Abstract
AbstractThis meta-analysis examines the effectiveness of technology-assisted second language (L2) vocabulary learning as well as identifies factors that may play a role in their effectiveness. We found 34 studies with 2,511 participants yielding 49 separate effect sizes. Following the procedure developed by Hunter and Schmidt (2004), we corrected for sample size bias and measurement error. The overall effect size for using technology to learn L2 vocabulary was d = 0.64, which is a moderate effect size. The Q statistic indicated a significant variability in effect size, so we followed up with a theory-driven moderator analysis. The results of the moderator analysis revealed that learners benefited more from technology-assisted L2 vocabulary learning with incidental instruction than with intentional instruction; types of assessment were not significant moderators of the effect on technology-assisted L2 vocabulary learning; technology-assisted L2 vocabulary learning is more effective when the target language is close to the learner’s first language; college students benefited more from technology-assisted L2 vocabulary learning than K–12 students; and, finally, mobile-assisted L2 vocabulary learning was more effective than computer-assisted L2 vocabulary learning.
Highlights
Vocabulary is arguably the foundation of mastering a language because it comprises the building blocks of meaning
There were 20 effect sizes yielded from 12 Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) journals and 29 effect sizes yielded from 23 non-SSCI journals
The difference between the means for these two subsets is t(36) = 2.26, p < 0.05, which indicates that studies using mobile-assisted L2 vocabulary learning performed better than studies using computer-assisted L2 vocabulary learning. This meta-analysis represents a comprehensive approach to the efficiency of technology-assisted L2 vocabulary learning over the past decade
Summary
Vocabulary is arguably the foundation of mastering a language because it comprises the building blocks of meaning. Extensive vocabulary can make speaking, listening, reading, and writing smoother and situationally precise (Webb & Nation, 2017). Vocabulary learning is not remembering a list of words but rather a complex process. The learning burden of learning second language (L2) vocabulary can come from a variety of resource forms, which include the linguistic systems of learners’ first language (L1), the similarities between learners’ L1 and L2, the way in which the vocabulary is taught, and the learners’ experience of the word (Webb & Nation, 2017). L2 learners often struggle to learn and to memorize vocabulary because lexical knowledge does not generalize
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