ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of reading tasks delivered through WhatsApp on students' achievements in English reading comprehension and explore students' views on the process. A mixed-method research model was used. The participants were 54 seventh grade students, aged 11-12, who were divided into experimental and control groups. Reading texts with comprehension questions were sent to the experimental group students' WhatsApp accounts. The tasks were designed to use all the facilities of WhatsApp. Finishing the reading comprehension activities over a set period of time, students sent their answers via WhatsApp to the teacher who returned the answer key to them. The control group students completed the same reading texts and activities in the classroom. The results showed that the experimental group performed better. It should be noted that the success of the WhatsApp group may be linked to the ranking and reward system which was implemented to encourage them. At the end of the study, students in the experimental group generally expressed their positive attitudes towards using WhatsApp to enhance their reading comprehension skills. We discuss the limitations and implications of this small-scale study for the further use of mobile technology to support language skills.

摘要

本研究的目的是调查通过 WhatsApp 交付的阅读任务对学生英语阅读理解成绩的影响，并探讨学生对该过程的看法。使用了混合方法研究模型。参与者为 54 名七年级学生，年龄在 11-12 岁之间，分为实验组和对照组。阅读带有理解问题的文本被发送到实验组学生的 WhatsApp 帐户。这些任务旨在使用 WhatsApp 的所有功能。在一段时间内完成阅读理解活动后，学生通过 WhatsApp 将答案发送给老师，老师将答案密钥还给他们。对照组学生在课堂上完成相同的阅读课文和活动。结果表明，实验组表现更好。应该注意的是，WhatsApp 小组的成功可能与为鼓励他们而实施的排名和奖励系统有关。在研究结束时，实验组的学生普遍表达了他们对使用WhatsApp提高阅读理解能力的积极态度。我们讨论了这项小规模研究对进一步使用移动技术支持语言技能的局限性和影响。