scholarly journals Why Digital Games Can Be Advantageous in Vocabulary Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 111
Author(s):  
Amin Rasti-Behbahani
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Digital Games ◽  
Digital Game ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Why Questions

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.

scholarly journals Affect and willingness to communicate in digital game-based learning

ReCALL ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayo Reinders ◽  
Sorada Wattana
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Digital Games ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
Digital Game ◽  
Game Based Learning ◽  
Learning Program ◽  
Barriers To Learning ◽  
Learning And Teaching

AbstractThe possible benefits of digital games for language learning and teaching have received increasing interest in recent years. Games are said, amongst others, to be motivating, to lower affective barriers in learning, and to encourage foreign or second language (L2) interaction. But how do learners actually experience the use of games? What impact does gameplay have on students’ perceptions of themselves as learners, and how does this affect their learning practice? These questions are important as they are likely to influence the success of digital game-based language learning, and as a result the way teachers might integrate games into the curriculum. In this study we investigated the experiences of five students who had participated in a fifteen-week game-based learning program at a university in Thailand. We conducted six interviews with each of them (for a total of 30 interviews) to identify what impact gameplay had in particular on their willingness to communicate in English (MacIntyre, Dörnyei, Clément & Noels, 1998). The results showed that gameplay had a number of benefits for the participants in this study, in particular in terms of lowering their affective barriers to learning and increasing their willingness to communicate. We discuss the implications of these results in terms of further research and classroom practice.

scholarly journals The Effect of Humor-Integrated Pictures Using Quizlet on Vocabulary Learning of EFL Learners

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Mehdi Solhi Andarab
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
Shed Light

The recent improvements in technology and their integration in language learning have played a facilitating role invocabulary acquisition. Quizlet, an online teacher-/student-friendly tool, is one of the leading applications invocabulary acquisition. Along with the effectiveness of visualization in acquiring vocabulary, humor has been alsoextensively indicated to carry a significant role in language learning. With all its facilitating features, the integrationof technology, humor, and vocabulary can be achieved via Quizlet. In this study, the visual integration of humoraccompanying vocabulary on Quizlet was taken into scrutiny to see to what extent humor-integrated pictures onQuizlet account for the retention of vocabulary acquisition. With this purpose, this study examined the effect ofhumor-integrated pictures on vocabulary acquisition of 45 intermediate English as a foreign language (EFL) learnerson Quizlet. In so doing, the experimental group received a series of unknown vocabulary items for which theintegrated pictures were humorous, while the vocabulary items assigned for the control group were identical, but innon-humorous contexts. At the end, an independent samples t-test applied on the scores achieved from a posttestindicated a significant difference in scores of the control group and that of the experimental group. In fact, thelearners in the experimental group significantly outperformed their counterparts in the control group. The resultsindicated that linking vocabulary items with humorous pictures is more effective than using non-humorous context inlearning vocabulary. Apparently, as the results indicate, the significant effectiveness of technology in vocabularylearning can be boosted with the help of humorous context. The findings shed light on the importance of technologyin language learning and its linking with humor in vocabulary learning.

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
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Vocabulary Test ◽  
Digital Game ◽  
Multiple Variables ◽  
Collaborative Platform ◽  
Current Area

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.

scholarly journals Secondary School Students’ Understanding of and Strategies for Vocabulary Acquisition: A Phenomenographic Approach to Language Learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathrine Norberg ◽  
Anna Vikström ◽  
Emma Palola Kirby
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Word Knowledge ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
School Students ◽  
New Words ◽  
How People Learn

Studies on vocabulary learning have provided valuable knowledge of what it means to know a word and how people learn. Few studies have focused on what students’ understanding of word knowledge and vocabulary acquisition can contribute with in a language-learning context. Considering the vital importance of vocabulary in language learning, this study explores students’ experiences of word knowledge and vocabulary learning with a point of departure in phenomenographic research. By interviewing a group of Swedish secondary school students about their understanding of word knowledge and what strategies they employ to learn new words in English, categories of description emerged showing that although the majority of the students reported that they perceive word knowledge as contextual, they primarily employ decontextualised strategies when studying vocabulary. This discrepancy seems to be closely connected to how vocabulary is tested and assessed in school.

