Impact of Self-analysis Behaviors in GOAL for Japanese High School EFL Learners

Abstract

In the 21st century, self-directed learning (SDL) has become an essential skill for personal growth and success. This applies to the context of language learning as well. To enhance students' SDL skills, we previously proposed the DAPER (Data, Analyze, Plan, Execution, Monitoring, Reflect) model and developed the GOAL (Goal-oriented Active Learner) system to support DAPER. In this study, we focused on the Analysis phase of GOAL. 113 students tracked their scores in 39 weekly tests (19 for English vocabulary and 20 for English grammar) over one year in GOAL. Their self-analysis behaviors after studying and taking tests were also prompted in GOAL. We investigated the relationship between analysis behavior and test scores, finding a significant difference in learning outcomes between students who conducted self-analysis and those who did not. While the current result cannot definitively conclude that self-analysis improves study performance in language learning, it does show that it is meaningful to promote students' SDL behavior tends to perform better.