Peer Tutoring to Facilitate Cognitive Diffusion of English as a Foreign Language Learning: Using Speech Translation and Shadowing in Familiar Authentic Contexts

Abstract

Learning and cognitive ability are necessarily connected. Learning occurs when people engage in a series of cognitive processes. In this study, we examined how English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ cognitive abilities diffuse (i.e., change) effectively from a basic level (i.e., Remember, Understand) to a more advanced level (i.e., Apply) with the assistance of a peer-tutoring strategy that pairs high-achieving students with lower achieving students and asks them to use the mobile application, ezTranslate, in a familiar, authentic context. The results showed that the experimental students (i.e., the students who received peer tutoring) significantly outperformed the control students (i.e., the students who worked individually) on the posttest. Furthermore, throughout the learning activity, the majority of the experimental students’ cognitive abilities transitioned from a basic to a higher level. Given these results, we suggested that peer tutoring is particularly advantageous because it helps students engage in high-level cognitive learning. By including mobile technology support with peer tutoring, teachers can utilize their students’ differing abilities to promote collaborative learning, which results in not only successful learning but also encourages positive social interaction and results in high-level cognitive learning.

Peer Tutor Method in Improving the Ability to Do English Conversation Assignments in High School Students

“…This method gives students the opportunity to practice speaking in a setting that is both encouraging and not intimidating. Peer tutoring has been demonstrated to be especially successful in enhancing students' fluency, pronunciation, and vocabulary, all of which are crucial components of effective communication in English, according to research that has been conducted on the topic (Hwang et al, 2019;Sharma, 2018).…”

Facilitating cognitive processes during EFL smartwatch‐supported learning activities in authentic contexts

“…EzTranslate (Figure 3) utilises ( 1) translation (based on a cloud translation service)-the students are able to translate unfamiliar vocabulary from English into Chinese and vice versa; (2) English listening (based on the text-to-speech engine)-the students are able to listen to the pronunciation of words and sentences in the target language; and (3) speech practice & recognition (based on speech-to-text recognition)-the students are able to speak out words and sentences or repeat what they hear from the app and then receive feedback on the correctness of their pronunciation. This kind of language learning process (listen and imitate speaking new words and sentences) effectively happens in the phonological loop; it particularly enhances language skills when the students describe real-world people, objects and situations (Hwang et al, 2019).…”

“…Texting, recording, translating and speech practice and recognition features helped the students create language output in the form of linguistic artefacts, which is known in the literature as productive language learning (Hwang et al, 2019). When the students read or listened to content created by themselves or other students, they were exposed to language input.…”

Using Peer Tutoring to Improve Students’ Academic Achievement in Financial Accounting Concepts

“…It also instills sense of responsibility and builds self-confidence. Students are more involved in learning when they work with other peers [24,25] because they feel more connected with their peers when learning [26,27]. In addition, it enables them to work as a team, provide, and accept response and appraise their learning activities [27].…”