The Effect of Collaborative, Online Augmented Reality Games on EFL Learners’ Speaking Performance and Communication Apprehension

محورهای موضوعی : Applied Linguistics

Fariba Yousefi ¹ , Masoomeh ُSalehi ² , Laleh Fakhraee Faruji ³

1 - English Language Department, Shahr-e-Qods Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 - English Language Department, Shahr-e-Qods Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
3 - English Language Department, Shahr-e-Qods Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

تاریخ دریافت : 1403/02/17 تاریخ پذیرش : 1403/08/21 تاریخ انتشار : 1403/03/07

کلید واژه: EFL learners, communication apprehension, speaking skill, AR games ,

چکیده مقاله :

The use of computer games as a type of computer-assisted language learning has recently gained significance among EFL syllabus designers and teachers. One specific type of such games is augmented reality (AR) in which language learners can be immersed in a virtual environment that interacts with the real environment around them. Accordingly, this research studied the effect of collaborative, online augmented reality games on EFL learners’ speaking performance and communication apprehension. To this end, a total of 60 Iranian female EFL learners at the intermediate level of proficiency were selected by convenience sampling method and were put into two groups of equal size (30 learners in each group) for 10 sixty-minute sessions: the experimental group received ordinary book-based speaking activities together with collaborative AR gaming practices; the control group received only book-based speaking activities with no AR games included. The participants took a pretest and post-test before and after treatment sessions measuring their speaking proficiency and their communication apprehension level via the ‘communication apprehension’ section of the FLCAS questionnaire. The results of the study showed that the group who engaged in speaking practices and activities with the help of AR games significantly outperformed the book-bound group in terms of both speaking ability improvement and reduction in communication apprehension levels. Therefore, these findings imply that EFL syllabus designers and teachers need to include computerized technologies, such as AR games, into their language courses to boost the pace of English learning and reduce communication apprehension levels of their students.

چکیده انگلیسی:

The use of computer games as a type of computer-assisted language learning has recently gained significance among EFL syllabus designers and teachers. One specific type of such games is augmented reality (AR) in which language learners can be immersed in a virtual environment that interacts with the real environment around them. Accordingly, this research studied the effect of collaborative, online augmented reality games on EFL learners’ speaking performance and communication apprehension. To this end, a total of 60 Iranian female EFL learners at the intermediate level of proficiency were selected by convenience sampling method and were put into two groups of equal size (30 learners in each group) for 10 sixty-minute sessions: the experimental group received ordinary book-based speaking activities together with collaborative AR gaming practices; the control group received only book-based speaking activities with no AR games included. The participants took a pretest and post-test before and after treatment sessions measuring their speaking proficiency and their communication apprehension level via the ‘communication apprehension’ section of the FLCAS questionnaire. The results of the study showed that the group who engaged in speaking practices and activities with the help of AR games significantly outperformed the book-bound group in terms of both speaking ability improvement and reduction in communication apprehension levels. Therefore, these findings imply that EFL syllabus designers and teachers need to include computerized technologies, such as AR games, into their language courses to boost the pace of English learning and reduce communication apprehension levels of their students.

منابع و مأخذ:

Abad-Segura, E., González-Zamar, D., Rosa, L., & Cevallos, M. (2020). Sustainability of educational technologies: An approach to augmented reality research. Sustainability, 12(1), 40-91. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12104091

Belda-Medina, J. (2022). Using augmented reality (AR) as an authoring tool in EFL through mobile computer-supported collaborative learning. Teaching English with Technology, 22(2), 115-135.

Chen, M. P., & Wang, L. C., Zou, D., Lin, S, Y., & Xie, H. (2020). Effects of captions and English proficiency on learning effectiveness, motivation and attitude in augmented-reality-enhanced theme-based contextualized EFL learning. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 35(3), 381-411. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2019.1704787

Cheng, K. H., & Tsai, C. (2016). The interaction of child–parent shared reading with an augmented reality (AR) picture book and parents’ conceptions of AR learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 47(4), 203-222. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12228

Connolly, T., Boyle, E., & MacArthur, M. (2012). A systematic literature review of empirical evidence on computer games and serious games. Computers & Education, 59(2), 661-686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.03.004

Farhady, H., Jafarpur, A., & Birjandi, P. (1994). Testing language skills: From theory to practice. SAMT Publications.

Giasiranis, S., & Sofos, L. (2017). Flow experience and educational effectiveness of teaching informatics using AR. Educational Technology & Society, 20(4), 78-88.

Gómez-López, A., Insa, J. R., & Garcia-Pastor, M. D. (2010). Evaluation of the B1 English level among university students: Application of the Oxford Online Placement Test to the university students in the pre-service teacher School of Valencia. In ICERI2010 Proceedings (pp. 4993-4999). IATED.

Graham-Marr, A. (2004). Teaching skills for listening and speaking. Retrieved, April, 9, 2009, from, http://www Abax . Co. jp/downloads/ extension/ETJ 2004.

Gregersen, T. S., & Horwitz, E. K. (2002). Language learning and perfectionism: Anxious and non-anxious language learners’ reactions to their own oral performance. The Modern Language Journal, 86(4), 562-570. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-4781.00161

Harmer, J. (2007). The practice of English language teaching. Pearson Longman.

