• Educational Technology International
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.141-166
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of using visual stimulation and gesture, namely embodied language learning, on learning achievement and learner's course interest in the EFL classroom. To investigate the effectiveness of the proposed purpose, thirty two third-grade elementary school students participated and were assigned into four English learning class conditions (i.e., using animated graphic and gestures condition, using only animated graphic condition, using still pictures and gesture condition, and control condition). The research questions for this study are addressed below: (1) What differences are there in post and delayed learning achievement between imitating gesture group and non-imitating one and between animated graphic group and still picture one? (2) What differences are there in course interest between imitating gesture group and non-imitating one and between animated graphic group and still picture one? The Embodiment-based English learning system for this study was designed by using Microsoft's Kinect sensing devices. The results of this study revealed that students of imitating gesture group memorized and retained better words and sentence structure than those of the other groups. As for learner's course interest measurement, imitating gesture group showed a highly positive response to attention, relevance, and satisfaction for curriculum and using animated graphic influenced satisfaction as well. This finding can be attributed to the embodied cognition, which proposes that the body and the mind are inseparable in the constitution of cognition and thus students using visual simulation and imitating related gesture regard the embodied language learning approach more satisfactory and acceptable than the conventional ones.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.17-36
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• 2005

The purpose of this study is to examine the ways in which CALL apply to enhance the motivational aspects of second language learning. Theories relevant to social, cognitive, and affective foundations of motivation are first reviewed to demonstrate the important role of motivational influences in improving learners' affect and achievements. Then, implications arising from such theories in strengthening the motivational aspects of CALL are explicated in the second part. With the spread of computer technology in language classrooms, the innovative role of CALL in the development and maintenance of intrinsic motivation can be illustrated. Specifically, CALL may provide cognitively supportive instruction geared towards improving students' performance. Also, it has been reported from the affective perspective that CALL can captivate learners' attention, promote their feelings and expectations of success, improve perceptions of control, and increase positive attributions to effort and ability. Finally, from a social learning perspective, CALL may enhance learners' self-efficacy and foster their achievement and positive affect through social interactions, proximal goal-setting, and attributional feedback. In the framework of CALL, students seem to be benefited by the immediacy and authenticity of contact with target languages and cultures made at their choices and decisions.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.217-225
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• 2024

This study explores the use of animation as a tool for both English learning and recognizing social problems. In addition, this study examines how topic-centered learning paired with animation affects the acquisition of English vocabulary and expressions specific to discussing social problems. To achieve these goals, the study used two animations, Zootopia and Luca, and focused specifically on discrimination and prejudice. Conversation analysis, discussion activities, and learning of vocabulary and expressions in context were conducted. To evaluate the research, pre-tests, post-tests, a questionnaire, and thinking notes containing learners' opinions were used. Pre- and post-tests were administered to determine the extent of improvement in students' vocabulary and expression learning, and they reveal a statistically significant difference between the two tests. A questionnaire and thinking notes were analyzed in order to understand learners' responses and attitudes toward the class, and the results demonstrate an overall satisfaction with this class using animation topics (81.8%). The data highlights three reasons for this satisfaction: developing an in-depth understanding of movies, enhanced awareness of social problems, and increased engagement through the use of animations. These findings highlight the importance of conducting an in-depth analysis of the targeted topic when using animation.

• Journal of Information Processing Systems
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.491-500
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• 2024

In hopes of resolving the issue of poor quality of information input for teaching spoken English online, the study creates an English teaching assistance model based on a recognition algorithm named dynamic time warping (DTW) and relies on automated voice recognition technology. In hopes of improving the algorithm's efficiency, the study modifies the speech signal's time-domain properties during the pre-processing stage and enhances the algorithm's performance in terms of computational effort and storage space. Finally, a simulation experiment is employed to evaluate the model application's efficacy. The study's revised DTW model, which achieves recognition rates of above 95% for all phonetic symbols and tops the list for cloudy consonant recognition with rates of 98.5%, 98.8%, and 98.7% throughout the three tests, respectively, is demonstrated by the study's findings. The enhanced model for DTW voice recognition also presents higher efficiency and requires less time for training and testing. The DTW model's KS value, which is the highest among the models analyzed in the KS value analysis, is 0.63. Among the comparative models, the model also presents the lowest curve position for both test functions. This shows that the upgraded DTW model features superior voice recognition capabilities, which could significantly improve online English education and lead to better teaching outcomes.

• Journal of Korean language education
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.203-234
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• 2014

This paper demonstrates how to incorporate the teaching of communication strategies into a large class of English-speaking learners of the Korean language. The method proposed here was developed to overcome the difficulty of conducting language activities involving communicative interactions amongst students and also between teacher and students in a large classroom. As a way of compensating the minimal opportunities for interactions in the classroom, students are given the task of expressing in Korean the English translations of authentic Korean comics via Twitter, which was later replaced with the feedback feature on Moodle, and then their Korean expressions are collected and projected onto a big screen. These collected expressions by students naturally differ from one another, helping students to realize that it is possible for them to express the same message or meaning in many different ways. The results of two separately conducted questionnaires show that this method is an effective way of providing students with significantly increased chances of producing 'comprehensible output' that requires them to think of how to communicate with their limited knowledge of the Korean language. Many students also commented that the teachers' feedback on errors provides them with the opportunity to learn about common errors as well as their own errors.