| Instructors of the Business English course are continually searching for superior methods of teaching comma usage. Using schema theory as a theoretical framework, the present study examined the effects of computer-assisted, collaborative, and lecture-exercise instruction on achievement in comma usage.; Seventy-three students enrolled in six Business English classes participated in the study. The intact classes were randomly divided into computer-assisted, collaborative, and lecture-exercise groups. The computer-assisted and collaborative groups were considered the experimental classes, and the traditional lecture-exercise group was considered the control class. The students were pretested and posttested using an instrument validated by a panel of experts, a reference to the literature, and an examination of textbooks. The instruction material for the study was the computer tutorial Blue Pencil.; The findings of the study indicated no difference in comma usage achievement among students participating in computer-assisted, collaborative, or lecture-exercise instruction. Furthermore, the findings were interpreted to mean that a change in the schematic view of comma usage is equally possible using computer-assisted, collaborative, or lecture-exercise methods of instruction. |
