THE EFFECTS OF INFOGRAPHICS ON ENHANCING LANGUAGE LEARNING OUTCOMES AND MOTIVATION IN A JAPANESE EFL CONTEXT

Mengjiao Wu, Kaoru Kuwajima

Abstract


The existent research details pedagogical benefits of infographics in enhancing communication, comprehension, learning, and motivation, while more research on the potential educational benefits of using infographics is needed regarding their application in second language acquisition. The aim of this study was specifically to investigate the effects of using infographics as a supplemental teaching tool in EFL classes with a focus on learning outcomes and English learning motivation. The study was conducted in two lower-intermediate English classes at a Japanese university. An infographic of the grammar points of simple past/past continuous was designed and applied as a supplement to the textbook-related content. One class was taught in a textbook-infographic order and the other vice versa. Participants’ understanding of the target grammar points and English learning motivation were measured. The findings suggested that students were able to learn effectively using the provided infographics, but it is more effective to use infographics after the textbook teaching. Students showed higher English language learning motivation after the interventions and a high interest in using infographics in their English language course. Teaching advices on using infographics in EFL classes were discussed.

 

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Keywords


EFL; motivation; infographics; visualization; teaching techniques

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejfl.v6i4.4515

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