Masaryk University Faculty of Arts
Department of English and American Studies
Teaching English Language and Literature for Secondary Schools
Roman Kálecký
Quizlet vs. Vocabulary Notebook: The Impact of Different Methods of Storing and Revising Vocabulary on Students’ Progress, Retention and Autonomy
Master’s Diploma Thesis
Supervisor: Nikola Fořtová, B.A., M.A.
2016
1
I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.
……………………………………………………… Author’s signature
2
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank my supervisor Nikola Fořtová, B.A., M.A. for her patience and valuable advice, which helped me immensely while writing this thesis.
3 Table of Contents
1 Introduction ...... 7 2 Literature Review ...... 10 2.1 Teaching Vocabulary ...... 10 2.2 Learning Vocabulary: Styles and Strategies ...... 13 2.3 Learning With Bilingual Lists ...... 16 2.4 Learning With Word Cards ...... 17 2.5 Learning With Electronic Flashcards and CAVL Games ...... 19 2.6 Learner Autonomy ...... 23 3 Research Methodology ...... 25 3.1 Research Questions ...... 25 3.2 Research Context and Participants ...... 26 3.3 Materials ...... 28 3.3.1 Vocabulary selection ...... 28 3.3.2 Quizlet games and tools ...... 29 3.3.2.1 Flashcards ...... 29 3.3.2.2 Learn ...... 31 3.3.2.3 Speller ...... 32 3.3.2.4 Test ...... 33 3.3.2.5 Scatter ...... 34 3.3.2.6 Gravity ...... 35 3.3.3 Creation of sets ...... 36 3.4 Data Collection Instruments ...... 39 3.4.1 Quizlet study data ...... 39 3.4.2 Vocabulary tests ...... 41 3.4.3 Post-test questionnaire ...... 42 3.4.4 Survey ...... 43 3.5 Learning Strategies ...... 44 3.5.1 Quizlet group ...... 44 3.5.2 Notebook group ...... 46 3.6 Research Process ...... 48 3.6.1 Introductory lesson ...... 48 3.6.2 Pre-test ...... 48
4 3.6.3 Teaching period: In-class presentation of the vocabulary ...... 49 3.6.4 Revision with Quizlet/word list outside the classroom ...... 51 3.6.5 Test 1 ...... 51 3.6.6 Test 2 (post-test) ...... 52 4 Research Findings ...... 53 4.1 Quizlet and Its Impact on Students’ Learning Outcomes ...... 53 4.1.1 Retention, progress and ability to use the vocabulary ...... 54 4.1.2 Likelihood of using Quizlet beyond the curriculum ...... 59 4.1.3 Impact of familiarity with the software on learners’ autonomy ...... 62 4.2 Students’ Perception of Quizlet ...... 65 4.2.1 Accessibility, enjoyability and usefulness of the strategies ...... 65 4.2.2 Device preference ...... 68 4.3 In-Class Integration of Quizlet...... 72 4.3.1 Saving vocabulary and creating the Quizlet sets ...... 72 4.3.2 Integration of Quizlet into more communicative activities ...... 75 4.3.3 Quizlet Live as a form of in-class revision ...... 77 5 Discussion and Implications ...... 79 5.1 Limitations of the Research ...... 79 5.2 Advantages of Quizlet ...... 80 5.3 Problems Related to the Use of Quizlet in the Classroom ...... 82 5.4 Handwriting vs. Typing ...... 84 5.5 Four Strands of a Well Balanced Vocabulary Course ...... 87 5.6 Quizlet Teacher and Paid vs. Unpaid Account ...... 89 6 Conclusion ...... 91 7 References ...... 95 8.1 Resumé ...... 98 8.2 Czech Resumé ...... 99 9 Tables and Figures ...... 100 10 Appendices ...... 113 APPENDIX A ...... 113 APPENDIX B ...... 114 APPENDIX C ...... 115 APPENDIX D ...... 116 APPENDIX E ...... 117 APPENDIX F ...... 118
5 APPENDIX G ...... 119 APPENDIX H ...... 120
6 1 Introduction
Quizlet is an online interactive learning platform operating on electronic bilateral flashcards, that can be used to study any subject, but serves mostly as a system for learning languages. It was created by Andrew Sutherland in 2005
(originally as a tool to learn French vocabulary shared with his friends) and in
February 2016 it had more than 100 million sets, with 1 in every 4 high school students in the U.S. using it daily and 40 million users coming to Quizlet every month (“Our mission,” n.d.).
The interface consists of four tools and two games and it can be used either online in a browser on www.quizlet.com or with a mobile application (for iOS and Android) on a smartphone or a tablet computer. It is primarily designed for selfstudy but teachers can also sign in and create classes, send invitations to their students, assign them with teacher-made sets and track their progress and activity.
There has been scientific research on the benefits of paper word cards and software operating on flashcards, but Quizlet has not been previously compared to a vocabulary notebook, which is a common method of storing and revising vocabulary in most classes. It was therefore appealing to find out why
Quizlet is so popular and what the differences between the two are.
In my research, I was primarily interested in three ways in which Quizlet might affect low-performing students’ learning outcomes. Firstly, I wanted to find out whether using Quizlet as a tool to store and practice vocabulary is better in terms of long-term retention of a new vocabulary item, students’
7 ability to retrieve it and use it correctly. The second question was, whether the students, after being presented to Quizlet, will tend to use the software beyond the curriculum, i.e. go and search for ready made sets of their preference or study for other subjects. Thirdly, I was interested in Quizlet’s impact on learners’ autonomy, i.e. whether the fact that they know how to use it enables them to become more autonomous.
Moreover, I focused on students’ perception of using Quizlet/notebook as a tool to store and practice vocabulary, in terms of enjoyability, accessibility and the control groups’ device preference - the application on their smartphone or the browser version on a computer.
Finally, I explored the ways of integrating Quizlet into the classroom, i.e. the best way to create the sets (in terms of independence, quality and practicality for the teacher) and possible implications of the software into more communicative classroom activities.
Two experimental groups (using Quizlet to store and revise sports vocabulary/irregular verbs) and two control groups (using a notebook for the same purpose) were formed and the vocabulary was presented in context during three/four lessons. Students’ learning outcomes were measured in three successive tests - one before the teaching period (to measure their base knowledge), one immediately after (to see the progress) and the last one 3 weeks later (to measure their long-term retention). In the end, a survey on their experience with the methods was administered.
8 The hypothesis was that students will learn more using Quizlet with electronic flashcards for several reasons:
Firstly, the software is more interactive and provides the learners with instant feedback as they go through the activities within a set of words.
Secondly, teenage students spend lots of time using smartphones and computers, and Quizlet should therefore be more enjoyable to study from because of the employment of technology.
Thirdly, electronic flashcards can be complemented with pictures that support retrieval and they could help the learners with better retention.
Furthermore, the software allows students to star the difficult items, which enables them to study these separately with higher frequency without having to revise already mastered words.
Lastly, bilateral flashcards should lead to better retention as they require the learner to retrieve the content of the other side before flipping the card over, compared to a vocabulary list where the word and its translation are presented next to each other.
Quizlet should therefore afford learners possibilities that can hardly be achieved with a regular vocabulary notebook. But does this result in better learning outcomes and increased autonomy?
9 2 Literature Review
2.1 Teaching Vocabulary
Vocabulary is very important for mastering a foreign language. Firstly, it enables the learners to understand what they read or hear and secondly, it is essential for their own production. Building up a large store of vocabulary not only helps them describe more concepts but it also fosters their fluency and ability to use appropriate words in different contexts and registers.
Throughout the history, there have been numerous approaches to teaching languages and although some truth can be found in all of them, since the second half of the twentieth century (as the psychology and linguistics developed) there has been a shift from the Grammar-translation paradigm towards more communicative approaches (Brown, 2000).
Communicative language teaching puts emphasis on communication and interaction, which should be further supplemented with exposing the students to extensive, authentic and comprehensible input. Each teacher has a slightly different teaching style, some of them focus more on grammar, some on improving the four skills, but without vocabulary, none of these can exist and most importantly, no communication can happen. Therefore, lexis plays a vital role in communication and language teaching and its lack is limiting for the ability to express oneself.
It is important to teach vocabulary in a complex way, so that the learner does not only know the meaning but also other aspects of the lexical item that enable them to use it properly. According to Ur (1991, p.60-62), we as teachers, have to focus on the following six main areas:
10 Form - The learner has to know the graphical form (spelling) and what it
sounds like (pronunciation), which is important both for successful
production and understanding.
Grammar - Most words exist in more forms, i.e. plural form of countable
nouns, past tense of a verb, comparative and superlative of adjectives, etc.
This has to be made clear to students when the teacher presents the item,
especially provided that there are some irregularities (plural, past form, etc).
This covers also colligations - words that go together with a certain
grammatical form or a preposition (i.e. enjoy + -ing, interested in, etc).
Collocation - Certain words when put together sound either right or wrong in
a given context, which also has to be made clear to students when
presenting new vocabulary.
Aspects of meaning
Denotation - the sort of definition given in a dictionary
Connotation - the associations and feelings the word evokes
Appropriateness - in which contexts the item is appropriate to use. Some
words are for example more formal, whereas others might be inappropriate
for the situation or even offensive to the recipient.
Meaning relationships - the meaning an item can have to another one.
Those can be synonyms, antonyms, hyponyms, co-hyponyms, superordinates
or a translation.
Word formation - what the item is composed of (especially with multi-word
items). These are not only prefixes and suffixes, but also the combination of
lexical words and their forms that creates a compound.
11 Nevertheless, each author frames the system in different ways, for example Nation perceives the knowledge of a vocabulary item in nine aspects in three categories - form (written, spoken, word parts), meaning (form and meaning, concepts and referents, associations) and use (grammatical functions, collocations and constraints on use)(2001). On the other hand, the point stays the same - knowing a word fully does not only require being able to translate it, but also being able to use it when appropriate and modify it according to its grammatical context.
This raises the question how vocabulary should be presented. According to Brown, the best internalization of vocabulary comes from encounters
(comprehension or production) with words within the context of surrounding discourse. If the teachers attend the vocabulary within a communicative framework in which items appear, students will associate new words with a meaningful context to which they apply (Brown, 2001, p. 377).
Word cards as a learning technique are often criticized for the lack of communicative context which helps the learners to remember the vocabulary and shows how the word is used. On the other hand, “there is also an enormous amount of evidence that shows that even without a sentence context large numbers of words can be learned in a short time and can be retained for a very long time” (Nation, 2001, p. 469).
Therefore Quizlet and word cards in general should not be used as the only method of presenting or encountering new vocabulary because, due to their nature, they do not provide the students with enough context to notice the other aspects of a vocabulary item in. Nevertheless, when word cards are combined with presentation of the vocabulary in context and sufficient
12 instruction by the teacher on how the words are used, they can serve as an efficient method of expanding students’ vocabulary knowledge.
2.2 Learning Vocabulary: Styles and Strategies
Teaching vocabulary should be based on the ways in which vocabulary is actually learned. On the other hand, vocabulary can also be learned independently, without the presence of a teacher, and it is therefore important to know how to do this effectively. To become successful learners, students need to be aware of their learning styles and acquire strategies to get the most out of their learning.
Based on Brown, learning styles, whether related to personality (such as extroversion, self-esteem, anxiety) or to cognition (such as right/left-brain orientation, ambiguity tolerance, field sensitivity) characterize the consistent and enduring traits, tendencies, or preferences that may differentiate the student from another person. Strategies, on the other hand, are specific methods of approaching a problem or a task, modes of operation for achieving a particular end, or planned designs for controlling and manipulating certain information. Strategies vary widely within an individual, while styles are more consistent and predictable (Brown, 2001, p.210).
From my experience, most students are not directly aware of their learning styles and cannot verbalize the ways in which they learn most effectively. On the other hand, if the teacher knows their students well, he or she should be able to reflect on those patterns and adapt the classroom activities to students’ learning styles. This might not be an easy task if the class
13 is not consistent and the teacher is required to approach students individually, support them and teach them strategies to become good language learners.
