Use of VoiceThread for Reflective Speaking

Reflection in language learning plays a key role in promoting a deeper understanding of one’s own learning. Previous studies show that reflective speaking could raise students’ higher critical thinking, and that technology helps facilitate this reflection effectively. This study aimed to investigate the use of VoiceThread for a reflective speaking task for students. The participants consisted of 67 undergraduate students enrolled in an English course who were assigned to do four video recordings of their self-study. They found their own English materials to study and made their own choices of answering the five guided questions representing the four reflective levels. Only 156 video recordings from out of 39 students, who posted all four video recordings, were transcribed and analyzed. All 67 students did answer the questionnaire regarding their attitudes towards the use of VoiceThread. The findings show that the majority of the students’ reflective level was at Level 1 (Nonreflection), and a few of their expressions were found at Level 3 (Reflection). The students also said they were confident when speaking, and VoiceThread helped facilitate their reflective speaking.