| Summary: | 碩士 === 中原大學 === 應用外語研究所 === 96 === ABSTRACT
Having significant difficulties in learning ability, students with metal retardation often have a hard time learning English in regular classes. Some people may argue that English as a foreign language is not a priority for students with mental retardation. However, some researchers suggest that teachers should design a flexible and appropriate instructional curriculum to encourage students with disabilities to enroll in English classes.
Direct Instruction provided an appropriate model to teach English to students with mental retardation. Similarly, a growing number of studies showed that students with disabilities benefit from a variety of multimedia computer programs. However, related literature about the different effects of Direct Instruction and Computer Assisted Language Learning on English vocabulary learning of students with mild mental retardation was relatively lacking. In light of the above concern, the purpose of this study was to compare the effect of two methods in teaching English vocabulary to students with mild mental retardation in the resource room.
Direct Instruction has many features in common with behavioral approaches usually utilized in special education. Direct Instruction also has been confirmed to be effective with students with mild disabilities and disadvantaged students. Moreover, it is claimed that reading or language curriculum based on Direct Instruction model lead to higher academic gains for children with disabilities than traditional approaches. On the other hand, a number of studies have been conducted to investigate the implementation of technology and its effectiveness on students with disabilities. The results show that computers and other technologies can improve the learning of students with mild disabilities. It is found that computers offer students with disabilities self-paced, individualized instruction including immediate feedback and opportunities for practice.
In this study, the participants were three elementary school students with mild mental retardation in the resource room in TaoYuan County. There were two teaching methods including Direct Instruction and Computer Assisted Language Learning. In Direct Instruction session, the instructor employed flash cards and followed the teaching procedures of Direct Instruction to teach vocabulary. Additionally, in Computer Assisted Language Learning session, the teaching process was mediated by computer. An alternating treatment design, a type of single subject design, was used to compare the effects of Direct Instruction and Computer Assisted Language Learning. The percentage of vocabulary identified and recalled by participants during intervention, and maintenance phases were the dependent variables in this study.
Results indicate that after the two-week instruction, all participants made significant gains in vocabulary learning regardless of the implementation of Direct Instruction or Computer Assisted Language Learning. However, participants got better performance under the implementation of Direct Instruction, and difference was clearly discernible through visual inspection.
From this study, it was concluded that students with mental retardation need explicit and detail instruction. They benefit from intensive, well-sequenced, and teacher-directed instruction. The use of the computer as an aid to teach cannot replace the teachers’ instruction. Lastly, concerning the use of computer in English vocabulary learning, computer technology is good to raise the motivation or make additional and extended practice. It is suggested that teachers should balance the implementation of computer technology in their English teaching.
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