According to Rubin and Thompson:
Good language learners take charge of their own learning,
organize information about language, make their own opportunities to
practice using the language inside and outside of the classroom,
continue to talk or listen even without understanding every single word,
use mnemonics and other memory strategies to recall what has been
learned. They also make errors work for them and not against them, use
the linguistic knowledge of their first language to learn a second
language, use contextual cues, learn chunks of language as a whole to
foster their fluency, know tricks to keep the conversation going and to
fill in gaps in their competence. (as cited in Brown, 2001, p.209)
Concerning the ability to use what has previously been learned or encountered, vocabulary knowledge is usually divided into passive and active.
Nation sees it rather as receptive vocabulary use, which involves perceiving the form of a word while listening or reading and retrieving its meaning, and productive vocabulary use, which involves wanting to express a meaning through speaking or writing, retrieving and producing the appropriate spoken or written word form (Nation, 2001, p.38). He also summarizes the research by
Stoddart (1929) and Waring (1997), who focused on the differences between productive and receptive vocabulary learning, and points out that productive learning proved to be more difficult, time-consuming and students usually score higher in receptive tests than in productive ones (Nation, 2001, p. 48). Although it is more challenging for the students to produce the words, it also essential for
14 them to be able to communicate effectively. In my research, I am thus more interested in their ability to produce the words (by retrieving and spelling them correctly) and therefore the tests do not focus on recognizing the words or translating them back into L11.
Furthermore, the number of words that can be learned at once is limited.
Therefore, when learning a long list of words, it is desirable to learn the list over more study sessions and revise it regularly over the given period of time, which is known as spaced repetition. Based on Nation, spaced repetition leads to more secure results than massed repetition, which means that it is better to focus on the words for a shorter time but those encounters should be spread over a longer period of time (spaced at increasingly larger intervals) than spending the same study time on the item at once (Nation, 2001, p.114). This should help the learners reduce forgetting because:
After a piece of learning, the forgetting is initially very fast and
then slows down. On the second repetition a piece of learning is older
than it was on the first repetition and so the forgetting on the second
repetition will be slower than it was. On the third repetition the
forgetting will be even slower. (Nation, 2001, p.116)
For this reason, students in both groups were taught how to facilitate their learning and instructed to come back to the words regularly (in between the lessons during the two weeks’ teaching period and in the time appointed for their independent revision at home), instead of learning them all the night before the announced test. For the detailed outline of strategies assigned to the experimental and control group, see Chapter 3.5.
1 L1 = first language (Czech), L2 = second language (English)
15 2.3 Learning With Bilingual Lists
Learning with bilingual lists of paired associates is a common practice in language courses and students have usually worked with these at some point in their previous studies. On the other hand, in communicative language teaching, learning vocabulary from context is often emphasized over memorizing long lists of vocabulary. But should they diminish from the classrooms?
Nakata proposes that:
Although it is often assumed that most vocabulary is learned from
natural context (Krashen, 1989), vocabulary learning from context alone
is not sufficient, particularly in a context where learners have little
exposure to the target language outside the classroom, and should be
complemented with word-focused activities such as list learning, which is
more certain and efficient (Hulstijn, 2001; Laufer, 2003; Nation, 2001;
Waring, 2004). (as cited in Nakata, 2008, p.5)
This means, that intentional learning of vocabulary plays an important role in language learning.
On the other hand, when we consider word lists as only one of the methods of storing and revising vocabulary and we compare it with word cards as another, its impact on learning can be further exceeded. Baddeley (1990),
Landauer and Bjork (1978) argued that “having to retrieve the meaning results in far superior learning to seeing the word and its meaning at the same time.
This is one reason why cards are better than vocabulary lists and vocabulary notebooks as a means of learning” (as cited in Nation, 2001, p.478-9).
16 Furthermore, vocabulary lists can foster so called list effect, which denotes that learners may retrieve the item easily within the list, but they have considerable difficulty in doing so when it is presented outside it, mainly because they remember the position of words in the list and when they learn them in series, some words get more attention than the other (Nakata, 2008).
To sum it up, studying from vocabulary lists is a simple and accessible way of intentional expansion of students’ vocabulary but, due to the fact that words and their definitions/translations are presented next to each other, it does not support retrieval in the way that bilateral word cards do. Moreover, vocabulary lists can cause a negative list effect and students should therefore be encouraged to opt for a more asynchronous way of storing and revising vocabulary.
2.4 Learning With Word Cards
Briefly put, word cards are small pieces of paper with the target vocabulary items on one side and their translation/definition on the other, that are used for studying vocabulary independently. Due to their nature, “in its simplest form, learning from word cards helps with learning the written form of the word, learning the concept of the word, and making the connection between the form and the meaning” (Nation, 2001, p.470).
Paper word cards as such therefore cover only three of the nine aspects of a vocabulary item outlined in Chapter 2.1 and the other ones, “especially constraints on use of the word, the full range of collocations and grammatical patterns in which it occurs, the variety of referents and related meanings the
17 word can have, and its various morphological forms” (Nation, 2001, p.470-471) are not effectively covered and have to be presented by the teacher or noticed when encountering the words in context. For this reason:
It is necessary to see learning from context and learning from
word cards as complementary ways of learning which are partly
overlapping and reinforcing and which also give rise to some different
kinds of knowledge. The strength of learning from word cards is that it is
focused, efficient and certain. The strength of learning from context is
that it places words in contexts of use, so that the conditions of learning
closely resemble the conditions under which the words will need to be
used. (Nation, 2001, p.472)
Knowing the form and meaning, on the other hand, is very useful for future receptive use of the vocabulary. Supposing that the learners meet it again in context, they can notice its other aspects, which employs deeper processing and can be seen as an accelerator of the learning process that leads to fully mastered productive use.
Learning only from context would require extensive amount of time and comprehensible material to master the same amount of words compared to more direct methods of learning. Moreover, word cards, as a direct and conscious way of learning, may afford the learners some other benefits:
In one study concerning the use of flash cards, Ehri and Roberts
(1979) studied first graders to see whether they learned printed words
better in isolation or in context. Post-test scores revealed that those who
were taught words in isolation were able to read the words faster than
those who were taught in context and they also learned more about
18 orthographic forms but those who were taught in context learned more
about the semantic identities rather than orthographic forms. (as cited in
Nation, 2011, p.5)
Furthermore, using word cards to study vocabulary helps to prevent the list effect (as described in Chapter 2.3) and when the students write them on their own, the process of writing itself can be beneficial for their retention.
In conclusion, word cards, when used as the only one method of learning vocabulary, are not complex enough to cover all the aspect of a vocabulary item and have to be complemented with sufficient exposure to context. Moreover, they provide no acquisition, as studying with word cards requires deliberate intentional learning. On the other hand, in comparison with vocabulary lists, they can be studied in any order and divided into decks based on the level of mastery or any other key that the student considers useful and that proves to be an effective strategy.
2.5 Learning With Electronic Flashcards and CAVL Games
As opposed to word cards, a flashcard is “a card bearing words, numbers, or pictures that is briefly displayed (as by a teacher to a class) usually as a learning aid” (Flash card, n.d.). In the past, the use of paper flashcards was a necessity. Students and teachers were limited by the lack of advanced technology and had to use the traditional way of creating them - writing on a piece of cardboard and complementing it with a picture (drawn, photocopied or cut from a magazine). Nowadays, the supply is much ampler, almost everyone
19 has a computer or a smartphone and there are several CAVL2 systems that operate on electronic flashcards. But what are the differences between the paper and electronic flashcards? Is it more efficient to use electronic flashcards and why? Does the use of these lead to higher motivation, better chance of retention and ability to retrieve it? Can they learn more vocabulary in a shorter period of time?
Paper flashcards and word cards are relatively easy to make and require no special skills. On the other hand, if the teacher/student learns how to use the software effectively, it can be even easier and much faster. In Quizlet, the whole set can be created by pasting in a bilingual list, the opposite side can be created automatically and adding an appropriate picture is a matter of two clicks. There is no need to cut the cards and most importantly, they can be shared among the users, who do not have to carry a thick pack of cards in their pockets all the time and who can have thousand of words ready in their smartphone weighing not a gram more.
Moreover, Quizlet activities such as Learn and Gravity help to foster the ability to retrieve the words, because it requires quick recalling of the items and writing them with correct spelling (for the complete list of Quizlet activities, tools and functions, see Chapter 3.3.2). Retrieving contributes to vocabulary learning more than just seeing the word and its meaning at the same time
(Nation, 2001, p.118), as in the case of reading a bilingual list in a notebook.
F.M.Yip and A.M. Kwan, who are ESL researchers from the Hong Kong
University, focused on the use of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) tools to study vocabulary, particularly 2 online vocabulary games, and
2 CAVL - computer-assisted vocabulary learning
20 conducted an experiment to compare its efficiency (concerning motivation, retention of a new word learnt and ability to retrieve it) with standard face-to- face lessons. They examined 100 undergraduate tertiary students of
Engineering (prevailingly male), whose mother language was Chinese and
English was the second language to be learned. Their key findings show that online games proved to be more effective as a tool to study vocabulary. The experimental group (using online vocabulary games) had significantly higher scores in the post-test and those systems were also favored more than face-to- face learning lessons in enhancing students’ English vocabulary knowledge by
68% of the students. They were also more motivated and confident, especially by the sense of achievement created by the games (Yip & Kwan, 2006).
Quizlet should also be increasing the amount of words that can be learned in a given period of time. Cennet Altiner focused on the use of Anki
(software similar to Quizlet that allows the user to study various subjects with electronic bilateral flashcards with spaced repetition) to teach academic vocabulary to ESL intermediate-level students of Iowa State University. The results of her research and experiment, where she made the students study
210 words during 3 weeks, indicate that this way of studying helps learners to gain greater amount of vocabulary in a shorter period of time in addition to a better chance of retention (Altiner, 2011).
Researchers mostly agree that flashcards help to expand learners’ vocabulary and serve as an effective strategy to study outside the classroom.
But is there a difference in outcomes between paper and electronic flashcards?
Basoglu and Akdemir (2010) focused on the comparison of effectiveness of using ordinary paper vocabulary flashcards and electronic flashcards on a
21 mobile phone using ECTACO (simple mobile application with electronic flashcards). The participants, 60 ESL students in the Undergraduate Compulsory
Preparatory Program at the Bulent Ecevit University in Turkey, had to study a set of 1000 words in their free time during 6 weeks. The results of the study show that, apart from the fact that both groups (experimental with mobile phones and the control group with paper flashcards) benefited from studying in this way, the experimental group had significantly better results and electronic cards were more favored by the students. Nevertheless, it is important to mention that the students were highly motivated by an approaching exam at the end of the semester. On the other hand, ECTACO did not allow the use of pictures, so it is supposed that Quizlet will be even more effective with extra content to trigger the retrieval of the words.
To sum it up, electronic flashcards are easier and faster to use and students can devote more time to actually studying them, although the creation can be also seen as a way of learning. Based on the research in this area, the use of Quizlet should lead to higher efficiency, motivation, retention, ability to retrieve the words and students should be learning faster and enjoying it more than with paper flashcards.
22 2.6 Learner Autonomy
Quizlet as a tool to study vocabulary might increase learners’ autonomy.
As Nation puts it, “autonomous learners take control and responsibility for their own learning (…) by deciding what should be given the greatest attention and effort, what should be looked at again later and how the material presented should be mentally processed” (Nation, 2001, p.641). If we, as teachers, want our students to be successful in their learning, we should teach them not only the vocabulary, but also strategies to become an autonomous learner, so that they can evaluate the importance of particular words, be aware of their own strengths and weaknesses, that is, know which way of learning these works best for them, no matter what the teacher says. In addition, they should be able to come up with alternative approaches when they realize that a particular one is not effective for the task.
In my research, an autonomous user of Quizlet is defined as someone who decides what, when and how to save, creates his/her own sets of words
(presented incidentally in the lessons) that he/she considers important, groups them in folders and most importantly and studies the vocabulary on their own using the tools and games provided until he/she feels to have mastered it.
Quizlet could be very useful for promoting learner autonomy because it is designed primarily for self-study. Students can create their own sets (with the vocabulary that they find important), search for ready-made ones of their preference and star the difficult items as they go through the sets, so that they can get back to them later. They can decide when and where they want to study (provided that they have synchronized their words with their smartphone,
23 which can then be reviewed offline) and in which way. Moreover, they receive immediate feedback and can follow their progress with various statistics about their scores, so that they know what to focus on in the future. On the other hand, they have to be motivated to do so and use Quizlet regularly to achieve higher scores, based on the principle of spaced repetition (as described in
Chapter 2.2).
