scholarly journals Learning Processes in Interactive CALL Systems: Linking Automatic Feedback, System Logs, and Learning Outcomes

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bronson Hui ◽  
Björn Rudzewitz ◽  
Detmar Meurers

Interactive digital tools increasingly used for language learning can provide detailed system logs (e.g., number of attempts, responses submitted), and thereby a window into the user’s learning processes. To date, SLA researchers have made little use of such data to understand the relationships between learning conditions, processes, and outcomes. To fill this gap, we analyzed and interpreted detailed logs from an ICALL system used in a randomized controlled field study where 205 German learners of English in secondary school received either general or specific corrective feedback on grammar exercises. In addition to explicit pre-/post-test results, we derived 19 learning process variables from the system log. Exploratory factor analysis revealed three latent factors underlying these process variables: effort,accuracy focus, and time on task. Accuracy focus and finish time (a process variable that did not load well on any factors) significantly predicted pre-/post-test gain scores with a medium effect size. We then clustered learners based on their process patterns and found that the specific feedback group tended to demonstrate particular learning processes and that these patterns moderate the advantage of specific feedback. We discuss the implications of analyzing system logs for SLA, CALL, and education researchers and call for more collaboration.

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Pili-Moss

This exploratory study examined the relationship between corrective feedback (CF) and linguistic target complexity. In a pre-test/post-test/delayed post-test design, 44 adult intermediate L2 Italian learners from different L1 backgrounds were assigned to a didactic recast, a prompt and a no-feedback group. They were compared on oral and written measures on the development of passato prossimo, an Italian compound past form characterised by a set of complex semantic and morphosyntactic rules and participles displaying different degrees of form-meaning transparency. Mixed-effects models elucidated the extent to which feedback frequency predicted accuracy, whilst controlling for the effect of individual difference covariates and random variation. Only the frequency of didactic recasts predicted development of full passato prossimo sentences, whereas both feedback types were significantly related to participle development, a single aspect of the construction. Furthermore, only prompt frequency was positively related to accuracy in participles displaying more transparent (less complex) form-meaning relationships.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 4094-4100

The present study is carried out in English as a foreign language (EFL) experimental classroom at Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan to investigate the Pakistani EFL learners' beliefs towards written CF in L2 writing. Two types of Written CF: Direct and Indirect feedback, were provided during four weeks of study period in written tasks to the two groups (direct feedback and feedback group) and third was provided only metalinguistic information (Controlled group). The students were divided into two groups: experimental group provided with CF (Direct and Indirect), control group. The students in the experimental group were compared to a control group which was provided with no corrective feedback. BS level adult learners (n= 40) were randomly assigned to write short essay/Gap Fill/ Timed grammatical Task during four successive weeks. Afterwards, they were asked to fill in a questionnaire (k=21), at the post-test time. Correlation between participants’ beliefs about written CF and the effectiveness of those beliefs was measured by an attitudinal questionnaire. The students’ performance was also checked through written test battery. The results of this study revealed the learners’ beliefs about errors’ corrections, the writing activities, and various types of CF. The study also suggested the significant role of learners’ beliefs in mediating language accuracy in writing tasks.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1558
Author(s):  
Yanhui Zhang

To facilitate effective learning in a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) environment, it is essential for the system to aid learners to not only pinpoint correct answers, but also identify the right process of learning so as to efficiently overcome various levels of difficulty with optimized practicing items. This study investigates how and to what extent different types of feedback from the CALL system may promote the grammatical knowledge learning for L2 learners of Chinese. Students in the Elementary Chinese program at the Carnegie Mellon University participated in the experiment of the computer assisted language tutoring for learning Chinese classifiers. Three kinds of feedback, namely corrective feedback, reflective feedback, and rule-based feedback, were designed and the relative effectiveness of each on the learning of the planned grammatical knowledge was assessed with pre and posttests. The results show that participants in the rule-based feedback group surpassed those in reflective and corrective feedback groups in an immediate posttest, but participants in the reflective feedback group outperformed the other two groups in a two-week delayed posttest. It is concluded that reflective feedback can more effectively promote self-explanation and memory retention in Chinese classifier acquisition in a CALL environment. The findings provide important insights for the construction of a dynamic, interactive Chinese learning courseware with adequate task design and optimal feedbacks.


