The Effect of Applying Language Picture Books in Reciprocal Teaching on Students’ Language Learning Motivations

The research nature of this study is to examine the priority of English as a foreign language in many non-English speaking countries in the context of globalization with a focus on the importance of English for cross-linguistic communication and interpersonal communication. The research purpose is to understand the effects of language picture books applied to interactive teaching methods on English language learning motivation, learning performance, and language and reading ability of elementary school students in southern Taiwan. The research method used herein is an experimental design model. In total, 192 students in eight classes in Grade Six of two elementary schools in southern Taiwan, each with four classes of 24 students, who used the same picture book materials are taken as the research subjects for an experimental study. The research method includes the application of language picture books to interactive teaching methods, combined with a variety of teaching activities, to create a fun and enjoyable learning atmosphere. The study observes students’ active participation and learning performance in the classroom and evaluates the impacts of these activities on their learning motivation, language ability, and reading ability were evaluated. The findings of this study are as follows. 1) The use of the interactive teaching method with language picture books has a significant effect on students’ motivation to learn English, by observing students’ active participation in the classroom. 2) The English picture books inspire children’s curiosity and interest in reading, increase their motivation for English learning, and make them quite interested in reading. 3) The course incorporated a variety of teaching activities to create a happy learning atmosphere, so that students can continue to work toward their English learning goals after the course is over. We also present the conclusions and discussions based on the results in the hope that language picture books can develop students’ capacity for listening and concentration and contribute to the development and improvement of their language ability and reading ability. Plain Language Summary The Impact of Interactive Picture Book Teaching Methods This study aims to understand the effects of applying language picture books to interactive teaching methods on the English learning motivation, performance, and language and reading abilities of elementary school students in southern Taiwan. The research method employed is an experimental design model. In total, 192 students from eight Grade Six classes across two elementary schools in southern Taiwan, each class consisting of 24 students, utilized the same picture book materials for this experimental study. The methodology integrates language picture books with interactive teaching methods, combined with various teaching activities, to create a fun and enjoyable learning environment. This study observes students’ active participation and performance in the classroom and evaluates the impact of these activities on their learning motivation, language proficiency, and reading skills. The findings of this study are as follows: 1) The use of interactive teaching methods with language picture books significantly enhances students’ motivation to learn English, as evidenced by their active participation in class. 2) English picture books ignite children’s curiosity and interest in reading, boosting their motivation to learn English and fostering a profound interest in reading. 3) The curriculum, enriched with diverse teaching activities, establishes a joyful learning atmosphere, motivating students to continue their English learning journey even after the course concludes. Based on the results, we also present conclusions and discussions, hoping that language picture books can cultivate students’ listening and concentration abilities and contribute to the growth and enhancement of their language and reading skills.


Introduction
Under the trend of globalization and internationalization, English has become an extremely important international language among many others (Curran & Owen Van Horne, 2019) and has become a priority for learning it in many Asian countries (Oslund et al., 2018).In this wave of globalization, the development of economic, political, cultural, educational, and technological activities in countries around the world has undergone significant changes.Many non-English speaking countries have given priority to learning English as a foreign language in order to improve the proficiency of their citizens, highlighting the importance of this language in the world.Indeed, the need and significance of English for cross-linguistic communication and to enhance the opportunities for people to interact with each other are widely known.
The Taiwan government actively promotes various policies for English to promote the English language quality of the citizens in its move toward international development, but the effectiveness of English learning in Taiwan is not satisfactory.The English performance of school children shows a bimodal phenomenon, as English education allows students with prior English language experience to excel, but fails to improve the performance of students who do not learn English well (Faramarzi et al., 2018).
The segmental proficiency indicators of the English curriculum in Taiwan reveal that while the learning of listening and speaking is emphasized at the elementary school level, reading and writing activities are not neglected, but rather integrated into the curriculum at the appropriate time.Thus, students can experience different forms of language naturally through exposure to simple reading materials, in order to achieve listening, speaking, reading, and writing in a complementary way (Cuevas et al., 2019).
In the reading component of the segmental proficiency indicators, the following achievements are expected of elementary school children: 1) recognize common words in stories, rhymes, and songs; 2) read simple sentences; 3) read aloud dialogues and stories in textbooks correctly following their teachers or audio tapes; 4) read and understand the general contents of simple stories and short plays with visual aids such as pictures and icons; and 5) make simple predictions or inferences from pictures, book titles, or context (Lopez & Campoverde, 2018).
According to the research concepts of Genc and Bada (2005), Pike (2008), and Calafato and Gudim (2022), cultural life is an important part of language learning.Through exposure to various forms of cultural expression, such as literature, film, music, comics and art, children gain insight into the values, traditions, and lifestyles of different countries and communities.This experience enriches their horizons and develops their ability to communicate across cultures and respect others.
The expansion of international perspectives is likewise important, especially in a globalized world today.It is clearly important for children to recognize the interrelatedness and interconnectedness of different countries and cultures and to understand the complexity and diversity of global issues, to broaden their horizons through exposure to diverse materials and to develop a sense of global citizenship.
The content of textbooks should therefore reflect multiculturalism and international perspectives as much as possible, provide children with more opportunities to experience and understand differences between cultures, as well as to develop their intercultural and global thinking skills.Obviously, if we rely on textbook content only, then the children's experience of cultural life and the development of international perspective in English learning will be slightly narrowed.
The bimodal phenomenon of language learning does become more pronounced as the grade level increases.It is not that children in upper grades do not want to learn, but instead they do not have enough literacy to make them confident.
In the Children's Literature course, children are introduced to English picture books that are rich in content and offer a wide range of topics.If they can be taught with the English proficiency indicators at the elementary school level, then picture books are a very suitable extension of reading materials.Through reading English picture books, children can quickly expand their horizons and starting with small, simple ones can enhance their sense of achievement (Lavelli et al., 2019).
Reading English picture books also serves as a gateway to fostering motivation and interest in learning the English language curriculum at the elementary school level as well as to increase their understanding of Chinese and foreign cultures.Therefore, this study investigates the effect of utilizing language picture books in reciprocal teaching on students' language learning motivation.The use of language picture books should develop students' listening and concentration skills and contribute to the development and improvement of their language and reading proficiencies.

