Xiwen Lu

Immediate feedback has been considered a cornerstone of online language learning platforms. However, a closer reading of relevant research reveals that the definition of the term “immediate feedback” is inconsistent. Furthermore, findings from the STEM literature have not been well supported by other fields. As a result, clarification is required to assess which type of immediate feedback improves students’ performance in a computer-assisted learning environment. Moreover, research on the effects of immediate feedback outside of STEM classes should provide an enhanced understanding of whether the findings can be generalized. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of immediate feedback timing in online language learning exercises. The following three conditions were examined: no feedback, end-of-question feedback, and end-of-assignment feedback. A planned contrast test revealed that with a pretest as the covariate, students in the end-of-question feedback condition received significantly higher grades in the posttest compared with those in the end-of-assignment feedback condition. Furthermore, students with lower pretest scores required more attempts, although their learning progress was not significantly superior to that of students with higher prior knowledge. This study’s findings provide insights into the use of immediate feedback for improving learning as part of foreign language classroom instruction. 

Researchers have held differing views on the effects of feedback timing for decades. A closer reading of the timing of feedback literature that favored delayed feedback revealed that this conclusion may have been reached prematurely, because the results might have been confounded by the time interval between feedback and a posttest. This study differs from previous feedback timing studies in three distinct ways: First, this study addressed the limitations of previous studies by holding time interval between the feedback (either immediate or delayed) and the posttest constant. Second, this study included various types of knowledge and investigated the interaction between feedback timing and different knowledge types. Third, most studies that investigate the comparative effectiveness of immediate and delayed feedback on written assignments were conducted in the STEM fields, whereas few studies can be found in the second language learning field. Results revealed that the immediate feedback condition significantly outperformed the delayed feedback condition on conceptual knowledge learning, however, no difference between the two conditions was found on situational knowledge learning.

Because Chinese reading and writing systems are not phonetic, Mandarin Chinese learners must construct six-way mental connections in order to learn new words, linking characters, meanings, and sounds. Little research has focused on the difficulties inherent to each specific component involved in this process, especially within digital learning environments. The present work examines Chinese word acquisition within ASSISTments, an online learning platform traditionally known for mathematics education. Students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions in which researchers manipulated a learning assignment to exclude one of three bi-directional connections thought to be required for Chinese language acquisition (i.e., sound-meaning and meaning-sound). Researchers then examined whether students’ performance differed significantly when the learning assignment lacked sound-character, character-meaning, or meaning-sound connection pairs, and whether certain problem types were more difficult for students than others. Assessment of problems by component type (i.e., characters, meanings, and sounds) revealed support for the relative ease of problems that provided sounds, with students exhibiting higher accuracy with fewer attempts and less need for system feedback when sounds were included. However, analysis revealed no significant differences in word acquisition by condition, as evidenced by next-day post-test scores or pre- to post-test gain scores. Implications and suggestions for future work are discussed.

This is the data package for "Save Your Strokes: Chinese Handwriting Practice Makes for Ineffective Use of Instructional Time in Second Language Classrooms", which is published at AERA Open.The abstract for the paper is found below:Handwriting practice is the most time-consuming activity for learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL). CFL instructors commonly allocate at least one-third of their course time to handwriting practice even though it prevents students from engaging in meaningful communication, especially in the earliest stages of learning. As the amount of time students spend in a college course is relatively fixed, the present study sought to understand the best use of students’ time if their primary goals are word acquisition and communication. This work replicates a pilot study examining CFL word recognition in an online learning environment (ASSISTments) and the effects of supplemental handwriting practice. We examined word acquisition and recognition while manipulating condition (No-Handwriting (NH) practice and With-Handwriting (WH) practice), and Posttest test point (1 (immediate), 2 (one day delay), and 3 (one week delay)). Two-way repeated-measures ANOVAs revealed significant main effects for both condition and test point in online and on paper measures of word recognition and handwriting, respectively. Potential implications for CFL instruction and directions for future work are discussed.

Corrective feedback takes an important part in classroom interaction. However, researchers hold different attitudes toward the relationship between corrective feedback and second language acquisition. Through a classroom and a laboratory experiment ,this paper discusses the impacts of corrective feedback on Chinese language learners ,with focus particularly on the relationship between recasts and acquisition. Results from the two experiments demonstrate that corrective feedback contributes to both short-term and long-term second language acquisition. It is also found that learners can differentiate the negative function of recasts from the positive, which indicates that recasts can promote second language acquisition.