A comparative analysis of impacts of assessment using context and visual aid

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to perform a comparative analysis of the impacts of assessment using context and visual aids, which had an effect on Korean EFL learners’ vocabulary learning in a classroom. A total of 51 Korean middle school students in their 3rd year participated in the experiment for a duration of 8 weeks. They were divided into two groups: context-based assessment and visual-based assessment groups. One assessment was designed to make students infer the meaning of the target word from the context in a reading passage. In another one, students were given visual-based assessment that helped them to derive the meaning of the target word with authentic and interesting pictures. All experiments consisted of 8 sessions; twenty-four target words were taught and tested. The results were analyzed by using independent samples t-test, and there were significant differences in almost all sessions. In conclusion, a posttest and a delayed posttest results indicated that the assessments with visual aids were effective for word retention in short-term memory and long-term memory. Some practical implications for further study were discussed.