Therefore, using Quizlet can be seen as one of many strategies available to learners for learning vocabulary, but it is primarily up to the students’ autonomy whether they consider it useful, efficient and corresponding with their needs and learning styles.
24 3 Research Methodology
The following chapter details the rationale, design and administration of the research in order to address the following research questions:
3.1 Research Questions
1) How does the use of Quizlet affect students’ learning outcomes?
A. Is using Quizlet as a tool to store and practice vocabulary better than a
vocabulary notebook in terms of long-term retention of a new vocabulary
item, ability to retrieve it and use it correctly?
B. Will they be likely to use Quizlet beyond the curriculum, i.e. go and search
for ready made sets of their preference or study for other subjects?
C. Will knowing how to use the software enable them to become more
autonomous?
2) What is the students’ perception of using Quizlet as a tool to store and practice vocabulary?
A. Is learning with Quizlet more enjoyable and accessible for the students than
with a regular vocabulary notebook? Why?
B. Will they prefer using mobiles to a computer / browser?
3) How can Quizlet be integrated into a classroom?
A. What is the best way to create the sets in terms of independence,
quality and practicality for the teacher?
B. Although it was designed for self-study, can it also be integrated into
more communicative classroom activities and how?
25 3.2 Research Context and Participants
The research took place at a low-performing technical and vocational secondary school in Ústí nad Labem. There were two similar groups of students
(four groups of students were used in total - two experimental groups, that is, they used Quizlet, and two control groups, that is, they used the traditional method of pen and paper for noting and storing lexis). In both, the same sequence of activities was kept and in the parallel classes (first/second year) students used the same textbook at the same pace.
All of them have had English at primary school for at least 5-8 years.
Generally speaking, they have problems with concentration, perhaps due to bad eating habits, drinking energy drinks and playing computer games or using social media in a great part of their free time. Some of them have even been diagnosed with ADHD and other learning disorders, often resulting in bad handwriting and spelling problems.
To keep the students anonymous, the names of the classes have been changed according to their grade, target vocabulary and study method (e.g.
1IVQ means first year students, irregular verbs, Quizlet, whereas 2SN stands for the second year, sports, a notebook).
26 Experimental group
Students used Quizlet to store and review vocabulary.
1IVQ - 11 first year non-maturita students, Electromechanics, aged 15-16,
around A1, only boys. The research began when the group were at the
beginning of unit 3 (past simple) and we had not done irregular verbs
before, although most of them must have studied them at elementary
school.
2SQ - 13 second year maturita students, Information technology, aged 16-17,
around A2/B1, only boys. The research began when the group were at
the beginning of unit 8 (sports). We went through the unit the same way
as with 2SN.
Control group:
Students in this group used a notebook to store and review vocabulary.
1IVN - 10 first year non-maturita students, Operator of postal services, aged
15-18, around A1, mixed. The research began when the group were at
the beginning of unit 3 (past simple) and we had not done irregular
verbs before, although most of them must have studied them at
elementary school.
2SN - 18 second year maturita students, Logistics and Finance, aged 16-17,
around A2, mostly girls, generally lower performance than 2SQ. The
research also began when the group were at the beginning of unit 8
(sport) and we went through it the same way as with 2SQ.
27 During the experiment, Quizlet was also used with other classes I teach at the same school and those who did not have a smartphone, internet connection or just wanted to stick to a vocabulary notebook served as another control group to compare their experience with.
3.3 Materials
3.3.1 Vocabulary selection
The selection of target vocabulary was based on the current unit in the textbook (Real Life pre-intermediate, Pearson Education Limited, 2010) which was assigned by the curriculum. The number of words presented was about 10 items per lesson, as it is usually recommended to introduce between 7 and 12 new words in order not to overload them. In this way, students were introduced to 30 (40) items during 3 (4) successive lessons.
The first year students were studying the past simple tense, so it was decided to focus on V2 and V3 forms3 of 30 irregular verbs (see Appendix A) that we came across in the textbook. Although they had not been introduced to perfect tenses and passives at the time, it was decided to teach them the past participle forms of the verbs as well. As Andrea Tesařová suggests, learning both V2 and V3 forms of irregular verbs at once creates no obstacles for the students, provided that they are aware of its future necessity, and simultaneously, makes it easier for them to learn present perfect, as they can
3 V1 = infinitive form of an irregular verb, V2 = past simple form, V3 = past participle form
28 focus on the differences between the tenses and do not get overwhelmed by having to learn another list of verb forms (Tesařová, 2009, p.23).
With the second year group, 40 vocabulary items related to sport
(nouns, verbs, adjectives) were selected (see Appendix B). Those were prevailingly the items that were considered more difficult (due to no resemblance to L1, complicated spelling, length, irregularity, phrasal verb, etc.) and presented in Unit 8 in the textbook. To avoid interference, words with similar meaning were not included.
During the study period, we also spontaneously came across other words, which the students were encouraged to save in their own sets of personal vocabulary. This was administered to check on their learner autonomy.
That is, if they thought they knew the item or considered it unimportant, they did not have to put it in their Quizlet/notebook. In this way, their activity with the obligatory set could be observed easily and it could checked how many words they had saved for themselves by the end of the experiment.
3.3.2 Quizlet games and tools
Quizlet is a rather complex system, it constantly develops and slightly changes over time. In the following chapter the basic functions, games and tools that it provides and the ways to use them will be introduced.
3.3.2.1 Flashcards
This is the basic study tool that simulates paper word cards but, unlike paper flash cards, Quizlet flashcards can operate in several modes. The student
29 can select whether to start with L1, L2 or display both sides of the flashcard at the same time, if he/she wants to simply browse through the set initially. The cards can then be flipped (using the space bar, arrows or by clicking on the flashcard) or viewed in the flow mode, which requires just scrolling down and the content appears as a continuous list but with items displayed one at a time.
The students are supposed to recall the item on the other side while browsing through the set and then check if they were right once they flip the card. Stars can be added (to mark the difficult items, that can then be studied independently) and audio is played after the English term appears or when clicked on. The audio pronunciation can also be enhanced with a slower and more explicit audio version in advanced settings. Cards can also be shuffled to prevent the list effect or played automatically in a lapse so that it does not have to be controlled manually.
Figure 1. Flashcards in the flow mode with both sides displayed at the same time. A screenshot of quizlet.com
30 3.3.2.2 Learn
Another study tool, designed to help learners learn vocabulary by retrieving the L1/L2 equivalent and typing the correct answer in, is called Learn.
Figure 2. Learn - example of an exercise. A screenshot of quizlet.com
Each trial is followed by instant feedback, the item is then pronounced aloud and at the end of each study session Quizlet shows the performance statistics (as shown in the screenshot below) and the list of studied words with the incorrect ones highlighted.
Figure 3. Statistics after the completion of Learn. A screenshot of quizlet.com
31 3.3.2.3 Speller The third learning tool is Speller. It is designed to help students practice the spelling of words. The items are pronounced aloud while the opposite side of the card is displayed and the task is to type it in correctly. Faster and slower audio version can be selected here as well.
Figure 4. Speller - typing in the spelling of a dictated word. A screenshot of quizlet.com
If the term is misspelled, the system corrects the student by spelling it aloud along with an animation of necessary changes. At the end of a study session, statistics from each round and a list of words sorted by the number of mistakes in each term are displayed.
Figure 5. Statistics after the completion of Speller. A screenshot of quizlet.com
32 3.3.2.4 Test
The last study tool is Test. This can be used for self-evaluation or by teachers to create a quick test that can then be exported into pdf and printed easily. There can be up to four kinds of questions - written (translating the term), matching (L1 and L2), multiple choice (it automatically provides four choices that are the most confusing within the set, e.g. with a similar morpheme or modifier) and True/False (evaluating the correctness of given pairs). After selecting the number, type and direction of questions (from L1 to
L2 or vice versa), it creates a test with balanced number of items in each task.
Images can stay shown but this is rather inconvenient when designed for printing because it then consists of too many pages.
Figure 6. Test: example of the settings. A screenshot of quizlet.com
33 3.3.2.5 Scatter
This is the first of the two games in Quizlet and its purpose is to teach or practice the meaning of words. The task is to make the words disappear by matching the corresponding items, i.e. by dragging and dropping them onto each other as fast as possible. In the app it is called Match, it appears as a pelmanism but the point is the same - to match the terms and their translations/definitions.
Figure 7. Scatter played online. A screenshot of quizlet.com
34 3.3.2.6 Gravity
The second game, that used to be called Space race and had much simpler graphics, focuses on retrieving the corresponding items and their correct spelling. The task is to protect the planets from incoming asteroids (e.g.
L1 words) by destroying them (typing the L2 form in correctly) before they reach the ground. The tempo gets always faster as the game progresses. The difficulty (easy, medium, hard) and direction of questions (L1/L2 first) can be selected.
Figure 8. Gravity - an incoming asteroid to be destroyed by typing in the English equivalent. A screenshot of quizlet.com
35 3.3.3 Creation of sets
Quizlet works primarily with double-sided flashcards and all the activities operate on the bilateral principle. In the following chapter, the possibilities, ways of creating the sets with the control and experimental group and the reasons will be detailed.
The student or teacher can either search for ready-made sets or create sets of their own. After setting the title, visibility and editability (just by the author, certain classes or people with a password) the language of the terms and definitions must be selected. Then the terms can be added, their definition can be entered or auto-defined (based on the user created dictionary) and pictures can be added from a basic selection from the Flickr database (or uploaded in the case of a paid account). Quizlet has also developed a system of keyboard shortcuts to make the creation even faster.
Figure 9. Creating a Quizlet set online. A screenshot of quizlet.com
36 The whole set can also be created automatically using the import function, i.e. by pasting in a bilingual list and selecting what the characters connecting the items are (e.g. a hyphen surrounded by spaces). Sets can also be organized in folders and assigned to individual classes (in the case of a teacher user).
To create a vocabulary card, students were supposed to place the
English vocabulary item, as well as automatic sound, on one side and its Czech equivalent4 with a picture5 on the other. The use of pictures applies to Paivio’s theory of dual coding, which suggests that the terms are stored based on both the linguistic information and visual information and thus the picture, if selected carefully, helps with the retrieval of the vocabulary item (Paivio & Desrochers,
1981). “Other kinds of information like collocates, etymology, constraints, grammatical pattern could be put on the word card, but it is best to see learning from word cards as only one step in the cumulative process in learning a word and thus not to expect too much from this one kind of learning” (Nation,
2001, p.478). On the other hand, the fact that Quizlet works with vocabulary in the form of bilateral flashcards is limiting for the complexity of vocabulary knowledge6. Although it teaches the meaning, spelling and sound, the other
4 Of course, it would be more challenging for them to write definitions but translations (or generally shorter clauses) are more suitable for playing Quizlet games (it always requires exactly the same answer and there is a time limit) and “concepts that are very difficult to explain in the target language, because the learners are not yet sufficiently proficient to understand the explanation, may (also) be more conveniently presented through mother tongue translation or explanation” (Ur, 1991, p.64).
5 Employing mnemonic strategies by using visual information, as well as acronyms, rhymes, or stories improves memory storage and retrieval (Mubarak & Smith, 2008, p. 2).
6 Of course, a specialised set, focusing i.e. only on collocations, past forms or antonyms can be made, but this is not the easiest and most convenient way students would save and store a general compilation of vocabulary items.
37 aspects have to be either introduced by the teacher when presenting it or acquired from context, as described in Chapter 2.4.
It is also important to highlight, that there was not always an equivalent word in their mother language and therefore they had to be careful about the meaning (specify it, express it in more words, use synonyms, example sentence, etc.).
Concerning the authorship, student-made flashcards could be considered more effective because students have to write the word and sort the information (meaning, part of speech, context, pronunciation, connotations), which requires deeper processing. On the other hand, Marina Dodigovic, who focused on the design of teacher and student made online vocabulary flashcards with a similar program, suggests that this is also more time consuming and requires teaching strategies to do this skillfully. It is also more complicated and less favored by the students. They can have the same or even better results with teacher-designed cards and it creates no obstacle when transferring the knowledge from short-term to long-term memory. Student- made cards proved to be less coherent and contain less useful information
(Dodigovic, 2013). Moreover, it should not be “the depth of word processing but the number of word retrievals required” that leads to mastery of a vocabulary item (Folse, 2006).
