The present study used the microblogging site Twitter to deliver a daily ... Reading general texts, for example, requires a vocabulary of at least the two thousand ...
LEARNING VOCABULARY THROUGH TWITTER Josefina C. Santana1, Arturo García-Santillán2, Felipe Pozos-Texon2 1 2
Universidad Panamericana (MEXICO) Universidad Cristóbal Colón (MEXICO)
Abstract Vocabulary is one of the most important elements of language learning. Having a wide vocabulary helps language learners understand written and spoken language. It also helps them express their own ideas more completely. The present study used the microblogging site Twitter to deliver a daily vocabulary word to learners. The study took place during the spring term (January to May, 2014) at a small, private university in western Mexico. The researchers hypothesized that delivering a daily vocabulary word by Twitter would help the participants learn vocabulary more effectively. This proved not to be the case. This paper will explain the rationale for the project, how it was carried out, and the findings. It will also discuss some possible reasons why the experiment was not successful. Finally, it will explore some possible directions for further research. Keywords: Mobile learning, Twitter, language learning, second-language vocabulary.
1
INTRODUCTION
Vocabulary is one of the most important elements of language learning. Having a wide vocabulary helps language learners understand written and spoken language. It also helps them express their own ideas more completely. Research has shown that vocabulary needs to be taught both explicitly and implicitly. In other words, learners need to have access to input which provides opportunities for learning new words, but they also need to be taught what words mean. Research also explains that explicit teaching works best when words are accompanied by examples and associated to images. Because classroom time is limited and there are so many components to include- listening, reading, writing and speaking activities- teachers seek alternative ways to help students learn vocabulary. Mobile learning is one such alternative. Some recent studies have shown promise in using mobile phones to teach vocabulary, either through SMS (Short Message Service) messaging, or using the email function. Other studies have shown success in using Twitter as a means of getting more input to learners, or in forming learning communities.
1.1
Research objective and question
An informal experiment carried out in 2008 by the first author used SMS (Short Message Service) via mobile phones to deliver a vocabulary word a day during one semester (16 weeks) to a cohort of about 30 students in two groups. Teachers were instructed not to call students’ attention to these words in any particular way. For example, they were instructed not to ask students if they had understood the words, or if they could use them. Students were tested on recall of the vocabulary at the end of the study, through multiple option quizzes which used the words in context. Students scored between 98 and 100% on the quizzes. Thus, the researchers hypothesized that Twitter could be used as effectively. The objective of this study, therefore, was to determine if Twitter was a useful vehicle to deliver vocabulary to English-language learners, and if students would learn this vocabulary effectively. The research question was: What difference exists in the vocabulary learning of learners who received a daily word via Twitter, and those who did not?
Proceedings of ICERI2014 Conference 17th-19th November 2014, Seville, Spain
4178
ISBN: 978-84-617-2484-0
2 2.1
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Vocabulary teaching and learning in a second language
Learning vocabulary can be seen as one of the fundamental tasks of learning a second language; vocabulary is one of the building blocks of reading, writing, speaking, and listening comprehension. Without an extensive vocabulary, and without vocabulary learning strategies, learners will not reaching their full potential in the second language [1]. Reading general texts, for example, requires a vocabulary of at least the two thousand most commonly used words in a language [2], whereas reading academic texts requires around four times more than that. On the other hand, a person requires between five and seven thousand words to be able to speak a language fluently [3]. Thus, it can be seen that learning vocabulary is one of the most important activities a language learner can undertake. When we speak of “knowing” a word, we mean recognizing it in written or spoken form in its diverse forms: singular, plural, present, past, etc. We also mean being able to use it correctly in spoken or written communication [3] [4] [5]. Learning vocabulary- that is, learning to recognize and to use words- requires three steps [5]. The first of these is noticing. Learners must notice that a word is new for them, and that it may be useful. To learn it, the student normally decontextualizes the new word. Instead of seeing the word as part of a larger message, he or she considers it an item to be learned. Then, the learner negotiates meaning interacting with the word, either alone or with the help of another person or of a dictionary. The next step in learning vocabulary is retrieval. The word may be noted and understood, but by using it later, the word will be reinforced. Repetitions are necessary to develop both understanding and fluency, but it is not the mere repetition which aids learning, but rather the repeated opportunity to retrieve meaning. At this stage, it is important to avoid much time passing between learning and retrieving the new word [3] [4] [5]. The third process is creative or generative processing, wherein a previously learned word is met or used in ways that differ from the previous meeting [5]. Ways or methods for teaching vocabulary fit into two large paradigms: implicit teaching and explicit teaching. Implicit teaching is associated with a more “naturalistic” learning, trying to understand the meaning of words based on the context in which they appear. Implicit teaching supposes that words may be acquired naturally, through repeated exposure to them in a variety of situations. On the other hand, explicit teaching is intentional, with learning taking place through graded readings, vocabulary exercises, or dictionary work. It requires a more deliberate mental effort, as learners try to establish connections between meanings and forms [6]. Regardless of the paradigm involved: “Learners must be actively involved in the process of acquiring new vocabulary” [4] p. 26. Studies show that vocabulary is learned more effectively through a combination of contexts, media and teaching techniques [1] [3]. One such technique can be the use of handheld devices to interact with vocabulary, that is, mobile learning.
