Abstract
Vocabulary knowledge is a prerequisite for mastering any foreign language. It takes a lot of time and effort to develop English as a foreign language (EFL) vocabulary skills. Efficient ways to facilitate this process should be studied and analyzed. The present study aimed to investigate the role of the Discord application in teaching and learning EFL vocabulary. Discord is a free messenger with support for IP telephony and video conferencing, as well as the possibility to create public and private chats for exchanging text and voice messages. The study relied on pre-test and post-test design to get the necessary data of one experimental and one control group, 80 university students altogether. The results of the pre-test showed no significant difference between the two groups. The experimental group was taught with the help of the Discord application, while the control group was dealing with the traditional educational process, that is, 180 min every week in a classroom with a textbook and no electronic educational resources. Results of the t-test indicated that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group on a researcher-made vocabulary post-test. A post-treatment speaking test was administered—the participants took part in speaking interviews where they were asked to give a short speech on one of the topics studied during the experimental training. The representatives of the experimental group managed to use more vocabulary items per person correctly (pronunciation, lexical combinability, etc.). The findings revealed that the suggested way of using the Discord application may positively influence the acquisition of EFL vocabulary and its further application in speaking. Hence, it is recommended that the Discord application be used as a tool in the EFL vocabulary teaching and learning process to reinforce in-class tasks and activities.
Highlights
Taking the above-mentioned into consideration, this study aims to explore whether the Discord application could facilitate English as a foreign language (EFL) vocabulary teaching and learning in a higher education context
At the same time, we do believe that some applications are more “user-friendly” and give more opportunities to involve students in the EFL educational process
The study has brought to the fore the potential of the Discord application in EFL
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Vocabulary acquisition is a non-stop process, which is vital for mastering any foreign language. Vocabulary knowledge is a prerequisite for the development of oral and written, receptive, and productive communication skills. The importance of vocabulary knowledge has been emphasized by many scholars [1,2,3]. As stated by Wilkins, “Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” [4]
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