English Learners’ Incidental
Vocabulary Acquisition in the Video-Based CALL Program.
Asian EFL Journal , Volume 12, Issue 4
(2010)
Lu-Fang Lin
She is currently working as an assistant professor in the Institute of Applied Linguistics, National Taiwan Ocean University, Taiwan. Having over 20 years of experience in the teaching of English language, her works revolve around English remedial instruction, English reading comprehension instruction and also multimedia English teaching and learning.
Summary
This research aims to investigate the
effects of the video-based computer assisted language learning (VBCALL) program
on English learners’ incidental vocabulary acquisition especially on those with
different level of listening and reading proficiency. The study employed a
mixed design in which a qualitative data was collected in order to further
explore the findings gained from the quantitative analysis. 82 first year
students of National Taiwan Ocean University take part in this research as the
sample of the study. Based on an English proficiency test, the samples are
divided into three groups of proficiency: (1) 44 students with high reading and
high listening English proficiency (RHLH group), (2) 20 participants with high
reading and low listening English proficiency (RHLL group) and (3) 18
participants with low reading and high listening English proficiency (RLLH
group). All groups went through five practice sessions, five vocabulary
follow-up tests and vocabulary pre- and post-tests. The performance of the
groups was analyzed using descriptive statistics. It is found that all three
groups performed better in the post-test as compared to the result of the
pre-test. For the vocabulary follow-up test, the total scores reveal that there
are significant differences between result of the RHLH and RLLH groups. To
further explore the differences in learning vocabulary via video-based CALL
program, a qualitative study of one-on-one interview with selected participants
was conducted. The responses provide explanation in terms of affective aspects
of the learners as to why some participants are successful in the vocabulary
follow-up test and some don’t.
Reaction
In my opinion, the
research is very interesting and easy to understand. In order to achieve the
objectives of the research the methods employed were specific and clearly
stated. There are five videos used in the research and five vocabulary follow-up
tests for each video lesson. To determine the participants’ level of
proficiency, they are required to sit for a GEPT-Intermediate simulated test and
later be divided into three groups according to their result. That is not all;
the research includes a qualitative design (one-on-one interviews with
selected participants were conducted) in order to further explore the positive results
of the vocabulary follow-up tests.
It is also interesting
that the researcher considered the learners’ reading and listening proficiency
as one of the main variables in order to investigate the effect of video-based
program. Other researches on the use of videos as a tool to acquire vocabulary
did not put on emphasize on this variable. For example, Sayed (2009) conducted
a similar research on incidental vocabulary learning via CALL program. The
study put heavy emphasize on 3 multimedia elements of CALL program namely the
textual, pictorial and textual pictorial glosses. Sydorenko (2010) investigated
the modality of input of videos and its effect on the vocabulary acquisition.
These studies focus solely on the multimedia aspects of CALL programs but not
the learners’ proficiency. Lu, on the other hand looked at this variable and
proves that there is a correlation between the learners’ reading and listening
proficiency and incidental vocabulary learning.
If there is something that
can be improved in this research is that it might be better if the researcher
conducted the interviews with the selected participants earlier instead of
doing it a month after the Video-based CALL (VBCALL) lessons. The participants
might have forgotten what they had done during the lesson. Even if they
remember, it might be in bits and pieces. Some important points and experiences
might be left out. Therefore, earlier interview sessions may help the
researcher to explore more issues pertaining to incidental vocabulary learning
via video-based CALL program.
The study revealed
positive results of using Video-based CALL programs on learners with varying
level of reading and listening proficiency. This fact is important for the
future of the teaching and learning of ESL in Malaysia. Teachers should realize
that inclusion of videos has been proven to be positively facilitative in improving
students’ understanding of the lesson. According to
Ratnawati and Ismail (2003) who conducted a study on Guided Extensive Reading,
many Malaysian students, especially those from rural school have difficulty
understanding English, and few are able to converse in the language. For most
ESL learners, one of the most difficult tests that they have to overcome is
learning new lexical items. As vocabulary is the first priority in
communicating, the size of vocabulary is an important criterion to evaluate
learner’s proficiency (Mohebbi, 2013). Lu addressed this issue where she
mentioned that L2 learners who have limited vocabulary are less likely to progress
in other skills of the language. The interactive environment in CALL programs
provides the suitable exposure or input that the learners need in order to be
familiar with the language which later on will contribute significantly in the
process of language acquisition. Using video-based CALL programs might be one
of the effective solutions to the problem of lack of vocabulary knowledge of our
Malaysian students. Lu’s research also highlighted the importance of selecting
suitable teaching materials that suits the learners’ level of proficiency in
order to achieve a favorable result. Generally speaking, this is one of the
important aspects that teachers need to consider if they were to utilize videos as teaching aid. Other
than that, authentic videos provide the suitable platform for the students to
experience the language in its context. Context is essential to ensure that
communication and comprehension take place. Only when the learners can function
in the correct context that we can say that they have had meaningful learning. It
is definitely better than memorizing the dictionary definitions of words bluntly
but missing the most important point of learning the meaning of the words – how to
use it.
All in all, this is an
excellent research on the acquisition of vocabulary via Video-based CALL
(VBCALL) program. The mixed method approach used contributes greatly to the
findings of this research. The qualitative design provides an in-depth
explanation on what really happen during the VBCALL lesson that leads to the
positive outcomes of the vocabulary follow-up tests. This serves as a crucial
support to understand the results of the quantitative data obtained from the
tests. This research also serves as an important reference for the teaching and
learning of English as Second Language as it provide evidences that multimedia
materials can be used as teaching aids to facilitate vocabulary acquisition.
Reference
Lu,
F.L (2010). English Learners’ Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition in the
Video-based CALL program. Asian EFL
Journal, 12(4), 51-66.
