ERIC Number: EJ1140296
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0958-8221
EISSN: N/A
Improving the English-Speaking Skills of Young Learners through Mobile Social Networking
Sun, Zhong; Lin, Chin-Hsi; You, Jiaxin; Shen, Hai jiao; Qi, Song; Luo, Liming
Computer Assisted Language Learning, v30 n3-4 p304-324 2017
Most students of English as a foreign language (EFL) lack sufficient opportunities to practice their English-speaking skills. However, the recent development of social-networking sites (SNSs) and mobile learning, and especially mobile-assisted language learning, represents new opportunities for these learners to practice speaking English in a meaningful way. This study integrated a mobile SNS into first-grade EFL classes in China, with the aim of determining its effects on the students' speaking skills. Two classes were recruited, one as a control group that did not use the SNS, and the other as the experimental group, which did. While both classes' speaking skills improved between pretest and posttest, the gains in English fluency by the experimental group were significantly larger. Progress in accuracy and pronunciation, on the other hand, were similar across the two groups. These findings are discussed in relation to specific characteristics of SNSs and mobile learning that enable learners to speak in low-stress, situated contexts.
Descriptors: Social Networks, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Grade 1, Elementary School Students, Foreign Countries, Second Language Instruction, Telecommunications, Oral Language, Experimental Groups, Control Groups, Accuracy, Pronunciation, Handheld Devices, Instructional Effectiveness, Pretests Posttests, Quasiexperimental Design, Statistical Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 1; Primary Education; Elementary Education; Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China (Beijing)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A