scholarly journals Using the Discord Application to Facilitate EFL Vocabulary Acquisition

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 470
Author(s):  
Maria Alexandrovna Odinokaya ◽  
Elena Alexandrovna Krylova ◽  
Anna Vladimirovna Rubtsova ◽  
Nadezhda Ivanovna Almazova

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.

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 213
Author(s):  
Maryam Sharafi Nejad ◽  
Shohreh Raftari ◽  
Lin Siew Eng

<p>Based on the findings of previous studies which highlight the role of vocabulary knowledge  in English as a Foreign Language/English as a Second Language (EFL/ESL) learners’  learning process, this study is aimed at exploring<strong> </strong>the effectiveness of critical thinking on vocabulary learning by Malaysian EFL learners. .To achieve the purpose of this study, 60 male undergraduate EFL learners studying English at Asian EFL Academy Language Institute in Pinang were selected after administering Preliminary English Test.To examine whether there is a significant difference between experimental and control group, two parallel versions of Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (Pribakht &amp; Wesche, 1993) were used as pre-test and post-test. The participants in experimental group were instructed on how to employ critical thinking strategies on vocabulary learning. The results of the post-test showed that the experimental group who received formal instruction based on the critical thinking strategies revealed the prominent <a href="https://www.google.com.my/search?newwindow=1&amp;biw=1366&amp;bih=609&amp;q=define+development&amp;sa=X&amp;sqi=2&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjsxaLZw_nLAhVMFJQKHWTjC10Q_SoIHjAA">development</a> and interest in vocabulary learning. The t-test also indicated a significant difference between the performance of the control and experimental group.</p>


Author(s):  
Foo Terng Hoe ◽  
◽  
Teck Heng Lim ◽  
Boon Yih Mah ◽  
◽  
...  

Listening skills are important skills that need to be mastered by foreign language learners. Listening skills have, however, often been neglected in the teaching and learning process. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of using WhatsApp messenger as an instructional tool in enhancing listening skills. This experimental research employs the two-group pre-test post-test design. Two groups of 30 students who enrolled in the Introductory Mandarin course in one of the public universities in Malaysia took part in the study. During the study, the experimental group of 30 students underwent listening drills and exercises using WhatsApp messenger as the treatment, while another 30 students in the control group were taught by another lecturer using the conventional method of teaching listening skills. Listening test scores of before and after the treatment were compared and analyzed using Independent Samples t-Test to identify the significant level of the difference between the scores of these two groups. The findings show no significant difference in the listening pre-test scores between both control and experimental groups. However, after the treatment, the listening scores of the experimental group students are significantly better than that of the control group students. These results indicate that WhatsApp messenger is a useful instructional tool to teach listening skills in foreign language. The findings of this study could be used as a reference for further development of WhatsApp messenger as an instructional tool to enhance listening skills, overcome the constraints on teaching time, and improve the pedagogy as well as the instructions of foreign language learning.


2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iisrohli Irawati

The objective of this study is to find out whether there is a significant difference in terms of writing skills improvements between the 8th grade students of SMP N 1 Prambanan Sleman who are given teacher’s written feedback and conference and those who are not in the academic year of 2011/2012. This study involved 71 students from two groups, Class VIII B (35 students) as the experimental group and Class VIII A (36 students) as the control group. The experimental group was given teacher’s written feedback and conference in the writing learning process, whereas the control group was given peer’s feedback. The data were obtained by using two essay writing tests. They were administered to the two groups as the pre-test and post-test. The pre-test was given to both groups before the treatment was given and the post-test was given after the treatment finished. The data of the pre-test and post-test of both groups were analyzed by means of descriptive and inferential statistics. After the data were tested and found to be homogeneous and normal, the hypothesis was tested using the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The results show that there is a significant difference in the writing ability between the students who are given teacher’s written feedback and conference and those who were not. It can be seen in the result of the hypothesis testing using ANCOVA. The significant value of 0.001 is less than the significance level of 0.05 (0.001 0.05), which means that the data of this study are considered to have a significant difference. Therefore, the hypothesis of this study is accepted. It means that the technique of giving teacher’s written feedback and conference significantly improves the students’ writing ability in the English teaching and learning process in SMP N 1 Prambanan Sleman. Keywords : Teaching and Learning Writing; Teacher’s Feedback and Conference; Experimental Research 


