An Investigation of Chinese Postgraduate Students' Experiences on a Data-Visualized English Writing Feedback Platform

摘要

English academic writing can be difficult for Chinese students and hinder their study performance in Australian universities. With the fast transmission of different information, data visualization, and its following tools have been widely applied in various fields. However, few studies have identified the interconnection of data visualization and Chinese students' English academic writing. These conceptsappear to be unrelated, but can be combined with digital design strategies. In this pilot study, a web-basedfeedback platform, FRED-visX, was designed andemployed to test the possibility of using a data visualization strategy to help Chinese students track longitudinal changes and related parameters in their English academic writing. A qualitative study by interviewing 8 Chinese students in two groups was conducted in the Master of Digital Design program at an Australian university. The effects and influences of FRED-visX on the academic writing of these students were examined and qualified experimentally. The results suggested that many students identified the use of data visualization in providing visual feedback could helpthem to understand their changes of academic writing. Furthermore, this study revealed several issues requiringfurther research. This paper examines and discussesissues relevant to the possibility of using datavisualization to provide visible feedback for Englishacademic writing.