The Impact of Prior Knowledge on the Motivation and Effectiveness of Using the English Sentence Rearrangement Practice System

The study explores the impact of prior knowledge on the motivation and effectiveness of using the English Sentence Rearrangement Practice System. Through an empirical investigation involving 87 first-year students from a nursing department in northern Taiwan, the research investigates the relationship between prior knowledge, learning motivation, and learning effectiveness. The study consisted of an 8-week experimental teaching program, with 100 min of instruction each week. In the first week, participants received an introduction to the system and completed a pre-test. Through the second to the seventh weeks, learners engaged in individual practice using the system either during or after class. In the eighth week, participants underwent a post-test examination and completed the ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction) learning motivation questionnaire. Findings suggest that while there is no significant difference in learning motivation between learners with high and low prior knowledge levels, the use of the English Sentence Rearrangement Practice System effectively sustains learners’ motivation levels, as evidenced by consistently high average values of the ARCS. Moreover, the system significantly enhances learning effectiveness, particularly for learners with low prior knowledge, indicating its potential to bridge performance gaps. These results underscore the importance of instructional approaches and the integration of digital technologies in language learning contexts. The study contributes certain observations into enhancing language teaching strategies to support learners in their language acquisition journey.