An, H., & Sung, E. (2014, September). The Effects of BAND(Mobile Social Network Service) on the English Writing Abilities and Affective Domains of Korean Elementary School Students. Paper presented at the meeting of KAMALL Annual Conference 2014, Seoul, Korea. [Abstract] The use of SNS (Social Network Service) for writing activities has become a popular contemporary practice. SNS can provide students with flexible time schedule and allow instructors to send instant feedback. There has been previous research on English teaching using game applications, words, short messages, and communication styles (Hui, 2012;Kim, 2013; Park, 2013; Yoon, 2014). However, there has been no study exploring the effects of English diaries using private SNS. This study investigates the effects of BAND(mobile SNS)-based English diaries on the writing abilities of Korean elementary school students, focusing on fluency and accuracy. In addition, this study examines whether the affective domains (i.e. interest and self-confidence) are also influenced by BAND-based English diaries. The subjects of this study were 50 sixth graders from a public elementary school in the city Kwangju. The students were divided into two groups. An experimental group consisted of 25 students who kept writing BAND-based diaries, and a control group was composed of 25 students who kept writing paper-based diaries. The students in the experimental group didn’t have to be afraid of writing in public because BAND is a private SNS unlike the other SNS. A pre-writing test was administrated before the eight week experiment began, and a post-writing test was done upon its completion. During the experiment, both the experimental and control groups kept English diaries once a week for 8 weeks. The teacher proposed a writing topic for the English diaries every Monday or students could choose the topic by themselves. The control group received feedback on paper while the experimental group received feedback through the ‘Band’. In order to analyze the data in terms of fluency, we contrasted the number of words and sentences in both pre and post tests. Regarding accuracy, grammatical errors were counted on pre and post tests and calculated into percentages. The following graphs show the results of pre and post tests in regards to the number of words and sentences. The results revealed that the experimental group showed more progress in terms of fluency than the control group. The students were often able to communicate with the teacher and were highly motivated by the instant feedback they received through BAND. However, there were no significant differences in accuracy between the two groups. The students in the experimental group seemed to focus on fluency when they wrote their diaries and also got more content- based feedback than formal feedback from the teacher. [....]

1. The Effects of BAND(Mobile
Social Network Service) on the
English Writing Abilities and
Affective Domains of Korean
Elementary School Students
Heeyoung An, Eunkyung Sung

2. Contents
Introduction
(Background, Previous Research)
(Research goal & questions)
Methods
(Participants, Materials, Procedures)
Results
(Pre-test, Post-test, Survey)
Conclusion

3. Background
Internet Cellular Phone SNS

4. Background
Neglect of written languages abilities
Ability gaps between students
Needs for new paradigm and method

5. Previous Research
Words
S N S
Game App
Communication
Short
Message
Style ?

6. Previous Research
SNS (Kakao talk, Me2day, Twitter, Facebook)
(Hui, 2012; Park, 2013;; Kim, 2013; Moon, 2013; Park, 2013; Kim, 2014; Yoon,
2014)
Form-focused vs Meaning-focused feedback
(Jeong, 2013;)
Affective domains
(self-confidence, interest, motivations,
personalities)
(Hui, 2012; Park, 2013; Kang, 2013; Kim, 2013; Moon, 2013; Park, 2013; Kim,
2014; Yoon, 2014)

7. Previous Research
The influence on 6th graders’ written
fluency of teacher’s feedback type about
English diaries – Yu-Jeong, Jeong, 2013
Keeping English diaries
Form-focused feedback/ Meaning-focused
feedback
Meaning-focused feedback is more
effective to improve writing fluency
than form-focused feedback.

8. Previous Research

9. Research Goal
To investigate whether
keeping mobile based
English diaries has a
positive impact on English
writing abilities and
affective domains of Korean
elementary school students

10. Research questions
Does using SNS tools such
as Band to keep English
diaries help to improve
students’ writing fluency
and accuracy?
Does using SNS tools such as
Band to keep English diaries
help to improve students’
self-confidence and
interest?

11. Method
1. Participants
25 students 25 students
6th grade in a public elementary school

12. Method
2. Band Application

13. Method
2. Band Application

14. Method
3. Pre-test, Post-test
Free writing
Survey

15. Method
4. Topic of diary
1. My Day
2. Excursion (school
t3r.i pM) y Weekend
4. Mid-term Exam
5. Food
6. School Festival
7. My Friends
8. The Favorite Things

16. Method
5. Feedback

17. Method
5. Feedback
CCoonnttrrooll GGrroouupp

18. Method
5. Feedback
CCoonnttrrooll GGrroouupp

19. Method
5. Feedback
CCoonnttrrooll GGrroouupp

20. Method
5. Feedback
EExxppeerriimmeennttaall GGrroouupp

21. Method
5. Feedback
EExxppeerriimmeennttaall GGrroouupp

22. Method
5. Feedback
EExxppeerriimmeennttaall GGrroouupp

23. Results
1. Control group
PPrree--tteesstt PPoosstt--tteesstt

24. Results
2. Experimental Group
PPoosstt--tteesstt
PPrree--tteesstt

25. Results (writing
abilities)
Group N Average SD t p
Words
Pre
Con 25 35.92 25.28
-1.412 .164
Exp 25 46.64 28.30
Post
Con 25 36.28 18.67
-2.387 .016*
Exp 25 55.96 34.88
Sentence
Pre
Con 25 7.04 4.31
-.842 .404
Exp 25 8.04 4.07
Post
Con 25 6.20 2.85
-2.595 .013*
Exp 25 9.28 5.20

26. Results (writing
abilities)
Group N Average SD t p
Error
rates
Pre
Con 25 35.37 14.74
1.071 .289
Exp 25 31.04 13.83
Post
Con 25 26.04 15.17
-.735 .466
Exp 25 29.64 19.18

27. Results(affective
domains)
Group N Average SD t p
* p< 0.5
Self
confidence
Pre
Con 25 23.76 4.99
.000 1.000
Exp 25 23.76 5.74
Post
Con 25 25.20 4.69
-1.07 .290
Exp 25 26.80 5.80
Interest
Pre
Con 25 24.64 5.28
-1.48 .145
Exp 25 26.96 5.78
Post
Con 25 27.12 5.08
-2.12 .039*
Exp 25 30.36 5.67

28. Results(words)
* P< 0.5

29. Results(sentences)
* P<0.5

30. Results(error rates)
* P<0.5

31. Conclusion
Using SNS tools such as Band
could help improve students’
English writing abilities in
terms of fluency.
Using SNS tools such as Band
could help increase students’
interest in their English
writing.

32. Future Study
The effects of using these
kinds of SNS tools on their
English writing abilities of
other graders
The effects of using these
kinds of SNS tools on
students’ English writing
abilities in long-term
research

33. Thank you