This study examined the effects of language learning strategies (LLS) and coded corrective feedback on reducing four types of lexical errors made by two student groups, one receiving teacher corrective feedback (TCF) and the other peer corrective feedback (PCF). Participants (n=34) were divided into two groups; one group (n=17) received TCF and the second group (n=17) received PCF. Both groups were trained in applying LLS to revise, in response to their respective feedback, coded lexical errors they had made in three practice essays. The study used the Sequential Explanatory strategy of the Mixed Methods’ Design Strategies to compare the groups’ lexical error performance on immediate and delayed post-tests. Findings showed that participants in the PCF group significantly outperformed their TCF counterparts and reduced overall lexical errors at the delayed post-test (week 16). Also, the PCF group reduced ‘unnecessary’ and ‘redundant’ word errors at the delayed post-test, though not significantly. Analysis of students’ reflections, written after training, revealed that students depended on gut feeling and prior experience to revise their errors; they restructured sentences when they could not correct lexical errors and considered collocation errors difficult to correct. Pedagogical implications include adopting specific methods of vocabulary teaching and meaningful error feedback.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Pawan M. Doski ◽  
Filiz Cele

This study examines the effect of prompts and recasts in providing CF for the article errors by Kurdish-Arabic bilinguals who learn English as a third language. 39 lower-intermediate Kurdish-Arabic bilingual learners of English were tested on three tests: pre-, post-, and delayed post-tests. The participants were randomly put into three groups: (1) prompt group (n =15), (2) recast group (n = 14), and (3) no feedback group (n = 10). Each group completed 28 dialogues, which included articles in a Forced Choice Elicitation Task (FCET) as a pre-test. The same test was given to the three groups as post- and delayed post-tests. Between the pre-test and the post-test, the prompt and recast groups took a treatment which involved an interactional activity that aimed the FCET, in which the former took CF in the form of prompts, and the latter took it as recasts for their article errors in L3 English.Results showed that all groups were the same in the pre-test. In addition, both the prompt and recast groups were similar in post-test but were significantly better than the group which did not receive any feedback. In delayed post-test, the prompt group significantly outperformed the other two groups. These findings suggest that prompts are more effective than recasts in providing oral feedback over the long term. The error analysis, on the other hand, revealed that among the four contexts of articles, all students had the highest error rate in the [-def, +spec] context in both pre- and post-tests. These were substitution errors rather than omission errors, which shows that the students fluctuated between definiteness and specificity settings. In delayed post-test, the prompt group significantly made fewer errors than the other two groups.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-48
Author(s):  
Takehiro Iizuka ◽  
Kimi Nakatsukasa

This exploratory study examined the impact of implicit and explicit oral corrective feedback (CF) on the development of implicit and explicit knowledge of Japanese locative particles (activity de, movement ni and location ni) for those who directly received CF and those who observed CF in the classroom. Thirty-six college students in a beginning Japanese language course received either recast (implicit), metalinguistic (explicit) or no feedback during an information-gap picture description activity, and completed a timed picture description test (implicit knowledge) and an untimed grammaticality judgement test (explicit knowledge) in a pre-test, immediate post-test and delayed post-test. The results showed that overall there was no significant difference between CF types, and that CF benefited direct and indirect recipients similarly. Potential factors that might influence the effectiveness of CF, such as instructional settings, complexity of target structures and pedagogy styles, are discussed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 136216882110409
Author(s):  
Chi-Duc Nguyen

