The use of ICT tools to teach vocabulary is a commonly researched topic in language teaching. Many popular web tools, such as Quizlet and Kahoot, are used as experimental tools with learners to investigate to what extent they are effective in enhancing learners’ vocabulary knowledge. The present research, however, focused on a less known and researched web tool used for vocabulary practice with games namely, Wordwall.net. 2 groups of students in 5th grade in a state school in Turkey were placed in experimental and control groups. The treatment lasted for 3 weeks and a pre-test and post-test were used as data collection tools. Results of the comparisons between the groups’ test results revealed significant differences between each group’s own test results, yet insignificant difference between groups’ post-test results. Therefore, it could be suggested that using Wordwall.net was effective on its own in enhancing the students' vocabulary knowledge.
The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effectiveness of an online tool, Quizlet, on vocabulary achievement of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students at a state university. It is also aimed to investigate the perceptions of the students of using Quizlet for vocabulary learning. The participants of the study consist of 92 university students enrolled in a preparatory program at a state university in Turkey in fall semester of the 2018-2019 academic year. Through a quasi-experimental research design, the outcomes of Quizlet on the students’ vocabulary achievement and their perceptions of Quizlet were analyzed statistically. When the post-test scores of the experimental and control group were analyzed, it was found that the experimental group surpassed the control group although the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant. The findings of the perception questionnaire revealed that the students’ perceptions of Quizlet were positive. The triangulation of the quantitative data indicated that Quizlet was an effective tool for enhancing vocabulary in English language learning and it was highly favored by EFL learners.
This study investigated the extent to which Japanese learners of English (JLE) correctly perceived English intonation contours (falling, rising, falling-rising), and whether training could improve their performance. The influence of an acoustic cue (duration) on learners’ perception errors (confusions), especially for rising contour, was also explored. In total, 245 JLE completed a forced-choice intonation identification task. To examine the influence of the durational cue, some stimuli were manipulated by shortening the duration between the onset and the starting point of pitch rise in a stressed syllable. Analysis of the performance of JLE in terms of correct identification rate and perception errors revealed that falling tones were easiest to perceive correctly, followed by rising and then falling-rising tones. These differences across the three contours remained unchanged after training. While confusions were also observed between rising and falling-rising contours, correct identification of rising contour increased significantly for manipulated rising stimuli—that is, JLE exhibited sensitivity to duration in distinguishing rising from falling-rising contours, indicating that durational cues may cause perceptual confusion of rising and falling-rising contours.
The primary objective of this paper is to investigate the influence of pedagogical intervention on the L2 motivation of Japanese university students. It consequently examines the sensitivity of the new questionnaire developed by Agawa and Takeuchi (2016c). A quasi-experimental study was conducted to compare two types of instructions: conventional instructions used in test-preparation courses (contrast group [CG]) and instructions based on self-determination theory (SDT) (treatment group [TG]). In the CG, 23 students worked on tasks similar to TOEFL and lELTS questions. In the TG, 24 students received instructions designed to satisfy their needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The newly developed questionnaire based on SDT was conducted at the beginning and end of the academic year. The results indicated that, in the TG, the students' needs were more satisfied after the intervention. They also showed that, after the treatment period, their self-determined forms of motivation significantly increased. Meanwhile, in the CG, neither the degree of students' needs satisfaction nor motivation intensity showed a significant difference. These results suggest that fulfilling the needs could help enhance Japanese EFL learners' motivation. The results also demonstrate the sensitivity of the new questionnaire in measuring changes in the needs fulfillment degrees and L2 motivation intensities among Japanese university students.
