Foreign Language Exposure in Knowledge-Building Forums Using English as a Foreign Language - Abstract and Study Findings

Oct 15, 2026

This study examines how prior exposure to a foreign language and culture affects student performance in online knowledge-building tasks. Conducted in Spain’s Catalan region, it involves ninth-grade bilingual students learning English as a foreign language. Learners are grouped by low, medium, and high levels of English exposure, then complete pre- and post-tests. One-way ANOVA results show scores improve at similar rates across groups, suggesting limited peer sharing of English culture knowledge, while comprehension and production generally increase. Forum post analysis also highlights pragmatic variability likely linked to the absence of native English speakers.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Résumé

Introduction

Key ideas on pragmatic variability

Intercultural competence in foreign language education

Role of teachers and learning outcomes

| Volume 46 (2) | Summer/été 2020 | | --- | --- | Foreign Language Exposure in Knowledge-Building Forums Using English as a Foreign Language L'exposition aux langues étrangères dans les forums de développement des connaissances utilisant l'anglais comme langue étrangère Marni Manegre, Universitat Rovira I Virgili Abstract This study investigates how previous exposure to a foreign language and culture influences student performance in online knowledge-building tasks. As knowledge-building tasks allow students to share and distribute their knowledge ; this study examines whether foreign language and culture knowledge is also distributed amongst the group. The study was conducted in the Catalan region of Spain where the participating grade nine students were learning English as a foreign language and they were all bilingual speakers of Catalan and Spanish. The students were assessed to determine their previous exposure to the English language and culture, and they were divided into low-, medium-, and high-levels of English language exposure. The students wrote both a pre-test and a post-test before and after the study, and a one-way ANOVA was used to determine whether exposure to English influenced the performances on the tests. The analysis shows that the student scores increased at the same rate across the groups. This indicates that the students did not share their knowledge of the English language and culture with their peers in this online writing task; however, the students generally showed an increase in their comprehension and production of the foreign language. A further analysis of the posts in the forum indicates there were issues with pragmatic variability, which was likely due to the absence of participating native speakers of English. Keywords: Knowledge-building forums; second language acquisition; collaborative learning; intercultural competence; culture exposure; knowledge-building; online collaborative learning. Résumé Cette étude examine comment l'exposition préalable à une langue et à une culture étrangères influence les performances des étudiants dans les tâches de construction de connaissances en ligne. Comme les tâches de construction de connaissances permettent aux étudiants de partager et de diffuser leurs connaissances, cette étude examine si les connaissances en langues et cultures étrangères sont également diffusées au sein du groupe. L'étude a été menée dans la région Catalaned'Espagne, où les élèves de neuvième année qui ont participé à l'étude apprenaient l'anglais comme CJLT/RCAT Vol. 46 (2) langue étrangère et étaient tous bilingues (catalan et espagnol) . Les élèves ont été évalués afin dedéterminer leur exposition antérieure à la langue et à la culture anglaises, et ils ont été divisés en niveaux d'exposition faible, moyen et élevé à la langue anglaise. Les étudiants ont passé un pré-test et un post-test avant et après l'étude, et une ANOVA à sens unique a été utilisée pour déterminer sil'exposition à l'anglais avait influencé les performances aux tests. L'analyse montre que les scores des élèves ont augmenté au même rythme dans tous les groupes. Cela indique que les étudiants n'ont pas partagé leurs connaissances de la langue et de la culture anglaises avec leurs pairs dans cette tâched'écriture en ligne; cependant, les étudiants ont généralement montré une augmentation de leur compréhension et de leur production de la langue étrangère. Une analyse plus approfondie des messages du forum indique qu'il y a eu des problèmes de variabilité pragmatique, ce qui est probablement dû à l'absence de participants dont la langue maternelle est l'anglais. Mots-clés : Forums de développement des connaissances; acquisition d'une deuxième langue; apprentissage collaboratif; compétence interculturelle; exposition à la culture; développement des connaissances; apprentissage collaboratif en ligne. Introduction Foreign language classes are often taught to master the skills of a foreign lan

FAQs

How does prior English and culture exposure influence student performance in the online task?

Students’ scores increased at the same rate across low-, medium-, and high-exposure groups, indicating prior exposure did not create performance differences in the tests.

What method was used to compare test performance across exposure levels?

A pre-test and post-test were administered, and a one-way ANOVA was used to determine whether English exposure influenced performance.

What did the forum post analysis reveal about learners’ language use?

The analysis identified issues with pragmatic variability, likely related to the absence of native English speakers in the forum.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mafia Boss