scholarly journals Podcasting and Vocabulary Learning in an EFL Context: a Mixed Methods Study

Author(s):  
Behrooz Ghoorchaei ◽  
Hashem Rastegar ◽  
Nematullah Shomoossi ◽  
Mostafa Amiri

Abstract The study investigated the impact of using podcasts as instructional tools on EFL learners’ vocabulary learning, and to evaluate their attitude towards listening to podcasts. A vocabulary pre-test was given to 60 male intermediate-level EFL learners which indicated that they were homogeneous regarding their vocabulary knowledge. The participants were divided into two groups; the experimental group were instructed by podcasts, but the control group continued with the routine instruction. The results revealed that the podcast group outperformed those in the control group in the post-test. To find out the students' attitudes towards podcasting, an 8-item Likert-type questionnaire was given to the participants in the podcasting group; through face-to-face interviews with 8 participants from the same group, a thematic analysis was conducted and four themes emerged: (1) vocabulary achievement, (2) learning by listening, (3) learner choice and flexibility, and (4) podcasts as useful instructional tools. The findings suggest that podcasts enhance learners’ vocabulary learning, thus emphasizing the pedagogical merits of podcasts on the enrichment of EFL classes. The results may provide implications for curriculum development and L2 vocabulary teaching and learning.

2011 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Ali Derakhshan

<p>The present research investigates the effectiveness of text-message vocabulary learning on EFL freshmen. The results of the pretreatment interview with EFL learners showed that many of them have difficulty learning vocabulary through the traditional paperand-pencil way; therefore, text-message vocabulary learning was hypothesized to be a potential way to help EFL learners consolidate their vocabulary knowledge. To this end, 43 participants from among 85 freshmen studying in Torbat-e-Heydarieh Azad University participated in the study. The participants were divided into two groups of 21 and 22 on the basis of their proficiency. The book Check Your Vocabulary for Academic English by David Porter (2001) was taught to both groups, and they were told to make some sentences in the class to become familiar with these words; they were requested to work cooperatively in small groups of 3 or 4 in order to have the opportunity to talk more about these words. Fifteen to 20 words were introduced and taught to these students on each session. Then, the participants in the experimental group sent the researcher one text-message containing an original sentence for each word covered in the class. They were also asked to send a text-message containing a sentence to their three predetermined partners. The participants in the control group wrote one sentence using each covered word, and they were also asked to write one sentence to exchange with their three partners and bring their assignments to the class next session. The results of independent samples t-test for the post-test and the delayed post-test showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the initial vocabulary learning and the retention of the vocabulary between the two groups.</p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Maryam AminAfshar ◽  
Ahmad Mojavezi

EFL learners at all ages and proficiency levels are usually confronted with various problems in vocabulary learning and retention. This study sought to introduce strategies for improvement of vocabulary learning and retention. Therefore, the effects of using aural/visual storytelling on Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary learning and retention were investigated. To do so, 50 intermediate female EFL learners were randomly assigned to two groups. After the administration of teacher made English Vocabulary Test as the pre-test, aural storytelling method was used for the control group, and visual storytelling method was used for the experimental group. After three months of instruction, the aforementioned teacher made English Vocabulary Test, as the post-test, was given to the students of both groups to assess their improvements. Two weeks after post-test, they were given a delayed post-test to measure their retention of English vocabulary knowledge. The reliability of the English Vocabulary Test using Cronbach's Alpha was estimated equal to 0.80. Finally, Using ANCOVA, the results revealed that, the experimental group’s participants outperformed those of control group in both learning and retention of English vocabulary. So, it can be noted that the training program according to visual could have impressive impact on the learning and retention of vocabulary knowledge.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 213
Author(s):  
Maryam Sharafi Nejad ◽  
Shohreh Raftari ◽  
Lin Siew Eng