Horwitz, E. K. (2001). Language anxiety and achievement. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics: Language and Psychology, 21(1), 112-126. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190501000071

Horwitz, E. K. (2010). Foreign and second language anxiety. Language Teaching, 43(2), 154-167. https://doi.org/10.1017/S026144480999036X

Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope J. A. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125-132. https://doi.org/10.2307/327317

Hsu, T. C. (2017). Learning English with augmented reality: Do learning styles matter? Computers & Education, 106, 137-149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2016.12.007

Huang, X., Zou, D., Cheng, G., & Xie, H. (2021). A systematic review of AR and VR enhanced language learning. Sustainability, 13(1), 39-46. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13094639

Hwang, G., Wu, P., Chen, C., & Tu, N. (2016). Effects of an augmented reality-based educational game on students’ learning achievements and attitudes in real-world observations. Interactive Learning Environments, 24(8), 1895-1906. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2015.1057747

Huertas-Abril, C., Flores, J., & Gomez-Parra, M. (2021). Augmented reality for ESL/EFL and bilingual education: An international comparison. Education, 24(2), 189-208. https://doi.org/10.5944/educXX1.28103

Khoshnevisan, B. (2020). The effects of augmented reality (AR)-infused idiom material on Iranian students’ idiom achievements, motivation, and perceptions. Scholars Commons, 34(2), 33-55.

Korosidou, E. (2024). The effect of augmented reality on very young learners’ motivation and learning of the alphabet and vocabulary. Digital, 4(1), 195-214. https://doi.org/10.3390/digital4010010

Korpela, L. (2011). Why don't students talk? Causes of foreign language communication apprehension in English classes [Unpublished M.A. thesis]. University of Helsinki: Department of Teacher Education.

Lai, J. & Chang. T. (2021). Impacts of augmented reality apps on first graders’ motivation and performance in English vocabulary learning. Sage Open, 17(4), 222-234. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211047549

Lee, J. (2020). Problem-based gaming via an augmented reality mobile game and a printed game in foreign language education. Education and Information Technologies, 27, 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10391-1

Marrahi-Gomez, V., & Belda-Medina, J. (2023a). The effect of using AR technology on language learning. International Journal of English Language Studies, 5(1), 53-58. https://doi.org/10.32996/ijels.2023.5.1.5

Marrahi-Gomez and Belda-Medina (2023b). The impact of augmented reality (AR) on vocabulary acquisition and student motivation. Electronics, 12(3), 749-765. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics12030749

Marrahi-Gomez, V., & Belda-Medina, J. (2024). Assessing the effect of augmented reality on English language learning and student motivation in secondary education. Frontiers in Education, 9, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1359692

Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning. Cambridge University Press.

McCroskey, J., & Richmond, V. (1995). Communication: Apprehension and avoidance. Gorsuch Scarisbrick.

Mehrgan, K. (2013). Willingness to communicate in second language acquisition: A case study from a socio-affective perspective. Journal of Comparative Literature and Culture, 2(4), 172-175.

Mills, N., Courtney, M., Dede, C., & Dressen, A. (2020). Culture and vision in virtual reality narratives. Foreign Language Annals, 53(4), 733-760.
https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12494

Mojerloo, N. (2018). L2 communication apprehension anxiety: Investigating the underlying causes in the Iranian EFL classroom. International Conference on Research in Humanities and Social Sciences, 22(4), 17-33 https://doi.org/10.33422/icrhs.2018.12.07

Perry, B. (2018). ARIS: A tool to promote language learning through AR gaming. CALICO Journal, 35(3), 333-342. https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.36318

Perry, B. (2021). Gamified mobile collaborative location-based language learning. Frontiers in Education, 6(2), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.689599

Radu, I. (2014). Augmented reality in education: A meta-review and cross-media analysis. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 18(8), 1533-1543. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-013-0747-y

Saslow, J., & Ascher, M. (2015). Top notch series (3rd ed.) Pearson Publications.

Seifoori, Z. (2016). Metacognitive awareness and the fluency of task-based oral output across planning conditions: The case of Iranian TEFL students. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 4(1), 11-26. https://doi.org/10.30466/IJLTR.2016.20375

Sirakaya, M., & Alsancak Sirakaya, D. (2018). Trends in educational augmented reality studies: A systematic review. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Technology, 6(2), 60-74. https://doi.org/10.17220/mojet.2018.02.005

Sparks, R. L., & Ganschow, L. (2007). Is the foreign language classroom anxiety scale measuring anxiety or language skills? Foreign Language Annals, 40(2), 260-287. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2007.tb03201.x

Taskiran, A. (2018). Augmented reality games and motivation in language learning. Education & Media, 22(2), 234-244.

Tosik-Gün, E., & Atasoy, B. (2017). The effects of augmented reality on elementary school students’ spatial ability and academic achievement. Education and Science, 42(191), 31-51. https://doi.org/10.15390/EB.2017.7140

Tsai, S. C. (2020). Effectiveness of ESL students’ performance by computational assessment and role of reading strategies in courseware-implemented business translation tasks. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 30(6), 474-487.

Ur, P. (2009). A course in language teaching practice and theory. Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

Vahid Dastjerdi, H. (2024). Impact of technology-based instruction on the improvement of Iranian EFL learners’ metaphorical competence. Journal of New Trends in English Language Learning (JNTELL), 3(2), 105-113.

Wang, D., & Khambari, M. (2020). The application of a game-based AR learning model in English sentence learning. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Technology, 8(1), 63-71. https:/dx.doi.org/10.17220/mojet.2020.01.005

Yuen, S. C. Y., Yaoyuneyong, G., & Johnson, E. (2011). Augmented reality: An overview and five directions for AR in education. Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE), 4(1), 119-140. https://doi.org/10.18785/jetde.0401.10

Zhang, R., & Zou, D. (2020). Types, purposes, and effectiveness of state-of-the-art technologies for second and foreign language learning. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 25(4), 234-257. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2020.1744666