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2014 CALL Conference
LINGUAPOLIS
www.antwerpcall.be
Social learning, a new style of learning based on social media, is expected to be the next
big wave to hit the Internet, and Open Educational resources will play a huge part of it.
Social learning makes it possible to share insights and connect the knowledge of all
learners. OpenCourseWare (OCW) can be a fuel for social learning.
Social learning is also a learning style that connects learners with other learners (e.g.,
through social media and mobile devices such as smartphone and tablet PCs)[6].
Having a consistent time and place for learning where classmates can socialize and
receive encouragement, advice, and feedback from a knowledgeable teacher is necessary
for building self-confidence and motivation. According to social constructionism, people
create new knowledge and learn most effectively through social interaction and
exchanging information for the benefit of others. Constructionism holds that learning can
happen most effectively when people are also active in making tangible objects in the
real world.
In this sense, constructionism is connected with experiential learning and
builds upon the ideas of Jean Piaget [7][8].
The goal of the present paper is to examine the effectiveness of BL activities integrating
m-learning for the purpose of improving the TOEIC scores and overall English language
proficiency of native Japanese undergraduates, including their writing, oral
communication, and presentation skills.
Method
The present study was conducted over a period of nine months during two academic
semesters (April 2013 to December 2013). A total of 90 undergraduates,
all native
speakers of Japanese studying at a private university in Tokyo, were the participants of
the study. The students were administered the TOEIC test as a pretest in April 2013 and
again as a posttest in December 2013, the purpose of which was to ascertain the
effectiveness of the BL program.
The research questions targeted in this study were as follows:
Are BL activities using mobile devices useful in improving students’ overall
English skills?
Can online TED Talks and ATR CALL Brix program help to improve the TOEIC
scores of native Japanese students of EFL?
Can Globalvoice CALL help to improve English pronunciation of Japanese EFL
students in terms of words and prosody?
Can online Newton m-Learning program help to improve the TOEIC scores of
native Japanese EFL students?
The BL activities included the following:
Students watching online TED talks with the use of PC and mobile devices.
Students spending extensive time watching TED talks during
their commuting hours
and writing a weekly 300-word summary of each lecture.
Students presenting oral summaries of the TED talks to their classmates both face to
face and in front of the entire class.
Students using Globalvoice CALL software along with their TED talks summaries to
brush up on their English pronunciation and prosody before presentations.
Students using the online Newton-m-Learning program with the use of PC and mobile
device during their free time.
Students using online ATR CALL Brix program to improve their English proficiency and
TOEIC in the classroom and during their free time with the use of PC and mobile
devices. At the end of the course, a questionnaire was administered to students to
ascertain their perceptions after their exposure to the above activities.