As there are more ways of creating the obligatory sets in Quizlet for the students to study from, to test what works best with them and what proves to be the most practical for the teacher, various modes of creation were administered with different classes. In 1IVQ, students were instructed to create the sets each by themselves, enable everyone to edit it and share it in the
38 Quizlet classroom. In 2SQ, students were to create one set collectively - each adding 4 words that they were assigned from the list. With other classes, I was the one who created the final set.
In the control group, students each wrote all the vocabulary in their own notebook as it was presented to them. They were supposed to divide the page into two halves, with L1 terms on one side and L2 terms on the other. In the case of irregular verbs, they were to divide the page into 4 columns and fill it with the Czech translation of the verb and its V1, V2 and V3 forms.
3.4 Data Collection Instruments
3.4.1 Quizlet study data
One of the advantages of Quizlet is that when students study with it, the teacher can monitor their activity and results in various ways.
• List - Each term is accompanied by a percentage of difficulty (how many
students in the class get this term right) and these are divided in groups
(students get these terms right 25%-50% of the time, 50%-75%, 75%-90%
and 90%-100%). This is counted based on their results in the games and
activities and it is therefore important that the students complete them to get
reliable data. (See Figure 10 in Tables and Figures.)
• Class progress - The teacher can see a list of students and an overview of
completed or started activities. After clicking on each, he or she can see when
it was started, finished or played for the last time and the best score. This
function works only with the paid teacher account. (See Figure 11 in Tables
and Figures.)
39 • Scores - The teacher, as well as the students participating in the activity, can
see the best 10 students as Scatter and Space race champions, with the first
three graphically displayed on a winners’ podium. With Learn and Speller, the
teacher can only see the list of students who have successfully completed
these. The scores can be projected to students when evaluating their activity
or during the study session and they can watch it in real time, which fosters
their competitiveness and motivation. (See Figure 12 in Tables and Figures.)
• Student activity - provided that all students are in a teacher’s class, after
opening each profile the teacher can not only see which sets the students
have created, but also their study history (which activities were started/
completed, with which set and when). Other sets that they have studied can
also be monitored by the teacher. (See Figure 13 in Tables and Figures.)
The data can be displayed either for all students or individual classes and a time range can be chosen - in the past day, week, two weeks, month and year. As they proclaim in each of the lists, “Quizlet study data is meant for self- study and is not designed to be used for assessment.” This also means that the data do not have to be 100% correct and my experience is that if students study with a mobile device (or offline), their activity sometimes does not appear in the lists of study data. Therefore students will be asked about their study activity in a questionnaire following the tests.
40 3.4.2 Vocabulary tests
In the original Quizlet test, we can find four kinds of tasks - multiple- choice, matching, written and true/false. Nevertheless, concerning the full spectrum of knowledge, Quizlet only tests what it actually teaches - meaning and spelling (in the case of written questions). Furthermore, multiple-choice, although it is easy to mark, tests only the meaning and provides 25% chance that the student will guess the answer right, as well as with true/false where the chance is even 50%. Concerning matching (e.g. ten terms and their definitions), again only meaning is tested and “if the learner has all the others right, the last option becomes obvious” (Ur, 1991, p.72).
Therefore, with the second year students, it was decided to do it in the form of a two-step test. First they had to translate and write the target 40 words with correct spelling - to check how many of the terms they could recall and to create the framework for the following step (see Appendix C). Then they had to complete a gap fill exercise (see Appendix D), i.e. fill in the blanks in 10 sentences, to prove that they can retrieve the words in context and use them in the correct form (plural, past, comparative, etc.).
With the first year students, who had been learning the past and participle forms of irregular verbs, the test focused only on V2 and V3 forms of
30 irregular verbs. In this case, their ability to use the verbs in context was not
41 tested7, due to the fact that they had not been introduced to present perfect and passive voice, which would require the use of past participle. Therefore, the goal was only to check their ability to memorize both forms, so that they do not have to study it again in the future.
3.4.3 Post-test questionnaire
Although Quizlet provides the teacher with various study data, it was not desired to rely only on these because the results sometimes do not synchronize with the study sessions held offline or on a smartphone.
In the notebook groups, it was impossible to track their activity, as they were supposed to study at home. Therefore it was decided to ask them about their activity in a questionnaire (see Appendix E and F) immediately after finishing the first test.
Firstly, they were supposed to fill in information on their learner profile - age, how long they had studied English and how much time they spend using a smartphone/computer/internet a day.
Secondly, they were asked about the ways in which they had studied for the test. In the Quizlet group, students were asked how many times they had performed each Quizlet activity and on which device, about the time spent studying, using stars and other tools to study. In the notebook group, students
7 A separate test on the general use of past simple was administered after they had finished with the unit. Nevertheless I decided to exclude it from the experiment, as it focused on the use of past simple in positive/negative sentences and questions, using both regular and irregular verbs and in the experiment, I was more interested in their knowledge of the three forms and students’ ability to memorize them using the two methods.
42 were to specify the strategies they used to study independently, e.g. hide and retrieve, rote learning, reading it aloud, silent reading or peer testing.
Even though it is generally recommended to administer questionnaires anonymously because it leads to more honest answers, it was necessary to link their learner profile (and learning style) with their test results and therefore they had to sign it with their name. Nevertheless, they were encouraged to answer as honestly as possible, promised that the answers would not influence their grades in any way and explained that it was essential for my research to admit that they had studied very little or not at all.
3.4.4 Survey
After the post-test (3 weeks later), students were asked about their experience and perception of Quizlet/vocabulary list in their notebook as a tool to study vocabulary, the ways of using it, creating the sets, its effectiveness and the likelihood of using it in the future. For the complete list of questions and
Likert scales, see Appendix G and H.
43 3.5 Learning Strategies
Learning strategies are, “in essence, learners’ techniques for capitalizing on the principles of successful learning” (Brown, 2001, p.208). In the following chapter, the strategies that were introduced to the students in both groups, in order to help them learn effectively and succeed in the vocabulary tests, will be presented.
3.5.1 Quizlet group:
Although Quizlet is relatively easy to use both by the teachers and students, it is also important to teach learners strategies to use it correctly and to maximize its effectiveness.
In both groups we started by discussing the ways in which they usually learn and we agreed on the fact that in order to learn effectively, they need to find a comfortable place where no-one and nothing disturbs them (which also requires turning their social media and other notifications off) and reserve enough time in their daily schedule so that they are not under pressure.
Moreover, it is generally important to get enough sleep and satisfy their basic physical needs (e.g.hunger, thirst or fresh air). They were also reminded that the number of words that they can learn at once is limited and therefore it is desirable to split their activity into more “study sessions” (at least a day apart from each other, based on the principle of spaced repetition) and try not to over-learn by studying it all at once right before the test.
Then the Quizlet group was recommended to keep a certain order of activities, so that it is doable for them and they can decide what to focus on
44 regarding their current knowledge of the terms. Based on the research on receptive and productive acquisition of lexis as detailed in Chapter 2.2, learners were advised to begin with the receptive use of the terms. This means the they should go through the Flashcards first, starting with L2 and guessing the words’
L1 meaning before turning the card over to reveal the translation (or, in the case of irregular verbs, the V2 and V3 forms). If they had guessed incorrectly or they felt that they have not mastered the item fully, they should star it to be able to study those separately later. Then they were asked to move on to
Scatter/Match and practice matching the counterparts.
Afterwards, they were to practice the productive use of the terms, so when they felt confident in matching these, they should do Speller to learn the spelling of the words (by typing what they hear). If the dictation was too fast for them, they could adjust the settings and choose the slower audio version.
Repeating the words aloud before writing them was also recommended.
Then they could focus on Learn and Gravity (which both require translating the term and spelling it correctly but Gravity also adds game features and time pressure to it). It was also highlighted that they should always start by displaying the L1 (or V1) term and typing it in L2 (V2+V3) and not vice versa. If they felt that they know a majority of the words, they could switch to the star mode in each activity and practice only the most difficult ones without wasting time with the known ones. Completing Test as a form of self- evaluation was recommended at the end of each study session.
45 3.5.2 Notebook group:
In this group, students stored vocabulary in the form of a word list in their notebooks, which required writing the English word on one side of the sheet along with its Czech translation(s) on the other or, in the case of the first year students, the infinitive form of selected irregular verbs (along with their meaning, which had already been taught to the students) on one side and their simple past and past participle forms on the other.
Apart from general learning tips (common for both groups), the learners were also informed about the importance of retrieval and spaced repetition, which means that they were not supposed to learn all the words in the list at once but try to separate them into more study sessions to learn more effectively and to prevent over-learning. When learning the words, they should not look at both sides of the paired associates at once but hide L2 (V2 and V3), try to retrieve it, say it aloud and then check it. “If foreign vocabulary is to be learned for productive purposes, that is the learners are required to produce the foreign words, then saying the words aloud brings faster learning with better retention” (Nation, 2001, p.481).
Therefore they were also informed about the difference between productive and receptive learning, which means that they were not supposed to learn only what the L2 term means in L1, so that they were able to recognize it in context, but also how to say/write the L1 term in L2. This could also be done by asking someone (a peer or a parent) to test them after each study session by reading the L1 words and checking if they can translate them correctly.
46 They were also advised to create a system in their list, based on the level of mastery. If they had recalled the L2 item correctly, they should star (or put another symbol to) it. By the end, they should have had at least 3 stars for each term and those items with less stars should have been considered more difficult and therefore paid more attention to in the following study sessions.
It was also suggested that they use mnemonics, such as the keyword technique to learn the most difficult items. “In the keyword technique, the foreign language word form is linked to a first language word which sounds like it and this is linked to the meaning by an image involving the meaning of the first language word and the meaning of the second language word” (Nation,
2001, p.65). So, for example, when learning the word statue, they could link it to the Czech verb stát (to stand) and imagine the statue standing somewhere.
With the first year students, it was also pointed out that irregular verbs can be divided into groups and that they were supposed to use a color code to group them based on the changes in past and participle forms, to make it easier to learn them. Those groups were: (a) all three forms are the same, e.g. cut, (b) V2=V3, e.g. stand, (c) V1=V3, e.g. come and (d) with all forms different, e.g. drink, (but which can be further grouped based on the similar vowel changes). The students were also advised to revise these by repeating all three forms aloud, which can help to remember the verbs based on what the group sounds like.
47 3.6 Research Process
3.6.1 Introductory lesson
The experimental group was taken into a computer lab and shown how to create their profiles. Special attention was paid to make sure the learners remembered and kept their passwords safe. Some of them had used Quizlet before but had forgotten their password, so they were instructed how to reset it. They were also taught how to use Quizlet effectively on a computer - how to create a set, add pictures and an automatic definition8, study with all activities with the most convenient settings, use stars and search for ready made sets, likewise on a mobile device (both creating and studying). I had created the
Quizlet class and asked them to request to enter it. The learners were also shown how to share a set with the other students in the class.
With the control group, it was ensured that everybody has a notebook and they were shown strategies how to store the vocabulary and learn from the list effectively (see chapter 3.5.2).
3.6.2 Pre-test
Before the teaching period, a pre-test was administered to check their base knowledge of the final 30/40 terms. This could only be done with those items, that had been planned to be taught. It was generated by Quizlet (from a set created by me), printed and the students’ task was only to translate those items with correct spelling (or write V2+V3 forms of the irregular verb given, in the case of the first year students), to check if they can recall at least some of
8 This is also a tool to check if they have entered the item correctly.
48 the terms (see Appendix A and C). They were informed that there was no need to cheat, as it was not evaluated with a mark, it was only important to measure their base knowledge.
After they had finished, their tests were swapped and a collective correction with immediate feedback was administered. The correct answers were written on the board and students received 1 point for each answer with correct spelling. In this test, synonyms were accepted and in the case of a word with an overlapping meaning (e.g. opponent x enemy), they received 0,5 point, as well as for a slightly misspelled word. In the case of irregular verbs, correct spelling was required (as the forms often differ in only one letter), except for minor spelling mistakes (written x writen) which also led to 0,5 point. In the end, percentage was calculated and rounded off.
