the effects of computer-assisted concept mapping learning strategy on efl students’ english...
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The Effects of Computer-Assisted Concept Mapping Learning
Strategy on EFL Students’ English Reading
Pei-Lin Liu 劉沛琳Assistant professor, National Chia-Yi University, Taiwan
Introduction Reading is an important skill to absorb new
knowledge in a variety of fields. Poor readers are not aware reading strategies
which can facilitate the reading comprehension. The English instructors in Taiwan still focus on
the grammar correction or on increasing students’ vocabulary size.
The instructors seldom help students to improve their reading comprehension with effective reading strategies.
Introduction Concept mapping is a strategy that
organizes information through visual aids.
Concept-mapping reading strategies can enhance learners’ reading comprehension, and it helps learners to memorize and retrieve knowledge (Brookbank et al., 1999; Huang, 2000).
Concept map
inner to outer upper to lower
Main-concept
Main Concept
Figure1: Concept map linked with related nodes
Lit. Review Relevant concept mapping research applied
in Taiwan were limited to science and math subjects.
Is concept mapping a useful strategy that improves all of high and low achievement learners’ reading ability? Novak, Gowin & Johansen (1983) assumed that
all kinds of learners could obtain benefits by the use of concept mapping.
Seaman (1990) thought low achievement learners can not gain further benefits from the concept mapping strategy while Guastello’s (2000) research indicated the opposite result.
Research Questions
The purpose of this research was to investigate the application of the concept mapping learning strategy for improving learners’ English reading comprehension. What was the influence of the concept
mapping learning strategy on different learners’ English reading comprehension?
What was the influence of the concept mapping on learners’ other English reading strategies use?
Method Subject: 192 freshmen who took the English
course 94 (experiment) low-level 49 : high-level 45 98 (comparison) low-level 50 : high-level 48
Instruments Reading material: The high-intermediate
proficiency level of Studio Classroom magazine Reading tests: provided by the Studio Classroom
magazine Reading strategy application questionnaire
Instruments :Reading strategy application questionnaire 13 items (α = 0.83) Listing
1. I underlined the important information in the source texts.
2. I took notes of the important information in the source texts.
Enforcing 5. I tried to recall my personal experiences related to
the theme of the source texts. 6. I recalled my personal prior knowledge related to
the theme of the source texts. Reviewing
12. I would reread the source texts. 13. I paid attention to the structure of the source
texts for later use in writing.
Procedure
Week1: Pre-test: “English Reading Test” (α=.76) & “Reading Strategy Application Questionnaire”
Week 2: Concept mapping reading strategy instruction
Week 3-4: 1st concept-mapping → test 1 (α=.78)
Week 5-7: 2nd concept-mapping → test 2 (α=.72)
Week 8-10: 3rd concept-mapping → test 3 (α=.78)“Reading Strategy Application Questionnaire”
Result The influence of concept
mapping on learners’ English reading comprehension the analysis of two-way ANOVA
The influence of the concept mapping on learners’ other English reading strategies use independent sample T-test analysis
According to the result of the independent sample T-test analysis, the learners learned listing, enforcing, and reviewing reading strategies after they went through the concept mapping instruction.
Conclusion The positive influence of concept mapping
on learners’ English reading comprehension the low-proficiency group have a greater affect
on their reading comprehension than the high-proficiency group
The application of concept-mapping reading strategy has direct influence on the learners’ reading ability.
When training students’ English reading ability, teachers should assist them with application of reading strategies like concept-mapping.