Mapping ideas, mapping success: comparing digital brainstorming tools in foreign language instruction

Currently, writing instructors have benefited from significant advances in technology, particularly in the field of writing. Technology-enhanced language learning (TELL) has received unprecedented attention over the past decades. However, research on web-based visual communication tools, such as mind-mapping tools, and their interface designs has not been sufficiently investigated within the foreign language (FL) writing instructional contexts. That means questions like whether web-based mind-mapping tools enhance idea creation and whether users perceive their interface design better deserve further investigation. This study partially bridges this gap by comparing MindMeister, a web-based interactive brainstorming (BS) tool, with PPT, a non-web-based BS tool. Participants are college students majoring in English, divided into two classes (control and experiment). The experiment class (EC) brainstormed ideas using MindMeister, while the control class (CC) used PPT. Quantitative and qualitative data from a post-study questionnaire, writing task, brainstormed ideas, and screen recordings were analyzed to determine whether the EC generated more ideas, had a higher perception of their tools’ interface design, and performed better in the writing task. Additionally, correlations were sought between typing speed, BS time, and ideas generated. Seven hypotheses, based on the research questions, were tested in the study. Three of the seven hypotheses were confirmed, two were partially confirmed, and two were not confirmed after data analysis. The findings have significant practical, pedagogical, and policy implications, as well as technology-informed FL instruction.