|
Application of Social
Networks to Support Students’ Language
Learning Skills in a Blended Approach
Fatemeh Jafarkhani (1)
Zahra Jamebozorg (1)
Maryam Brahman (2)
(1) Department of Educational Technology, Faculty
of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh
Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
(2) Department of Philosophy of Education, Faculty
of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh
Tabataba’i, Tehran, Iran
Correspondence
Fatemeh Jafarkhani,
Department of Educational Technology, Faculty
of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh
Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
Email: fatemehjafarkhani@gmail.com
|
Abstract
Introduction: The
emergence of new technologies has created
a potential educational environment where
teachers can support second language learning.
This study examines the effectiveness
of the blended approach in learning English
through the mobile social networks to
enhance the level of listening and speaking
skills of primary school students.
Method: The
research design is an applied and semi-experimental
method. Population included the students
of primary school aged 7-9 with sampling
selected randomly. Research tool was a
researcher made test in English. In data
analysis descriptive statistics (mean,
standard deviation) and inferential statistics
(covariance) were used.
Result: Gains in the scores of the final
exam of the experimental group exposed
to blended designing instruction compared
to those in the control group taught through
current face-to-face method, demonstrated
a significant difference. The findings
of the study support the idea that the
use of the blended approach has affected
the skills of the language learners for
1stgrade students (p<03), 2ndgrade
(P<0/01), and third grade (P<0/02)
positively.
Conclusion:
The findings of the study bear some significant
implications for curriculum designers,
teachers and students and highlight the
crucial role of using the technological
devices and applications in promoting
the learners’ capabilities in listening/speaking.
Key words:
Blended Approach, Primary School, English
Language Teaching, social Networks
|
The Primary focus on computer use in language
learning classrooms has improved to the point
where technology is regarded as a part of the
common teaching experience. While due to the
limited time of the classrooms and abundance
of students in primary schools, a solution is
required to direct their individual language
learning in a more effective way. Moreover children
always need support during language learning
and the intervention of parents or other family
members with no expertise in the field of foreign
language teaching will lead to irreparable harm
to both teaching process and their motivation.
These observations raised the question of how
to design technology for digital natives to
support second language learning in the classroom.
The concerns raised above are echoed by the
blended learning approach in that the primary
focus on computer use in language learning would
be of a hybrid function i.e. in and out of classrooms.
The main focus of blended learning is on the
learner involvement which could be better achieved
with the help of the Internet and Information
and Communication Technology (ICT). Garrison
and Vaughan (2008) believe that the approach
is fundamentally based on the thoughtful combination
of face- to- face and online education, reconsideration
of the design of the lessons for the highest
possible learner involvement, and the reconstruction
and replacement of the traditional classroom
hours(1).
To understand foreign language learning, it
is necessary to examine not only the linguistic
characteristics of the target language, but
also the physical, psychological, and the social
characteristics of the learner. As children
play an active role in learning their native
language, foreign language learners acquire
through their skills, strategies, physical/
cognitive development, goals, attitudes, and
certain motivations that are effective in their
success. So with all these effective factors,
learning will not be identical in different
subjects. According to Uso-Juan and Martinez-Flor
(2006), there has been a shift in our understanding
of second language skills and the way they are
learned/taught over the past five decades. They
maintain that there has been a big change in
the paradigms of teaching language skills in
three phases. They call the first phase the
environmentalist approach where under the influence
of the structural linguistics and behaviouristic
psychology, the learning of the language skills
were considered as a stimulus/response/reinforcement
procedure. During the second phase (the 1960s)
and after the publication of Chomsky’s
book Syntactic Structure (1957), the innatist
view towards learning the four language skills
was dominant. That is, learning language skills
were considered as an active cognitive process
where the learner and his mental abilities have
a crucial role in active involvement in acquiring
a second language skill. And the last phase
or paradigm shift, as they further highlight,
took place in 1970s where the interactionist
approach and the functional/contextual aspects
of language were of more significance(2). Actually
in learning the four language skills the interactional
purposes of the learners were taken into consideration
and not just the linguistic information or forms.
In line with this very last approach towards
learning the four language skills, the present
study intends to use the social network framework
as the main focus of the study and gear the
learning procedure of the L2 skills and particularly
listening and speaking, towards the interactional
orientation of such educational technologies.
Although many large-scale studies have been
undertaken to identify the potential benefits
of blended learning for primary school students,
several researchers, as detailed in the following
sections, have explored the concerns of this
approach in language learning from different
perspectives in a number of studies.
Kennedy and Levy (2008) conducted a study on
Italian language learning using mobile phone.
That is, in addition to classroom presentation,
practice and feedback were also performed via
mobile phone in their research. The results
of the learners being taught through the mobile
phone in Kennedy and Levy’s study were
more significant than those who were taught
through current methods in classrooms. Meanwhile,
each learner showed progress according to their
learning speed(3).
