Effects of Computer-Assisted Vocabulary Training on Word Knowledge.

AbstractWith the advent of the microcomputer, educators question whether computer software can incorporate vocabulary methodologies comparable with those traditionally used in the classroom and whether it can teach students the meanings of unfamiliar words. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a computer software program in teaching a common list of unfamiliar words to 11th-grade students. The software was evaluated by comparing the program’s instructional approach, which incorporates definitional and contextual word knowledge with approaches that use definitional or contextual information only. The results of the study demonstrated that students who used a modified mixed approach, that is, one that provides sentence context, definitional or synonym clues, and optional word choices, learned more words than did students who received definitional information only. The findings also suggest that viable methods can be developed to assess the effectiveness of a vocabulary software progr...

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