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Effects of Online Collaborative Activities on Second Language Acquisition. TCC Online Conference 2009. April 14-16, 2009. Prof. Reima Al- Jarf King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia e-mail: reemasado@msn.com homepage : http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf. Aims of Study.
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Effects of Online Collaborative Activities on Second Language Acquisition TCC Online Conference 2009. April 14-16, 2009. Prof. Reima Al-Jarf King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabiae-mail: reemasado@msn.com homepage: http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aljarf
Aims of Study • To find out whether online collaborative reading activities have a positiveeffecton freshman students’ reading skills development in English as a foreign language (EFL). • Whether online collaborative reading activities have a positive effect on freshman students’ attitudes towards reading in EFL.
Participants • 2 groups of female freshman students. • Enrolled in a reading 1 course (4 hours a week). • Concurrently enrolled in listening, speaking, writing, vocabulary & grammar courses (16hours). • The control group was exposed to in-class reading instruction that depended on the textbook. • The experimental group was exposed to in-class + online activities.
Pretesting • Before instruction, both groups were pre-tested. • Pre-test scores showed no significant differences between both groups in grammatical knowledge.
Traditional In-class Instruction • Both groups received the same traditional in-class reading instruction that depended on the textbook. • Both groups studied the same reading textbook, and completed the same chapters, skills and exercises in the textbook. • They took the same tests. • The textbook used: Interactions I from McGraw-Hill.
Treatment • In addition to in-class reading instruction, the experimental group used an online course with Nicenet (www.nicenet.org) from home as students have no internet access from college.
Dividing Students into Groups • Students in the experimental group were divided into small groups of 4 students. • Members of each group wee randomly assigned. • For each assignment, members of each group were rotated and re-assigned so that each student has a chance to work, collaborate and interact with different members.
Topic Assignment • Themes from daily life and current global issues and events were selected such as: • natural disasters • Ramadan in Moslem countries • Housing problems • A cross-cultural experience • Favorite communities • Cultural differences • Each group was free to select a sub-topic that is of interest to them. • Repetitions of sub-topics were not allowed.
Topic (1) • Examples of sub-topics each group may want to search and write about: • Ramadan in Egypt • Ramadan in Pakistan • Ramadan in Indonesia • Ramadan in Malaysia • Ramadan in Morocco • The article should cover the following information : • How Ramadan is celebrated in that country. • What people eat • what they do in Ramadan.
Topic (2) • Post an article (not more than one page) about one of the following natural disasters: • Tsunami • Hurricanes • Volcanoes • Earthquakes • Floods • Draughts and Famines • Each article should include the following information: • a definition, • what happened, • when, • where, • results of the disaster.
Activity Instructions • Each group will search the internet or any other source of information to find information about Ramadan in that country. • The information should not be more than one page long. • Give the source of your information.
Activity Instructions • To help you find information, go to Google and enter "Ramadan & Islamic countries". You will find several websites at:http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Ramadan+and+Islamic+countries&btnG=Google+Search
Activity Instructions • Give your article a title and post it here in the website. • For each country, start a new topic. • Post the information. • Post questions that ask about the following: • The topic • Details • Guessing meanings of difficult words from context • Organizational structure of the text • Connecting pronouns with their referents and so on.
The rest of the students will answer your questions of the other groups and write comments. • Give feedback and comment on the answers. • The assignment should be posted here in the website by Ramadan 23. • No assignments are accepted after that date. • Marks will be given for this project. • Study skills and self-improvement tips and websites were posted. • Reading links were posted in Link Sharing.
External Links • Reading Comprehesnion - Beginner • English Language Activities, Exercises and Tests • Finding Main Ideas (exercise) • Finding details (exercise) • Guessing meanings of words from context (exercise) • Study Guides in English and Arabic • One Look Dictionary • Cambridge Dictionary • Short Stories • More Short Stories • World Newspapers • Topics magazine for learners of English • Many Books • Plain English
Instructor’s Role • I served as a facilitator. • I provided technical support. • Itrained students in using Nicenet. • I provided help and answered questions. • Responded to reading problems. • I encouraged students to interact and write comments. • I moderated the discussion and comments.
Post-testing • At the end of the semester, the experimental and control groups were post-tested. • They took a reading comprehension test. • Students’ pre and post-test scores were compared. • Experimental and control groups’ post-test scores were compared. • Experimental students answered a post-treatment open-ended questionnaire.
Results • Comparisons of the post-test mean scores showed significant differences between the experimental and control groups. • Experimental students made higher gains in scores (i.e. reading skill development).
Use of online activities had a positive effect on students attitudes towards readingin EFL. • Students had fun reading online and doing online exercises. • They considered it a new way of learning and doing homework.
Conclusion • Results showed that in learning environments where technology is unavailable to EFL students and instructors, use of online activities from home helped motivate and enhance EFL freshman students' reading skills.
A post-treatment questionnaire showed several factors that led to improvement in English: • Student-centered activities, • Real-life concrete topics, • Topics of interest for the students, • Students encouraged to express themselves, • Active participation and practice, • Clear instructions, • A secure environment for making mistakes, • Instructor and peer support. • Integration of reading and writing skills.
Recommendations • Infrastructure and administrative permission are not important. • Technology can be used from home. • Teachers can be trained in searching for and using online materials and exercises as a supplement to in-class instruction. • Teachers and students can share activities.
Thanks for Your Attention!