Browsing by Subject "Vocabulary learning"
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Item Learning with Laura: investigating the effects of a pedagogical agent on Spanish lexical acquisition(2009-05) Theodoridou, Katerina Demetre; Abrams, ZsuzsannaThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an animated pedagogical agent on Spanish vocabulary learning. Furthermore, the study examined learners’ reactions and attitudes towards the presence of the pedagogical agent in a web-based environment, as well as how learners used the conversational component of the pedagogical agent in their learning process. A total of 47 university students enrolled in two fourth-semester Spanish classes participated in this study. Both the Control group and the Experimental group used a web-based environment that presented new vocabulary (in audio and text), along with activities for practicing the vocabulary in context. The difference between the two groups was that an animated pedagogical agent (Laura) was present in the environment used by the Experimental group. In addition, a conversational component was added at a second phase to the environment used by the Experimental group, which the learners used to chat with the pedagogical agent about the material presented. The data were analyzed through quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative data were derived from a demographic information questionnaire, a vocabulary pre-test and two vocabulary post-tests (an immediate post-test and a delayed post-test), as well as from attitudes scales completed prior to the learners’ exposure to the web-based environments and after completing the learning sessions. The qualitative data were derived from a learning experience questionnaire completed by all learners at the end of the learning sessions, as well as from the scripts of the chat sessions between the learners in the Experimental group and the pedagogical agent, and a chatting experience questionnaire completed by the same group. Analysis of the quantitative data did not yield significant differences between the Control and the Experimental groups with respect to vocabulary learning outcomes and affective outcomes. Analysis of the qualitative data revealed learners’ preferences with respect to features embedded in the web-based language learning environments. In addition, it explored how learners utilized the conversational aspect of the pedagogical agent, and provided information as to the type of information the agent’s knowledge base should include in order for the agent to be a beneficial tool for the learners’ progress.Item Twist in the list : frame semantics as vocabulary teaching and learning tool(2011-05) Atzler, Judith Kerstin; Abrams, Zsuzsanna; Blyth, Carl; Boas, Hans C.; Urlaub, Per; Hess, PeterThe purpose of this study, which is grounded in applied linguistics, was to investigate two ways of presenting vocabulary in a German language class in order to determine whether Frame Semantics is a feasible tool with regards to students’ vocabulary acquisition and culturally appropriate usage of vocabulary. In addition, this study examined learners’ attitudes toward the new method of vocabulary teaching and learning. A total of 34 university students enrolled in four second-semester German classes participated in this study. In the Control Group rote memorization techniques were used, while the in the Treatment Group frame semantics was utilized for the teaching and learning of vocabulary. The data was analyzed through quantitative methods. The quantitative data was derived from an online demographic survey, a vocabulary pre-test, two vocabulary post-tests (an immediate post-test and delayed post-test), a cultural appropriateness pre-test, two cultural appropriateness post-tests (an immediate post-test and delayed post-test), as well as an pre-test and post-test attitude scale provided as an online questionnaire. Analysis of the data indicates that there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups with regards to their cultural appropriate usage of the vocabulary items, and no statistically significant differences were observed with regards to vocabulary recall and retention. In addition, only the factor of enjoyment yielded significant differences with regards to learners’ attitude, while the factors of motivation, interest and confidence did not show statistically significant differences between the groups. Thus, the results indicate that both methods – Frame Semantics and the more traditional methods – are suitable for vocabulary learning and teaching as both methods resulted in an increase of learners’ vocabulary knowledge, including long-term retention.Item Vocabulary learning strategies among adult learners of Spanish as a foreign language(2011-05) Waldvogel, Dieter Alexander; Pulido, Diana C.; Horwitz, Elaine K.; Salaberry, Rafael M.; Callahan, Rebecca M.; Dodd, Barbara G.The aim of this study was to contribute to the scarce amount of research on self-selected Spanish foreign language (FL) vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) by adult learners of Spanish in the United States and to investigate which type of learning strategies may result in higher vocabulary gains and why. This study investigated the relationships between the type of VLS university Spanish FL students at different levels of proficiency use, the amount of time they devote to the weekly study of Spanish outside the classroom, and their vocabulary size. In addition, the correlations between the VLS used by students with high and low vocabulary test scores and their vocabulary size were investigated. A total of 477 military cadets/students at the United States Air Force Academy enrolled in Spanish courses at the beginning, intermediate, and advanced language proficiency levels participated in this study. The data were analyzed through quantitative methods using two measuring instruments: a) a vocabulary learning questionnaire used to discover students’ VLS preferences, and b) a Spanish vocabulary tests used to estimate the participants’ Spanish vocabulary size. Analyses of the data suggest that a significant relationship exits between learning strategy use and vocabulary size among advanced, more experienced Spanish learners but not among beginning- or intermediate-level students. Findings suggest that novice or inexperienced Spanish FL learners may be ineffective at the management of their own vocabulary learning. Different patterns in VLS use were also identified between advanced students with high and low vocabulary test scores. Those with higher vocabulary test scores use significantly more social and metacognitive learning strategies, while those with lower vocabulary test scores resort to memorization and other less-cognitively-demanding strategies for learning Spanish vocabulary. Pedagogical implications and limitations are addressed.