O n f e r e n c e

Heien-Kun Chiang, Feng-Lan Kuo, Li-Ming Hsiao, Long-Chyr Chang, 
Shao-Wei Yen
National Changhua University of Education, Changhua, Taiwan 
[e-mail], [e-mail],
[e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail] 
ABRACADARBA in the Hands of an EFL Teacher and Learners 
Bio data 
Heien-Kun Chiang
is currently an associate professor in Department of Information 
Management & Graduate Institute of Digital Content Technology and Management at 
National Changhua University of Education in Taiwan. 
 
Feng-Lan Kuo
is currently a professor in Department of English & the Graduate Institute 
of Children’s English at National Changhua University of Educ
ation in Taiwan. Previously, 
she was Director of Graduate Institute of Children’s English at the same university. Her 
research interests include early literacy and computer-assisted English teaching and 
learning.
 
Li-Ming Hsiao
is a graduate student in th
e Graduate Institute of Children’s English at 
National Changhua University of Education in Taiwan. 
 
Long-chyr Chang
is currently an associate professor in Department of Information 
Management & Graduate Institute of Digital Content Technology and Management at 
National Changhua University of Education in Taiwan. 
Shao-wei Yen
is currently an assistant professor in Department of Information 
Management & Graduate Institute of Digital Content Technology and Management at 
National Changhua University of Education in Taiwan. 
Abstract 
The ability to segment and blend words is important for developing early literacy skills 
(Lane, Pullen, Eisele & Jordan, 2002; Pufpaff, 2009); therefore, language teachers need 
to help young learners cultivate these abilities. Empirical studies, though limited, have 
shown that the 
ABRACADABRA
(
ABRA
) website 
(http://grover.concordia.ca/abracadabra/promo/ en/index.php) is effective in enhancing 
ESL young learners’ literacy ability (
Abrami, Comaskey, & Savage, 2009a; Chalkiti, 
Emmett, Harper, Helmer, Lea, & Wolgemuth, 2012).
This study thus aims to examine the effects of using the blending and segmenting 
activities provided in the 
ABRA
website on 
promoting Taiwanese EFL fourth graders’ 
decoding ability. One class was randomly assigned to the teacher-directed web-based 
instruction group, whereas the other class was assigned to the student-controlled web-
based instruction group. Five Level 1 blending and segmenting activities in 
ABRA 
were 
used as the learning activities.
The participants were given 10 multiple choice questions of decoding achievement test as 
the pretest/posttest to measure their decoding performance. Referencing Liu, Liu, and 
Huang (2011), a 30-item 4-point Likert scale questionnaire with a high reliability 

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2014 CALL Conference 
LINGUAPOLIS
www.antwerpcall.be 
coefficient of .891 and .931 was developed as the second instrument. Furthermore, a 5-
item semi-structured interview guide 
was implemented to explore the participants’ 
perception toward the website. Intra-group comparison revealed that the blending and 
segmenting activities provided in the 
ABRA
website were significantly effective in 
improving the decoding performance of the participants receiving the student-controlled 
web-based instruction. However, inter-group comparison showed no significant difference 
between the two groups regarding their posttest scores or gain scores. This indicates that 
the two types of web-based instruction are equally effective for promoting Taiwanese EFL 
young learners’ decoding skills. 
With a mean score of 3.35 and 3.27 out of 4, the 
questionnaire results 
revealed that the participants’ attitude toward the website was 
quite positive. Moreover, the 12 interviewees indicated that the activities provided in the 
ABRA
website increased their English learning motivation.