Assessment of the Reading Skill Improvement in the Computer-Assisted Teaching of a Foreign Language

Abstract

This article reports the findings of a case study on the influence that the computer-assisted teaching of a foreign language has on the reading skill of elementary school pupils. In fact, it has been investigated the degree to which abilities inferred from the reading process are improved by delivering a typical introductory course of the French language to a Greek speaking target group, based on the use of the generic functions that most of the computer-assisted instructional tools provide. The study was focused on the abilities of perception, information retrieval and concentration and was conducted over a period of three years. It was based on the design and execution of pupil assessment tests on a control and an experimental group per year. At each year, the control group was taught the subject in the traditional textbook-based approach and the experimental group by a computer-assisted approach. The presentation of the textbook teaching material was enhanced with features that only the use of the generic functions of a computer-assisted teaching could offer. An extensive statistical evaluation of the results has disclosed that the use of the computer had definitely a positive influence on the abilities of perception and information retrieval.