A Comparative Study on the Effects of Two Types of Blended Learning on Young EFL Learners’ Decoding Ability

• Main Authors: Hsiao,Li-min, 蕭麗敏
• Other Authors: Kuo, Feng-Lan
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2016
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/80905145181730986984

碩士 === 國立彰化師範大學 === 兒童英語研究所 === 104 === ABSTRACT The ability to decode words is important for developing early literacy skills; therefore, language teachers need to help young learners cultivate this ability. Chapelle and Jamieson (2008) emphasized the interactional effects among a teacher, learners and computers in promoting language learning. Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (2012) strongly emphasized the effectiveness of blended learning through integrating student-centered, traditional in-class learning with other flexible learning methodologies using online resources to realize strategic advantages for the education system. Limited empirical studies have shown that the ABRACADABRA (ABRA) website provides effective activities for enhancing ESL young learners’ literacy ability. This study thus compared two types of blended learning implementation of the learning activities provided in the ABRA website on promoting EFL fourth graders’ decoding ability. One class was assigned to receive the instructor-led e-learning using the ABRA activities, whereas the other class was assigned to receive the learner-led e-learning using the ABRA activities. Two homogeneous groups received weekly 70-minutes decoding training for 8 weeks. The participants were given a researcher-developed achievement test and the TOWRE as the proficiency test (Torgesen, Wagner, & Rashotte, 1999) to measure their improvement. Furthermore, a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview guide were implemented to explore the participants’ perception toward the ABRA website. Results revealed that the blended learning using the decoding activities provided on the website was significantly more effective in improving the decoding achievement performance of the participants receiving the learner-led e-learning practice than the group receiving the instructor-led e-learning. And there was no significant difference between the two groups for the decoding proficiency posttest. It’s likely that TOWRE is more difficult and might require more time to see the treatment difference. Additional results indicated that the participants’ attitudes toward the web activities were quite positive. Key Words: decoding ability, blended learning, instructor-led e-learning, learner-led e-learning