Recent literature suggests that communicative language tasks widely used by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers to try and improve Japanese students’ learning have had little effect on improving their language ability and their intrinsic motivation to improve. Consequently, a number of teachers are now using interactive technology in the classroom although it has not been systematically implemented or widely studied. Understanding the approaches of successful EFL teachers—specifically, how teachers using an andragogic approach through experiential learning might affect student engagement—was the purpose of this qualitative study. The conceptual framework focused on student-centered learning and included Knowles’s theory of andragogy and Kolb’s experiential learning. The perceptions of 10 EFL teachers chosen through purposeful sampling and who regularly used technology in the classroom were gauged through structured interviews, direct observations, and document analysis. Emergent themes were extracted from the data through interpretive analysis. Results supported the fact that andragogic-based tasks with technology increased student engagement in the Japanese EFL university classroom by directly improving interaction between students and by stimulating communication and autonomous learning. The outcome of the study was a professional development program that was designed to provide better teacher training on facilitating technology-based lessons that engage learners and improve their language skills. Positive social change will result from providing better teacher training that focuses on facilitating technology-based lessons that engage Japanese university learners’ full potential and improve their language skills in more meaningful ways.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:waldenu.edu/oai:scholarworks.waldenu.edu:dissertations-8201 |
| Date | 01 January 2019 |
| Creators | McClung, Robert John |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks |
| Source Sets | Walden University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies |
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