Hsin-Lin Lu
Assistant Professor Department of English Language and Literature Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan
Email：hsinlinlu@gmail.com
Cooper Singman
Assistant Professor Department of Applied Foreign Languages Tatung University, Taiwan
Email：cooper@ttu.edu.tw
摘要
This study investigated the value of an organized educational digital library in supporting and enhancing EFL students’ inquiry learning process. Digital libraries are complex and advanced distributed information spaces that offer real-time interactive services enabling public to easily manage and monitor vast quantities of multimedia data via the Internet (Ferguson & Bunge, 1997). Students in two groups were compared in their learning performance. One approach used traditional open access to information while the other used an online digital library to accessing information during their inquiry-based information search process. Inquiry-based learning is the process of feeling curious about a topic, asking questions, and seeking answers, language learners can clarify their understanding of the content and develop their language skills simultaneously (Stoddart, Pinal, Latzke, & Canaday, 2002). Quantitative data analysis was used to examine the two groups on their English reading comprehension. Results indicated students who used structured search strategies with digital libraries had higher learning performance in English reading comprehension.
關鍵字：educational digital library, inquiry-based learning, EFL, English reading comprehension