ABSTRACT
This study aims to identify the bibliometric outcomes of articles and research trends in specific areas. This study revealed research on the use of e-books for EFL education published in selected journals of the Web of Science from 2011 to 2020, and discusses the trends of the top-cited countries, journals, the most used keywords, and the popular subjects, learning strategies, target skills, and the research outcomes. A total of 53 selected articles were manually and systematically analyzed. The results revealed that the most productive country was Taiwan, and the most cited journal was Computers & Education. The most used keywords were “engagement.” The bibliometric analysis can be reflected in the content analysis as preschoolers and elementary school students were the most common participants, guided learning were the most frequently used strategy, and the main target skill was reading. This review study provides an overview of the research agenda for the last 10 years, and highlights the trends in the field by analyzing relevant past research. When the use of e-books in EFL education studies was examined, reading comprehension, teaching/learning strategies, and learning engagement were found to be crucial in the studies. Therefore, there is a need to develop more useful features of e-books to support EFL teaching practices. It is therefore suggested that future research focus more on pedagogical aspects and e-book feature development.
Acknowledgments
This work was partly supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of China under contract numbers MOST 106-2511-S-011 -005 -MY3, SPIRITS 2020 of Kyoto University, JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)20H01722, JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (S)16H06304 and NEDO Special Innovation Program on AI and Big Data 18102059-0.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Correction Statement
This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
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Notes on contributors
Mei-Rong Alice Chen
Dr. Mei-Rong Alice Chen is a post-doctoral researcher at the Graduate Institute of Digital Learning and Education, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan. Her research focuses on technology in language learning, computer-assisted language learning, and pedagogy and learning design.
Gwo-Jen Hwang
Professor. Gwo-Jen Hwang is a chair professor at the Graduate Institute of Digital Learning and Education, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan. His research interests include computer supported social networking, personalized and adaptive learning environments, mobile and embedded learning analytics, educational data mining and educational data science.
Rwitajit Majumdar
Dr. Rwitajit Majumdar is a post-doctoral researcher at the Academic Center for Computing and Media Studies, Kyoto University. His research focuses on Learning Analytics and data-informed decision making in the teaching-learning context.
Yuko Toyokawa
Ms. Yuko Toyokawa is a doctoral student at the Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University. Her research focuses on the application of technology in learning support for children with developmental disorders.
Hiroaki Ogata
Dr. Hiroaki Ogata is a professor at the Academic Center for Computing and Media Studies and the Graduate School of Informatics at Kyoto University, Japan. His research includes computer supported ubiquitous and mobile learning, personalized and adaptive learning environments, mobile and embedded learning analytics, educational data mining, and educational data science.