Technology-Assisted Vocabulary Learning and Student Learning Outcomes: A Case Study

Abstract

This case study investigates the effectiveness of an online technology-assisted vocabulary learning program used by Korean university students in Seoul, Korea. Seventy-two students were given a vocabulary pre-test to measure their current knowledge of target vocabulary. Then the students used an online vocabulary learning application to complete 40 sessions of vocabulary learning exercises over 10 weeks that taught both receptive and productive knowledge of the target vocabulary. After 10 weeks, the students were given a vocabulary post-test. Results showed that the online program was effective in facilitating L2 vocabulary learning. In a post-survey, students expressed that the online program was, for all of them, a new method of learning vocabulary and, for most of them, an effective way to learn vocabulary because it induced a regular study habit and gave them multiple forms of information about the target vocabulary, including its pronunciation and collocative usage. Quantitative data indicated significant improvements in both receptive and productive knowledge of the target vocabulary, with more considerable gains in productive knowledge of the vocabulary.