It was administered immediately before the teaching period, so it could have some influence on their averseness of the words, nevertheless, it was done in the same way with all participants and their progress was more important than the initial level of knowledge.
3.6.3 Teaching period: In-class presentation of the vocabulary
With the second year students, after the pre-test, there were 4 successive lessons within two weeks, in which the target items were presented to students, they collected the vocabulary and saved it to their Quizlet / notebook. In each lesson we used the textbook and in the context provided
(reading and listening exercises), 10 terms, emerging from the materials, were highlighted. Lessons in both groups had a similar structure of approaching the
49 vocabulary - presentation in context9, clarification of meaning, form and function, pronunciation rehearsal, controlled practice, freer practice (both within the tasks in the textbook) and revision.
With the first year group, we were at the beginning of a unit focusing on past simple, which also required the knowledge of irregular verbs. The infinitive of the verbs had been introduced in the previous units of the textbook and students should have been able to understand the meaning of most of these.
We followed the textbook, which presented the verbs in listening and reading exercises and we focused primarily on the construction of past simple, regular verbs and other contextual vocabulary. Nevertheless, as we progressed, in each of the three successive lessons we spent about 10 minutes noticing and presenting a set of 10 irregular verbs (with both V2 and V3 forms) that emerged from the context. All three forms were written on the board, students saved these in their notebooks/Quizlet and we practiced the pronunciation in the form of a rote repetition. After they had collected all 30 verbs, they were asked to group them (using a color code) according to the changes among the forms.
Between each lesson, the students’ task was to revise the items that they had saved. This was impossible to check with the notebook group so the were asked about the strategies and time, that they had spent studying at home, in the follow-up questionnaire.
9 There are many ways of presenting the vocabulary. Ur suggests for example “concise definition (as in a dictionary), detailed definition (of appearance, qualities), examples (hyponyms), illustration (picture, object), demonstration (acting, mime), context (story or sentence in which the term occurs), synonyms, opposites (antonyms), translation, associated ideas, collocations” (Ur, 1991 p.63).
50 3.6.4 Revision with Quizlet/word list outside the classroom
Students were told to revise for the test at home. The Quizlet group was instructed to go through all the activities on Quizlet, complete Speller and
Learn. They were asked to start with the receptive activities (Scatter, Speller), then move on to more productive activities (Learn, Gravity) and finish their study session with a self-evaluation test.
The control group was to revise with their notebook, using strategies that I had taught them (as described in Chapter 3.5.2). To employ retrieval, students were asked to start by hiding the L1 equivalents and guess it aloud before revealing, then move to hiding the L2 column and try to say it aloud and write it before checking the spelling. Other suggested strategies were for example peer testing, rote learning or the keyword technique.
3.6.5 Test 1
Two or three days after the teaching period, a test was administered to check how much they had learnt. It also served as an official vocabulary test, which was evaluated with a mark.
In the second year group, students were examined in the form of a two step test. First they had to translate the words (to find out how many of the terms they can recall compared to the pre-test and to create the framework for the following step). Secondly they had to use some of the words in context - fill in the blanks with a correct form of the word (see Appendix C and D).
The first year students only had to write the V2+V3 forms of the verb given (see Appendix A). It was followed by a short questionnaire on how they had studied for the test and their learner profile (see Appendix E and F).
51 3.6.6 Test 2 (post-test)
This test was administered 3 weeks after the official test (Test 1). The key vocabulary had intentionally not been revised in between the tests (so that the learners were not influenced by in-class practice) and the test had not been announced to the students beforehand, so that I could check their longterm retention and whether they tended to come back to the sets voluntarily. There were the same words to be translated into L2 (or V2+V3 forms of irregular verbs) but in a different order.
This time, there was no gap fill, as it would lead to ambiguous results because of the different context and selection of words in the gap fill (in the first test there was only a fraction of the 40 words). The amount of words that they can retrieve from a previously studied set and the impact of the two methods on their long-term retention was more important in this test.
It was followed by an anonymous survey on their experience and perception of the methods to store and revise vocabulary concerning their efficiency, difficulty to use, helpfulness and likelihood of using them in the future. (See Appendix G and H.)
52 4 Research Findings
The following chapters detail the results of the tests and analysis of the surveys and questionnaires. It is structured according to the research questions, as outlined in Chapter 3.1.
Concerning the data evaluation, in the vocabulary tests, students received 1 point for each correct answer with accurate spelling. In the pre-test, synonyms were accepted, so in the case of a word with an overlapping meaning
(e.g. opponent x enemy), they received 0,5 point, as well as for a slightly misspelled word in all tests. In the case of irregular verbs, I insisted on correct spelling (as the forms often differ in only one letter), except for minor spelling mistakes (written x writen) which also led to 0,5 point. In the end, percentage was calculated and rounded off. Students who did not take all three tests were excluded from the part of experiment focusing on students’ outcomes.
In the surveys, five-degree Likert scales were used (agree, strongly agree, not sure, disagree and strongly disagree), nevertheless, results in the text are summed in only three degrees (agree, not sure, disagree) for easier orientation. For the detailed results, see Tables 5, 6 and 7 in Tables and Figures.
4.1 Quizlet and Its Impact on Students’ Learning Outcomes
This chapter summarizes the impact of the two method on students’ learning outcomes (evolving among the three successive tests), the level of autonomy and likelihood of using Quizlet for studying vocabulary in the future.
53 4.1.1 Retention, progress and ability to use the vocabulary
This part details the results of the three successive tests and compares the two methods as contributing to students’ retention, progress and ability to use the target vocabulary.
First year students - past and participle forms of irregular verbs (30)
In the pretest, both groups had rather similar base knowledge of irregular verbs - 1IVQ scored on average at 26% and 1IVN at 22%. For the detailed scores, see Table 1 and 2 in Tables and Figures.
In the first test, following the study period and their independent revision at home, 1IVQ, who used Quizlet, scored slightly lower (59%) compared to
1IVN (65%), who used their notebook to store and revise the verbs. This means that the Notebook group (43%) made about 10% higher progress than the Quizlet group (33%). Except for the difference in learning strategies, the results could be attributed to the ways they had saved and studied the verbs.
Firstly, all study groups were asked to split the words into more study sessions and complete all activities in a certain order (starting with the receptive and finishing with the productive ones). The results of the post-test questionnaire show that not only did most students in both groups study the words all at once, but a vast majority of them did not complete all the activities as required.
Secondly, after presenting the first third of the set, each student in 1IVQ was asked to create a set of their own. Nevertheless, some students had no device and, as they were using smartphones to type the words in, a vast
54 majority of them had made several spelling mistakes. Therefore the best set
(with no mistakes and proper pictures) was picked, copied and completed by the teacher, creating a common set for the class to study from. This means that they used Quizlet mostly to study the verbs and were not saving them all on their own.
On the contrary, in 1IVN they were each writing all the verbs by hand, which not only eliminated the “typos” in their lists (in contrast to the groups who were using a small virtual touch keyboard on their smartphones), but also led to better retention as they had to process the spelling of the verbs when copying them from the board.
1IVQ 1IVN
70 % 65 % 62 % 59 % 56 %
52,5 %
35 % 26 % 22 %
17,5 %
0 % Pre-test Test 1 Test 2 (after 3 weeks)
Figure 14. Average scores in the three successive tests - first year students
Similar results could be seen in the post-test, which tested their long- term retention after 3 weeks. 1IVQ scored at 56% and 1IVN at 62%, elevating the notebook, despite the fact that both groups had forgotten the same amount of verbs - on average about 3%.
55 In 1IVN, there was a slight correlation between the time spent studying and their progress. Concerning the strategies, those who had read the verb forms aloud together with hiding V2+V3 and retrieving it before checking outperformed those who had only read it silently.
In 1IVQ, there also was a strong correlation of progress with the time spent studying on their own. In addition, those who completed Learn and
Gravity (focusing on retrieval and correct spelling) outperformed those who spent the time with matching activities (which are relatively useless in this particular setting, because the V1 form of a verb is similar to its V2+V2 forms).
Moreover, the Quizlet group made less minor spelling mistakes as they had to rewrite the verbs several times when playing the games.
Second year students - sports vocabulary (40 items)
2SQ had generally better results that its parallel class 2SN and this could be observed in the pre-test as well. 2SQ scored on average at 44% compared to 12% in 2SN, resulting in 32% higher base knowledge. For the detailed scores, see Table 3 and 4 in Tables and Figures.
In the first test, after the teaching period and their independent preparation, 2SQ, who used Quizlet, also had slightly higher scores (85%) than
2SN (79%), who used a vocabulary list in their notebook. Nevertheless 2SN made more rapid progress (65%) compared to 2SQ (41%) concerning the translations. On the other hand, the Quizlet group made less minor spelling mistakes.
56 In the gap fill, which required recalling the words in context and modifying the word accordingly (see Appendix D), 2SQ performed better as well
(70%) compared to 2SN (45%), signifying that it was much more challenging for the students than translations of the same forms that they had studied.
There was no significant difference between the use of a notebook and Quizlet because during their independent revision, all students studied in a decontextualized way. The work with context was done in class in the same way in both groups, so it only shows that 2SQ is a stronger class concerning grammar too.
2SQ 2SN
90 % 85 %
79 % 81 %
70 % 67,5 %
55 %
44 % 45 % 45 %
22,5 % 12 %
0 % Pre-test Test 1 - Translations Test 1 - Gap fill Test 2 (after 3 weeks)
Figure 15. Average scores in the three successive tests - Second year students
If we focus on long-term retention after about 3 weeks of holidays, 2SQ
performed better again (81%) compared to 2SN (55%) and their long-term retention was also better - 2SQ had forgotten only 4% of the words, compared to 24% in 2SN.
57 Concerning the progress in 2SN, the most effective strategy to learn the words was “hide and retrieve” and being tested aloud by a peer, compared to silent reading, rote repetition and no home revision. The time spent studying played only a minor role here, the strategy was more important for more rapid progress.
In the Quizlet group, there was a general correlation between the time spent studying and progress. Furthermore, those who studied with more activities requiring retrieval and written production outperformed those who spent the time studying more with matching or spelling exercises.
A similar pattern could be observed on the number of study sessions in both groups. Those who split the activities into more days and came back to it, had significantly higher scores than those who studied all the words at once.
The same can be applied to the use of stars as a tool to mark the difficult items
- the minority of the students who studied the difficult terms separately generally outperformed those who studied all terms together.
To sum it up, despite the fact that most students in both groups did not follow the instructions and relied on massed repetition, using Quizlet did not lead to better progress when used only to study vocabulary. It also did not increase their ability to use the words, because cards with L1 on one side and its L2 translation on the other are only a decontextualized way of learning the paired associates.
Quizlet is also not that effective for studying irregular verbs, because the matching activities are rather ineffective for this purpose and the verbs cannot be easily divided into groups using a color code (although individual sets of similar verbs could be made). A notebook, on the other hand, when used
58 effectively, can lead to better results, especially because it is more accessible for saving the vocabulary, which contributes to learners’ better short-term retention. In addition, more information about the words (e.g. changes in the form, example collocation, synonyms, etc.) can be noted down.
Nevertheless, Quizlet helps to eliminate spelling mistakes and in 2SQ led to a better long-term retention, which could be attributed to the use of pictures, that can trigger the retrieval, and the role of emotions and competitiveness when playing the games. Moreover, students benefited from spaced repetition and the ability to use stars and thus devote their study time only to the terms that they considered difficult.
4.1.2 Likelihood of using Quizlet beyond the curriculum
The question was, whether the students will be likely to use Quizlet beyond the curriculum (i.e. go and search for ready made sets of their preference) and use the software to study for other subjects.
Most students (80%) were aware of the fact that there are ready-made sets on Quizlet, that could be useful for studying content related to either languages or other subjects. Based on the results of the survey (Appendix G and H), 71% of the students are likely to use Quizlet again in the future to study languages, but only 25% to study for other subjects.
Nevertheless, when their activity was checked two months after the experiment, only 19% of the students had actually searched and studied a set that was not among the sets assigned to them by the teacher. Their sets usually contained German (which is another foreign language that they have to study)
59 or IT terminology (also part of their studies), but they also studied sets with states and their capitals or Star Wars characters.
