Abstract:
The use of newer technologies in foreign language education has proved to be effective to facilitate teaching and learning (Golonka et al., 2014). The role of technology took on greater relevance for instructors and learners due to the rapid and sudden change of modality of instruction triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, from in-person to remote. Although Zoom quickly gained popularity and was used by many instructors nationwide, this videoconferencing tool was not enough to assess language learning or promote student engagement. Therefore, this action research study intended to innovate the experience of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) by using the Nearpod application to conduct formative assessments synchronously and determine its effect on students’ grammatical competence. This quasi-experimental study was conducted at an Ecuadorian public university located in the province of Cañar with a total of 46 participants from two classes assigned to experimental and control groups. The data were collected through pre-tests and post-tests, and a survey to gather students’ attitudes towards the acceptance of the app. The t-test for independent samples indicated that students in the experimental group performed slightly better than participants in the control group. Nonetheless, a t-test for paired samples to analyze a group of participants in the experimental group who had attended all synchronous sessions revealed a statistically significant improvement in their grammatical competence. As for the students’ acceptance of the app, the results showed a high rate for both categories, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use.