2.2
Mobile learning
As use of handheld computers and/or mobile telephones with internet connectivity increases, educators have found ways to take advantage of these devices for teaching and learning. In spite of increased popularity and a growing body of research, there is little consensus on how to define the concept of mobile learning. “There are obviously definitions and conceptualisations of mobile education that define it purely in terms of its technologies and its hardware, namely that it is learning delivered or supported solely or mainly by handheld and mobile technologies such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), smartphones or wireless laptop PCs. These definitions, however, are constraining, techno-centric, and tied to current technological instantiations. We, therefore, should seek to explore other definitions that perhaps look at the underlying learner experience and ask how mobile learning differs from other forms of education, especially other forms of e-Learning” p.4. [7] Mobile learning considers that what is mobile is the learner, more than the technology itself:
4179
“… activity with, and supported by mobile devices has the potential to meet the conditions required for effective learning to take place, particularly if learning is viewed as a process of cognitive and social developments in which social interaction is mediated by cultural tools, such as language and technology… “p.5 [8]. Though it may seem that mobile learning is a personal process, interaction- with content and with others- remains important: “Learning is viewed as semiotic work and meaning making in which users develop, with the aid of mobile devices, new cultural practice with and through which they learn and strengthen their resources for meaning making whilst interacting with the world” p.5 [8]. The context in which this study took place allowed participants to have access to one or two personal mobile devices each. This fact, coupled with the need to for the participants to increase their vocabulary knowledge without taking precious classroom time from other activities, led to this research project. For the purpose of delivering vocabulary effectively, Twitter was considered ideal.
2.3
Twitter
Twitter is a free, online microblogging site. Users send texts- known as tweets- to a network of followers. The length of tweets is constrained to 140 characters, but links and images are allowed. The default setting is public, so one can “follow” the postings of anyone listed on the site. These postings are saved on the sender’s personal page, and are known as a Twitter feed. Most contemporary mobile phones have an application which can send or received postings [9]. Because it is fast and easily accessible, Twitter is a popular way to send and receive breaking news stories, weather warnings, or traffic updates.
3
LITERATURE REVIEW
There have been several studies on the use of second-language vocabulary learning through the use of mobile devices. One such study [10] involved the effectiveness of specially created educational materials for learning vocabulary through handheld devices. The study mentions that students reacted positively and that there was evidence of learning through this medium. The study concludes that mobile phones can be effective tools for delivering second language learning materials to students. Another study compared vocabulary learning through traditional methods with vocabulary learning through mobile devices in Turkey [11]. In this case, mobile learning proved to be more successful. A third study, carried out at a Chinese university [12] involved two groups of sophomores, one as the control group and the other as the experimental group. The experimental group studied vocabulary received via SMS messaging, whereas the control group studied the same vocabulary received as a list on a sheet of paper. Both groups were expected to study the vocabulary on their own, and the SMS group showed better results on a vocabulary post-test. These are only three examples, but an exhaustive search of current literature shows again and again, that mobile technology is more effective for vocabulary learning, when compared to more traditional methods. No examples were found, however, of studies where Twitter was used as the vehicle for delivering vocabulary. Nevertheless, Twitter has been used successfully in studies to promote the formation of learning communities among language learners [13] or to promote learning in other subjects, such as science [14].