There are sets, created by other users, that I find useful I will use Quizlet to study English more in the future I will use Quizlet to study for other subjects 70 % 63 %
54 % 54 % 53 %
35 % 29 %
21 % 21 % 18 % 17 %17 % 17 %
4 % 4 % 0 % 0 % 0 % 0 % 0 % Strongly agree Agree Not sure Disagree Strongly disagree
Figure 16. Students’ perception of Quizlet as useful and likelihood of using it to study English and other subjects in the future.
The fact that they had mostly not used it voluntarily could be attributed to the following two reasons. Firstly, they perceive Quizlet only as another way of learning and they are generally very reluctant to study vocabulary at home and do homework in any form. Based of the results of the survey, all students enjoy using Quizlet at school whereas only 42% enjoy using it at home. So although they prefer using Quizlet in the classroom and agree that it is more entertaining than studying vocabulary lists, if they search for entertainment, they play a computer game of their choice rather than a word game that has the potential of expanding their vocabulary.
60 I enjoy using Quizlet at school I enjoy using Quizlet at home
60 % 58 %
45 % 42 % 38 % 38 %
30 % 21 %
15 %
4 % 0 % 0 % 0 % 0 % 0 % Strongly agree Agree Not sure Disagree Strongly disagree
Figure 17. Students’ perception of Quizlet as enjoyable to use at school and at home.
Secondly, they could be discouraged from using Quizlet voluntarily because searching for a ready-made set and creating their own one was their task. In the experimental groups, they were asked to create their own vocabulary set and search for a set they find useful during the introductory lesson. On the contrary, in another IT class which was not a part of the experiment, I introduced Quizlet only as a study tool and we played the games with assigned sets as a warm-up in a few lessons. Checking their activity in
Quizlet revealed that 45% of the students had studied other sets, 25% had created a set of their own and they had even discovered how to share them among each other. Therefore it seems that the fact that searching and creating a set was an obligatory task might have decreased the experimental group’s curiosity to explore what the tool has to offer and their motivation to use it without being instructed to.
So even though most students did not use Quizlet to study beyond the curriculum, there were some exceptions, mostly the generally autonomous and
61 motivated students, who had used it for their own purpose, studied for another subjects or even shared their sets among each other.
4.1.3 Impact of familiarity with the software on learners’ autonomy
In my research, I was desired to find out whether the fact that learners know how to use Quizlet makes the students more autonomous. An autonomous user of Quizlet was defined as someone who decides what, when and how to save, creates their own sets of words, groups them in folders and most importantly, studies the vocabulary on their own using the tools and games until they feel that they have mastered it.
All students using Quizlet learned how to create a set and how to approach the activities that it offers in a computer lab during the introductory lesson. They were asked to create a set of their own in which they should save the vocabulary that we came across spontaneously in class and/or that they considered important and also to search for a ready-made set of their preference.
The vast majority of the students did not save any words into the set that they had created on their own, apart from the few words saved during the introductory lesson, although they were encouraged to do so several times in the following lessons. Moreover, they mostly reported that they preferred only studying the sets to creating them - only 8% of the experimental group agreed that they preferred creating the sets on their own.
62 Strongly agree Agree Not sure Disagree Strongly disagree
8 % 4 %4 %
38 % 46 %
Figure 18. Students’ attitude towards creating Quizlet sets (“I prefer to create the sets on my own”)
On the other hand, there were some students who could be considered autonomous even before the experiment, because without being told to, they were autonomously saving words into their notebooks, after they had been written on the board as we had incidentally come across them during lessons.
Four of those students (14% of the experimental group), after being presented to Quizlet, changed their strategy and started rewriting their vocabulary lists into their Quizlet sets to be further studied and revised.
For this reason, it cannot be claimed that knowing how to use the technology would make learners more autonomous. In fact, it works vice versa
- Quizlet can serve as an effective tool to save and revise vocabulary only to autonomous and motivated students who got used to the software and/or who realize the importance of the words’ spoken form, appreciate complementing the words with a picture and who consider it more enjoyable, practical, memory-triggering and time-saving than a vocabulary list in their notebook.
63 Furthermore, it is Quizlet that can help the students evaluate the difficulty of individual words, as it provides them with instant feedback and statistics on their mistakes, so that they know what to focus on in the future.
But this cannot be done without saving and/or studying their words on their own.
The same can be said about the use of stars. Only a minority (32%) of the students used this tool to mark the difficult items, although it had impact on their learning outcomes and those who studied the difficult terms separately scored generally higher than those who studied all terms together.
In conclusion, although Quizlet provides functions that can help the students study more effectively, the software as such does not make them more autonomous and it can be seen as one of many strategies that autonomous learners can use to learn and save vocabulary in a way that they consider effective. Knowing how to use the technology is a prerequisite for being a successful user of Quizlet, but this does not mean being an autonomous learner.
64 4.2 Students’ Perception of Quizlet
The tests were conducted to measure the differences in students’ learning outcomes between the two strategies. In the survey (see Appendix G and H) and the following discussion, the focus was put on learners’ subjective perception of Quizlet/vocabulary notebook as a tool to save and study vocabulary. For the detailed results of the surveys, see Table 5, 6 and 7 in
Tables and Figures.
4.2.1 Accessibility, enjoyability and usefulness of the strategies
Firstly, the survey focused on the accessibility of the two strategies, i.e. if the fact that they have their vocabulary in their smartphones enables them to study more often. It was supposed that they have their device with them all day long, compared to their vocabulary notebook, which is usually kept in one place and does not enable them to study spontaneously when they have a few spare minutes, for example on public transport.
Based on the results of the survey, only 25% of all students spend some of the time on public transport studying (see Table 5 in Tables and Figures).
Most students were either not sure (33%) or agreed (46%) that they can study more often with Quizlet than with a notebook (see Table 6 in Tables and
Figures). This does not signify that they started to study more often, but they are aware of the fact that they can.
Secondly, the survey focused on their perception of the strategies as enjoyable and entertaining. Concerning their ability to use the software, a vast majority (98%) of students agree that Quizlet is easy to use (see Table 6 in
65 Tables and Figures). It is also apparent that Quizlet is considered to be a much more entertaining way of studying vocabulary. Most students (77%) reported that Quizlet is fun to use, compared to only 12% who regard studying with a notebook as fun.
It is fun to study with a notebook It is fun to study with Quizlet
80 % 73 %
60 %
44 % 40 %
29 % 19 % 20 % 15 % 12 %
4 % 0 % 2 % 2 % 0 % Strongly agree Agree Not sure Disagree Strongly disagree
Figure 19. Students’ perception of the two methods as entertaining
When they were asked about the activities and tools, they mostly favored Gravity. The prevalent reason was that they enjoy being able to beat their classmates, but they also liked that it is fast paced, it requires immediate reactions and the design reminds them of Star Wars. The second most popular game was Scatter/Match (also due to its competitiveness and the fact that they do not have to write anything), followed by Speller (which they appreciated mostly because it helps them with pronunciation and spelling).
Although they perceive Quizlet as a nice and entertaining tool to study vocabulary, they are also aware of its limitations and imperfections. Some of them reported that it makes them angry when it does not accept synonyms that
66 they know or a slightly altered graphic form (capital letters, infinitive without to or a hyphenated compound). Apart from the fact that they did not like the animal avatars10, they were also disappointed that the app offers less activities and that it sometimes does not synchronize so that they could study their words offline.
Thirdly, it was intended to find out whether they perceive the two methods as useful to save and store their vocabulary, effective to study with and contributing to better retention.
Considering usefulness of both strategies, 66% of the notebook group agree that keeping a notebook is a useful way of saving vocabulary, compared to 96% of the Quizlet group perceiving Quizlet as useful for this purpose.
A notebook is useful for storing vocabulary Quizlet is useful for storing vocabulary
70 % 63 %
53 %
36 % 35 % 32 % 33 %
25 %
18 %
7 % 4 % 0 % 0 % 0 % 0 % Strongly agree Agree Not sure Disagree Strongly disagree
Figure 20. Students’ subjective perception of the two methods as useful for storing vocabulary
10 Each Quizlet user has a profile picture, which is a random animal with default settings. This can be changed for their own picture.
67 Similar results can be seen on their subjective perception of its efficiency
- 64% perceive a notebook as an efficient way of studying vocabulary whereas
Quizlet is favored by 96% of the students (see Figure 21 in Tables and Figures).
There was no significant difference in their subjective regard of the methods as contributing to better and longer retention - 47% of the notebook group agreed that keeping a notebook helps them remember the words longer, compared to
54% in the Quizlet group (see Figure 22 in Tables and Figures). On the other hand, 71% of the students think that pictures help them remember the words better (see Table 6).
Therefore although Quizlet did not prove to be more effective concerning the students’ learning outcomes (which could have stemmed from not using it as instructed), students themselves perceive the tool mostly as a more entertaining, useful and effective way to store and study vocabulary compared to a vocabulary notebook, especially because of its game features and better accessibility.
4.2.2 Device preference
To get a closer image of their habits as technology users, students were asked about the time they spend using a smartphone, computer and internet every day in the post-test questionnaire. On average, they spend 6 hours using a smartphone and 4 hours using a computer which leads to spending more than 7 hours on the internet every day (see Figure 23 below). Surprisingly, girls tend to use internet more on a smartphone whereas boys on a computer.
Unfortunately, this time was mostly devoted to playing games, messaging and
68 using social media and they spent in total only about 35 minutes using Quizlet to revise vocabulary for the test. On the other hand, the employment of technology could be considered more motivating because the notebook group has spent on average only about 27 minutes studying for the test.
Nevertheless, this was counted based on the average time, which differed greatly among the students, so it needs to be approached more individually.
Smartphone Computer Internet
10
7,5
5
2,5
0 1IVN 1IVQ 2SN 2SQ
Figure 23. The average time students spend using a smartphone, computer and internet (in hours per day)
Knowing that they use internet for a great part of their day, the survey focused on estimating which device they preferred to study their words on
Quizlet. The results in Chapter 4.2.1 show that the app is more accessible, as the students have their smartphones with them most of the time, although it contains less activities than the browser version (only Flashcards, Learn, Match and Test). Creating a set in the mobile app is also less comfortable than using a computer - typing on a physical keyboard is much faster and more accurate
69 than on a virtual touch keyboard. Moreover, words can be auto defined and images added only in the browser version.
In the survey, most students were not sure, but the browser version of
Quizlet was considered slightly better (25% of the experimental group) compared to 17% favoring the app.
Strongly agree Agree Not sure Disagree Strongly disagree
4 % 4 % 13 % 21 %
58 %
Figure 24. Students’ perception of the Quizlet app as better than its browser version
Nevertheless, in the post-test questionnaire, 74% of students reported that they used the app on their smartphone to study for the test. This could be attributed to two reasons. Firstly, it is mobile so the learners can take it anywhere - to bed, public transport or to school to revise before the lesson starts. Secondly, it is more affordable. Not everyone owns a laptop and only some of the IT students bring it to school on a daily basis, compared to the vast majority of all students who have their own smartphone with them all the time.
This is beneficial especially when the teacher wants to integrate some of the
70 Quizlet activities into the lesson and students are supposed to bring their own device.
To sum it up, the employment of technology could be seen as more motivating for the learners and although the mobile application has a limited functionality, it can serve as a purposeful tool to revise vocabulary, which is more accessible than a computer and also more favored by the students. On the other hand, if Quizlet is to be used to its full potential, running it in the browser is the more convenient option.
71 4.3 In-Class Integration of Quizlet
Although Quizlet was created for students to study vocabulary independently, it also contains features designed for teachers. Therefore it was desirable to find out the best way to create the sets (in terms of independence, quality and practicality for the teacher) and the ways to integrate the software into more communicative classroom activities.
4.3.1 Saving vocabulary and creating the Quizlet sets
During the experiment, each student from the control group saved their own vocabulary individually in their notebook as we progressed with the lessons. With the experimental group, three different modes of creating the sets of obligatory vocabulary to be learned for the test were examined.
1) Individual sets
In 1IVQ, students were supposed to create a set of their own and therefore expected to become more autonomous and responsible for their own vocabulary storing. It was predicted that this will be the easiest way for the teacher, which proved to be wrong for two main reasons.
Firstly, as students were mostly using a virtual touch keyboard on their smartphones, they had made many typos (probably also because of the lack of attention that they paid to what they were doing), so the sets were not suitable for studying, as it was not desired that they fossilize the mistakes.
