6. Conclusions
In this study, two important issues that have not been addressed in previous STR-related research were uncovered, and an attempt was made to remedy them. In addition, three assumptions were tested. The following main findings were obtained: First, students who used STR-texts outperformed those who did not use them. Lectures in English caused less cognitive load for low EFL ability students when they used STR-texts. Second, students perceived that STR-texts were useful for learning and they had positive behavioral intentions to use STR-texts for learning in the future. Depending on the students’ EFL ability, the STR-texts could be invaluable in helping them to follow the instructor (93% of LAEG during both lectures), to enhance understanding (80% of LAEG during both lectures), and to confirm what the lecturer says (33% of LAEG during both lectures, 20% of HAEG during the first lecture, and 67% of HAEG during the second lecture). Some other reasons to use STR-texts were also demonstrated, e.g. the instructor’s accent, pronunciation, speed, or volume could cause comprehension problems (27% of LAEG during both lectures, 13% of HAEG during the first lecture, and 53% of HAEG during the second lecture), or perhaps students were distracted and missed some important information (20% of LAEG during both lectures). Finally, most low EFL ability students (93%) used STR-texts for both the intermediate and advanced level lectures, whereas most high EFL ability students only used STR-texts for the advanced lecture (67%) although some of them did use it for the intermediate level (20%). When the lecture content difficulty matched the experimental students’ EFL ability (i.e. lecture 1 and low EFL ability/lecture 2 and high EFL ability), they still performed better compared to the control students. Experimental students whose EFL ability level matched the lecture content difficulty still relied on/paid attention to STR-texts in those lectures.
