Computer Assisted Vocabulary Learning: Examining English Language Learners' Vocabulary Notebooks

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate whether and how keeping vocabulary notebooks in digital forms influence students' vocabulary learning practices, performance, and perceptions. Of particular interest to this study is the use of learner-constructed vocabulary notebooks to engage students in the process of intentional vocabulary learning, and ultimately, to enhance their vocabulary acquisition. A Computer Assisted Vocabulary Learning (CAVL) system was developed in this study to assist learners of English as a foreign language. The usage of the CAVL system involved three major steps (i.e., Select, Organize, and Integrate), which engaged learners in watching online videos to intentionally study target words, through the construction of personal vocabulary notebooks. The effectiveness of this system, in combination with the intentional vocabulary learning strategy, was evaluated through a quasi-experimental study with two groups of students from a university in Taiwan. The students' use of vocabulary notebooks, scores of vocabulary tests, individual interviews, and responses to a perception survey were closely analyzed, and the results showed the overall positive impact of the investigated strategy on vocabulary learning. The practical implications of this study are thus discussed to promote the use of digital vocabulary notebooks as an intentional learning strategy in vocabulary instruction.