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatimah Salihah Radzuan ◽  
Nurzatulshima Kamarudin ◽  
Mas Nida Md Khambari ◽  
Nurazidawati Mohamad Arsad

This study aims to investigate the effects of scientific calculators on mathematics achievement in support of problem-solving instructions. In this study, 49 low achieving mathematics students aged 14 years were selected from a secondary school in Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia. A pre-test post-test quasi-experimental design with two groups was employed in this action research study. The experimental group learned solid geometry and statistics topics, with the aid of a scientific calculator; while the control group did not use any technological aid to learn these topics. By controlling the pre-test score, the ANCOVA two-way test was applied to the post-test results. A positive significant difference was reported in favour of the experimental group. However, no significant interactions were noted between group and gender. The analysis results indicate that the use of a scientific calculator in the integrated teaching and learning of mathematics helped the students improved their mathematics achievements. These findings have important implications in the educational setting, particularly for educators to support and facilitate low-achieving students in mathematics.


2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 671-678
Author(s):  
Najiba Abdullah Meyad ◽  
Samsilah Roslan ◽  
Maria Chong Abdullah ◽  
Pabiyah HajiMaming

This paper investigates the effect of Differentiated Learning Method (DLM) on students motivation towards studying the Arabic language (AL) as a foreign language in Malaysia. The participants in this study were 100 (47 males and 53 females) Malaysian form four students attending secondary school in Kolej Islam Sultan Alam Shah (KISAS). They were selected for this study to determine the effect of DLM on their motivation towards studying AL. The pre-and post-questionnaire comparison groups design was used to determine if there were significant differences between the experimental and control groups. The experimental group was taught using DLM based on the Universal Design of Learning model (UDL) and Differentiated Instruction model (DI), while the control group was taught using the Teacher Centered Method (TCM). Descriptive statistics were used to determine the effect of DLM on students motivation towards studying AL. The statistical results demonstrated that there was a significant difference in the post-test between the experimental group (M=155.740, SD=12 .663) and the control group (M=145.280, SD= 14.405); t (3.856); p<.05). The experimental group was generally more motivated than the control group which proves that the DLM is an effective approach in improving students motivation towards studying the Arabic Language as a foreign language in Malaysia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-15
Author(s):  
Durga Gnanasagaran ◽  
Abdul Halim Amat @ Kamaruddin

This study investigates the effectiveness of mobile learning in the teaching and learning of Probability. The context of mobile here is not just restrained to gadgets such as smartphones but also the fact that teaching and learning can occur beyond boundaries and anywhere according to the convenience and personal preference of the students. This study made use of the pretest – posttest quasi experimental design and the students chosen for the study were from a pre-university college located in the northern region of the country. A total of 92 students made up the sample of the study. There were 46 students each in the experimental and control groups respectively. Cluster random sampling was employed as the sampling method here. The instrument used to collect data with the aim of strengthening the outcome of the study was the achievement test. A quantitative approach was undertaken specifically to analyse the obtained data. The paired sample t-test and independent sample t-test were executed in the data analysis process. Initially, every student involved in the study regardless of the group they were in possessed equal strength in their understanding of the content being covered as indicated by the results of their pre-test. The paired sample t-test yielded p < 0.05 which meant that there was a significant difference between the mean score of the pre-test and post-test in the experimental group and control group respectively. The outcome of the independent sample t-test showed that there was a significant difference between the mean score of the experimental group and that of the control group in the post-test (p < 0.05). This indicated that the treatment via mobile learning had indeed played a role in the improved performance of students in Probability, hence proving the effectiveness of mobile learning in the teaching and learning of Probability.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 889-895
Author(s):  
Naj Abdullah ◽  
Samsilah Roslan ◽  
Maria Chong Abdullah ◽  
Pabiyah HajiMaming