<p>Based on the findings of previous studies which highlight the role of vocabulary knowledge  in English as a Foreign Language/English as a Second Language (EFL/ESL) learners’  learning process, this study is aimed at exploring<strong> </strong>the effectiveness of critical thinking on vocabulary learning by Malaysian EFL learners. .To achieve the purpose of this study, 60 male undergraduate EFL learners studying English at Asian EFL Academy Language Institute in Pinang were selected after administering Preliminary English Test.To examine whether there is a significant difference between experimental and control group, two parallel versions of Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (Pribakht &amp; Wesche, 1993) were used as pre-test and post-test. The participants in experimental group were instructed on how to employ critical thinking strategies on vocabulary learning. The results of the post-test showed that the experimental group who received formal instruction based on the critical thinking strategies revealed the prominent <a href="https://www.google.com.my/search?newwindow=1&amp;biw=1366&amp;bih=609&amp;q=define+development&amp;sa=X&amp;sqi=2&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjsxaLZw_nLAhVMFJQKHWTjC10Q_SoIHjAA">development</a> and interest in vocabulary learning. The t-test also indicated a significant difference between the performance of the control and experimental group.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Abeer Hadi Salih

Many studies have described the use of mobile assisted language learning in language teaching and learning; yet, the number of studies in listening skill remains unsatisfactory. Few researchers appear to have considered how to use mobile learning devices to support pedagogical approach to develop academic listening skills. Several studies in the past, required learners to read from mobile phones rather than listening to audios. There were attempts to use computer technology integration into instruction; however, few were in mobile technology. The interest in research related to the impact of mobile assisted language learning on developing students’ listening skills remains relatively low and consequently listening has been neglected. Thus, the current paper aims at exploring the effectiveness of mobile assisted language learning devices both as instructional tools and learning resources within and beyond classroom learning environments to develop language skills in particular listening sub-skills. The experimental design is pretest-experiment-post-test. To conduct the study two groups of experimental (30) and control (30) out of 60 second year students at Al Iraqia University/ college of education for women/ department of English were made. Both groups were taught the same material, but using different methods. The results of the post-test indicated that the use of mobile assisted language learning devices had impacts on developing experimental group’s listening skills and outperformed the control group.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 118
Author(s):  
Karim Shabani ◽  
Marjan Pasha Zanussi

<p>Second language development could be achieved through various teaching and learning processes; however, applying multimedia technology has facilitated this process. This study aimed at examining the effect of captioned TV series on developing vocabulary knowledge of EFL students. There were forty intermediate male students learning English in Shokouh institute of Nowshahr, Mazandaran, Iran. The classes were held two sessions a week. The participants were randomly selected into control and experimental groups. Before the experiment, a 20-item vocabulary matching test was conducted as the pre-test. The vocabularies including in this test were chosen from a TV series in order to investigate their knowledge of vocabulary. After the pre-test ‘Friends’, An American TV series, was shown to both groups. English captioned episode was shown to the experimental group and non-captioned episode to the control one. After that, a post-test was conducted to examine the development in each group. Both independent and paired t-tests were carried out. The results of this study revealed that the participants in experimental outperformed those in control group in terms of their vocabulary development. The findings may be shared with other teachers in order to inform how captions affect the vocabulary learning of Iranian EFL students.</p>


