Effects of Learners' Language Backgrounds and Computer Graphics Display Strategies in a Hypermedia Learning Environment

Abstract

Today, multicultural classrooms are prevalent in American schools. One of the prominent characteristics for multicultural classrooms is that more and more English as a second language speakers are participating in classrooms in which English is the main language for delivering instruction. Furthermore, with the rapid development of computer hardware and software, instructional system developers are able to employ different graphics display strategies in developing hypermedia instruction. Thus, a research study has been conducted to investigate the relationship of learners' language backgrounds and different computer graphics display strategies. Four versions of hypertext instruction were developed with identical text in each instructional program but with different levels of computer graphics displays in each. Data were collected from 100 graduate students at a large southwest state university. After analyzing the data, a significant result that learners' language backgrounds did make a difference in their academic performance was found. Conclusion and implications for future studies were provided.

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