scholarly journals Professionalization tools: impact of the game-based website ‘Check your Smile’ on specialized terminology acquisition

2021 ◽  
pp. 302-306
Author(s):  
Nadia Yassine-Diab ◽  
Laura M. Hartwell ◽  
Sébastien Dejean

Computer assisted vocabulary learning, i.e. specialized terminology acquisition, is a major tool to learning Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP) necessary to students’ professionalization. One current area of research is digital game-based language learning because of its motivating qualities. This paper discusses electronics students’ acquisition of specific vocabulary as related to the free game-based collaborative platform Check Your Smile (CYS), which is entirely devoted to learning LSP terminology. CYS aggregates various types of games that automatically generate individualized game plays, drawing upon a collaboratively constructed multilingual dictionary. The study focuses on multiple variables including attending a selective engineering course taught in English and the language used to teach the mandatory electronics class. Empirical data shows that students having used CYS tend to obtain better vocabulary test scores than students who did not.

Author(s):  
Mozhgan Sedaghatkar

Vocabulary learning is essential for language acquisition; however, it is considered problematic for the second language learners. As a teacher of General English Course, I witness majority of students state that "It’s difficult for me to remember long words", "I rapidly forget new words", "I frequently repeat words", etc. As a matter of fact, learning vocabulary is one of the most boring tasks that language learners face with. Hence, different ways have been tried towards making vocabulary learning easier. In this regard, recent years have shown an interest in using computers for foreign language teaching and learning. A previous decade, the use of computers in the language classroom was of concern only to a small number of specialists. However, with the introduction of multimedia computing and the Internet, the role of computers in language teaching has now become a key issue that great numbers of language teachers throughout the world face with. In this regard, the present study sought to investigate the effect of computer assisted language learning (CALL) on immediate and delayed retention of vocabularies among Iranian university students in General English Course. In this regard, 58 students from Payam Noor University of Aradan and Garmsar, Iran, were selected at random on the basis of Nelson test and then were divided into experimental and control groups each one including 29 students. A vocabulary test (as a pretest) was administered to the subjects in both groups. The goal was to check what words were unknown to the subjects in both groups. After the administration of the vocabulary test, about 21 words out of 114 new words were omitted since these words were known to the subjects in both groups. During the study, the researcher taught each group in 3 sessions (each session 90 minutes). After completion of each session, both groups were assessed through an immediate posttest. The subjects were also assessed for delayed posttest one month after teaching sessions (posttest 2). The results obtained throughout the study indicated that there was a significant difference between CALL users and nonusers in favor of the experimental group (p<0.05). It was also concluded that the university students had a positive attitude toward using CALL for learning vocabulary. In light of the findings of the study, the effectiveness of CALL on immediate and delayed retention of vocabularies was approved. 


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 02 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tutku Basöz ◽  
Dilek Tüfekci Can

Semiotics in foreign language learning has recently achieved some prominence as a theoretical foundation for language teaching and learning. Although there have been a number of research on the semiotics in foreign language learning, the practical use of semiotics in preschool classroom environment still remains unanswered. What is more, the effectiveness of computers on vocabulary learning among preschool children is still an obscure area, which attracts the attentions of researchers, scholars and practitioners. Thus, the present study aims to investigate whether there is a significant difference in preschool children’s vocabulary gain depending upon the computer assisted vocabulary instruction or the traditional vocabulary instruction both adopting a semiotic approach. The sample group of the study included 35 preschool children (5-years) who are studying at Balıkesir University Necatibey Faculty of Education Kindergarten. In this quasi-experimental study, the children were assigned to computer assisted vocabulary instruction group (16) or traditional vocabulary instruction group (19), which were the experimental and control groups. Before the experiment, the children were given a pre-test, which measured the number of target vocabulary the children had already known. While the experimental group learned the target vocabulary through computer-assisted instruction, the control group was taught the same target vocabulary via traditional vocabulary instruction. After the experiment, the same test was given to the children as the post-test. The results of the study showed that both instruction types were successful in teaching vocabulary and there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of their vocabulary gain. Keywords: Vocabulary learning; semiotic approach; computer assisted vocabulary instruction; preschool children; foreign language learning 


This chapter examines the related literatures and theories for technology-enhanced language instruction. Blended learning, as computer-assisted instruction, has a positive effect on students' learning performances. The research on long-term applications of blended learning in language instruction in middle schools and its effects is hard to find. Nevertheless, some defects exist in the few studies. In China there are much fewer empirical studies on the effects of blended learning on language learning represented by examination scores. Vocabulary learning is essential to English learning and requires the mastery of the pronunciation, spelling, and meaning. Computer-assisted vocabulary learning can provide choice and cloze questions regarding the pronunciation, spelling, and meaning, and give the students instant feedback and grading. The literature review suggests that a quasi-experiment for at least one school term or even longer time in different schools located in various areas is valuable to assure the results' reliability.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 210-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali Rahimi ◽  
Samira Mouri

This study aimed to explore the impact of computer-assisted language learning on Iranian EFL students’ vocabulary learning. Participants of the study were 76 students – 29 males and 47 females – learning English as a foreign language in Parto, Sadr, Poyesh and Andishe Institutes in Ahvaz who were selected after taking the Nelson English Language Test as a proficiency test. They were randomly divided into two groups. One group was taken as control and the other as experimental group. Both groups participated in the teacher-made test of vocabulary, Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT), and Word-Associates Test (WAT) as pre-test. During class sessions the control group was taught the vocabulary, in the conventional way, through the printed textbook while the experimental group taught by the software version of the same book. Three ANCOVAs were run to compare the performance of experimental and control groups after the treatment period. The results of the ANCOVAs revealed that using vocabulary learning software was more effective than using printed book on vocabulary learning, vocabulary breadth, and vocabulary depth of the participants. The results of the present study could help EFL course book designers, foreign language institutes, educational planners, material developers, teachers, and learners to provide a better context for EFL learning. Keywords: computer-assisted instruction, computer-assisted language learning, information communication technology, vocabulary breadth, vocabulary teaching software.  


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 111
Author(s):  
Amin Rasti-Behbahani

Vocabulary learning is an integral part of language learning; however, it is difficult. Although there are many techniques proposed for vocabulary learning and teaching, researchers still strive to find effective methods. Recently, digital games have shown potentials in enhancing vocabulary acquisition. A majority of studies in digital game-based vocabulary learning (DGBVL) literature investigate the effectiveness of DGBVL tasks. In other words, there are enough answers to what questions in DGBVL literature whereas why questions are rarely answered. Finding such answers help us learn more about the structure of the DGBVL tasks and their effects on vocabulary learning. Hence, to achieve this aim, the available literature on digital games and vocabulary learning were systematically reviewed from 1996 to 2020. The results revealed seven themes such as motivation, authenticity, repetition, instantiation, dual encoding, interactivity, and feedback. Based on the available literature, these themes are factors, in digital games, that can contribute to enhancing vocabulary acquisition.


Author(s):  
Xue Shi

The study of vocabulary is essential in learning a second language. The traditional way of foreign language learning only allows students to learn what the teacher chooses to teach. Knowledge is force-fed by the teacher to the students, but this way cannot meet the needs of the students and society. The development of multimedia technology meets the demands for new ways of teaching language. The purpose of this study is to test whether it is effective to use computer-assisted instruction (CAI) in individualized learning and whether multimedia CAI techniques can improve vocabulary learning and memory. According to analysis of the experimental data, CAI-supported vocabulary learning is more effective than traditional methods. The results show that, through CAI, knowledge can be learned faster and retained longer in the students’ memory.


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