Differentiated Learning is a method of teaching which has been set and used in education to meet learners’ various needs and preferences. This paper investigates the effect of Differentiated learning method (DLM) on students’ achievement in writing skills in learning Arabic as a foreign language in Malaysia. A total of 100 students (47 males and 53 females), who were randomly selected, participated in this study. The pre-and post-tests comparison groups design was used to determine if there was significant differences between the experimental and control groups. The experimental group was taught using DLM, while the control group was taught using the teacher-centered method (TCM). Descriptive statistics were used to determine the effect of DLM on students’ achievement in writing skills. The statistical results demonstrated that there was a significant difference in the post-test between the experimental group (M=10.14, SD=2.79) and the control group (M=8.20, SD= 2.38); t (3.73), p < .05). The experimental group’s achievement was generally more than the control group’s which proves that the DLM is an effective approach in improving students’ writing achievement in learning Arabic Language as a foreign language in Malaysia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-87
Author(s):  
Resi Silvia

The current study aimed to compare between using subtitle video and picture series in teaching and learning process towards health students‘ reading comprehension. The research was carried out in 2018-2019 academic year in University of Adiwangsa Jambi, Indonesia. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the sample. One class was selected as sample from first year of nursing program. Totally 36 students were divided into two groups (one experimental group and one control group). Then, a pre-test of reading comprehension was administered to assess the students’ reading comprehension. The students of experimental group used video files to improve their reading comprehension while the control group using picture of teaching reading comprehension. In the end of the meeting, all the students were assigned multiple-choice reading comprehension post-test and fulfilled some questionnaires to measure their reading motivation. In order to test the significance between the groups, the independent samples t -test was used. The results of the research showed a significant difference between the students who were learned by using video that was more successful than the students who were learned by using picture. Based on the findings, it indicated that video materials had significant effect on promoting health students’ reading comprehension.


2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Iisrohli Irawati

The objective of this study is to find out whether there is a significant difference in terms of writing skills improvements between the 8th grade students of SMP N 1 Prambanan Sleman who are given teacher’s written feedback and conference and those who are not in the academic year of 2011/2012. This study involved 71 students from two groups, Class VIII B (35 students) as the experimental group and Class VIII A (36 students) as the control group. The experimental group was given teacher’s written feedback and conference in the writing learning process, whereas the control group was given peer’s feedback. The data were obtained by using two essay writing tests. They were administered to the two groups as the pre-test and post-test. The pre-test was given to both groups before the treatment was given and the post-test was given after the treatment finished. The data of the pre-test and post-test of both groups were analyzed by means of descriptive and inferential statistics. After the data were tested and found to be homogeneous and normal, the hypothesis was tested using the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The results show that there is a significant difference in the writing ability between the students who are given teacher’s written feedback and conference and those who were not. It can be seen in the result of the hypothesis testing using ANCOVA. The significant value of 0.001 is less than the significance level of 0.05 (0.001 < 0.05), which means that the data of this study are considered to have a significant difference. Therefore, the hypothesis of this study is accepted. It means that the technique of giving teacher’s written feedback and conference significantly improves the students’ writing ability in the English teaching and learning process in SMP N 1 Prambanan Sleman. Keywords : Teaching and Learning Writing; Teacher’s Feedback and Conference; Experimental Research 


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Mendes Porcellato

This study is motivated by the dearth of research in pragmatic instruction in Italian as a foreign language (IFL) with beginner learners. Based on the limitations in the way IFL textbooks present requests, instructional material was designed with the following objectives: to improve learners’ pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic competences and to raise their awareness of request realisation across different contexts. The material, designed for a 60-minute pedagogical intervention, was then used in an Italian language school in Sao Paulo with five intact classes of beginner Brazilian learners of Italian. We implemented a pre- and post-test quasi-experimental methodological design, where three classes were randomly selected to serve as the experimental group, and two classes served as the control group. The data collected through written DCTs and simplified retrospective questionnaires revealed that the learners in the experimental group showed a more significant improvement in their socio pragmatic, pragmalinguistic and metapragmatic competence compared to the control group. These results suggest a positive effect of consciousness-raising activities on learners’ declarative knowledge in the short term.


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