Abstract
Undergraduate students fail to objectively self-assess grammar skills of English as a second language but mastering English grammar autonomously can assist. The article aims to describe and assess the Moodle plugin that offers undergraduate students individual learning paths in studying English grammar. An experiment with 3953 students was conducted at Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia in two academic years: 2017–2018, 2018–2019. The Moodle plugin “RUDN CourseAssist” facilitated the English grammar study. The students subjectively stated their English language proficiency level and set academic goals in a self-assessment learner profile. The diagnostic stage of the experiment identified premises that provided individual learning paths in studying English grammar: automatic level detection (A1, B1, B2) and learning styles (active learners – 59.9%, sensing – 49.7%, visual – 81%, global – 49.7%). At the test assessment stage, 491 students demonstrated a steady rise in doing grammar exercises correctly, and performed more objective self-assessment of the level. At the plugin assessment stage, the Pearson correlation coefficient and the students’ feedback in questionnaires and interviews proved that the plugin is flexible, scalable, user-friendly, and applicable. The state-of-the-art plugin to be customised for other languages is effective in providing students with individual learning paths to improve English grammar skills.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arispe, K., & Burston, J. (2017). Making it personal: Performance-based assessments, ubiquitous technology, and advanced learners. Language Learning & Technology, 21(3), 44–58.
Asadinik, D., & Suzani, S. M. (2015). A critical review of autonomous learning in L2 research: From theory to practice. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 2(8), 41–56.
Ayan, E. (2015). Moodle as builder of motivation and autonomy in English courses. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 5(1), 6–20. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojml.2015.51002.
Bates, A. W. (2015). Teaching in a digital age: Guidelines for designing teaching and learning. Retrieved from https://teachonline.ca/sites/default/files/pdfs/teaching-in-a-digital-age_2016.pdf
Benson, P. (2007). Autonomy in language teaching and learning. Language Teaching, 40(1), 21–40. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444806003958.
Brandl, K. (2005). Review of are you ready to “Moodle”? Language Learning & Technology, 9(2), 16–23 http://dx.doi.org/10125/44016.
Brooks, R. (2018). Higher education mobilities: A cross-national European comparison. Geoforum, 93, 87–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2018.05.009.
Brown, J. D., & Hudson, T. (1998). The alternatives in language assessment. TESOL Quarterly, 32(4), 653. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587999.
Bucea-Manea-Tonis, R., & Tonis (Bucea-Manea), R. (2010). Ontology web based learning management system. Buletinul AGIR, XV(I), 1–16. Retrieved from http://www.buletinulagir.agir.ro/articol.php?id=922
Chen, S. Y., & Tseng, Y.-F. (2019). The impacts of scaffolding e-assessment English learning: A cognitive style perspective. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2019.1661853.
Commission of the European Communities. (2006). Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament. Delivering on the modernisation agenda for universities: Education, research and innovation (No. COM(2006) 208 final). Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2006:0208:FIN:EN:PDF
Conesa, J., Batalla-Busquets, J.-M., Bañeres, D., Carrion, C., Conejero-Arto, I., del Carmen Cruz Gil, M. … Mor, E. (2020). Towards an Educational Model for Lifelong Learning. In L. Barolli, P. Hellinckx, & J. Natwichai (Eds.), Advances on P2P, Parallel, Grid, Cloud and Internet Computing (Vol. 96, pp. 537–546). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33509-0_50
Davies, G. (2002). CALL (computer assisted language learning). Retrieved from LLAS Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies website: https://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/gpg/61
Escribano, P. D., & McMahon, J. P. (2010). Self-assessment based on language learning outcomes: A study with first year engineering students. Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses, 23, 133–148. https://doi.org/10.14198/raei.2010.23.08.
European Commission. (2015). ECTS users’ guide. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.2766/87592
European Union and Council of Europe. (2013). Common European Framework Reference for Languages—Self-assessment grid. Retrieved from https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/sites/default/files/cefr-en.pdf
Felder, R. M., & Soloman, B. A. (2016). Learning styles and strategies. Retrieved from https://www.engr.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/drive/1WPAfj3j5o5OuJMiHorJ-lv6fON1C8kCN/styles.pdf
Felder, R. M., & Soloman, B. A. (n.d.). Index of learning styles questionnaire. Retrieved from NC State University website: https://www.webtools.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/
Gandhe, A., Rastrow, A., & Hoffmeister, B. (2018). Scalable language model adaptation for spoken dialogue systems. 2018 IEEE Spoken Language Technology Workshop, 907–912. https://doi.org/10.1109/SLT.2018.8639663.
Gass, S. M., & Selinker, L. (2008). Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course (0 ed.). https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203932841.
