An investigation into students' usage of an online homework wiki, its effect on language improvement and its benefit as a learning and teaching support for undergraduate German

This investigation aimed to examine the effects of using an Online German Homework Wiki and other factors on undergraduate students’ language improvement at the Shannon College of Hotel Management (SCHM) in Ireland. The Online German Homework Wiki designed and implemented at SCHM in advance of this study. Students had the option of submitting homework online, where it was corrected by the lecturer using an elaborate coloured correction scheme, incorporating corrective feedback and comments of guidance and praise. The students and lecturer also had the ability to communicate online using comments. The Online German Homework Wiki also stored class handouts and class pages in which the lecturer documented all white-board work on vocabulary and discussion topics as they happened in class, thus contextualising vocabulary. Key to the learning process, however, was the feature of hyperlinking, which involved the teacher underlining errors and hyperlinking them to other pages explaining the grammatical or idiomatic aspect, thus contextualising grammar. The investigation involved developing testing methods to establish students’ language level in the pre-study and post-study phases. Questionnaires were devised to collect background information and feedback from students and also feedback from lecturers at SCHM and at other institutes. The investigation found that students’ engagement with the Online Homework Wiki was solely affected by students’ attendance, motivation and attitude towards learning German, IT skills and the frequency of the lecturer’s feedback. The number of students’ online submissions, motivation and classroom attendance affected students’ accuracy and proficiency. When students felt encouraged by online comments they also improved in proficiency. The Online Homework Wiki was successful in hosting the process of homework submission and provided clearer and more legible correction. It was deemed a beneficial learning and teaching support by SCHM students and lecturers at SCHM and at other institutes. The Online Homework Wiki was also awarded an EU European Language Label in September 2011. The Online Homework Wiki will continue to be in use at SCHM. The findings recommend its use in other learning environments, with small to medium class sizes, should teachers feel confident in their IT skills and are able to commit the extra time which online correction demands.