The effects of dual concept mapping on science content and foreign language integrated learning

Abstract

Among various approaches to teaching and learning English as a foreign language, content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has received wide attention. Despite its positive effects on student learning, exposure to new content in a foreign language poses a cognitive challenge to learners. It is important but difficult for students to capture both content and language in CLIL. To address the challenge, previous studies have used concept maps to visualize knowledge structure for content learning, with a few others using concept maps to visualize text structure for language learning. It is important to integrate the two distinct ways of concept mapping to facilitate content and language integrated learning.

This study proposed a computer-based dual concept mapping approach visualizing both knowledge structure and text structure of learning content in separate concept maps and examined its effects on science content and English language integrated learning among secondary students. Eighth grade students from a junior school participated in the study. Compared to those only constructing knowledge-based concept maps without text-based concept maps, the students using the dual concept mapping approach achieved better performance in content learning, i.e., the acquisition of science knowledge in terms of conceptual knowledge and causation analysis. Moreover, the proposed approach has shown positive effects in improving language performance. In particular, for low and medium achievers in English language, the approach was effective in improving their overall language score and sub-scores in grammar, discourse organization, and content appropriateness; for high achievers in English language, the approach was effective only in improving their sub-score in discourse organization. Moreover, the students using the proposed approach experienced a lower level of cognitive load and had a higher level of motivation with more positive perceptions and comments on the learning program than their counterparts did.

This study has demonstrated promising effects of the dual concept mapping approach in improving learning outcomes and learning experience in CLIL. Moreover, it provides implications for research and practice in CLIL. First, students in CLIL can be encouraged to build concept maps to visualize both knowledge structure and text structure of learning content to support content and language integrated learning. The promising effects of the dual concept mapping approach demonstrated in this study provide insights into new pedagogy or teaching strategy for CLIL with the support of concept mapping technology. Second, visualizing text structure in a concept map can benefit not only language learning but also content learning. Presenting the layout of text and signal words in a visual form can increase student awareness of text organization or rhetorical structures. Moreover, it can help students to shape disciplinary thinking by capturing the language patterns specific to the discipline. In this study, highlighting the cause-and-effect structure facilitated causation analysis, which is important for science learning. Third, although the dual concept mapping approach has shown its potential to support CLIL, further research is needed to examine how this approach can be effectively implemented in educational practice, for example by helping students to use concept mapping technology in an effective way.