Evaluating a CALL software on the learning of English prepositions

Abstract

This study assessed the effectiveness of using a CALL lesson (Computer Assisted Language Learning) over a conventional lesson to facilitate learning of English prepositions at Bario, Malaysia. CALL was developed by the Ministry of Education, Malaysia as support material to enhance learning of English prepositions. Both the conventional and the CALL lessons were matched with the same content except for the medium in which the lesson was being delivered. Students were provided with computers to go through the CALL lesson in a self-regulated manner; while a teacher taught the conventional lesson in a classroom. Test results indicate that students who received the conventional lesson outperformed those who went through the CALL lesson. The Relative Condition Efficiency measurement also showed that the conventional group learned more efficiently than the CALL group. The findings are interpreted from the perspective of cognitive load required in processing the presentation mode of the learning materials.

Instructional Efficiency: Revisiting the Original Construct in Educational Research

“…ME (5-pt effort) P ME Learn; P Test Kalyuga & Sweller (2005) ME (9-pt difficulty); P 1 ME Learn; P Learn Moreno & Valdez (2005) ME (7-pt difficulty) P ME Learn; P Test Corbalan, Kester, & Van Merriënboer (2006) ME (7-pt effort); P ME Learn; P Learn Kalyuga (2006) ME (9-pt difficulty); P P 1 ME Learn; P Learn ME Learn; P Test Kester, Kirschner, Van Merriënboer (2006) ME (9-pt effort) ME (9-pt effort); P ME Learn; P Test * ME Test; P Test Kester, Lehnen, Van Gerven, & Kirschner (2006) ME (NASA-TLX) ME (NASA-TLX); P ME Learn; P Test ME Test; P Test Ngu & Rethinasamy (2006) ME (7-pt effort) P ME Learn; P Test Salden, Paas, Van der Pal, & Van Merriënboer (2006) ME (5-pt effort); P P 1 ME Learn; P Learn ME Learn; P Test ME (5-pt effort); P ME (5-pt effort); P 1 ME Learn; P Learn 2 ME Test; P Test Hasler, Kersten, & Sweller (in press) ME (9-pt effort) P ME Learn; P Test Paas, Van Gerven, & Wouters (in press) ME (9-pt effort) ME (9-pt effort);P * ME Test; P Test Van Gog, Paas, & Van Merriënboer (in press) ME (9-pt effort) ME (9-pt effort);P * ME Test; P Test Note 1. Studies are listed in chronological, then alphabetical order.…”

Could a multimodal dictionary serve as a learning tool? An examination of the impact of technologically enhanced visual glosses on L2 text comprehension

“…They tend to learn prepositions as idioms or chunks, but they cannot use them according to the context, relying only on memorization (Lindstromberg, 2001). Despite the semantic complexity, inappropriate use of the senses might lead to a change of meaning (Ngu & Rethinasamy, 2006). With regard to learning such vocabulary with a complicated semantic network, Ellis (1995, p.103) stresses that "acquisition of word meanings requires explicit learning processes with deep processing strategies like semantic elaboration and imagery mediation resulting in better acquisition."…”

The Relationship Between Teachers' Evaluations and Students' Learning Outcomes Using Multimedia Drills in Primary Education

“…There are many studies investigating students' ratings of educational software (Diederen, Gruppen, Hartog, & Voragen, 2005;Herring, Notar, & Wilson, 2005) and students' learning outcomes achieved by working with these learning materials (Mikk & Luik, 2003;Jacobson, 2006;Ngu & Rethinasamy, 2006;Luik, 2007). Some handbooks and papers provide suggestions for efficient evaluation of educational software of different types (Boyle, 1997;Phillips, 1997;Hughes, 1998;Higgins, 2000;Alessi & Trollip, 2001).…”