Abstract:

This paper details the use of a free and private wiki as the learning management system for a four-week teaching module designed to improve the oral communication skills of Japanese university EFL students. Students engaged in repeated experiential learning cycles of planning, doing, observing, and evaluating their performance of a role in a strategic interaction scenario. Each performance was digitally video recorded and uploaded to the wiki. Students then used the wiki to evaluate their video performance, transcribe and self-correct their utterances, and reflect on changes in subsequent performances. The instructor used the wiki's video and text to give students online feedback and focus post-performance group debriefing sessions. Comparisons of performance transcripts revealed syntactic, pragmatic, lexical and fluency improvement from learning cycle 1 to learning cycle 2, and observations, surveys, and interviews provide evidence for the students' ease of use of the wiki and video cameras, enjoyment of the instructional activities, and improved independence and confidence. The results suggest that a wiki, digital video, and strategic interaction-based experiential learning cycles can be effectively integrated to mediate Japanese university EFL students' oral communication development. Technical and pedagogical recommendations are elucidated. Teaching materials can be downloaded from http://langcom.u-shizuoka-ken.ac.jp/si.

Author: Jonathan deHaan