HERMENEUTIC APPROACHES TO LANGUAGE LEARNING: ANALYZING THE PHILOSOPHICAL IMPLICATIONS OF AUTOMATIC FEEDBACK IN THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OF CHINESE COLLEGE STUDENTS

Abstract

Hermeneutics, with its profound history in Western thought, has emerged as one of the most vibrant philosophical movements in contemporary times, particularly through its transformation within the domain of philosophical hermeneutics. This evolution has profoundly influenced methods of second language acquisition, notably in translation and writing. In the modern landscape of language education research, automated writing evaluation systems, such as Pigai's automated corrective feedback, represent a significant advancement. This study investigates the differential impacts of such technologies on students of varying language proficiencies from a hermeneutic standpoint. We analyzed 754 draft submissions from 45 participants using Pigai, focusing on the frequency of part-of-speech errors, alongside participants’ responses to the Learner Autonomy Questionnaire and their perceptions of Pigai’s feedback. Employing statistical analyses including Paired T-tests and ANOVA, alongside non-parametric tests like the Wilcoxon and Kruskal-Wallis, our findings reveal that Pigai's feedback significantly enhanced writing scores and reduced grammatical errors, with distinct efficacy across different proficiency levels. Notably, lower proficiency students exhibited both higher short-term improvements and more pronounced long-term gains. These outcomes underscore the hermeneutic principle that understanding and interpreting corrective feedback is crucial in the language learning process, reflecting a complex interplay between automated technological aids and individual learner autonomy. Further studies should expand on this foundation with a broader demographic and more nuanced error analysis to fully explore the philosophical implications of automated feedback in the context of religious education.