The Development of EFL Learners' Reading and Critical Thinking Ability in WebQuest-A Qualitative Study

• Main Authors: Yi-shan, Hsiao, 蕭伊珊
• Other Authors: Chih-cheng, Lin
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/49405731157103553790

碩士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 英語學系 === 102 === The World Wide Web (WWW) has been considered to have extensive pedagogical affordances for teaching. The Web not only provides a vast global database of authentic materials for teachers, but also, with the assistance of internet communication technology (ICT), enriches students’ learning experiences. However, problems regarding the use of WWW in classroom teaching/learning arise, such as navigational disorientation and information overload. Several attempts have been made to systematically direct students’ inquiry of WWW, one of which is WebQuest. Previous WebQuest studies have reported positive results in promoting learners’ critical thinking ability and reading ability respectively, while questions remain as to which aspect of the WebQuest activity contributes to their development of these abilities. Thus the paper aims to explore how EFL learners’ critical thinking ability and reading ability develop when engaged in a WebQuest activity. A qualitative approach is adopted in order to have an in-depth understanding of the development process of reading and critical thinking ability among EFL learners. The participants are a group of students recruited from a senior high school in Northern Taiwan. The data collected for the current study are mainly from class observation, semi-structured interview, and students’ reflection journals. During the two cycles of WebQuest activity, the researcher also takes field notes of class activities and of important events occurred in the classroom. The data analysis is guided by Marshall and Rossman’s (2006) suggested procedure and by the identified patterns from the data collected. The results showed that participants demonstrated reading strategies while doing WebQuest reading. Participants reading comprehension was enhanced and advanced in group discussion. As to critical thinking, participants developed information screening criteria and developed individual searching pattern. They joined a process of negotiation in group discussion, which cultivated their critical thinking ability. The facilitating factors that led to participants’ development reading ability as well as critical thinking ability were group discussion, presentation of sequenced tasks, and guided questions embedded in each reading task. Finally, based on the findings of present study, several pedagogical implications are offered for the English instructors, who would like to implement WebQuest in classroom teaching. Limitations and suggestions for future research were also provided.