소셜미디어 활용 영어 과제 수행에 나타난 상호작용 양상, 어휘 학습 영향 및 과제 참여도 분석

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the interaction between students and English teachers, the students' vocabulary competence, and assignment completion rates found during the eight weeks of a social media-based English program. The participants were 85 sixth-grade students, and the main social media platform used was the KakaoTalk open chat service. The participants implemented 24 assignments individually, both in oral and written forms, and submitted them to an open chat in KakaoTalk. The chatroom was then used for the teachers to give feedback on the assignments and for the students to interact with the teachers and each other. The students also took a vocabulary test at the end of each lesson (4 lessons in total). Results of the data analysis were as follows: First, a substantial portion of interaction among the students and teachers was geared towards checking the accuracy of English used in the assignments. Second, intermediate and lower level students’ vocabulary competencies significantly improved after the completion of the experiment. Third, assignment completion rates increased meaningfully when the students were required to submit their assignments to the open chat compared to an online learning platform. The findings imply that social media platforms can be valuable tools to enhance interaction among students and teachers and to improve students’ vocabulary competence and assignment completion rates.