| Summary: | 碩士 === 玄奘大學 === 應用外語系碩士班 === 99 === This research aims to explore and examine the efficacy of the instruction of connectors on non-English major freshmen’s EFL writing quality and how non-English major freshmen perceive the efficacy in learning connectors in EFL writing. Seeing the importance of how these connectors of conjunctions and transitional connectives play in a text, practitioners are thus urged to assist learners in building this portion of language knowledge. To remedy the unsatisfying lack of instruction on connectors and to suffice the fundamental necessity, it is thus inevitable to guide learners to pay more heed to the role of transitional conjunctions and connectives in a text. With the hope to achieving the goal, the online platform IWiLL (Intelligent Web-based Interactive Language Learning) was incorporated with the belief to better cater to learners’ individual learning pace and to make learning more efficient.
The participants in this study were one hundred and twenty-four students from the Department of Civil Engineering enrolled in the English Reading and Writing course offered by their program at a university of in Northern Taiwan in the spring semester, 2010. The 124 students were of two different classes; one class of 61 students was randomly assigned as a control group and the other 63, as experimental group. This study has followed a quantitative and qualitative experimental model, using a two group pretest-posttest design. A computer-assisted learning strategy in learning the English connectors for the improvement of coherence in essay writing was embedded into the curriculum of the experimental group’s English Reading and Writing class. The effects on the participants’ knowledge of English connectors and their writing proficiency were then measured with statistics software SPSS. Finally, opinions of and attitudes toward the implementation of computer-assisted learning strategy in learning the English connectors were elicited via a questionnaire as well as an interview.
The results of the post-instruction connector knowledge assessment were significantly enhanced after the subjects of the experimental group engaged in the connector instruction designed to build learners’ connector use in writing. As assumed, the instruction of connector use, through the in-class sessions and IWiLL online practices, made positive improvement on the subjects’ writing quality in the experimental group. In light of the promising findings, the connector acquisition is highly correlated with the development of writing. Additionally, results compiled from the questionnaires and the post-study interview denoted that the subjects not only greatly raised their perceptions towards the effective connector employment but also boosted their confidence in writing. Furthermore, online practice via IWiLL was proved to be workable as well, particularly benefiting learners on the convenience access to the materials so as to schedule their individual learning progress and to ease their learning anxiety.
The findings of this research have arguably shed light on the efficacy of connectorinstruction with the E-learning through IWiLL to promote writing proficiency and, due to its successful implementation, can be further incorporated into a standard writing course to assist EFL learners in developing their writing skills and to pace their learning with ease at the same time. However, a longitudinal study is strongly recommended so that learners could build up a profile both instructors and learners could refer to constantly by reviewing their prior errors. Lastly, connector practices designed in a variety pf genres are highly suggested for future research to observe actual development in the connector employment of learners’ writing.
Key words: Connectors, Conjunctions, Transitional Connectives
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