Development and Usability Test of an e-Learning Tool for Engineering Graduates to Develop Academic Writing in English: A Case Study

• Published in: Educational Technology ＆ Society 2017-10, Vol.20 (4), p.148-161
• Main Authors: Lin, Chih-Chung, Liu, Gi-Zen, Wang, Tzong-I
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic Discourse; Academic Language; Academic learning; Basic writing; Case Studies; College graduates; Cultivation; Design; Distance learning; Electronic Learning; Empirical analysis; Engineering; Engineering Education; English (Second Language); English as a second language; English for Science and Technology; English language; Foreign Countries; Full Length Articles; Graduate Students; Journal writing; Mandarin Chinese; Methods; Needs Assessment; Online education; Online instruction; Qualitative Research; Research Papers (Students); Scholarly publishing; Second Language Learning; Semi Structured Interviews; Statistical Analysis; Study and teaching; Usability; Usability testing; Writing; Writing Ability; Writing Instruction; Writing Skills
• ISSN: 1176-3647; 1436-4522; 1436-4522

Many non-native English speaking (NNES) graduates are required to write academic papers in English; consequently, recent research in the past decade has been devoted to investigating the usefulness of genre-based Writing Instructions (GBWI) on learners' writing cultivation. There is little specific guidance, however, on how GBWI can be employed in online learning environments. The study aimed to design an e-learning tool with a Chinese-based interface and to evaluate its perceived usefulness on users' English academic writing development. Needs analysis and GBWI were employed as the main approaches for the system development, for which 32 participants involved in the trail. The results indicate that the participants considered the system useful and helpful while learning English academic writing and extract the design principles derived from the empirical results in the study. The findings provide both learning content developers and e-learning tool designers with developmental insights for graduates to acquire academic writing ability in English. In conclusion, this study contributes to the understanding of GBWI acting on the NNES engineering graduates' development of English academic writing knowledge and skills with the development of e-learning tools.