DynEd and Imagine Learning computer-assisted English learning software packages

Design · All designs
Evidence · 3 claims (2 for, 1 against) · 1 study (1 causal), q3 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description

Two multimedia English-as-a-foreign-language software packages evaluated in Costa Rican primary schools. DynEd uses a "non-linear," blended approach presenting all material only in English (immersion), with worksheets, online teacher training, and placement and mastery tests; Imagine Learning uses a "linear" teaching approach and a "fade" approach explaining early vocabulary and concepts in Spanish, with no supplementary materials or teacher training. Project documentation reports average time spent per week of 67 minutes for DynEd and 127 minutes for Imagine Learning.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

• Schools in the treatment groups received a laptop and headset for every third grade student alongside the software

Constraints

• DynEd presents all its material only in English, while Imagine Learning introduces early concepts in the student’s native language

Target Learners

• Third-grade primary school students learning English as a foreign language in Costa Rica

Learning Goals

• English language proficiency in reading, writing, listening and comprehension

Claims

• Dyned Significant Positive Effects Vs Control [+M]
• Imagine Learning No Positive Effects [-M]
• Dyned Outperforms Imagine Learning [+M]

Related Designs

Examples

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Key Sources

• Sarah Humpage and Horacio Álvarez-Marinelli. (2014). Teachers’ Helpers: Experimental Evidence from Costa Rica on Computers for English Language Learning. SREE Spring 2014 Conference. https://www.sree.org/

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	design
id	dyned-imagine-learning-software-packages
title	DynEd and Imagine Learning computer-assisted English learning software packages
description	Two multimedia English-as-a-foreign-language software packages evaluated in Costa Rican primary schools.
status	review
generated	by process:settle-candidates on 2026-11-02
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources	1 — sarah-humpage-and-horacio-álvarez-marinelli-2014

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