Is Self-Explanation Always Better? The Effects of Adding Self-Explanation Prompts to an English Grammar Tutor

Abstract Several studies have,demonstrated,the benefits of self- explanation on learning well-defined domains like math, biology, and physics. However, these findings have yet to be replicated in probabilistic domains,like second,language acquisition. Working,with,adult English as,a,Second Language students (n=61) within the domain,of the English article system (i.e. teaching students the difference between,a dog vs. the dog) we,conduct the first experimental,study of the effects of prompting,self-explanation on second,language grammar,acquisition. We compare,two different modes,of self-explanations (free-response and menu-based), each implemented in an intelligent tutoring system, to a control tutor with no explicit self-explanation prompts. Students in all conditions show,significant learning gains but contrary to theoretical predictions, the self-explanation tutors did not lead to better learning over the no self-explanation condition. We discuss why,and,under,what,specific conditions,target- specific practice without,self-explanation,may,be a more effective instructional strategy.