Korea TESOL International Conference 2024 - Online (Asynchronous) Posters
Explore online poster sessions here.
Abstracts
He Pui Ieng
Using ChatGPT to Enhance Students’ Creative Writing Skills
Artificial Intelligence (AI) developed rapidly over the years, giving rise to ChatGPT, a chatbot based on AI that gives instant responses to the user. The usage of ChatGPT in academic contexts has been prohibited due to concerns raised by educators about the phenomena of students using ChatGPT for homework. However, the popularity of ChatGPT persists among students due to its convenience. This phenomenon highlights the need for educators to comprehend the extent of students' reliance on ChatGPT and guide them toward its appropriate utilization. Many studies have investigated the pros and cons of the implementation of AI writing tools into students’ writing while few of them develop strategies for implementing AI into teaching creative writing. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the influences of implementing ChatGPT on students’ writing process, especially at the brainstorming stage, to provide educators with valuable insights on how to incorporate ChatGPT in their teaching practice.
Kim Sugene
Japanese college students’ attitudes toward teachers’ translanguaging in EFL classrooms
This study explores the contentious issue of teaching English through English (TETE) to second language (L2) learners and the controversial role of learners' L1--or translanguaging--in language education. While cognitive SLA and communicative language teaching approaches criticize translanguaging for demotivating learners, bilingual discourse and Vygotskian SLA studies argue that judicious use of the L1 enhances L2 development. This study investigates Japanese college students' perspectives on their teachers' translanguaging in a TETE context. Analysis of interview data from 91 students revealed that around two-thirds hold a negative view on teachers' translanguaging and that their preferences are linked to past experience in international communication but not L2 proficiency. Main reasons for supporting or rejecting teachers’ translanguaging are discussed in relation to why teachers’ decision to translanguage needs to be context-driven and how/what translanguaging techniques can be put into practice in a way that helps maximize L2 learners’ communicative potential.
WU YIFANG
The Effect of Game-based Learning on Students’ Creative Writing
With the implementation of Curriculum Guidelines of 12-Year Basic Education in Taiwan, an increased emphasis on creative teaching has been placed to enhance students’ creativity in recent years. This research investigates the effectiveness of incorporating board games, Micro Macro Crime City, to promote students’ creativity and learning motivation in an English classroom. The detailed illustrations and concise clues in the board game can serve as stimuli for students to reimagine the narrative in their creative writing tasks. Content analysis is used in this qualitative study to evaluate students’ learning performance based on Torrance’s four constructs of creativity: originality, flexibility, elaboration, and fluency. Additionally, interviews are conducted to delve into the game's facilitation of creative writing and examine students' interest in future game-based learning experiences. The findings aim to contribute insights into the potential of board games as a tool for enhancing creativity and motivation in language learning.
Bulia Burmaa
Code-Switching in Language Education
This paper delves into the prevalent linguistic phenomenon of code-switching, where individuals seamlessly mix languages during communication.
Focused on multilingual learners, the study explores the reasons behind code-switching, including the need for:
- expression
- discussing specific topics,
- implifying concepts etc.
Code-switching can manifest in various forms, such as single-word insertion, intersentential switching, and intra-sentential switching.
The research methodology involves a survey of 100 participants aged 8 to 55. Questions address language mixing frequency, the use of foreign words, preferred languages, and the purpose and ease of code-switching.
The findings reveal that 81% of respondents employ code-switching in English, predominantly opting for intersentential switching to discuss specific topics. Notably, a significant percentage use code-switching as a habitual practice rather than due to external pressures.
In conclusion, the study suggests teachers should actively encourage students to engage in code-switching, as it emerges as a valuable tool for language learning and communication.
Kao Clare
Romanticism Program Music's Impact on Creative Storytelling in Taiwan CLIL Classrooms
In recent years, the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Taiwan has been encouraging higher education institutions to establish CLIL programs at the secondary school level with the view of improving students’ English proficiency levels and enhancing their global competitiveness. The combination of subject content, language learning, and interdisciplinary approaches within the CLIL framework contributes to a rich and creative learning experience. Nevertheless, little has been explored and investigated about listening to music to enhance creative writing and thinking skills. In this paper, 30 grade eleven Taiwanese students will be recruited in a CLIL classroom where they experience a 6-week lesson learning and listening to six Romanticism program music while creating a creative English story under an English teacher and a music teacher’s guidelines. They will be guided by an adapted Visual Thinking Strategy (VTS) and finally evaluated with the Torrance creative thinking model at the end. Implications will be discussed.
