Enhancing Text Comprehension and Learning of Word Forms through Online Discussion: A Case Study of Focus on Form Intervention

• Main Authors: Lee, Yi-Hsin, 李怡馨
• Other Authors: Liu, Yeu-Ting
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2015
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/03556226791119690559

碩士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 英語學系 === 103 === With the heavy use of technological gadgets such as smartphones or tablet computers, computer-mediated communication (CMC) has been prevalent nowadays. To explore the possibility to involve CMC in L2 classrooms, it is necessary to investigate the effects it brings to L2 learning. This study adopts a FonF viewpoint to examine the effects of online discussion on L2 word form (WF) learning and text comprehension, compared with the effects of individual work. The participants were 82 tenth graders in a girls’ high school in Taipei, divided into the experimental group (EG) and the control group (CG). The two groups were respectively allocated with the learning conditions of online discussion and individual work. Prior to the ten-time intervention, a word form (WF) pretest was conducted. Each time after the intervention, the participants took a WF immediate posttest and a comprehension test based on the assigned reading, followed by a WF delayed posttest one week later. The weekly fifty-minute intervention began with a seven-minute silent reading. Afterwards, some text-based questions were asked for the purpose of eliciting the target words. In the online discussion condition, the participants discussed the given questions with their group members through an online forum, while in the individual condition, the participants wrote down their answers to the questions and then exchanged the answer papers. In both groups, the series of questions focusing on one target word took ten minutes. Data analysis included ANOVA and data variation analysis. ANOVA revealed significant differences in within-group comparisons of the collapsed mean scores of WF tests, indicating that both conditions facilitate the learning of word forms. The analysis of variations in diachronic mean scores of WF posttests shows EG performed not worse than CG for five out of ten times. Considering the heavier cognitive load resulting from dual-tasking of EG’s treatment, EG participants’ performance in word form learning actually exceeded expectations, thus implying that online discussion was more effective in helping word form learning when compared with individual work. Also, the analysis of diachronic data development in the mean scores of comprehension tests reveals EG’s better performance than CG for seven to nine times in the three types of comprehension (i.e. global, local comprehension and inferencing), among which global comprehension is found to benefit most from online discussion condition, as having been proved by the significant difference of between-group comparisons of the collapsed mean scores. The possible explanation is that CMC might elicit more negotiation of meanings since it creates a more friendly environment for learners to comfortably share ideas with other group members. By giving responses and reading others’, learners can develop a better understanding of the texts. This study explores the possibility to involve online discussion as one option in FonF intervention, and suggests that online discussion might be able to facilitate learners’ word form learning and text comprehension. What’s more, this study provides an example to complete research results with analysis of diachronic data development.