4 4.1
METHODOLOGY Context and participants
The study took place during the spring term -January to May- 2014 at a small, private university in western Mexico. Participants were 183 students in a university program of English, at either intermediate or advanced levels. They study four hours of English per week. Participants were divided into an experimental (N=109) or control group (N=74). Both groups were similar in gender balance (approximately 60%
4180
female to 40% male) in level of English studies (mostly advanced level), and in level of studies at the university (a majority from sixth semester of studies). Their studies were in a variety of fields: Administration, Communications Studies, Pedagogy, Engineering, etc.
4.2
Data collection
Both groups took a vocabulary test at the beginning of the semester. The test was created by the first author, based on Coxhead’s Academic Word List (AWL) [4]. The AWL is a list of 570 words which appear frequently in academic texts, but which do not form part of the 2000 most common words in the English language. Cognates were eliminated and the remaining words were used to create multiple-choice quizzes which were then piloted. The items which did not discriminate were eliminated, and a 100-item test was created. This was uploaded onto a platform which the participants accessed via internet. It can be found at http://dixie.pozostexon.com/cgi-bin/dixie/test/index.py The test asked the students their sex, school, semester, field of studies, and level of English, but did not otherwise identify them. Students in the experimental group were asked to take the pre-test one week; students in the control group were asked to take the test the following week. This helped keep the data sets separate. Students in the experimental group were then asked to sign up for the first author’s Twitter feed. She tweeted one word a day from Monday to Friday from January to May. The tweets included words from the Academic Word List, with a definition, an example, and an accompanying image. Figure 1 shows an example of the daily word tweets. The teachers were instructed not call students’ attention to the words in any particular way. At the end of the semester, students in both groups were asked to take the same vocabulary quiz as a post-test.
Figure 1. Example of daily tweets.
4.3
Data analysis
Descriptive statistics and ANOVA analysis were used to compare the results of the pre- and the posttests of the experimental and the control groups. The working hypotheses can be stated as follows: Ho: There is not a significant difference in regards to learning English vocabulary between students who received daily words via Twitter and those who did not receive daily vocabulary words by this means.
4181
H1: There is a significant difference in regards to learning English vocabulary between students who received daily words via Twitter and those who did not receive daily vocabulary words by this means.
Relation between students in regards to English vocabulary
Learning English vocabulary via Twitter
=
Learning Twitter
English
vocabulary
without
= X1
=
X2
Figure 2. Representation of the conceptual model Source: Own.
5
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Firstly, descriptive analysis was used to obtain more information about the participants in the study. Table 1 shows sex and semester of the participants in the both the experimental group and the control group. Table 1 shows that the largest percentage of participants are female (66.1%) with only 33.9% male. It also shows that the semester with the largest percentage of participants is sixth (37.6%) followed by fourth semester (25.7%). As to the control group, again it can be seen that the majority are female (60.9%) and the largest group of students is in their sixth semester of studies (43.8%). Table 1. Percentages by semester and by sex. Experimental Group
Control Group
Sem
%
Sex
%.
Sem
%
Sex
%
2
9.2
Female
66.1
2
4.1
Female
69.9
3
4.6
Male
33.9
3
2.7
Male
30.1
4
25.7
4
31.5
5
3.7
5
1.4
6
37.6
6
43.8
7
11.0
7
11.0
8
8.3
8
5.5
Total
100.0
Total
100.0
Total
100.0
Total
100.0
Source: Own An ANOVA test was carried out in order to obtain more information about possible relationships between the two groups. A significance level of .05 was selected. Table 2 shows that the probability of the value of F (0.959) is greater than 0.05. This indicates that there is no evidence to show a significant difference between both groups. That is to say, the students who received vocabulary words via Twitter showed no difference in learning in regards to students who did not receive vocabulary via Twitter.