Literature Review
The Relationship Between Language Picture Books and Language Learning Motivation According to Xu and Fan (2021), the best way for students to acquire English is by providing them with lots of interesting, comprehensible language input that is relevant to their life experiences.Reading English picture books can quickly expand children's horizons and increase their sense of achievement.While English picture books are simple and childlike, the illustrations assist students in understanding the context, which can enhance their motivation and interest when learning the language.
Calafato and Gudim (2022) noted that foreign language learners are often afraid to use the target language in the classroom, possibly due to concerns about their ability, lack of motivation, or cultural customs.Therefore, using comics as a multimodal resource, they investigated how their use affected Russian under the context of a foreign language learners' willingness to communicate, and how this willingness to communicate manifested itself in the classroom, making students more willing to interact with the teacher in Russian.
Houston-Price et al. ( 2019) mentioned that English picture books contain a variety of story themes, which are not didactic, but rich in educational content.Teaching via English picture books not only attracts students' attention, but also helps them learn English.It is not enough to just read English textbooks only; reading many English picture books can expose students to a wide range of language materials.Jon et al. (2019) also showed that lively picture book themes and illustrations have a positive impact on students' motivation and are helpful in developing their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills.Vayanou et al. (2019) used English picture books as supplementary listening materials for students in their study and found that they lead to positive attitudes toward learning English.Baryannis, Validi, Dani, & Antoniou (2019) chose English picture books as a remedial teaching topic to enhance the motivation of low-achieving students in elementary English, while Budiman et al. (2019) noted high interest in teaching English picture book culture among school children.Tsai et al. (2018) also demonstrated that the lively and interesting content of English picture books helps children to enhance their interest in learning.Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed.
H 1 : Language picture books have a significant effect on language learning motivation.

The Relationship Between Reciprocal Teaching and Language Learning Motivation
Reciprocal teaching is the act of teaching reading comprehension through dialogues between the teacher and students (Berger, 2019).During the teaching process, the teacher and students take turns leading the dialogues, and the discussion is based on the four strategies of prediction, questioning, clarification, and summarization that are used to construct reading comprehension.
According to Muflih (2019), learning motivation is the internal process of learning activity that attracts students' attention, sustains their learning, and leads their learning toward goals set by the teacher.The formation of students' learning motivation is influenced by the external environment and internal needs.
For research in relation to English reading, Wu and Chen (2018) used reciprocal teaching to enhance fifth-grade students' English reading comprehension strategies and reading attitude.Tseng and Yeh (2018) incorporated reciprocal teaching into animation design to explore fifth-grade students' English reading comprehension and motivations.Ryan et al. (2020) employed reciprocal teaching and picture storybooks to teach students English vocabulary and reading.Anthony et al. (2020) found that applying reciprocal teaching to online English book reading is helpful for fifth-grade students' English learning.
In summary, the use of reciprocal teaching in reading learning for students with special impairments can improve their reading skills; the use of reciprocal teaching can improve the learning of elementary school children in different subjects; and the use of reciprocal teaching in reading can help the reading comprehension and motivation of students in lower, middle, and upper elementary school grades.Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed.
H2: Reciprocal teaching has a significant effect on language learning motivation.

