디지털교과서 및 번역기 활용 쓰기 활동이 6학년 학생들의 영어 쓰기 및 자기주도적 학습 태도에 미치는 영향

Effects of using an English digital textbook and a translator on EFL students’ writing skills and learning attitudes

This study intended to investigate the use of an English digital textbook and a machine translator on 6th graders’ writing skills and their attitudes toward self-regulated learning. The participants were twenty 6th grade EFL learners who went through the experimental lessons where they implemented writing activities from the digital textbook and referred to the translator before they completed the writing tasks. A controlled group of 20 students went through the paper textbook-based lessons. Data were collected for 12 weeks, and they include pre- and post-writing tests, writing tasks, questionnaires, and the teacher and the researcher’s observation records. The results of data analysis showed significant differences between the two groups in their writing abilities. Significant differences were also found between the first and second writing tasks that the participants completed before and after using the tools in each lesson. Regarding learning attitudes, intrinsic motivation and using learning strategies showed significant improvement. It was found that the majority of the participants wanted to keep using the digital textbook in English classes whereas only about a half of them did so for using the translator. Limitations of the study and suggestions for further study were also discussed based on the results.