LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 15:7 July 2015
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

HOME PAGE

Click Here for Back Issues of Language in India - From 2001

BOOKS FOR YOU TO READ AND DOWNLOAD FREE!

REFERENCE MATERIALS

BACK ISSUES

  • E-mail your articles and book-length reports in Microsoft Word to languageinindiaUSA@gmail.com.

  • PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES GIVEN IN HOME PAGE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE LIST OF CONTENTS.

  • Your articles and book-length reports should be written following the APA, MLA, LSA, or IJDL Stylesheet.

  • The Editorial Board has the right to accept, reject, or suggest modifications to the articles submitted for publication, and to make suitable stylistic adjustments. High quality, academic integrity, ethics and morals are expected from the authors and discussants.

Copyright © 2015
M. S. Thirumalai
Custom Search

Fostering Learner Engagement through Web Based Instruction:
A Qualitative Approach

S. Vijayakumar, M.A., B.Ed., M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate
Dr. A. Shahin Sultana, M.A., B.Ed., M.Phil., Ph.D.
B. S. Abdur Rahman University

Abstract

This evidence-based study investigated the efficacy of the web based tool ‘Pinterest’ for teaching argumentative writing at the tertiary level. Principles of authentic learning are applied in this study. Two groups of ESL learners (n=28), 14 students as control group and 14 students as experimental group, participated in the study. A true experimental design was adopted. The control group was exposed to traditional instruction and the experimental group was exposed to web based instruction using Pinterest. The performance of both groups was analysed using paired T-Tests. The results revealed a discernible improvement in the performance of the experimental group. Finally, recommendations for efficacious integration of technology are enlisted. Despite many studies investigating the positive effects of web based instruction none of the studies till date have examined the efficacy of Pinterest for writing instruction.

Keywords: Authentic learning, usefulness of Pinterest for instruction.

Introduction

“Engineering is certainly a field where proficiency in written communication is valued” (Shuman 41).Though evaluation systems are based on writing skills the teachers at tertiary level do not attach much importance to it. Peter Elbow remarks that writing well is a complex, difficult, and time-consuming process. (p.3). It is indeed challenging to teach writing. Teachers at tertiary level should find ways and means to make writing instruction as engaging as possible. Writing classrooms aren’t stimulating because the pedagogical practices and the tools used for teaching writing are traditional. The only way to make writing more interesting is by engaging the learner using multimodal input. Galbraith, and Rijlaarsdam, state that the traditional approach of instructing students to write by subscribing to grammatical conventions and by following old models is replaced by inclusion of cognitive activities (93).

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.


S. Vijayakumar, M.A., B.Ed., M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate
Assistant Professor
B. S. Abdur Rahman University
Vandalur, Chennai 600048
Tamilnadu
India
mailmevijay73@gmail.com


Dr.A.Shahin Sultana, M.A., B.Ed., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Dean
School of Social Sciences and Humanities
B. S. Abdur Rahman University
Vandalur, Chennai 600048
Tamilnadu
India
deanssh@bsauniv.ac.in

Custom Search
  • Click Here to Go to Creative Writing Section

  • Send your articles
    as an attachment
    to your e-mail to
    languageinindiaUSA@gmail.com.
  • Please ensure that your name, academic degrees, institutional affiliation and institutional address, and your e-mail address are all given in the first page of your article. Also include a declaration that your article or work submitted for publication in LANGUAGE IN INDIA is an original work by you and that you have duly acknowledged the work or works of others you used in writing your articles, etc. Remember that by maintaining academic integrity we not only do the right thing but also help the growth, development and recognition of Indian/South Asian scholarship.