The Relationship Between Language Picture Books and Reciprocal Teaching
Reciprocal teaching can be divided into two models: reciprocal teaching only (RTO) and explicit teaching before reciprocal teaching (ET-RT) (Cockerill et al., 2019).The first model (RTO) is when the teacher does not specifically explain the four reading strategies, but directly guides the students during the dialogue, giving procedural models and hints.For example, during the lesson the teacher asks the students to predict the content of the story based on the cover of the picture book, uses the 6Ws to help the students ask questions about the content of the story, and finally helps the students clarify and summarize.
The second model (ET-RT) explicitly introduces the four reading strategies to students before the teaching begins, informing them how and when to use them.The students then will use the strategies during the dialogue between themselves and the teacher, with the teacher playing the role of facilitator during the dialogue (Stevens et al., 2019).Once students are familiar with the four reading strategies, the teacher gradually reduces the number of demonstrations, allowing students to improve their abilities, gradually transferring responsibility for the dialogue to students, giving them a sense of responsibility, and developing their ability to learn independently while incorporating the spirit of cooperative learning (Fo¨rster et al., 2018).
Reciprocal teaching promotes and monitors reading comprehension through active dialogues between teachers and students and between students themselves, which is in line with the spirit of reciprocal reading teaching.Reciprocal teaching is also effective at improving students' reading skills and exhibits transfer and retention effects, which can be achieved by selecting appropriate materials, informing students of the strategies to be learned, and allowing sufficient time for practice (C.Noble et al., 2019).Dialogues during reading help students construct meaning, and the oral interaction in dialogues can go beyond their individual constructions (Magableh & Abdullah, 2020).
One example is the study by Calafato and Gudim (2022) that revealed how the consistent and systematic use of comic picture books as a multimodal resource in language classrooms can positively impact learners' Willingness to Communicate (WTC) and even teachers' professional development and interaction with students.It further contributes to a better understanding of how multimodal resources can be used to effectively develop students' language skills and teachers' pedagogical competencies.
This study therefore explores reciprocal teaching by using RTO, hoping to guide students directly during the dialogue process, giving procedural models and prompts, and leading them to read English picture books.It is expected through the process of teacher-student dialogue and peer interaction that students will be interested in and enjoy learning English.Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed.
H3: Language picture books and reciprocal teaching have a significant effect on increasing language learning motivation.

Operational Definitions
Language Picture Book.This study experimentally manipulates the language picture book into two contexts of with and without a language picture book.
Reciprocal Teaching.This study experimentally manipulates reciprocal teaching into two contexts of with or without reciprocal teaching.
Motivation for Language Learning.This study bases the language learning motivation scale on Gardner's (1985Gardner's ( , 2001Gardner's ( , 2004) ) Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB), measured by the three dimensions of motivation intensity (such as I find studying English very interesting; I actively think about what I have learned in my English class; When I am in English class, I volunteer answers as much as possible; During English class, I would like to have only English spoken), learning desire (such as I wish I could speak English perfectly; Learning English is really great; Studying English is important because it will allow me to be more at ease with people who speak English; I have a strong desire to know all aspects of English; Knowing English is really an important goal in my life; I feel very much at ease when I have to speak English; Studying English is important because it will allow me to meet and converse with more and varied people), and learning attitude (such as Learning English is really great; I plan to learn as much English as possible; I love learning English),.

Research Subjects
The study adopts an experimental design model and incorporates a 2 3 2 factorial design strategy to investigate the effects of language picture books and interactive teaching methods on students' learning effectiveness.We select a total of 192 students in eight classes in Grade Six of two elementary schools, each with four classes of 24 students, in southern Taiwan who used the same picture book materials as the research subjects for an experimental study.The methodology and procedure are based on a 2 3 2 factorial design in which we divide the students into four experimental groups: 1) using the language picture book and implementing the interactive teaching method; 2) using the language picture book, but not implementing the interactive teaching method; 3) not using the language picture book, but implementing the interactive teaching method; and 4) not using the language picture book, and not implementing the interactive teaching method.

Analysis Method
This study applies independent t-test analysis to investigate the effect of language picture books on language learning motivation and the effect of reciprocal teaching on language learning motivation.The aim is to further understand the effect of language picture books and reciprocal teaching on language learning motivation.

Correlation
This study examines the correlation coefficients between motivation intensity, learning desire, and learning attitude (Table 1).

