Effect of Bayesian Student Modeling on Academic Achievement in Foreign Language Teaching (University Level English Preparatory School Example)

Considering the increasing importance of adaptive approaches in CALL systems, this study implemented a machine learning based student modeling middleware with Bayesian networks. The profiling approach of the student modeling system is based on Felder and Silverman's Learning Styles Model and Felder and Soloman's Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire. The questionnaire was adapted to Turkish for this experimental study conducted with respect to the visual/verbal and active/reflective dimensions of the model. A topic in EFL was chosen for the learning content design, which was also carried into the digital domain and remastered as separate learning scenes for different learning styles. Computer software was also implemented to carry out the experimental learning processes. A quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test design was conducted with 46 volunteers, with 23 students assigned each to a control and an experimental group to compare academic achievement between student-based learning and conventional computer-based learning. No significant difference was found in academic achievement between the control and experimental groups after the experimental treatment. The diagnostic performance of the proposed student modeling system was also compared with performances from similar studies. This student modeling system had a successful prediction rate of 41% on the visual/verbal dimension and 54% on the active/reflective dimension, respectively.