Digital Semantic Mapping Tools and Cognitive Reading Achievements among University EFL Learners: A Systematic Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51454/jimsh.v8i2.1802Keywords:
cognitive reading achievement, digital semantic mapping tools, EFL reading, higher education, systematic literature reviewAbstract
This systematic literature review examines the effectiveness of Digital Semantic Mapping Tools in enhancing cognitive reading achievement among university English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Academic reading remains challenging for EFL students because of limited vocabulary, complex syntactic structures, and heavy cognitive demands, while research on digital concept-mapping interventions remains fragmented and rarely synthesized, particularly within the Indonesian higher education context. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, literature published between 2020 and 2025 was searched through Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, and Google Scholar, yielding five empirical studies that met the inclusion criteria. The reviewed studies employed diverse platforms, including Concept Mapping, Kit-Build Concept Map, Semantic Mapping, E-Mind Map, and Graphic Organizers. Findings show that these tools consistently improved reading comprehension, inferential reasoning, knowledge organization, information retention, and collaborative learning. Their effectiveness is explained by five interrelated cognitive mechanisms: schema activation, knowledge organization, inferential processing, metacognitive monitoring, and collaborative knowledge construction. The review proposes that Digital Semantic Mapping Tools function as an integrated cognitive learning ecosystem rather than as isolated instructional technologies, offering theoretical grounding for technology-based reading pedagogy and practical guidance for EFL instructors seeking to strengthen students’ academic reading achievement in higher education.
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