Wang Yu Ting
A Creative Exploration of Storytelling Through Comics
This study investigates the interplay between comics and story writing, uncovering noteworthy strengths. Twenty-seven Grade 11 Taiwanese EFL students took part in the research. The results show that the utilization of comics equips students with essential skills, deepening their comprehension of stories and refining their abilities to recognize narrative structures and character development. Additionally, this approach cultivates critical thinking by encouraging students to consider alternative story conclusions. These strengths contribute to a shift for students from passive consumers to active learners, fostering a more meaningful engagement with narratives. The findings suggest that educators can leverage comics to aid learners in grasping story structures and unleashing their creativity.
Nguyen Thi Hong Tram Enhancing Toeic Performance: Creativity and Thinking Maps in EFL Reading Comprehension
Investigating the TOEIC's capacity for gauging English competency in Vietnamese learners, this research explores innovative pedagogical approaches. It specifically scrutinizes thinking maps as tools to enhance reading comprehension skills crucial for the TOEIC, a significant marker for academic and vocational achievements. Employing a quasi-experimental methodology, the study evaluates the impact of self-directed mapping techniques on participant scores. The expected outcome is a deeper understanding of creative learning strategies' effectiveness within the realm of high-stakes language evaluation, aiming to contribute novel perspectives to the discourse on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education.
Joto Akiyo
Examining Segmental Phonemes in English Teaching Materials for Japanese Elementary School Children
In 2018, early English education was introduced to Japanese third and fourth-year elementary school children, emphasizing auditory and oral lessons. However, a questionnaire survey conducted by the authors revealed a lack of confidence among elementary school teachers in teaching and pronouncing English sounds, attributed to their limited knowledge in this area (r=.761, p<.01). To address this issue and support teachers, the authors aimed to create a comprehensive teacher's manual for English sounds, based on the analysis of segmental sounds present in digital teaching materials. This study investigated the frequency of occurrence of English vowels, initial consonants in stressed syllables, and word-final consonants in each unit of the materials. Notably, the vowel /ai/, the syllable initial consonant /l/, and the word-final consonant /k/ were the most prevalent. These findings underscore the need for a detailed explanation of these sounds in the manual, enhancing the support provided to elementary school teachers.
Wang Wan-Chien
Children’s Emotional Development Through Parent-Child Bilingual Picturebook Reading
This case study investigates how parent-child reading of English picturebooks impacts emotional development of a 3-year-old Taiwanese child, whose L1 is Mandarin. On the journey of bilingual reading of picturebooks, not only has biliteracy been acquired, but emotional development also comes to the forefront. For young kids whose language abilities and life experiences are still developing to comprehend the world, picturebooks present various social and emotional situations. By reflecting on the characters’ behavior and their underlying motivations, parent-child reading encourages children to perceive emotions and helps children express and regulate their own emotions (Colwell, 2001). Based on existing research, this study explores the impact of parent-child reading on children’s emotional development in bilingual contexts. Qualitative interviews and focused observations are conducted to delve into how bilingual picturebook reading facilitates the child’s emotional perceptions and to what extent the parent’s assumptions and attitudes affect perception formation through parent-child reading.
Trinh Hong Linh
Assessing students' collaborative problem-solving competencies in EFL classrooms in Vietnam
With their emergence as one of the most important competencies in the 21st century, collaborative problem-solving skills have received significant focus in EFL classrooms. Consequently, many English-majored universities in Vietnam have adjusted their curricula to well-equip learners with these skills, preparing them for future work. However, the effectiveness of teaching collaborative problem-solving skills and the actual competence of learners remain critical concerns for researchers and educators. Consequently, this research is conducted in University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University to assess students’ collaborative problem-solving abilities in EFL classrooms in Vietnam. With the employment of quantitative research design, the findings of this study can aid teachers in not only identifying students’ competences but also acquiring further information about the effectiveness of collaborative in-class activities to enhance their teaching methods in the future.
