AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014 Pp.31-44
Relative Impact of Windows Movie Maker Journaling on Writing Proficiency and Apprehension
Ghada Awada
American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Abstract
This article reports the results of an experimental study that examined the relative effectiveness of Windows Movie Maker (WMM) as a computer-assisted language learning tool versus journal writing in improving the English as a foreign language (EFL) writing Proficiency and decreasing the levels of writing apprehension of grade eleven students in Lebanon. The study, too, looked into the perceptions of the participants of the relevance and efficacy of using Windows Movie Maker (WMM) as an instructional tool. The study is based on the assumption that the WMM computer-assisted language learning tool, unlike the traditional pen and paper journal writing, provides an excellent opportunity for students to creatively write and express themselves using music, script, pictures and visual effects that reflect learners’ personal experiences. The study employed an experimental pretest- posttest control group design whereby two intact classes were randomly assigned to control and experimental conditions. Descriptive statistics were calculated and a series of independent sample t-tests were conducted in order to address the questions raised in the study. Finally, a content analysis of the qualitative data gathered from the study participants to the open ended questions in the experimental group was carried out to describe and concretize their perceptions of the WMM experience. The results of the study indicated that the WMM journaling proved to be more effective than the traditional pen and paper journaling in enhancing Proficiency and decreasing writing apprehension. In addition, the participants in the experimental group underscored both the importance and usefulness of using the WMM tool in enhancing EFL journal writing. Further research is recommended in order to determine the extent of the generalizability of the findings of the present study into other school contexts and across different grade and proficiency levels.
Keywords: English as a foreign language (EFL) , journal writing, journal writing Proficiency, Windows Movie Maker (WMM),writing apprehension