72 Secondly, as I wanted to correct their sets at home, I was not allowed to, because many of them had not changed the privacy settings (although they were instructed to) and the sets could not be modified. On the other hand, if they allowed everyone to change the set, there would be a chance that someone would delete it or manipulate it inadequately as a prank, which had also happened once. This cannot be further revealed, as Quizlet displays no history of editing. Nonetheless, this could be solved by setting a password and sharing it only with the teacher, but it is assumed that this, along with correcting each student’s set, would be very time consuming and complicated to administer.
Moreover, not all of them had a smartphone, internet connection, charged battery or the app ready to save the terms and they had to share the set anyway. The app also does not allow adding pictures to it. This could be done using the browser on the smartphone, but only supposing that they have access to the internet.
2) One collective set
In 2SQ, after we had encountered the vocabulary in the textbook, I created the set, changed the settings so that everyone can edit it and entered the first two terms (which is a prerequisite for saving a set). Then each student was assigned about 4 vocabulary items and they were supposed to add it to the set. Again, not everyone had a device or internet connection so those students were asked to complete it at home. Although I took a note of who is supposed to save what, one student did not do it and it was very time consuming to find which words are actually missing, as it was not sorted alphabetically.
73 Furthermore, each student saved the words a little differently, some of them used capital letters in the beginning of each term, some of them omitted to in the case of verb infinitives, whereas some did not. It is very important to be consistent during the process because Quizlet tools and games only accept answers that are exactly the same, regarding the formatting. On the other hand, it was easier for me to do the final editing, their progress could be tracked as I was the author of the set and they were more motivated to study these, since they all had their own contribution to the final set.
3) Teacher-made set
Although this required no participation of the students on saving the vocabulary, a set made by the teacher proved to be the easiest and most effective way of creating it. Being aware of all the obstacles resulted in being consistent in formatting, and using a laptop and a browser let me access all the functions, choose appropriate pictures, eliminate typos and lock the set (so that no-one deletes it as a prank). Being the author of the set allowed me to track their scores and progress, which is one of the advantages and reasons for a teacher to use Quizlet. Therefore, the task for those students was only to study the given vocabulary. This did not contribute to their autonomy and motivation, apart from being aware of a forthcoming test. On the other hand, based on the results of the survey, students enjoyed studying with Quizlet much more than creating the sets themselves (since it sometimes was rather complicated to do so) and the interface of the games and tools was more attractive to them.
74 4.3.2 Integration of Quizlet into more communicative activities
Quizlet is not primarily designed for communicative tasks but rather for studying vocabulary independently with activities that focus on retrieving or matching the meaning with its definition/translation and spelling practice.
Nevertheless, some of the tools can be used in the classroom to conduct activities that foster communication and permit participation of all students.
The most universal tool is Flashcards, which can contain text on both sides, audio version of the content and a picture. They can be projected by the teacher or displayed on a smartphone, which can then serve as an aid for the following games and activities.
30 seconds - one student stands in front of the classroom with a flashcard projected behind him/her, so that he/she does not see it. The rest of the class
(in teams) has to describe the word without using its stem, so that the student guesses as many words as possible in the time given. This game can be further modified, for example by having to mime the words.
True sentences - the teacher projects the flashcards and students have to make true sentences that contain the target words. This can also be played in pairs with students sharing one smartphone with Flashcards and taking it in turns.
Questions - the teacher can prepare conversation questions using Flashcards in the flow mode (first displaying one side and then both sides at the same time). The other side can accompany it either with the answers (if it is relevant) or with a functional phrase (e.g. In my opinion…, I believe that…, It is hard to say but…). The teacher then picks students to answer the questions using the
75 target phrase. This can also be conducted in pairs or smaller groups sharing one device and the teacher has time to monitor.
Describe the picture - the teacher prepares cards with a picture on one side and 3 words (names of the objects in the picture) on the other. Students have to describe the picture and they get points for each word that they mentioned from the other side without knowing which those were. This can be conducted with the whole class divided into teams, in small groups or in pairs using one device.
Story telling - the teacher prepares a set of cards with words (in fixed or random order) which then have to be incorporated into a story. Each student has to tell one part of the story using the word projected and then another student follows. This is useful especially when revising narrative tenses. The other side can accompany it with a given tense (e.g.past simple, past continuous, past perfect) when projected in the flow mode and the students have to create the sentence accordingly.
Quizlet can also be used for language focused pair work. Students can use one device with Flashcards, take it in turns and test their partner on the meaning (by reading them the L1 term and checking if they can translate it) or on spelling (by playing the sound of the L2 term, their partner writing it on a piece of paper and checking it). Spelling can also be practiced by dividing the class into teams, one member of which then comes to the computer and has to complete one round of Speller (7 terms). The other members watch the projection of the screen and assist him/her with correct spelling of the dictated terms, which is especially useful in the case of mixed-ability classes. The team is then awarded points based on the number of correct answers in the round.
76 Quizlet can therefore be used to conduct activities that foster communication in the classroom and do not require each student to have their own device. The cards can also be easily printed and used in many standard card-based activities, which can be modified in a number of ways, depending on the creativity of the teacher.
4.3.3 Quizlet Live as a form of in-class revision
As Quizlet constantly develops, the team takes the advantage of its broad base of users and lets the students and teachers test beta versions of games before they are officially released.
After I had finished with my experiment, Quizlet released a beta version of a new whole-class team-based game called Quizlet Live. As the name suggests, it is a live in-class game with each student11 having their own laptop or smartphone12. The teacher starts the game by projecting his or her screen with a unique pin. Students then go to quizlet.com/live , enter the pin and their name (without having to log in) and they are randomly paired into teams of 3-
4. Everyone gets the same question but only one has the right match. The team’s task is to correctly match 12 terms with their definitions in a row, but if one member makes a mistake, their teams’ progress drops to zero13, which they
11 Quizlet currently (March 2016) does not support this function in the app, which used to make it very uncomfortable to use and required a large screen in a landscape mode to be able to display the other team mates. Nonetheless, they have recently optimized the website version for mobile devices, so that it is fully and comfortably playable in portrait mode on smaller smartphones too.
12 A minimum number of six players (devices) is required, as there need to be at least two teams of three players to uphold the principle of the game
13 If they make a mistake and match inappropriate terms, the whole team is displayed both terms with their definitions (L1 with an L2 translation) for a few seconds, as a form of time penalty and instant correction, before they can continue with the game.
77 can also follow on the teacher’s screen. The first team to complete the game wins and the most problematic terms are displayed, e.g. to be revised or further practiced.
It is a fast paced game and once it was introduced in the classes, students wanted to play it over and over again, in my opinion, mostly because of the sense of involvement and high competitiveness. Although each student used their own device, there was so much language emerging naturally, as they were spontaneously helping each other, shouting across the classroom and asking for the answers. Meanwhile, the teacher can monitor and correct their pronunciation. Quizlet has recently optimized it for smartphones, which enables most ordinary classes to use it as a quick, competitive, involving and entertaining way of in-class revision of vocabulary.
78 5 Discussion and Implications
5.1 Limitations of the Research
Although the research has reached its aims, I am still aware of its limitations and shortcomings.
The first limitation was the number of students. Although 52 students took part in the experiment, the influence on learning outcomes was measured only based on the 40 students who took all 3 tests. Each student was different and therefore having more participants would yield more reliable and conclusive data.
Secondly, due to the fact that students in 1IVQ made many mistakes in their sets and it was not desired that they fossilize them, I was the one who created the final set and they were only asked to study the vocabulary. This might have had an impact on their results because all students in the notebook group had to write their words in their notebooks on their own, which might have influenced their retention.
Thirdly, in comparison with the classes that were not a part of the experiment and whose curiosity made them explore other Quizlet sets without being instructed to, the fact that creating a set of their own (to save the vocabulary that we came across incidentally) and searching for a ready-made one was an obligatory task, students in the experimental group mostly refused to do that, because it had decreased their intrinsic motivation.
Furthermore, most students did not complete the tasks as instructed
(see Chapter 3.5) and many of them devoted very little time to studying the vocabulary at home. The results might therefore be ambiguous, because it is
79 hard to say whether it was the strategy that helped them remember the words, and to which extent they were influenced by the in-class presentation of the vocabulary.
Lastly, observing the students over a longer period of time would enable them to get more proficient in the learning strategies and the results would therefore be more predicative.
5.2 Advantages of Quizlet
Although the results of the experiment did not prove that using Quizlet leads to better progress and that it is more effective than studying with vocabulary lists, it has certain advantages that might be appreciated both by students and teachers.
One of the advantages that Quizlet has, compared to paper word cards or other kinds of vocabulary learning, is that learners can take control of their own progress and immediately see how many words they have learned and what still needs to be focused on. Not only do they get instant feedback after completing the activities but they can also see statistics on how many times the words in a set have been missed, being allowed to star the difficult items and study only those, using all the Quizlet activities.
Teachers, on the other hand, might also appreciate their ability to track students’ activity and to see which words are problematic and thus need further revision in the classroom.
Moreover, students with learning disabilities or those facing problems with spelling can also benefit from using Quizlet, especially Speller and Gravity.
80 Although this was not a part of my experiment, students who have been diagnosed with learning and attention deficit disorders reported that it is much easier for them to study with Quizlet and they had fewer spelling mistakes in their vocabulary tests.
This was also proved by Julie Vargas from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the Wichita State University, who was aiming at students with learning disabilities who had problems with spelling or with attributing sounds to individual words. Those students needed to prepare for a reading test to meet the standards, which required the knowledge of social studies vocabulary in the same language (English). She picked 27 students with special needs in grades 9-12 and divided them into 2 groups - the first one studied the vocabulary using the Frayer Model14 and the second one using Quizlet, which allowed them to study at their own pace, direction and receive instant feedback. Based on their scores in the post-test, the Quizlet group had significantly better results. Not only because of the motivating factor of using technology and internet, but also due to the fact that Quizlet offers activities to practice various sub-skills and it is very effective with learning spelling (Vargas,
2011).
As opposed to vocabulary lists, Quizlet adds pictures to individual word cards, which can contribute to its retention, and the cards can then be studied in a random order, which prevents the list effect.
Another limitation of word lists is the absence of sound. If the students take note of the lexical item, they usually write just the spelling and have to
14 A graphic way of organizing vocabulary - the word is written in the centre, surrounded by its definition, synonyms, antonyms, example sentence and a drawing, etc. (Vargas, 2011)
81 either rely on their retention of its pronunciation from the lesson or search for it in a dictionary, which requires teaching them how to write and read phonetic transcription. Quizlet, on the other hand, complements each word card with how it sounds in the target language, provided that it is among the eighteen languages that enable this function (English, Spanish, French, German, simplified and traditional Chinese, Portuguese, Arabic, Italian, Japanese,
Korean, Russian, Turkish, Polish, Dutch, modern Greek, Swedish, Finnish and
Romanian) (“How audio works on Quizlet,” n.d.).
To sum it up, even though Quizlet might not be significantly more effective for studying vocabulary, the software has many advantages that can be useful when learning a foreign language, ranging from the ability to integrate images and sound, organize sets and divide the words according to learners’ needs, studying with games and interactive activities, up to its positive impact on spelling.
5.3 Problems Related to the Use of Quizlet in the Classroom
Quizlet, as any other software, requires the use of electronic devices and internet connection, which might pose many unexpected problems, especially when the students have to bring their own device and/or create the sets at school. It is therefore important that the teachers try to overcome the following problems, so that they can integrate Quizlet successfully into the classroom.
When students used Quizlet outside of a computer lab, many of them complained that they have problems running it on their own device at school.
Some students did not have a smartphone that would support apps, some had
82 no internet connection (the first year students have not been given the login details to school wifi by the time and only a minority of them had mobile internet) and in a few cases they had no memory to download it (although the app has less than 10 Mb). Furthermore, many of those who had used Quizlet before had forgotten their password (although special attention was paid to make sure that everyone remembers it and keeps it safe) and they had to be shown how to reset it. Nevertheless, I had two more devices to lend and let some students share a laptop, so in the end everyone in the class was working.
During the activity, some of them complained that their battery is low and that they have no charger with them, so they had to borrow one from their peers, plug it in and sit by the socket.
