Using PDA for undergraduate student incidental vocabulary testing

Recent studies have explored English vocabulary learning in environments where students used mobile technologies for prescribed vocabulary learning tasks, or tested designed personalized learning systems to enhance student vocabulary learning for short periods of time in language related courses. Dictionary use via mobile devices has mostly been used for referential purposes. Referential use refers to applications that provide student access to content such as dictionaries, e-books, etc. at places where learning activities occur, taking advantage of the portability and mobility of mobile devices. Research on free student use of mobile devices to foster incidental vocabulary learning in non-English courses remains scant, and no in-depth studies have been carried out to investigate the value of dictionary use on mobile devices for incidental vocabulary learning in higher education. This one-year multiple-case study investigated undergraduate students' dictionary and other uses of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) to enhance their incidental vocabulary learning in an English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) university. The research findings show: (a) the students made various uses of the PDA to improve their vocabulary learning, namely, referential, situated, constructive, reflective, explorative and conversing uses, (b) the students adopted integrated uses of the tools on the PDA and the computer for their incidental vocabulary learning, and (c) the integrated use of the PDA and the computer shaped the vocabulary learning activities and vice versa. These research results indicate that PDAs can be used in more flexible, novel and extended ways for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) vocabulary teaching and learning in higher education, taking student needs and contexts into consideration.

[1]  Hilary Nesi,et al.  A Study of Dictionary Use by International Students at a British University , 2002 .

[2]  Mark van 't Hooft,et al.  Technology and the Prospective Teacher: Exploring the Use of the TI-83 Handheld Devices in Social Studies Education , 2006 .

[3]  Jeremy Roschelle,et al.  Introduction to the special issue on wireless and mobile technologies in education , 2005, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[4]  Agnes Kukulska-Hulme,et al.  Mobile Usability in Educational Contexts: What have we learnt? , 2007 .

[5]  Henri Béjoint,et al.  Vocabulary and Applied Linguistics , 1992 .

[6]  S. Merriam.  Andragogy and Self‐Directed Learning: Pillars of Adult Learning Theory , 2001 .

[7]  Sharan B. Merriam,et al.  Qualitative research and case study applications in education , 1998 .

[8]  Jie-Chi Yang,et al.  Affordances of mobile technologies for experiential learning: the interplay of technology and pedagogical practices , 2007, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[9]  Ivan Tomek.  The design and implementation of a MOO , 2000, J. Netw. Comput. Appl..

[10]  Chih-Ming Chen,et al.  Personalized mobile English vocabulary learning system based on item response theory and learning memory cycle , 2008, Comput. Educ..

[11]  David H. Jonassen,et al.  Learning to Solve Problems with Technology: A Constructivist Perspective , 2002 .

[12]  Mike Sharples,et al.  The Design and Implementation of a Mobile Learning Resource , 2002, Personal and Ubiquitous Computing.

[13]  James Coady,et al.  INCIDENTAL VOCABULARY ACQUISITION IN A SECOND LANGUAGE , 1999, Studies in Second Language Acquisition.

[14]  T. Bourner.  Assessing Reflective Learning. , 2003 .

[15]  S. Gass.  Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition , 1988, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics.

[16]  Joseph A. Maxwell,et al.  Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach , 1996 .

[17]  Yanjie Song,et al.  SMS enhanced vocabulary learning for mobile audiences , 2008, Int. J. Mob. Learn. Organisation.

[18]  B. Laufer.  How Much Lexis is Necessary for Reading Comprehension , 1992 .

[19]  Kurt Squire,et al.  Environmental Detectives: PDAs as a window into a virtual simulated world , 2002, Proceedings. IEEE International Workshop on Wireless and Mobile Technologies in Education.

[20]  I. Hodder.  The Interpretation of Documents and Material Culture , 1994 .

[21]  Gerhard Fischer,et al.  Innovative socio-technical environments in support of distributed intelligence and lifelong learning , 2007, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[22]  Hsien-Chin Liou,et al.  VOCABULARY LEARNING IN AN AUTOMATED GRADED READING PROGRAM , 2007 .

[23]  Jenny Waycott,et al.  Appropriating Tools and Shaping Activities: The Use of PDAs in the Workplace , 2005 .

[24]  M. Patton,et al.  Qualitative evaluation and research methods , 1992 .

[25]  Yuhsun Edward Shih,et al.  Setting the New Standard with Mobile Computing in Online Learning , 2007 .

[26]  Robert K. Yin,et al.  Applications of case study research , 1993 .

[27]  Gill Clough,et al.  Informal learning with PDAs and smartphones , 2008, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[28]  N. Denzin,et al.  Handbook of Qualitative Research , 1994 .

[29]  Batia Laufer,et al.  What Lexical Information Do L2 Learners Select in a CALL Dictionary and How Does It Affect Word Retention , 2000 .

[30]  Tatsuya Nakata,et al.  English vocabulary learning with word lists, word cards and computers: implications from cognitive psychology research for optimal spaced learning , 2008, ReCALL.

[31]  J. Michael Spector,et al.  Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology, 3rd Edition , 2012 .

[32]  M. Patton.  Qualitative evaluation and research methods, 2nd ed. , 1990 .

[33]  Karen Swan,et al.  Uses and Effects of Mobile Computing Devices in K–8 Classrooms , 2005 .

[34]  Patricia Thornton,et al.  Using mobile phones in English education in Japan , 2005, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[35]  Glenn Stockwell,et al.  Vocabulary on the move: Investigating an intelligent mobile phone-based vocabulary tutor , 2007 .

[36]  J. Michael Spector,et al.  Integrated and Holistic Perspectives on Learning, Instruction and Technology , 2000 .

[37]  B. Laufer,et al.  Type of task, time-on-task and electronic dictionaries in incidental vocabulary acquisition , 2003 .

[38]  P. Gu.  Fine Brush and Freehand: The Vocabulary-Learning Art of Two Successful Chinese EFL Learners. , 2003 .

[39]  David H. Jonassen,et al.  Integrating Constructivism and Learning Technologies , 2000 .

[40]  Lynne Hamill,et al.  Mobile world : past, present and future , 2005 .

[41]  J. Hulstijn,et al.  Incidental Vocabulary Learning by Advanced Foreign Language Students: The Influence of Marginal Glosses, Dictionary Use, and Reoccurrence of Unknown Words , 1996 .

[42]  Brendan Tangney,et al.  Designing collaborative, constructionist and contextual applications for handheld devices , 2006, Comput. Educ..

[43]  William Grabe,et al.  Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition: Reading and vocabulary development in a second language: A case study , 1996 .