25/09/2023
A study in Japan showed that the online English course Evolve Digital can boost participants’ motivation and progress in learning English.
The study focussed on a group of English teachers working in junior and senior high schools in Japan. It looked at the impact Evolve Digital had on their levels of English, engagement, motivation and attitudes towards learning.
‘Evolve Digital had a really positive overall impact on the teachers in Japan who used the course to improve their English,” explained Dr Brigita Séguis, Head of Impact Evaluation at Cambridge University Press & Assessment who led the study. She continued: ‘We also saw teachers make significant gains in their speaking confidence.’
Dr Séguis thought that it was encouraging to see 51% of participants jumping up a whole CEFR level as a result of taking Evolve Digital for only seven months.
Dr Séguis further explained: ‘The teachers were also impressed with the flexibility of the course, and the fact that they could use Evolve Digital on its own or combined with teacher-led online classes.”
The participants chose one of three options for Evolve Digital which were flexible self-study with no teacher feedback, flexible self-study with teacher feedback on speaking and writing skills and flexible self-study combined with scheduled teacher led sessions. The study found positive outcomes from all of the groups in terms of skills learnt, motivation and levels of satisfaction with the course.
The study was part of a wider training programme which is the result of a collaboration between Cambridge University Press & Assessment and the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). The Evolve Digital course was delivered together with Global Bridge, a Tokyo based training organisation.
Read the full impact study here