Effects of Static Visuals and Computer-Generated Animations in Facilitating Immediate and Delayed Achievement in the EFL Classroom

Abstract

Abstract: The purpose of this experimental study was to compare the effects of using static visuals versus computer-generated animation to enhance learners' comprehension and retention of a content-based lesson in a computer-based learning environment for learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Fifty-eight students from two EFL reading sections were randomly assigned to one of two computer-based instructional modules developed for this study. Once having interacted with their respective instructional materials, students then took four criterion tests both immediately afterward and again four weeks later. The results showed that the animation group outperformed the static visuals group in only one of the four tests, consistent for both the immediate and delayed posttests, indicating comparatively less positive effect from animation use in an EFL context. Key words: animation, content-based instruction, English as a foreign language (EFL), subject matter, visuals Language: English Introduction Technology advances have made it possible for instructional designers to develop multimedia instructional materials that incorporate sound, graphics, and various kinds of visual and special effects. Among these advances, computer-generated visuals, both static and dynamic, are believed to enhance learning from computer-based instruction (CBI) (Alesandrini, 1987). Visualization studies have documented the advantages of using graphics in CBI. According to dual coding theory (Paivio, 1986), graphics are encoded as visual information in the cognitive information processing systems in human beings. Thus, graphics, when designed appropriately, can aid memory by making abstract concepts concrete (Paivio & Csapo, 1973; Pressley, 1976; Rieber & Kini, 1991). When presented along with verbal information, the addition of graphics is believed to enhance information processing and allow information to stay longer in the short-term memory. Under these conditions, graphics make information easier to retrieve after it has been stored in the long-term memory. Static and animated graphics have different characteristics in terms of what they are able to represent. Animated graphics can be used to present motions or movements otherwise imperceptible to the human eye or represent changes in shapes or motions of objects across time by rapidly changing a series of computer screen displays (Caraballo, 1985; Wong, 1994). In a CBI environment, animation is typically used due to its characteristics that facilitate instructional and learning processes. The most powerful and direct application of animation is its use in presenting instructional materials that are dynamic in nature, too abstract to be understood without a concrete example, such as in physics concepts, or typically hidden from view, such as the flow of blood in a human heart (DiSessa, 1982; Dwyer, 1994; Kaiser, Proffitt, & Anderson, 1985; Rieber, 1990a; Rieber & Kini, 1991). Rieber and Kini (1991) have suggested a number of advantages of animation over static graphics. For example, with animated graphics, learners do not need to generate a mental image of the event or action being targeted and, therefore, avoid the risk of creating a false understanding. In addition, animation provides increased capacity to present information regarding a continuity of motion (Wong, 1994). Two assumptions supported by the dual coding theory particularly relate to the effectiveness of using visuals in delivering instructional material. First, information coded both visually and verbally is more likely to be remembered than when each is coded alone. Therefore, dual coding doubles the chance of information being stored, and, as a result, retrieved (Kobayashi, 1986; Rieber, 1996; Sadoski, Goetz, & Fritz, 1993). The second assumption is that visual material is likely to be coded visually and verbally, while verbal material is less likely to be coded visually. …