The title of the journal article is “Digital Word Walls and Vocabulary Learning:
The used of iPods to Facilitate Vocabulary Instruction with ESL Students”.
The article is a research report that was featured in Journal of The Research
Center for Educational Technology by Kent State University in Volume 7 Number
2, Fall 2011 Edition (pg.38 – 57) with the ISSN Number 1948-075X. The authors are Lucretia M. Fraga and Janis M. Harmon from The University of
Texas at San Antonio, Karen D. Wood from University of North Carolina at
Charlotte and Elizabeth Buckelew-Martin from San Antonio Independent School
District.
As the name states, the research focuses
on the usage of iPods as a medium of instruction in teaching English
vocabulary. Primarily, the research has a twofold aim
which is:
“(1)
to investigate ESL high school students’ knowledge of using iPods for learning
vocabulary; and (2) to determine ESL high school students’ achievement
differences in vocabulary when exposed to two traditional vocabulary
instructional frameworks using word walls versus digital wall instruction” (Fraga,
Harmon, Wood, & Buckelew-Martin, 2011)
The two traditional frameworks refer to
two types of ‘word wall’ methods which are: the “Regular Vocabulary
Instruction” which the teacher plays a bigger role, teaching the meaning of
words and introducing new words inductively that is concluded with a
reinforcement through review sessions; and “Interactive Word Wall Intervention”
that is students centered where the students come out with their own word wall
using creative techniques like mind mapping and drawings which students will
‘teach’ to their fellow classmates and also concluded through review sessions.
The digital wall instruction refers to the Digital Word Wall Intervention that
requires the students to develop their own vodcast (video cast) that they will
first plan and then record the video and finally upload it to the iTune.
Lastly, for two days, the students will learn the new vocabulary from their
friends’ vodcasts.
The research uses both qualitative and
quantitative methodology in acquiring the findings. Qualitatively, interviews
are conducted on students’ perception on using iPods to learn English
vocabulary while Quantatively, a quasi-experiment, utilizing non-equivalent
comparison groups that are tested prior and after the treatment to gauge their
achievement in vocabulary learning was utilized. A standardized reading
assessment called the GRADE is used as the instrument to gauge their ability.
There are 22 samples altogether that comes from a Title 1 high school in South
Central Texas at the level of grades 10, 11 and 12. From the total of 22
samples, 16 of them were divided into two sections (groups) that used the
digital word wall intervention while the remaining 6 samples became the group
using the two traditional methods as a comparison. The qualitative finding
answers the first research objective. According to the findings, majority of
the samples are familiar of using iPods and after the treatment, 68.4% of them
realizes the purpose of using iPods as a learning instrument. In terms of their
perception, 87.5% agreed that they would use the iPods in class and 62.5% of
them believed that the teachers could use it. 70.8% of them also valued that
iPod is an important learning tool. In terms of the students’ performance,
there are no significant overall differences between the control group and the
experimental group. Nevertheless, the section of the test that requires the students
to define words shows that the experimental groups excel more than the control
group. The reasearchers concluded that although there is only a small
significance, the data seems to suggest that mobile devices could be an
extremely effective teaching and learning tool.
In my opinion, the
research interests me very much, because it is considering iPods, one of the
most common media for the younger generation today as a possible learning
instrument. It is something that I find not only ‘cool’ and creative, but it is
also very relatable to myself and perhaps the younger generation. The research
was done quite extensively, with both qualitative and quantitative collection
of data. Nevertheless, I do believe that one implementation is inadequate in
the research. While the students in the experimental group were asked to create
their own vodcast, they were not given a prior training or workshop on certain
vocal, drama and cinematographic knowledge, hence the problems with some of the
samples not able to hear clearly what their friends had recorded. Although the
activity is highly creative, it must first be preceded by proper scaffolding
for the students engage in it. As we step into the borderless digital era,
education must not only be about papers and pencils anymore, especially because
students find such traditional medium irrelevant to their daily lives. Today
students are spending more and more time in front of computers and mobile
devices rather than books and papers. Therefore, it is only natural to adapt
the instructional aids to such condition.
Reference
Fraga, L. M., Harmon, J. M., Wood, K. D., &
Buckelew-Martin, E. (2011). Digital Word Walls and Vocabulary Learning: The
Use of iPods to Facilitate Vocabulary Instruction with ESL Students. (M. van
't Hooft, & J. Nyangau, Eds.) Journal of the Research Center for
Educational Technology , 7 (2), 38 - 57.
Ok, 7/10
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