This study proposed a three-step writing conference in which foreign/second language (L2) students, under the guidance of their writing instructor, first fastened their attentional focus on a form-related error, analysed a collection of standard L2 samples to deduce the underlying knowledge, and then planned for their error correction as well as future learning of this knowledge. The ultimate goal of this formative assessment practice was to scaffold student engagement with written corrective feedback (WCF). Using a between-group experiment design, the present study compared the effects on the success rate of error correction and L2 uptake of the above writing conference ( n = 14) against those brought about by a typical Teacher–Student ( n = 12) and a typical Student–Student one ( n = 12). Research participants were 38 intermediate learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) recruited from three intact classes at a language-learning center in Vietnam. The suggested writing conference was indeed found to yield better error correction and L2 uptake than the other counterparts. A closer look at the students’ mental engagement with WCF revealed that such engagement was moderately correlated with their L2 uptake. These findings altogether suggest that student engagement with WCF should not be taken for granted or, in other words, this engagement should be contingently supported by the writing instructor in order to foster learning from WCF.


Author(s):  
Atif Obaid M Alsuhaymi

The present study aims to research the influences of games through Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) compared to Teacher-Centered Instruction (TCI) on teenagers' achievement in English language education in Saudi Arabia. Two groups of students tested, before and after instruction, so to determine success of the application of pedagogies. The full sample consisted of 22 teenagers, divided randomly, into two equal groups. The first group was the control (TDI) group, which used a school textbook. The second group was the experimental group (CALL), which given a CALL application, based on the game ‘Kahoot.’ Two types of tests were conducted, a pre-test and a post-test, at each of two periods for each group. The pre-test administered before instruction, and the post-test taken after the instructional period. Findings indicate that both groups increased their proficiencies with English object pronouns. However, performance on the post-test by the experimental (CALL) group significantly exceeded that of the control (TCI) group.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Jie Chen ◽  
Yukun Chen ◽  
Jiaxin Lin

The purpose is to minimize color overflow and color patch generation in intelligent images and promote the application of the Internet of Things (IoT) intelligent image-positioning studio classroom in English teaching. Here, the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) algorithm is introduced to extract and classify features for intelligent images. Then, the extracted features can position images in real-time. Afterward, the performance of the CNN algorithm is verified through training. Subsequently, two classes in senior high school are selected for experiments, and the influences of IoT intelligent image-positioning studio classroom on students’ performance in the experimental class and control class are analyzed and compared. The results show that the introduction of the CNN algorithm can optimize the intelligent image, accelerate the image classification, reduce color overflow, brighten edge color, and reduce color patches, facilitating intelligent image editing and dissemination. The feasibility analysis proves the effectiveness of the IoT intelligent image-positioning studio classroom, which is in line with students’ language learning rules and interests and can involve students in classroom activities and encourage self-learning. Meanwhile, interaction and cooperation can help students master learning strategies efficiently. The experimental class taught with the IoT intelligent positioning studio has made significant progress in academic performance, especially, in the post-test. In short, the CNN algorithm can promote IoT technologies and is feasible in English teaching.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norhayati Che Hat ◽  
Mohd Fauzi Abdul Hamid ◽  
Shaferul Hafes Sha'ari ◽  
Safawati Basirah Zaid

Implementation of animation as an Arabic language teaching aid is an innovation in creating an atmosphere that can influence student achievement. This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of the use of animation in Arabic language teaching and learning among diploma students at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Terengganu, Malaysia. A total of 66 diploma students were randomly selected and divided into experimental group (n = 33) and control group (n = 33). The results obtained from the data collected from pre-and post-test for each group were analyzed using t-test in SPSS version 17.0. The results showed a significant difference of (t = 8789, df = 64, p <0.05) between the achievement of the experimental group and the control group in the post test. The difference in mean score of the experimental group and the control group was 33.03. This shows that there is significant improvement in Arabic language according to the groups. The difference prove that the use of animation in learning sessions contribute to the achievement of students in the Arabic language. This study advocate the idea that animation applications can be integrated as part of language teaching aid to positively improve student achievement, classroom learning environment and student motivation. 


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