An Investigation of the Effects of Processing Instruction in the Online Learning of the Past Perfect Tense: A Case at a University

Vietnamese learners and teachers experienced enormous difficulty in online learning during COVID-19 due to their previous limited exposure to virtual learning. The primary purpose of the study is to develop an appropriate and effective grammar instruction approach for virtual learning. To achieve that purpose, this study compared the relative effects of two types of grammar instruction (Traditional Instruction and Processing Instruction) on online learning of the Past Perfect Tense. More than 160 learners from two elementary classes at a university in Ho Chi Minh City participated in the study with two treatment groups: Traditional Instruction (TI) and Processing Instruction (PI). All the lessons were conducted in a virtual classroom. Pre-test and post-test involving comprehension and production tasks were measured. Overall, the learners who experienced PI gained significantly better results than the TI group in comprehension tasks, while both groups performed similarly in production tasks. Moreover, many features of Processing Instruction are well-suited for the nature of online learning, which benefits learners while they are struggling with virtual classrooms.