scholarly journals A pathological analysis of barriers to vocabulary learning and teaching

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 350-354
Author(s):  
Fahimeh Farjami
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Teaching Techniques ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
New Words ◽  
Mnemonic Devices

Learning a foreign or second language at different levels of proficiency involves the acquisition of a great number of words. Language learners look for effective ways to increase opportunities for retaining new words in long-term memory, but forgetting is a common problem. Language learners often complain that they forget new words soon after learning them. The importance of vocabulary learning also poses some challenges for teachers. They like to know in what ways instructional programs might foster the acquisition of so many words. Students face some obstacles when they try to assign the vocabularies to their long term memories. They also confront insumountable hurdles in the cognitive process of retrieval and recall. In this discussion, learners’ problems in vocabulary leaning are elaborated on and some guidelines are offered to ameliorate or even to remove them. It introduces language learning strategies that make vocabulary learning interesting and easy for learners. It also familiarizes teachers with useful techniques and activities for presentation. Ideas and viewpoints put forward by distinguished scholars such as Baker,Nation, Ausuble, Uberman, Thompson, Carter, Moras, Schmitt, Richards,Celce-Murcia, Chastain are utilized to substantiate the arguments. The purpose of this study is to present practical vocabulary learning strategies that can help learners and to offer influential teaching techniques and activities, which are of help to the teachers. A misconception analysis of teachers’ and students’ attitudes to vocabulary learning is carried out in terms of learning strategies, dictionary use, input, intake, output, affective variables, mnemonic devices, declarative and procedural memories. The relevant instructional points will be given to EFL teachers to enormously increase the efficiency of their teaching techniques and strategies in terms of students’ vocabulary learning and vocabulary expansion.   Keywords: vocabulary learning, forgetting, memory, mnemonic devices, input, intake, output

scholarly journals English language learning through viewing television: An investigation of comprehension, incidental vocabulary acquisition, lexical coverage, attitudes, and captions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Michael P.H. Rodgers
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Incidental Vocabulary ◽  
Incidental Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition

<p>In the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) setting it may be a challenge to obtain the second language input necessary for language learning. A potential source of input may be episodes of television; however, little previous research has been done indicating whether episodes are a suitable source of aural input for EFL learning. Past research has concentrated on short videos of a type that learners might not choose to learn English from. The experimental design employed in this thesis expands upon earlier methodologies by employing full-length episodes of television intended for an English-speaking audience. The thesis is comprised of five studies investigating aspects of language learning through viewing television. The first study examines comprehension gains from the first to the tenth episode viewed, comprehension across 10 episodes viewed, and the effects of vocabulary knowledge on comprehension. The results showed significant comprehension gains from the first to the final episode viewed. Comprehension scores across the eight intervening episodes were all higher than the initial episode but scores were episode-dependent. The results also showed small to moderate correlations between vocabulary knowledge and comprehension for each of the 10 episodes. The second study investigated the effects of viewing over 7 hours of television on incidental vocabulary learning, and the effects of the frequency and range of occurrence of lower frequency words within the episodes on vocabulary learning. Two tests measuring knowledge of form-meaning connection at differing sensitivities were used to assess vocabulary knowledge. Results showed vocabulary gains of approximately six words on both tests. Frequency of occurrence was found to have a medium-size correlation with vocabulary gains. No significant relationship was found between range of occurrence and acquisition. The third study examined whether increased lexical coverage leads to increased comprehension of television and greater incidental vocabulary learning. Results showed that comprehension improved with increased lexical coverage for six of the 10 episodes. In these episodes, participants with approximately 94% lexical coverage were found to have higher comprehension scores than participants with less lexical coverage. Results showed no significant relationship between incidental vocabulary acquisition and lexical coverage. In the fourth study, two surveys examined language learners‟ attitudes towards learning English through viewing episodes of television. One survey followed each episode and examined learners‟ beliefs about: their enjoyment of the episode, the usefulness of studying English through viewing the episode, their level of learning from the episode, and their comprehension of the episode. For all items, mean responses were significantly higher following the final episode than following the first episode. On the survey that followed viewing all the episodes, participants had generally favorable attitudes towards language learning through viewing television. The fifth study investigated how the presence of captions affected the aspects of language learning examined in Studies 1 to 4. The most salient finding from this study was that the presence of captions improved comprehension for episodes early in the viewing process and for difficult episodes. Taken as a whole, this thesis shows the value of using episodes of television for language learning.</p>

