ABSTRACT

Recent years, dramatic changes in the mode of writing have occurred. Computers and other digital devices are increasingly replacing writing by hand. The sensory-motor experiences of typing (e.g. visual, haptic, motor) are different from those used in handwriting. Therefore, the influence and effect of keyboarding on linguistic performance, compared to handwriting or letter tiles, has seen much inquiry. The results of these studies have been mixed. In this study, researchers used grounded theory to explore the experiences and perceptions of keyboard-based English word acquisition learners. The participants came from various ages and backgrounds (30 English training institute kids, 46 elementary school students, 7 college students, 14 in-service teachers), as well as 10 parents of lower age learners (N = 107). Audio of the interviews was recorded digitally, transcribed verbatim and imported into NVivo 11.0 for coding and analysis. Overall, the participants confirmed the effect of keyboarding on English word learning, and a majority expressed positive attitudes towards keyboarding. Participants also listed which aspects of keyboarding interested them, such as improved learning efficiency, engaging learning activities or other incidental benefits.