Author(s):  
Paiman Z. Azeez ◽  
Fatimah R.H. Al Bajalani

Many studies have described the use of mobile assisted language learning in language teaching and learning; yet, the number of studies in listening skill remains unsatisfactory, at least in Iraqi Kurdistan context. Few researchers appear to have considered how to use mobile learning devices to support pedagogical approach to develop academic listening skills. Several studies in the past, required learners to read from mobile phones rather than listening to audios. There were attempts to use computer technology integration into instruction; however, few were in mobile technology. The interest in research related to the impact of mobile assisted language learning on developing students’ listening skills remains relatively low and consequently listening has been neglected. Thus, the current paper aims at exploring the effectiveness of mobile assisted language learning devices both as instructional tools and learning resources within and beyond classroom learning environments to develop language skills in particular listening sub-skills. The experimental design is pretest-experiment-post-test. To conduct the study two groups of experimental (n=31) and control (n=26) out of 57 second year students at koya university/ faculty of education/ school of education English department were made. Both groups were taught the same material, but using different methods. The results of the post-test indicated that the use of mobile assisted language learning devices had impacts on developing experimental group’s listening skills and outperformed the control group.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 172
Author(s):  
Waqar Ahmad ◽  
Zuraina Ali ◽  
Muhammad Aslam Sipra ◽  
Imtiaz Hassan Taj

Smartboards, which are now widely used in the teaching and learning process in Saudi Arabia, have turned the traditional environments of the classrooms, especially the EFL classrooms to be more interesting and encouraging. Literature reviews suggest that Saudi students usually lack motivation for studying English as a foreign language. This study tends to investigate the impact of Smartboards on preparatory year EFL learners motivation at a Saudi university. Two intact groups were selected, in which one was termed as experimental and the second as control group. The experimental group was taught using the Smartboard while the control group was taught with the traditional whiteboard, pen and book method. The treatment was given for seven weeks. A questionnaire was administered to both the groups at the beginning and the end of the study. The data was analysed using the SPSS and the results showed that there was significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of motivation.  


Author(s):  
Sri Ariani ◽  
Tri Setianingsih

This research aims to find out Is there any significant differences between the impact of traditional teaching method and using Index Card Match in teaching English vocabulary at the First Year Students of SMA HANG TUAH 3 MATARAM and to find out does using Index Card Match have a positive effect on students’ vocabulary knowledge. The sample of this research is 40 students. The kind of this research is experimental research. The students are divided into two groups such as experimental group and control group. Then the research subjects are pre-tested to know their prior vocabulary mastery. After the treatment, the sample is post-tested to know their recent vocabulary mastery as the result of the treatment. The scores in both pre-test and post-test are taken as the main data of the research. The data is analyzed by using t-test.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1227-1247
Author(s):  
Mohd Haniff Mohd Tahir ◽  
Dianna Suzieanna Mohamad Shah ◽  
Mohamad Syafiq Ya Shak ◽  
Intan Safinas Mohd Ariff Albakri ◽  
Airil Haimi Mohd Adnan

Per its English curriculum, vocabulary instruction is only integrated indirectly in the teaching of reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills in Malaysian schools. ESL learners then may overlook the variety of meanings that a word and its spelling can offer. This research aims to describe the effects of the explicit approach of vocabulary instruction on 30 Form Two (eighth grade) students from a suburban school in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia. A descriptive style was adopted, and specific vocabulary lessons were used to help students learn the target words. Using descriptive statistics, vocabulary pre- and post-test scores were analysed and compared to determine the impact of this approach. The frequency counts, percentages, mean scores, and standard deviation of the students’ evaluation form responses were analysed. Content analysis was used to transcribe, classify, and categorise qualitative data from the interview session. According to the data, the students’ vocabulary scores increased dramatically in the post-test, with a mean gap of 21.9. The students were also enthusiastic about the teacher’s instructions (M=4.48, SD=0.64) and vocabulary lessons (M=4.34, SD=0.59). It is suggested that the explicit approach of vocabulary instruction, which engages students in exciting vocabulary learning techniques as employed by this study could enhance their vocabulary knowledge. 


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinrong Shan

As a part of vocabulary learning, the idiom is an important part of language teaching. This study is to investigate whether conceptual metaphor can promote idioms’ teaching and learning or not. In the course of study, we make use of a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis, collecting data through the questionnaire survey and do experiments in teaching and learning idioms. We get the conclusion: the T value of the experimental group and the control group is p<0.05, the pre-test and post-test values is p<0.05. It is feasible to apply the conceptual metaphor in idiom teaching and learning.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document