Use of wikis to enhance the correct use of inflectional morphemes in an English as a Foreign Language classroom in Chile

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Abstract

This paper describes a correlational study about the effects of using a Wiki to foster students’ abilities associated with the correct use of five inflectional morphemes in English. Thirty three Chilean learners of English as a foreign language from a higher education program completed four different handouts working individually, in pairs, in a classroom and on an online platform based on Wikis using synchronous communication at all times. The handouts were analyzed using a qualitative approach according to the performance of the subjects, in different types of exercises. Additionally, following a qualitative methodology, a satisfaction survey was administered in a 50­minute session to gather information regarding their opinions about the development of the four handouts. The results prove the effectiveness of using an online collaborative platform and describe the students’ attitude towards online and offline work. Finally, after an analysis of the data obtained from the instruments, a number of different topics are presented in order to provide a discussion to reflect on the issues exposed in this investigation.

Keywords

Collaboration, Wikis, Educational Technology, Morphemes