Reliability and Validity Analysis
This study extracts three factors from the learning motivation system after factor analysis (Table 2).

Analysis of Differences in Language Learning Motivation by Language Picture Books
This study conducts independent t-test analysis to investigate whether there is a difference in language learning Picture Source.Ho (2022), Miller (2021), Veitch (2022).motivation between using and not using language picture books.Table 3 shows a significant difference in the motivation intensity of language learning motivation between the two learning methods (T value = 4.799, p = .000***),as the motivation intensity of language learning with language picture books (4.29) is higher than that of without language picture books (3.78).
There is a significant difference in the learning desire of language learning motivation between with and without language picture books (T value = 5.082, p = 0.000***), as the learning desire of language learning motivation with language picture books (4.44) is higher than that of without language picture books (3.83).Finally, there is a significant difference between with and without language picture books in terms of attitude towards language learning motivation (T value = 6.231, p = .000***),as the learning attitude of language learning motivation with language picture books (4.28) is higher than that of without language picture books (3.48).Thus, H 1 is supported.

Analysis of Differences in Language Learning Motivation by Reciprocal Teaching
This study conducts independent t-test analysis to investigate whether there is a difference in language learning motivation between with and without reciprocal teaching.Table 4 shows a significant difference in the motivation intensity of language learning motivation between with and without reciprocal teaching (T value = 4.265, p = .000***),as the motivation intensity of language learning motivation of with reciprocal teaching (4.27) is higher than that of without reciprocal teaching (3.80).
There is a significant difference in the learning desire of language learning motivation between with and without reciprocal teaching (T value = 3.203, p = .000***),as the learning desire of language learning motivation with reciprocal teaching (4.33) is higher than that without reciprocal teaching (3.94).Finally, there is a significant difference in the learning attitude of language learning motivation between with and without reciprocal teaching (T value = 4.179, p = .000***),as the learning attitude of language learning motivation with reciprocal teaching (4.16) is higher than that without reciprocal teaching (3.60).Thus, H 2 is supported.

Analysis of Effects of Language Picture Books and Reciprocal Teaching
This study investigates whether there is a difference between language picture books and reciprocal teaching in terms of language learning motivation with analysis of variance.The effect of the interaction between language picture books and reciprocal teaching is verified by dichotomous analysis of variance.Table 5 presents in terms of intensity of language learning motivation (F = 8.766, p = .003**)that the highest motivation intensity appears in the group with language picture books*with reciprocal teaching.In terms of learning desire of language learning motivation (F = 5.709, p = .018*),the highest learning desire is in the group with language picture books*with reciprocal teaching.Finally, in terms of the learning attitude of language learning motivation (F = 12.404, p = .001**),the highest  learning attitude is in the group with language picture books*with reciprocal teaching.Thus, H 3 is supported.

Discussion
If students' concentration is low in the classroom, then providing appropriate and lively teaching methods can effectively solve this problem.The learning needs of students should be taken into account during the teaching process.The plan of teaching activities should be designed from shallow to deep.Multi-adaptive course content and teaching strategies can be developed through planning, implementing, and revising the curriculum design of the application of English picture books in reciprocal teaching.The diversity of picture book topics is very helpful for students to expand their vocabulary and sentence patterns and is bound to deepen students' desire to learn English when combined with a lively teaching style (Julia et al., 2019).The curriculum of applying language picture books into reciprocal teaching can increase students' interest in learning English.The presentation of the curriculum content through dynamic and static activities also makes the learning content more concrete for them to understand and enhances their concentration and participation in the curriculum (Bicen & Kocakoyun, 2018).
With the popularity of English picture books, teachers are utilizing them as a teaching aid to make the content more interesting.Therefore, if teachers can make good use of language picture books and apply them in reciprocal teaching and learning, then this should enhance students' language skills, enable them to learn more extensively, and thus increase their learning motivation and achievement.During the process of teaching, findings show that creating a happy learning atmosphere and providing positive encouragement can make students actively immerse themselves in the English context.
Students are also interested in extended activities in picture books, such as matching word cards, making picture books, singing songs together, sharing learning sheets, asking questions, and discussing storylines.All of these activities spur students to be more enthusiastic about learning English and stimulate their thinking and expression skills (Boden & Hart, 2018).
When teaching with English picture books, teachers should therefore create extension activities that are memorable and interesting, such as picture book role-play and reader's theater.By providing students with multiple opportunities for learning expressions and expanding their English learning experience, teachers may enhance the students' English learning effectiveness.
This study overall focuses on how providing lively and vivid teaching methods can effectively address the challenges of students' inattention.Through a simple to in-depth, multi-appropriate curriculum design and a combination of language picture books and interactive teaching methods, we aim to positively influence students' learning motivation.This study finds that the combination of language picture books and interactive teaching methods not only stimulates students' enthusiasm for learning English, but also helps them understand the course contents in a more concrete way and increases their concentration and engagement in the course.
Through the multiple themes of language picture books, teachers can have a more lively and active way of teaching, which not only expands students' learning of single words and sentence patterns, but also deepens their desire to learn English.Via the implementation of language picture books and interactive teaching methods in this study, students can actively engage in English learning situations, and their thinking and expression skills can be stimulated through a series of picture book extension activities, such as word card matching, picture book making, and song singing.
These extension activities not only make the lessons interesting, but also create an enjoyable learning atmosphere and enhance students' motivation and achievement.In addition, this study suggests that teachers should make more use of interactive teaching methods with language picture books to create impressive and interesting extension activities, such as picture book roleplay and readers' theater, in order to give students more diverse learning opportunities and to expand their English learning experiences in this way.Doing so can enhance their English learning effectiveness.

