Exploring the Effectiveness of LINE for EFL Vocabulary and Reading
Keywords:
mobile-assisted language learning; English as a foreign language; English reading; English vocabulary; multimedia messaging service; LINEAbstract
The development of mobile technology is rapidly changing the
environment and the way of learning in school. In addition to facilitating
communication, mobile devices (e.g., smart phones and tablets) have
made ubiquitous E-learning more accessible and mobile learning more
popular. Multimedia messaging service (MMS), such as WhatsApp and
LINE, can deliver richer information, including images, audio and video
files, to enhance the interest of English learners. However, whether MMS
can help students learn English is of interest. This paper aims to explore
the effectiveness of MMS, LINE in particular, in helping English as a
foreign language (EFL) students learn English by using 40 college
students enrolled in Freshman English Reading course as participants.
Data collection consists of pre- and post-test, MMS messages, student
writing, and interviews. Based on the comparison of students’ pre- and
post-test, the findings indicate that the LINE-based learning activities
helped students familiarize with English vocabulary and improve
English reading comprehension. The study also shows that students who
were more engaged in the LINE-based activities tended to have better
improvement than those who were less active. In general, most students
made improvement and had positive perceptions of the designed
activities.
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Copyright (c) 2016 Pei-Hsun Emma Liu, Wen-Chi Vivian Wu
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