Horness Paul
Estimating short-term study abroad task difficulty
Short-term study abroad (STSA) programs offer students a way to experience language and culture different than long-term programs. Previous SA research has focused on specific language tasks, but not on the relationships between the different tasks.This poster presentation will present preliminary analyses and results of several STSA programs. The tasks are from one Japanese SA program. Over four years, more than 300 participants were asked to rank up to 50 possible tasks according to difficulty on a 6-point Likert scale. Additionally, the poster presentation seeks feedback on SA tasks from an international audience. I would like input from the conference participants on how SA participants may view task difficulty. An outcome of the poster presentation is that those involved in study abroad programs can better prepare student for different SA tasks. Additionally, I can get perspectives of SA tasks from conference members.
Lee Elizabeth
Principles for Designing and Implementing Learning-Oriented Assessment in an Introductory EFL Classroom
In South Korea, promoting genuine L2 communicative growth in learners is difficult in part due to long-held policies and traditions that over-value decisions based on summative tests (e.g., TOEIC, end-of-term exams) over classroom-based formative assessments. Still, it is important for all stakeholders (e.g., admin, teachers, and students) to move towards creating and sustaining a learner-centered language learning environment and using assessments that help students increase their ability to communicate and express themselves authentically. Combining the theory of learning-oriented language assessment with the author’s own teaching experience, this poster presentation identifies some of the ways in which instructors who teach introductory EFL courses at the tertiary level could better design and implement classroom-based assessments with the ultimate goal of helping their L2 students improve—even in the face of on-going testing pressures. It is hoped that this presentation will lend some ideas for EFL instructors to consider in their assessment practices.
Chen Li-Mei
Critical Learner Autonomy in the Digital Language Learning Contexts
The conventional perspective of learner autonomy aims to cultivate language learners with self-regulated learning strategies that they can use to achieve native-like communicative competence, which is an ability to make appropriate linguistic choices for specific social contexts (Nolen, 1988, Pintrich and de Groot, 1990). While it can equip language learners with certain linguistic coding and decoding skills to take charge of their own learning, it ignores “language as a mode of social action” (Keneman, 2016). This paper addresses issues of the conventional perspective of learner autonomy in language education, conceptualizes a critical perspective, and demonstrates how teachers can help learners achieve critical autonomy through digital technologies. Audience will identify conceptual and methodological issues of learner autonomy in current language education. They will learn how critical autonomy can fix the issues and how to implement it in their classroom.
Tran Ha
Optimising Vocabulary Retention Through the Use of Technology-Based Tools
This research addresses the pressing need for optimising the utilisation of spaced repetition and active recall in enhancing vocabulary retention for English language learners. Most existing learning apps offer pre-made flashcard sets, making it difficult for instructors to align with their classroom lessons and customise content easily. By using Quizlet for customisable vocabulary sets and Google Sheets for personalised learning schedules based on the forgetting curve theory, my study aims to provide practical insights into effective vocabulary learning platforms. Additionally, I employ Blooket, a gamification tool, to enhance the engagement of assessments and decrease the stress level in ELT classrooms. The effectiveness of these three platforms is illustrated in my research, which is conducted on a group of my students based on the case study research methodology, along with descriptive and quantitative research. Through this work, I anticipate contributing valuable recommendations for instructors seeking to enhance vocabulary learning methodologies.
Kita Yoko
Strategies for University Students Utilizing English Picture Books in English Lessons at Japanese
Primary Schools This study explores how university students in teacher training courses in Japan are experimenting with the use of English picture books in primary school education. Supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) for English learning, this research focuses on the unique methods these pre-service teachers develop for read-aloud sessions. The study includes initial training on the educational value of picture books and the demonstration of read-aloud techniques. These future teachers independently select picture books and creatively implement them in live read-aloud sessions. The presentation will examine the outcomes of these demonstrations and share reflections, indicating improvements in teaching methods and the enhancement of English storytelling skills in Japan’s primary education.
Enkhtsetseg Ariunbuyan
Interactive Learling: The Benefits of engaging students in their education
As language teachers, many of us look only within our own discipline for new ideas about how to approach our teaching, despite the fact that that there are similar challenges involved in the learning of skills and knowledge in all areas of human endeavor.
Teachers - to guide and understand students, actively engage students in the learning process with interactive lesson, and students - all use smartphones for educational purposes, 10% of students in the class.
Therefore, the process of implementing the following tests:
Step 1: Examine how the teacher engages and motivates students in class.
Step 2. Organize well-planned lessons, integration lessons, and practical experience activities every semester.
Step 3: Disseminate and support 18 types of platforms and learning activities at the school and community level.
Many website platforms allow students to engage in interactive learning, but in terms of essential use, I intend to reflect on the research.
