Implementation of Digital Mind Mapping Tools to Improve Academic Reading and Summary Writing

Abstract

Computers, the world-wide-web, software applications have been found in every sector of human life. They are useful devices that make work productive and efficient in this 21st century. Therefore, language teachers should also consider blending these digital tools or platforms to improve the language proficiency of their students. Numerous studies on online reading have been conducted and most of them have found that there is a significant influence of the use of digital tools on readers' comprehension, inferences, and motivation. The present study aims to implement a digital mind map tool (Mindmeister) to improve academic reading and explore its influence on the summary writing skill of first-year students pursuing their Bachelor of Engineering in Power Engineering at Jigme Namgyel Engineering College, Bhutan. The research methodology employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches and data was collected via survey questionnaire, interviews, classroom observation, administration of pre-test, post-test, intervention task, and a five-dimensional rubric for assessment. The comparative result of the pre-test and post-test showed a significant improvement in learners' academic reading and summary writing ability. It is concluded that as learners improve in reading comprehension, they are able to distinguish main ideas from minor points, and produce effective summaries of the original text.

College Students’ Attitudes Towards Reading Dzongkha and Its Implications on Bhutan

“…Wangchuk (2020) found 86.2% of his respondents choosing English as their preferred language for reading against nearly 14% who selected Dzongkha as their language for reading. Wangmo (2021) also reported a similar finding where 65.2% of her respondents favored English as a language for written communication while 30.4% of them chose both of them. Only 4.4% of her respondents favored Dzongkha for written communication.…”

“…Such desires call for tangible actions from stakeholders such as the Ministry of Education and the Royal University of Bhutan. However, considering the dominance of English in education, business, media houses and governmental or private offices (Tshering, 2020) and on social media and digital platforms, it is likely to face enormous challenges, and more so when key players such as teachers and parents mostly use English for written communication (see Wangmo, 2021). Slight variations between the means of the two reading dimensions suggest that the respondents apparently read more Dzongkha texts for academic (mean=3.16, SD=0.824) than recreational (mean=3.06, SD=0.846) purpose although the general attitude towards both the dimensions remained positive.…”

“…Such extensive use of English suggests neither our strength in English nor weakness in Dzongkha. In fact, 39.1% of Wangmo's (2021) respondents admitted their incompetence in both Dzongkha and English while 34.8% remained unsure of it. The remainder, however, contended that they were equally competent in both the languages.…”

“…In both the studies, the respondents preferred English mainly for reading and writing activities. Phurpa (2021) attributes it to difficulties students face in writing Dzongkha, primarily, due to poor reading and writing habits as a consequence of scanty reading materials while Wangmo (2021) points it to lack of Dzongkha reading materials on digital platforms. These evidences are quite concerning for Bhutan as her might lies in her ethnolinguistic, particularly Dzongkha, and other socio-cultural and religious factors including songs and dances, and art and literature.…”

“…As students are agents of change, their perceptions on Dzongkha deserve attention and examination. There are studies (e.g., Phurpa, 2021;Wangchuk, 2020;Wangmo, 2021) on it, but they were restricted to certain sites. Therefore, this study was designed to examine the college students' attitude towards reading Dzongkha, and they were studying at four constituent colleges of the Royal University of Bhutan.…”