4182
Table 2. Difference between means in vocabulary learning. Sum of squares
gl
Mean square
F
Sig.
Between groups
3331.045
35
95.173
0.555
0.959
Within groups
6345.283
37
171.494
Total
9676. 329
72
Source: Own. The ratio of the two mean squares Inter and Intra group of the Twitter group gave a value of F (0.555) and a significance value of 0.959; as the “p” value is greater than (α), there are insufficient elements to reject the null hypothesis. It can be concluded that there is no significant difference between vocabulary learning in students who received a word a day via Twitter, and those which did not.
6
CONCLUSIONS
If both the literature and the first author’s own experience have shown that mobile learning is a useful tool for the learning of new vocabulary in a second language, why did Twitter prove unsuccessful in this regards? The answer may lie in the nature of Twitter itself. Contrary to what happens with other messaging systems, Twitter does not call attention to new messages. There is no buzzing, or pinging when tweets come in. It is necessary to open the application and scroll through the different tweets to read them. The first author follows 91 persons on Twitter, and receives an average of 120 tweets per hour. It is possible that the vocabulary tweets were getting lost among so many other messages. At the same time, there are a number of messaging services available nowadays. Participants in this study reported receiving between 70 and 200 messages during the space of a two-hour class session. Thus, the vocabulary tweets had to compete with many other messages that the participants were receiving, both via Twitter and via other messaging systems. In sum, to make Twitter an effective vehicle to deliver new vocabulary to language learners, it will be necessary for the teacher to bring the vocabulary tweets to the students’ attention and to have them interact with the new words.
REFERENCES [1]
Medellín, A. (2008). La Enseñanza de Vocabulario en Segunda Lengua. MEXTESOL Journal 32(1), pp.11-25.
[2]
Chen, C., & Chung, C. (2008). Personalized Mobile English Vocabulary Learning System Based on Item Response Theory and Learning Memory Cycle. Computers & Education 51(2), pp. 624645.
[3]
Schmitt, N. (2008). Instructed Second Language Vocabulary Learning. Language Teaching Research 12(3) pp. 329-363.
[4]
Coxhead, A. (2006). Essentials of Teaching Academic Vocabulary. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
[5]
Nation, I. (2001). Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[6]
Qing, M., & Kelly, P. (2006). Computer Assisted Vocabulary Learning: Design And Evaluation. Computer Assisted Language Learning 19(1) pp. 15-45.
[7]
Traxler J. Defining, Discussing, and Evaluating Mobile Learning: The moving finger writes and having writ…. International Review Of Research In Open & Distance Learning [serial online]. July 2007;8(2):1-12. Available from: Education Research Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed September 26, 2014.
4183
[8]
Vavoula, G., Kukulska-Hulme, A., & Pachler, N. (2009). Researching Mobile Learning: Frameworks, Tools, and Research Designs. Oxford: Peter Lang.
[9]
Jansen, B., Zhang, M., Sobel, K. & Chowdury, A.(2009). Twitter Power: Tweets As Electronic Word Of Mouth. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. 60(11) pp. 2169–2188.
[10]
Thornton, P., & Houser, C. (2005) Using mobile phones in English education in Japan. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 21 pp. 217–228.
[11]
Basoglu, E. B., & Akdemir, O. (2010). A Comparison of Undergraduate Students' English Vocabulary Learning: Using Mobile Phones and Flash Cards. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology-TOJET, 9(3), pp. 1-7.Accessed January 28, 2014.
[12]
Zhang, H., Song, W., & Burston, J. (2011). Reexamining the Effectiveness of Vocabulary Learning via Mobile Phones. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology-TOJET, 10(3), pp. 203-214. Accessed January 28, 2014.
[13]
Lomicka, L., & Lord, G. (2012). A Tale of Tweets: Analyzing Microblogging among Language Learners. System, 40(1), pp. 48-63.
[14]
Van Vooren, C. & Bess, C. (2013). Teacher Tweets Improve Achievement for Eighth Grade Science Students. Systematics, Cybernetics and Informatics. 11(1) pp. 33-36.
4184