Godwin-Jones, R. (2011). Autonomous language learning. Language Learning & Technology, 15(3), 4–11 http://dx.doi.org/10125/44255.
Huang, T.-C., Chen, M.-Y., & Lin, C.-Y. (2019). Exploring the behavioral patterns transformation of learners in different 3D modeling teaching strategies. Computers in Human Behavior, 92, 670–678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.08.028.
Karagiannis, I., & Satratzemi, M. (2018). An adaptive mechanism for Moodle based on automatic detection of learning styles. Education and Information Technologies, 23(3), 1331–1357. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-017-9663-5.
Kato, Y., & Okamato, T. (2007). Different evaluations of e-learning for Japanese academic reading between foreign students and Japanese language teachers. The 7th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, 403–407. 1109/ICALT.2007.123.
Kuzmina, Y., & Vincela, Z. (2018). Technology-enhanced studies of English grammar and pronunciation at tertiary level. 12th International Technology, Education and Development Conference, 8063–8071.
Li, P., & Lu, Z. (2012). Individualized instruction in large classes of integrated English in CALL environments. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2(11), 2291–2301. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.2.11.2291-2301.
Mazlaveckienė, G. (2018). Assessment of university students’ English grammar proficiency in terms of CEFR Criterial achievement levels: The case of Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences. Theoria et Historia Scientiarum, 15, 35. https://doi.org/10.12775/ths.2018.003.
Medárová, V. (2014). E-learning tools applied in teaching English at the university level. Computational Linguistics: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications, 33–52. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-6042-7.ch002.
Ng, S. F., & Confessore, G. J. (2010). The relationship of multiple learning styles to levels of learner autonomy. International Journal of Self-Directed Learning, 7(1), 1–13 https://www.academia.edu/12253835/The_relationship_of_multiple_learning_styles_to_levels_of_learner_autonomy.
Nguyen, D. (2018). The university in a world of digital technologies: Tensions and challenges. Australasian Marketing Journal; AMJ, 26(2), 79–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ausmj.2018.05.012.
Oproiu, G. C. (2015). A study about using E-learning platform (Moodle) in university teaching process. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 180, 426–432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.02.140.
Oskouei, R. J., & Kor, N. M. (2017). Proposing a novel adaptive learning management system: An application of behavior mining & intelligent agents. Intelligent Automation and Soft Computing, 23(2), 199–205. https://doi.org/10.1080/10798587.2016.1186429.
Pan, D., & Zhou, H. (2018). English learning system design for college students personalized English grammar check and diagnosis. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (IJET), 13(04), 21. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v13i04.8467.
Simonova, I. (2019). Learning English grammar in the smart learning environment. In V. L. Uskov, R. J. Howlett, L. C. Jain, & L. Vlacic (Eds.), Smart Education and e-Learning 2018 (Vol. 99, pp. 142–150). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92363-5_13.
Singh, R., & Mangat, N. S. (1996). Elements of survey sampling. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1404-4.
Starichenko, B. E. (2013). Sinkhronnaya I asinkhronnaya organizatsiya uchebnogo protsessa vVUZe na osnove informatsionno-tekhnologicheskoy modeli obucheniya [managing students’ educational activity during lectures involving CRS]. Pedagogical Education in Russia, 3, 23–31 (in Russian).
Steinberg, L., & Monahan, K. C. (2007). Age differences in resistance to peer influence. Developmental Psychology, 43(6), 1531–1543. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.43.6.1531.
Sullivan, M., & Woodbury, G. (2016). Interactive statistics: Informed decisions using data student access kit (1st ed.). London: Pearson.
Ushioda, E. (2013). Motivation matters in Mobile language learning: A brief commentary. Language Learning & Technology, 17(3), 1–5 http://dx.doi.org/10125/44333.
Uzunboylu, H. (2019). Assessment of student scores based on specific variables in the web-assisted English grammar exercises. World Journal on Educational Technology: Current Issues, 11(3), 205–219 https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1224871.pdf.
Wiśniewska, H. (2017). Learner autonomy: The role of educational materials in fostering self-evaluation. In M. Pawlak, A. Mystkowska-Wiertelak, & J. Bielak (Eds.), Autonomy in Second Language Learning: Managing the Resources (pp. 85–98). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07764-2_6.
Acknowledgments
The authors express their deep gratitude to all the research participants.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
The publication was prepared with the support of the “RUDN University Program 5–100”.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zabolotskikh, A., Zabolotskikh, A., Dugina, T. et al. Creating individual learning paths in the Moodle plugin for undergraduate students to study English grammar. Educ Inf Technol 26, 617–637 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10278-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10278-1