Relationships between Students' Grammar Acquisition, Computer Literacy and Self-Regulation Variables in a Virtual Learning Environment with WikiBased Grammar E-Tivities

The literature on CALL (computer-assisted language learning) indicates that various psychological characteristics of learners may determine the process of language learning and its outcomes [1], especially in constructivist, learner-based paradigms [2]. It has been argued that hybrid learning settings offer increased opportunities for individualization and collaboration [3]. However, research on the interrelationships between individual variables that may affect students' grammar development in a hybrid English as a foreign language (EFL) environment supported by web 2.0 tools is fairly scarce. The aim of the study in this paper was to establish the correlation between the acquired knowledge of five morphosyntactic structures, two learner characteristics associated with computer literacy and three self-regulation variables in EFL grammar instruction within the socio-constructivist paradigm. The subjects in our study were students of Information Systems at a Croatian university enrolled in a hybrid EFL course. They were engaged in collaborative out-of-class e-tivities using wikis and other web 2.0 tools to describe and illustrate advanced grammar topics. The acquired grammatical competence (GC) was assessed by a written test. The data on learner variables were collected by a survey questionnaire. Both instruments were administered after the completion of e-tivities. The correlation analysis revealed statistically significant associations between the outgoing GC and two variables: (1) students' perception of self-efficacy and (2) their perceived effort in using the computer (negative correlation).