engleski

Learner Perceptions of Wiki-Based Collaborative Grammar Writing Activities in a Hybrid Learning Context: an Experimental Study

There is a growing body of research concerning the role of learner perceptions of various factors that may account for the effectiveness of instruction both in conventional and hybrid ESL contexts. In implementing innovations supported by Web 2.0 technologies, learners' individual characteristics, including their language proficiency, perceptions of the learning situation, preferences and beliefs also need to be taken into account. Insights gained from investigating learner views can contribute to avoiding a mismatch between the instructional approach and the learner belief system.Various benefits of wikis as collaborative writing tools for SL development have been reported in literature, especially when used within the socio-constructivist teaching paradigm. For instance, the positive effects of interaction among participants in the joint creation and use of linguistic content are related to learner perceptions and attitudes regarding public writing, shared authorship, the quality and accuracy of generated content as well as reader-oriented writing (Kuteeva, 2011 ; Castaneda & Cho, 2012 ; Li & Zhu, 2013). Although to date various facets of the pedagogical use of wikis for collaborative writing (e.g., enjoyment, usefulness, ease of access, confidence, contribution to learning) have emerged in the literature (e.g., Su & Beaumont, 2010), the relationship between wiki use and learners' overall perception of diverse university course components has not been extensively addressed.This talk presents a study focusing on the implementation of collaborative online writing activities (e-tivities) aimed at developing grammar competence in a formal university setting. In our study, the MediaWiki tool was used as a platform for collaboration in a hybrid ESL course at the University of Zagreb. In the ESL course wiki, the students' written output was published along with artifacts visualizing related grammar content (developed by using several other Web 2.0 tools for creating mind maps, flow charts, cartoons, etc.).The sample (a total of 200 respondents) comprised 2 groups of undergraduate students of information technology. In the study, the self-reported perceptions of students who had used the wiki throughout the semester to create online articles and grammar-related artifacts with Web 2.0 tools were compared against those of the other group of respondents in the same hybrid course that had been simultaneously involved in performing analogous activities in a conventional hybrid setting, that is, without the employment of wiki and Web 2.0 tools.The goals of our study were to do the following: (1) validate the instruments for the students' assessment of wiki-based collaborative grammar activities (their content / methodology / interaction among participants) and wiki use in the course ; (2) explore possible correlations between the students' assessment of technology-supported collaborative grammar activities and their evaluation of the overall course ; (3) compare students' perceptions of wiki-based grammar activities against those of similar activities performed using conventional online tools (in Moodle LMS) and a word processor in two respective samples. It was hypothesized that positive impacts of the use of Web 2.0 tools on the students' perception of peer-to-peer online grammar activities in the context of a hybrid course curriculum would be established.

hybrid ESL instruction, learner perception ; grammar ; wiki ; experimental design

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