With the advancement in online educational platforms in the present world, multimedia technologies have become a more easily accessed resource in language learning pedagogy than before. Different areas of language pedagogy are benefitting from the use of these multimedia technologies. The present research aims to explore the pertinent effect of multimedia language teaching input on L2 vocabulary building of learners by examining the way they enhance the learners’ working memory efficacy. The study employs an experimental research design by giving two types of WM strategic input (i.e., traditional verbal input and multimedia input) separately to two homogenous groups of 50 graduate ESL learners and observing their effectiveness in their vocabulary development. The study has used two research tools to collect data from the participants. The first is Wesche and Paribakht’s (1996) The Vocabulary Knowledge test which rates the vocabulary knowledge of the participants, and the second is a self-designed Working Memory cloze test to check the efficacy of the participants’ working memory through their vocabulary achievement. The participants are judged twice on the two scales, first before the treatment (pre-test 1 & 2), and second, after the treatment (posttest1 & 2). The results are obtained by comparing the participants’ mean scores of the vocabulary knowledge and working memory in pre and posttests of both variables. T-tests have also been run to see the improvement in learners’ VK and WM, and regression analysis has been carried out to see the relationship among the variables. The findings reveal that both WM strategies, i.e., verbal input and multimedia input are helpful in the development of learners’ vocabulary and working memory efficacy, and that verbal input and multimedia input are both positively related with VK and WM. However, the former (multimedia input) is more effective in enhancing the learners’ vocabulary knowledge and working memory efficacy as compared to the latter (verbal input). The findings are significant for the L2 learners, teachers, administrators, and the policy makers alike because they suggest that multimedia technologies should be incorporated to the maximum level of use in L2 classes for the learners’ vocabulary building.
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