Wong, et al.(2011) studied the blended approach
in the development of the writing skills of
primary school students in China. Writing problems
of these students included incorrect use of
words and writing rules. In their study the
collaborative writing practice program was developed
in the Wiki platform using a variety of tasks
including paragraph writing, sentence building,
summarizing or cataloguing. Based on the interaction
between teacher and students and among students,
the aim was to restore their writing skills.
The results analysis indicated the improvement
of writings kills of students in the experimental
group. Blended approach had, indeed, a positive
effect on the improvement of the students’
writing skills(4).
In a study by Sandberg, et al. (2011), the
effect of learning English via the mobile phone
was evaluated on the fifth grade students of
a primary school in three groups. To the first
group, English lesson was presented in the class
room with the subject of wild animals. In the
second group, in addition to class room teaching,
children visited the zoo and were given the
mobile phone in order to perform some related
activities. The third group, like the second
one, learned their lessons as the other groups,
but they took their mobile phone home. The pre-test
and post-test were performed for all the three
groups. The results showed that the group who
took their mobile phone home had more learning
progress. The study showed that the use of the
mobile phone in language learning increased
the students’ motivation and ultimately
led to more effective learning providing efficient
learning experiences(5). In effect, in addition
to the formal English teaching at school, it
has become more possible to practice in an informal
environment outside the classroom context by
using mobile phones at home.
Although the studies reviewed in this section
intended to enhance the language learning phenomenon
by the use of such ubiquitous technological devices
as mobile phones, they did not take the role of
the social network tools on the mobile phones
into much consideration. Another point worth noting
is that even those research studies which investigated
the impact of the social network tools in learning
mainly focused on the skills other than listening
and speaking. As an example Sugie (2012) intended
to develop an appropriate blended social learning
model for Chinese language education in Japan.
The point was how to increase the motivation and
learning speed of the high school students and
include this motivation in real-life events. The
main purpose of Sugie’s study was to make
opportunities to increase students’ relationship
with native Chinese speakers through the use of
information technology and communications in order
to improve their writing skills and thereby increase
their motivation and satisfaction from learning
Chinese. The participants in the experimental
group were novice learners undergoing presence
training and presence grammatical exercises, web-based
training and having interaction with the native
Chinese speakers through the use of a white board.
Qualitative analysis of students’ evaluation
showed that the level of satisfaction increased
in Japanese learners and the experience of online
speaking with native speakers had a good impact
on Chinese learning improvement(6).
Based on the appropriate analysis of the students’
needs, the educational systems stakeholders can
design technological models in such a way that
both the learners’ reaction to the new learning
environment and the possible effects on the process
of learning /acquisition are promising.
The literature shows that there have been some
studies which considered the role of social
networks in boosting the learners’ language
acquisition procedure and the type of interactions.
Despite the growing body of research on the
use of the technological platforms in language
learning, a gap is still felt to exist in elaborating
the social network potentiality in supporting
the learners and their cognitive learning development
(7).
Motivated by the issues raised above from both
the pedagogical and theoretical perspectives,
the researchers conducted an action research
to further examine the application of social
networks technology in language learning. Hence,
the purpose of this research study was to explore
the effect of blended approach in a supportive
environment on the listening and speaking skills
of the children aged 8-10 in a real context.
Thus, the formulated hypothesis of this study
was that the English learning gains in the first,
second and third grade students through the
blended approach were greater than those not
exposed to the same method.
1. Study design and population
The present study was applied and interventional
research. The population of the study included
all male elementary school students in Tehran,
District 3, South-west of Iran, of whom 90 students
were selected randomly as the sample of the
study. Students ranged in age from 8 to 10 in
first, second and third grade, respectively.
2. Methods
The study design is quasi-experimental.
3. Measuring tools: validity and reliability
To measure the student’s achievements in
listening and speaking skills, a researcher-made
test (Oral test was developed for the pre-test
and post-test phases of the study). Since one
of the researchers was indeed the teacher of
the experimental group, before administering
the test and to assure the validity of the test,
a panel of experts with 15 years of relevant
experience provided some comments in 3 rounds
and their opinions were taken into account in
revising the test items. The test-retest technique
was utilized in determining the test reliability
(0.70).
4. Intervention
In each of the control and experimental groups
there were 14 first grade students, 16 second
grade students, and 15 third grade students.
At the beginning of the training phase, the
pre-test was performed to both the experimental
and control groups according to the determined
objectives. For each session of implementation,
an appropriate lesson plan was developed consistent
with the class teaching methodology and available
technology facilities. The students’ performance
was reported by the teacher at the end of each
class and the contents required for the next
session were sent to them through their parents’
mobile phone using What’s App software
for the experimental group but for the control
group the activities were carried out through
the usual notebooks or in class practices. The
parents were briefed and trained on how the
assignments were sent and how they should check.
