The effectiveness of multimedia and computer-assisted activities in the teaching of Afrikaans as a second language.
Date
2013-01-08
Authors
Basson, Irene
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Abstract
Teachers are increasingly aware of the technological world in which their students live.
They are aware that the use of computers affects the motivation and attitudes of learners.
There has also recently been governmental pressure to integrate ICT in the teaching and
learning at school level. The question remains how exactly these technologies should be
implemented, particularly to aid in the acquisition of a second language.
This study investigates if the use of CALL in the teaching of second language Afrikaans
has affected the attitudes and motivation of learners and if it had any effect on the results
they achieved. A comparative study was conducted with a group Grade 11 learners in
which they completed a series of research tasks that included no technology or computerrelated
input. The same group was also exposed to lessons with a computer-assisted
approach, where a series of comparative research tasks were completed with the use of
technology. The group completed reflective questionnaires on the tasks they had
completed. The sets of tasks were analyzed and compared to each other and the
reflective questionnaires were analyzed and general trends and findings were noted.
The findings in this study suggests that learners respond well to computer-assisted tasks
and that there is a marked improvement in attitude and motivation when they are exposed
to technology in the second language classroom. Furthermore it is evident that the shift in
motivation contributes to an overall improvement of their results, which in computerassisted
tasks are on average 8%-12% higher.