Effects of IELTS reading education by using new media learning environments effectively

ABSTRACT

New media are used by language learners and teachers inside and outside the classroom to improve basic language skills. This study investigated the uses of new media for enhancing reading skills, stimulating student motivation, and promoting learner autonomy within the context of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). This research project enlisted approximately 200 university sophomore students from the course “IELTS Reading and Writing”, which was run for non-English major 2016 ISEC (International Scholarly Exchange Curriculum) programme in 2018 at a university in Northeastern China. Students’ perceptions of new media applications were investigated, and a pre-test and post-test were used to examine students’ IELTS reading progress. The research findings indicate that new media can be adapted for IELTS reading classrooms and autonomous learning, which offers learning resources connected to IELTS reading knowledge in class and outside class. New media learning environments greatly improved students’ motivation. Their autonomous learning abilities and advanced academic reading skills were also enhanced. Additionally, the research participants provided advantageous feedback on new media for IELTS reading learning. Finally, the research results could be helpful references for those who intend to conduct the flipped teaching or learning research related to the reform of the advanced English courses teaching such as IELTS education by the effective use of modern educational technology in the future.

KEYWORDS:

• New media learning environments
• IELTS reading learning
• motivation
• learner autonomy
• flipped teaching

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Xianghu Liu

Xianghu Liu obtained a Ph.D. degree in education from the University of Exeter, the UK. Currently, he is an Associate Professor in the College of Foreign Languages of Bohai University, Jinzhou City, P. R. China. His research interests are in the field of TESOL, such as CALL, English language learning, and teaching, language testing. He published an authored work named “Modern Educational Technology and Learner Autonomy” (English Edition) in Shanghai Jiaotong University Press (China) in 2018 and published four book reviews in the journal INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS with his colleagues since 2019. Additionally, he published two experimental research articles in the journal Symmetry (SCI Indexed Journal) in 2020.

Jingwen Pei

Jingwen Pei obtained an MA degree in linguistics and applied linguistics from Bohai University, China.