In fact, a survey questionnaire was administered
among the students’ parents asking who
would like to cooperate with the researchers
in the project and could contribute to the sending
and receiving procedure of their children’s
assignments via their mobile phones, with the
support teacher who provided the main teacher
and the students with some help where necessary.
Some of the sent activities were assessed during
the class or the related feedback was provided
for the students. The students were sometimes
required to do some activities, report on them
and send the recorded assignment through the
mobile phones. As an example, when some audio
files were sent to the students, they could
send the answer as audio, picture or movie files.
In one of the activities, for instance, one
question was posed as: ‘Where are you sitting,
what is your mother doing, and what are you
having for dinner tonight?’… One month
after the complete implementation of the program
along with attending the classes two days a
week for four weeks, the post-test was carried
out on the students in both groups. The score
70 out of 100 was regarded as the passing grade.
In the meantime, parents and their children
had some interactive activities with the support
and guidelines of the teacher and looked for
their probable problems through the intervention
or non-intervention educational /language practices
of their children.
In fact, according to the expected performance
of the children group, the primary presentation
was conducted in the classroom with regard to
the network-based real and tangible medium,
drawing and presentation medium, or multimedia.
Also the second round of presentations were
carried out with the appropriate feedback and
guidance from the teacher for each student in
different groups or individual groups using
a diverse range of activities. A variety of
small and large group games was carried out
with the help of audio files or repeating of
the same files by students for their performance
in both classes of each grade. However for productive
performance, it was attempted to create an opportunity
outside the classroom and in real-life environments
for students to express their thoughts and send
them to support teachers in the form of audio
and video files or movies. But for the control
group they should have imagined and talked about
the same situation as the experimental group.
In the control group the feedback was given
inside the classroom to the students but for
the experimental group it depended on their
mistakes or errors i.e. sometimes the support
teacher provided each student with direct feedback
and sometimes the teacher herself talked about
it inside the classroom providing some clues
for the correct answer, and finally they came
up with the final correct form together and
decided on the best answer.
5. Ethical consideration
The ethical considerations necessary to satisfy
the participants were observed, so a survey
questionnaire was administered among the students’
parents showing who liked to cooperate with
the researchers in the project and could contribute
to the sending and receiving procedure of their
children’s assignments via their mobile
phones with the support teacher who provided
the main teacher and the students with some
help where necessary.
6. Inclusion and exclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria included having written consent
on behalf of the parents in order to implement
the social network activity in learning English
language.
Exclusion criteria included unwillingness to
participate in the study and the absence in
sessions or transfer of a student from school.
7. Data Analyses:
Data of study were analysed using descriptive
statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, standard
deviation) and inferential statistics ( Kolmogorov
- Smirnov test and Levin analysis, Covariance)
usingSPSS- 21 software to examine the hypothesis
of study.
Descriptive statistics data in the two groups
are presented in Tables 1-3.
Click here for Tables 1- 4
Table 1.Descriptive statistics data in experimental
and control groups of 1st(n=28), 2nd(n=32) and
3rd(n=30) grade primary school.
In order to test the hypothesis of research
homogeneity of variance and normality of distribution
in the analysis of data. They were examined
through the Kolmogorov–Smirnov and Levine
tests. Test results are presented below in Tables
2 and 3.
As the results in Table 2 show, the probability
of random difference between sample distribution
and normal distribution is higher than 0.05.
As the results in Table 3 show, the significance
level was higher than 0.05, and thus the hypothesis
of homogeneity of variance was confirmed in
sample groups.
The first row of Table 4 (page 94)showed the
effect of the pre-test significance (0.04).
That is, the pre-test and post-test were correlated
and it was required to select it to control
primary differences between the two groups in
each grade. The second rows show the performance
between the two groups after the test, which
was significantly different (0.03, 0.01, 0.02).
Thus, as indicated in the table of descriptive
data, the group who learned language through
the blended pattern had a higher mean than the
group who underwent conventional training. The
ubiquitous technological tool of mobile phone
has the potentiality of presenting so many learning
features and its ease of use, convertibility
into a language learning device and capability
of creating new software enabled all teachers
and students to work with them.
Click here for Figure
1: A model to illustrate the instructional design
of learning environment in a blended approach
To
answer
the
research
hypothesis
(English
learning
in
first,
second
and
third
grade
students
through
the
blended
approach
were
greater
than
the
students
not
exposed
to
blended
approach),
language
program
with
a
blended
approach
using
mobile
phone
was
designed
and
was
tested
on
the
first,
second
and
third
grade
students.
