Effects of Online Collaborative Activities on Second Language Acquisition

1. 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

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. Pretesting • Before instruction, both groups were pre-tested. • Pre-test scores showed no significant differences between both groups in grammatical knowledge.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. www.nicenet.org

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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).

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. 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.

30. Thanks for Your Attention!