Open AccessInitial Evaluation of AWSuM: A Pilot Study
Author(s) -
Atsushi Mizumoto
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
vocabulary learning and instruction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2187-2759
pISSN - 2187-2767
DOI - 10.7820/vli.v06.2.mizumoto
Subject(s) - usability , rhetorical question , computer science , feature (linguistics) , word (group theory) , thematic analysis , mathematics education , linguistics , psychology , human–computer interaction , qualitative research , sociology , social science , philosophy
This article reports on a pilot study to evaluate usability, effectiveness, and impact of Academic Word Suggestion Machine (AWSuM), a webbased, innovative tool, powered by the combination of rhetorical moves and lexical bundles with an auto-complete feature. Eight L2 writers participated in the study. Their open-ended comments after using the tool were qualitatively analyzed and classified in thematic categories. The results showed that the developed tool brought about beneficial effects that genre writing pedagogy explicitly aims to achieve. Implications are discussed in terms of the potential role that a tool like AWSuM could play in the teaching and learning of technology-enhanced genre writing.