagging techniques to provide a collaborative environment for reading English. We test our system’s ability to both improve reading comprehension and aid teachers in accurately assessing literacy by conducting a three-month trial with 56 participating Taiwanese high school students from February to May 2009. During this period, post-testing results show a significant improvement in reading scores among participants in our tag-based system, and survey feedback from teachers suggests an improved capacity for literacy assessment.     

Improving ESL writing using an online formulaic sequence word‐combination checker

Writing correct English sentences can be challenging. Furthermore, writing correct formulaic sequences can be especially difficult because accepted combinations do not follow clear rules governing which words appear together in a sequence. One solution is to provide examples of correct usage accompanied by statistical feedback from web‐based applications for learners to emulate. The goal of the study was to investigate whether such a dedicated web‐based program that provides instant examples of correct word combinations and detailed results of who used these examples, where and when, can improve students' writing. Data were collected from 74 ESL (English as a Second Language) undergraduate students divided into control and experimental groups, who performed formulaic sequence tests, wrote passages in English, followed by interviews with members of the experimental group. The results show that students who used the software outperformed those who did not, on the tests and the overall grades for their writing. Implementing formulaic sequence check programs in writing classes to help students decide which words can appear together, under which circumstances, and in which context is recommended.     

Effects of synchronous and asynchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) oral conversations on English language learners' discourse functions

This study aimed to explore the effects of synchronous and asynchronous computer mediated communication (CMC) oral discussions on question types and strategies used by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. The participants were randomly assigned to two treatment conditions/groups; the first group used synchronous CMC, while the second utilized asynchronous CMC. Students were asked to make six conversation sessions using CMC modes over six weeks. Students' conversations were transcribed and then analyzed per each discourse feature (question types and strategies) along with the CMC mode (synchronous and asynchronous). The findings of the study showed that students who used the asynchronous CMC mode produced significantly more discourse functions related to question types and strategies than students in the other treatment condition (synchronous group). It was also found that the asynchronous CMC mode encouraged learners to ask a series of questions which need long answers and seek more details through examples, clarification, and extension, while the synchronous CMC mode supports question types and strategies which are based on short answers that are clear and unambiguous.     

The Digital Learning Classroom: Improving English Language Learners’ academic success in mathematics and reading using interactive whiteboard technology

This study presents the findings from the first-year evaluation of the Round Rock Independent School District’s (ISD) Digital Learning Classroom project, an initiative focused on the improvement of English Language Learners’ (ELL) learning using interactive whiteboard (IWB) technology. An objective of the evaluation was to determine the extent IWB technology could foster performance parity in academic achievement between ELL and regular students, that is, reduce the student achievement gap between these two student groups in 3rd and 5th grade mathematics and reading. These grade levels and subjects were the primary focus of the project because students in grades 3 and 5 that do not pass the state’s standardized assessments in mathematics and reading cannot be promoted to the next grade level and therefore, these are “high stakes” tests for students. A second evaluation objective was to determine whether and the extent to which the Digital Learning Classroom could increase ELL students’ academic learning relative to that of ELL students in traditional classrooms (i.e., without IWBs). Using a quasi-experimental design, the results strongly indicate that IWBs can foster performance parity thereby closing the achievement gap between ELL and regular students while increasing ELL student achievement. Pedagogical implications for teachers of ELL students within the context of Digital Learning Classroom project implementation are presented, as well as recommendations for future study of the Digital Learning Classroom in ELL classroom settings.