Conclusion
The results of this study present that language picture books with reciprocal teaching are effective at increasing students' motivation to learn English.Moreover, students' active participation in the classroom can be observed (C.H. Noble et al., 2018).In addition, English picture books, with their freshly printed fonts and bright and interesting pictures, attract students' attention and inspire children's curiosity and interest in reading.
The themes of picture books are generally relevant to students' life experiences, bringing them closer to the picture books and making them resonate with the stories, which can enhance their motivation to learn English and generate high interest in reading (Strouse et al., 2018).Finally, the curriculum may incorporate a variety of teaching activities, such as making English mini-books and watching supplemental videos of picture books, to create a fun learning environment that allows students to continue working toward their English learning goals after the class is over (Okkinga et al., 2018).
In this study the students who participated in reciprocal teaching with picture books agreed with the use of English picture books as teaching materials and were willing to participate in the classroom activities designed by the teacher.The reason that some students have low confidence in learning is because of their past failures in learning English.
To take into account the physical, mental, and academic developments of each student, teachers should implement differentiated teaching styles based on the multiple intelligent performances of low-achieving students.Picture books can stimulate interest in learning English, enhance students' learning strengths, and raise the learning development and self-confidence of lowachieving students.This is more effective than the previous approach of writing tests to improve English scores.
Appropriate development according to students' learning needs and the provision of diversified learning performance opportunities enable students to apply what they have learned to practice and to gain successful learning experiences.In addition, proper seating arrangements can facilitate the monitoring of students' learning responses and provide immediate assistance to their learning needs.During the teaching process, the researcher used encouragement to strengthen students' intrinsic learning motivations and to enhance their selfconfidence via social support.
Although efforts have been made to ensure rigor in the design and implementation of this study, there are still some limitations as follows.
1. Sample limitations: The sample of this study was only from elementary school students in southern Taiwan, which may not be fully representative of elementary school students in all of Taiwan or other regions.Future studies may consider expanding the sample size to increase the generality of the results.2. Limitations of the experimental design: This study uses a 2 3 2 experimental design, which is able to examine the effects of language picture books and interactive teaching methods, but may not be able to explore the internal mechanisms in detail.Future studies may try to use more complex designs or qualitative research methods to explore the internal processes of the effects.3. Sustained effects: Although students' motivation has been observed to increase after 16 weeks of experimental teaching in this study, it is unknown whether the effects on students' long-term learning effectiveness and motivation can be sustained.
A long-term tracking study could be designed for future studies to observe the long-term effects.4. Consideration of individual differences: Although the study finds that the interactive teaching method with language picture books increases students' learning motivation, each student's learning style, language ability, and personal interests may influence the effectiveness of the teaching.Incorporating these individual differences further may be considered into the study in the future (Dunn & Griggs, 2000). 5. Influence of other external factors: This study focuses on the effect of language picture books and interactive teaching methods, however, students' learning effectiveness may be influenced by many other factors, such as home environment and teacher quality.Future research could consider a more comprehensive examination of the factors that influence their English learning (Zou et al., 2022).6.This study also has some constraints and limitations, such as the limitation of sample size, validity of the method, and generalizability of the results.Future studies can address these limitations by further expanding the study sample, improving the validity of the methodology, and verifying the generalizability of the results (Baryannis, Dani, & Antoniou).

Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Table 5 .
Analysis of Differences in Learning Motivation of Language Picture Books and Reciprocal Teaching.With language picture books 3 with reciprocal teaching .With language picture books 3 without reciprocal teaching .Without language picture books 3 with reciprocal teaching .Without language picture books 3 without reciprocal teaching