The
results
of
analysis
of
covariance
showed
that
the
blended
approach
had
a
positive
impact
on
the
learning
process
and
the
difference
between
the
experimental
and
control
groups
were
statistically
significant
for
the
primary
first-grade
students
(0.03),
second
grade
(0.01)
and
third
grade
(0.02)
at
the
level
of
0.05.
In
other
words,
the
approach
has
been
able
to
facilitate
a
kind
of
personalized
learning
by
developing
a
flexible
environment.
The
study
results
are
consistent
with
that
of
Ghaffari
et
al.(8),
Sandberge
et
al.
(5),
Sugie
(6),
De
Silva
Soares
&
Weissheimer
(9)
,
Lai
et
al.
(10),
and
Ferreira
et
al.
(11),
Fahimi
et.al(12).
The
students
and
their
parents
expressed
positive
feelings
regarding
working
through
the
blended
approach
using
mobile
phone.
As
the
support
teacher
was
aware
of
the
specific
interests
and
needs
of
the
students
they
felt
a
sense
of
obligation
to
further
their
students’
learning
and
correct
their
common
mistakes.
The
students
expressed
some
surprise
about
the
feedback
provided
because
it
did
not
resemble
the
type
of
feedback
they
had
had
before.
Drawing
from
the
results
discussed
above,
the
researchers
developed
a
visual
model
to
better
illustrate
the
instructional
design
of
the
learning
environments
in
different
models
of
blended
approach.
According
to
researchers
in
the
field
of
Computer
Assisted
Language
Learning
(CALL),
some
of
the
existing
shortcomings
in
the
foreign
language
learning
contexts
can
be
overcome
using
the
appropriate
technology
and
innovative
medium
of
instruction.
This
is
in
part
due
to
the
fact
that
there
is
limited
access
to
the
natural
environment
of
native
language
in
foreign
language
education
and
in
many
cases;
it
is
confined
to
a
few
minutes
of
listening
to/watching
the
audio/video
materials
inside
the
classroom
through
the
implementation
techniques
which
are
also
impaired.
As
Jonassen,
et
al.(2008)
point
out;
technology
includes
the
design
of
various
types
of
learning
environments
which
involve
the
learner(13)
Facilitating
the
role
of
the
teacher
and
learner
is
useful
in
this
type
of
exercise.
The
most
significant
perceived
merits
of
blended
learning
were
related
to
the
combination
of
the
elements
and
the
amount
of
support
provided
by
teachers
and
the
institute’s
infrastructure.
Creating
the
blended
learning
environments
that
are
informative
and
interactive
without
sacrificing
the
flexibility
of
the
individualized
instruction
requires
much
greater
effort
and
creativity
on
the
side
of
teachers.
What
seems
to
be
necessary
is
developing
a
bank
of
learning
activities
relying
on
various
types
of
game
and
non-game
software
based
on
the
fixed
or
portable
technologies
that
are
becoming
more
popular
day
by
day
among
children.
It
can
provide
a
lifelong
learning
route
for
them
in
a
way
that
in
more
advanced
levels
of
productive
performance,
students
will
be
able
to
show
their
creativity
and
linguistic
competence
by
writing
a
variety
of
interesting
topics
in
group
blogs
or
Wikis
as
some
forms
of
blended
learning
platforms
which
can
be
the
foundation
for
some
useful
learning
models.
It
also
turned
out
that
the
techniques
and
methods
of
blended
approaches
and
the
use
of
media
or
technology
in
children’s
language
learning
has
caused
some
confusion
for
teachers.
As
Ozdamli
and
Uzunboylu,
(2015)
assert,
teachers’
and
students’
perceptions
to
use
technology
are
positive
but
their
technology
learning
adequacy
levels
are
not
sufficient
(14).
Therefore,
some
educational
courses
should
be
provided
for
teachers
in
the
context
of
this
approach
and
its
methods
so
that
they
can
adapt
themselves
to
the
demands
of
new
learning
opportunities.
In
summary,
even
though
the
findings
of
the
present
study
and
a
large
number
of
other
research
projects
have
supported
the
positive
role
of
technology,
it
should
be
borne
in
mind
that
the
key
to
the
success
in
using
the
blended
approach
in
teaching
language
is
to
integrate
it
wisely
in
educational
contexts.
Since
technology
as
Saeedi
and
Sajjadi
(2014)
have
asserted,
has
a
double
face(15).
That
is,
much
care
should
be
taken
in
designing
a
practical
and
fruitful
blended
classroom
by
the
use
of
the
technological
platform
through
which
the
maximum
learning
outcome
is
achieved.
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D.
R.,
&
Vaughan,
N.
D.
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learning
in
higher
education:
Framework,
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John
Wiley
&
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2008.
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Esther
and
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to
Language
and
Teaching:
Towards
acquiring
communicative
competence
through
the
four
Skills”.
In
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and
A.
Martínez-Flor,
eds.,
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Trends
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Development
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Teaching
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