The Relationship between Willingness to Communicate and Vocabulary Learning Strategies among Iranian EFL Learners

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 1119
Author(s):  
Amir Marzban ◽  
Mojgan Firoozjahantigh
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Review Of Literature ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Vocabulary Learning Strategies ◽  
The Relationship

Two of the variables apparently contributing to the processes of EFL achievement are Willingness to Communicate (WTC) and Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLS). They seem to be fundamental among Iranian EFL learners due to the fact that semantics and its backbone—vocabulary—as well as the incentive or motivation, Willingness to Communicate (WTC)—influence the progress and improvement of the proficiency of Iranian EFL learners. Moreover, the review of literature clarifies the fact that few studies have tried to open up the relationship between these two variables, i.e. WTC and VLS. Hence, the present study explored the relationship between the WTC and VLS among Iranian EFL learners. Based on this, 137 intermediate Iranian EFL learners who were studying in a language institute in Tehran were selected as the participants of the study. They were asked to fill out two questionnaires including WTC and VLS. The finding indicated that there is a significant correlation between the two variables. The study provided some pedagogical implications for those who are concerned with language learning and teaching including language teachers, teacher trainers, syllabus designers, and EFL learners.

The Effect of Mobile Applications on English Vocabulary Acquisition

2014 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Azadeh Rezaei ◽  
Neo Mai ◽  
Ahmad Pesaranghader
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Mobile Wireless ◽  
Positive Tendency ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Multimedia In Education

The study reported here investigates the use and effectiveness of mobile applications in English vocabulary learning. Vocabulary acquisition is an important part of language learning. The advancement in technology has greatly improved the existing setting in education world in recent years. The wide use of mobile wireless technologies also has created more opportunities to shift the traditional academic environment to mobile learning. Interactive multimedia is a great avenue for the communication and education. This research studies intermediate-level English learners’ performance before and after using mobile applications that were introduced to the study group as an intervention. It examines whether multimedia courseware affects the vocabulary learning in the second language acquisition. The quantitative data revealed positive change in learners’ performance and the questionnaire analysis indicated that using the applications helped enhance learning of vocabulary, confidence, class participation and that, students had a positive tendency toward the use of multimedia in education.

scholarly journals DIGITAL GAMES IN DIGITAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT; WHAT MAKES THEM EFFECTIVE IN EMBODYING VOCABULARY MASTERY?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ririn Ovilia
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Digital Games ◽  
Language Instruction ◽  
Digital Learning ◽  
Digital Learning Environment ◽  
Selection Of

The rapid development of technology has triggered several changes in the realm of education which significantly contribute to language instruction. One of the changes is the integration of digital games in vocabulary learning. Digital games, either online or offline, have become inseparable from students’ daily life. A number of students playing games are exceptionally growing in many countries. Due to this fact, the researchers and practitioners have been stimulated to investigate the effects of digital games on language learning, particularly in vocabulary learning. Thus, a lot of studies have been carried out to find out the effectiveness of this integration. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned studies as the insights to give empirical evidence on how digital games enhance students’ vocabulary mastery and what makes them effective to be used in the learning process. Besides, it also attempts to succinctly delineate the challenges, the threats that might occur during the learning process, and some considerations to be noted by the teachers such as the selection of the games, the tasks, and the rules in using the technological devices.

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