As opposed to paper word cards, Quizlet cards can only contain information that complements the other side. This means that if students wanted to add a note or a sample sentence to the term, which would help them learn more aspects of the word, Quizlet would perceive it as a part of the item and require writing it in the games and activities too. Nevertheless, an individual set with just sample sentences (and their equivalents in L1) can be made, although the longer the term, the worse the playability is.
For creating Quizlet sets with pictures and automatic definitions, it is better to use the browser version on a laptop, because the app does not allow those functions. Nevertheless, students with a smartphone can open Quizlet in the browser too and enter the words in this way. This is not that user friendly, but it works well enough.
Furthermore, Quizlet only accepts precisely the same answer. This means that synonyms, but also words differing only in capitalization or punctuation are
83 considered as a wrong answer. It is therefore important to be consistent when creating the sets to overcome these problems.
In conclusion, keeping their passwords safe, increased attention to creating the sets, enough laptops or smartphones with a preinstalled Quizlet app, stable internet connection (in the case of creating or synchronizing sets) and a charged battery are prerequisite for successful integration of the software into the classroom.
5.4 Handwriting vs. Typing
One of the differences between saving vocabulary in Quizlet and in vocabulary notebooks is that Quizlet requires typing the words in (using a physical keyboard or virtual one on a touch screen), whereas those who use a notebook have to write them by hand. Although most students reported that they favored using Quizlet on a smartphone, the results of my research show that they tend to make a lot of typos when saving the words, and the first year students using a notebook outperformed the Quizlet group in progress concerning irregular verbs.
This could be attributed to the nature of handwriting, its complexness in terms of cognitive and mental abilities and different ways of processing the words during the process of writing them.
Handwriting combines both mental and physical processes and might therefore lead to a better chance of retention. This can be observed on the students who have not revised the words at home or studied very little. Those who used a notebook had processed them by having to rewrite each word on
84 their own (which required reading it thoroughly and keeping it in memory for a short time before copying it on paper). This led to better progress, compared to students in the experimental group who did not devote much time to studying a ready-made set in Quizlet.
Furthermore, Edouard Gentaz, professor of developmental psychology at the University of Geneva, proposes that:
Handwriting is a complex task which requires various skills –
feeling the pen and paper, moving the writing implement, and directing
movement by thought. Children take several years to master this precise
motor exercise: you need to hold the scripting tool firmly while moving it
in such a way as to leave a different mark for each letter. (As cited in
Chemin, 2014)
On the contrary, “operating a keyboard is not the same: all you have to do is press the right key. It is easy enough for children to learn very fast, but above all the movement is exactly the same whatever the letter” (Chemin,
2014).
Moreover, the Czech alphabet consists of 42 letters, when we take diacritics into consideration, and thus saving Czech words on a smartphone with a standard keyboard requires pressing and holding a sign and picking the desired version of the character or switching between keyboards, which makes the process slower and more complicated than handwriting.
Although writing by hand was preferred by only 25% of the students, compared to 40% preferring typing (see Table 5 in Tables and Figures), using a pen and paper is more creative and the layout is always unique and personalized. Furthermore, paper is three dimensional and therefore can be
85 folded, stapled, torn, cut and does not require electricity to be displayed.
Students can also highlight, underline and cross certain parts, use arrows, colors, drawings and other nonlinear features leading to better retention than when typing it in a strictly linear word processor.
Most importantly, more information (such as an example sentence, other word forms, irregularities and other notes) can be written around the word when using a notebook and which, in the case of using Quizlet, would make the games unplayable.
To sum it up, although schools currently tend to increase the time spent using a modern device in the education process, they might be simultaneously decreasing students’ creativity, ability to take high-quality notes (using the simplest and inexpensive tools) and competence in strategies that might be useful to master the content effectively. Probably the most efficient way of saving and learning vocabulary for an autonomous learner is therefore combining both approaches - using a notebook at school to take detailed notes of the words, and feeding just the L1 and L2 forms into Quizlet at home using a computer. This enables them to revise words in an entertaining way, which can lead to faster expansion of their vocabulary.
86 5.5 Four Strands of a Well Balanced Vocabulary Course
As described in Chapter 2.3 and 2.4, word cards and other ways of working with paired associates (e.g. a vocabulary list in a notebook) are a decontextualized way of learning vocabulary, which means that the words are isolated and not presented in context.
Nation highlights, that decontextualized learning of vocabulary does not have to be detrimental for learning and, provided that it is combined with other approaches, it can serve as an effective way of expanding vocabulary (2001, p.
650-651). Nevertheless, “It is much more effective to see the many approaches to learning as being complementary to each other, each bringing different strengths that together can provide balanced support for learning” (Nation,
2001, p.650).
Based on this statement, Nation divides vocabulary learning into the following four strands - meaning focused input, language focused learning, meaning focused output and fluency development, each of which should be devoted roughly the same time in a vocabulary course.
1) Meaning focused input requires focusing on the message and including only a small amount of unfamiliar vocabulary, towards which attention should be drawn. This can be achieved by graded reading, listening to stories, working with familiar comprehensible content and by interacting with learners at a similar level or with native speakers who are sensitive to students’ level of knowledge of vocabulary (Nation, 2001, p.650-652).
2) Language focused learning implies that learners should pay attention to language features (vocabulary, structures, pronunciation, etc.) and focus on
87 deliberate repeated retrieval of the items, for example by learning with word cards, doing grammar exercises or reading difficult texts. It is seen as decontextualized learning of vocabulary (not occurring in normal use) that deliberately directs its focus on spelling, meaning, pronunciation, grammar, use, etc., in order to improve in those aspects (Nation, 2001, p.650-652).
3) Meaning focused output can be achieved by using a small number of new items in communication or writing activities that are focused on conveying a message (Nation, 2001, p.651-652).
4) Fluency development also requires focusing on the message but in a completely familiar material and at a higher than normal speed. This means that large quantity of language use should be promoted, for example by repeated or graded reading and repeated speaking or writing on familiar topics
(Nation, 2001, p.651-652).
Therefore, using Quizlet, as the only way of learning vocabulary, is not satisfactory and it can only substitute for certain language focused learning activities. It does not present the words in comprehensible context, foster communication and help with fluency development. For this reason, teachers should always pay attention to designing well-balanced vocabulary courses, that incorporate all the factors mentioned above, and make sure that they provide the learners with enough input (to notice various aspects of a vocabulary item in) and opportunities to use the language in communicative activities or writing tasks. The full spectrum of encounters affords the learners the sense of the word’s importance and, along with its in-class application, contributes to its retention, which is key for its successful use beyond the classroom.
88 5.6 Quizlet Teacher and Paid vs. Unpaid Account
Although Quizlet is completely free of charge for students, teachers can choose whether to stick to the free version with slightly limited functionality or to pay $24.99 a year for so called “classroom superpowers” (“Quizlet for teachers,” n.d.).
I am not advocating the paid version, but there might be teachers who would appreciate some of the following features.
Probably the biggest advantage is being able to see the class progress
(track who did what, when and with which results) in a synoptic chart. On the other hand, for some teachers it might be enough to track that by opening each student’s profile and checking on their activity, or to see the cumulative list of vocabulary sorted by the number of mistakes that the class has made in a particular set.
Secondly, with the free account, teachers can create up to eight different classes, which is sufficient for most teachers, on the other hand, some would opt for the unlimited number of these.
Thirdly, the paid version allows teachers to upload their own pictures whereas the free account only allows to pick one from about 9 suggested pictures from the Flickr database. I have used this function only a few times, for example when I was creating a set with specific postal services vocabulary and
I needed to add images of Czech postal realia. The database can also be searched using other key words (not only based on the term added), and therefore it is sufficient for most terms.
89 Teachers can also record their own audio (not only the automatic text-to- speech sound), but I have never used this function, although it might be useful for languages that do not support audio or other content based fields of study than a foreign language.
Furthermore, the paid version is free of advertisements, both for the teacher and the students studying his or her sets. Otherwise, there is a small commercial banner in the browser and the app, which plays no role in the functionality, but some people might consider it disturbing.
Lastly, Quizlet promises faster support. I have communicated with the team several times, for example when they had changed the font in the interface and Czech characters with Latin macrons did not display properly.
They apologized immediately and fixed it in less than 48 hours.
Concerning the communication with Quizlet, they also let the teachers test beta versions of new games and functions (in both the app and the browser) with their classes before they are officially released. The feedback helps them correct the bugs and the students get motivated as they are exited about any new feature to try and that is “secret” to the others.
To sum it up, it is naturally more convenient to use Quizlet with a paid teacher’s account. On the other hand, the free version covers all the key functions for both students and teachers, there should be no difference in students’ learning outcomes among the versions and it still serves as a useful tool to expand and practice their vocabulary.
90 6 Conclusion
The hypothesis was that students will learn more with electronic flashcards, because Quizlet is more interactive, provides the learners with instant feedback as they go through the activities within a set of words, supports retrieval and helps the learners with better retention. This was based on the assumption that the flashcards can be complemented with pictures and require the learner to retrieve the content before flipping the card over, as opposed to a vocabulary list in the notebook, where the word and its translation are presented next to each other. It was also anticipated that the ability to sort the words (using stars) based on the level of difficulty will lead to increased autonomy. Furthermore, as teenage students spend lots of time using technology, Quizlet was expected to be more enjoyable to study from because it employs devices that they are familiar with.
Interestingly, as opposed to previous research on electronic flashcards,
Quizlet did not lead to better progress in any of the experimental groups as hypothesized. Nevertheless, most students did not complete all the activities as instructed, they mostly relied on massed repetition and, in contrast to the notebook groups, most students using Quizlet did not save the words by themselves, which might have influenced the results.
Regarding the learning outcomes, in the Quizlet groups, there was a strong correlation between time and progress, whereas in the notebook groups, it was the strategy (hide and retrieve, peer testing, reading it aloud) that played more significant role. This implies that being successful with a notebook
91 requires mastering the strategies but with Quizlet, it is just a matter of spending enough time with the activities to achieve the same results.
Concerning their retention, with the first year students (who studied irregular verbs), the extent of forgetting was about the same. Nonetheless, in the second year experimental group (sports vocabulary), using Quizlet led to significantly better long-term retention, which can be attributed to the combination of words with lexical meaning and use of pictures that supported the retrieval.
Neither of the two methods of storing and revising vocabulary increased their ability to use (modify) the words, because they are both decontextualized ways of learning and have to be complemented with context based activities.
Antecedent research indicates that learning with word cards can be beneficial,
“this learning, however, must be seen as part of a broader programme involving other kinds of direct learning as well as the strands of meaning-focused input, meaning-focused output, and fluency development” (Nation, 2001, p.490).
Furthermore, although Quizlet confirmed to be more accessible for studying vocabulary (as a vast majority of students have their smartphone with them all the time and they reported that they preferred studying with the app), saving words into Quizlet during lessons did not prove to be the most convenient way, because the nature of typing on a smartphone led to many typos, students had problems related to technology and the devices decreased their attention. In addition, a vocabulary notebook makes it possible to take more detailed notes and store more information on the words. The most effective way of studying vocabulary could therefore be the combination of both methods - taking detailed high-quality notes in their vocabulary notebooks
92 during the lessons and revising just the meaning and spelling with Quizlet, using either a teacher-made set or a set created on their own.
On the other hand, studying with Quizlet helped the learners eliminate spelling mistakes in the tests, as they had to rewrite the words many times when playing the games, and the use of stars (to divide the words into groups based on the level of mastery) and spaced repetition proved to lead to higher scores.
Based on the results of the survey, students themselves perceived
Quizlet as easier to use and as a more entertaining way of revising vocabulary compared to a bilingual list in their vocabulary notebook. They also enjoyed studying with the games, not only because of the sense of competitiveness but also because they subjectively felt that they helped them with spelling, pronunciation and attributing meaning to individual words.
Students also appreciated using the technology at school, nevertheless, this generation spends so much time using the devices, that technology did not motivate them any significantly to study more often in their free time and to use Quizlet beyond the curriculum. Only some of the more autonomous students used it for their own purpose, created sets of their own or started rewriting their notes from their notebooks into Quizlet.
Nonetheless, knowing how to use the technology is only prerequisite for being a successful user of Quizlet and it generally did not increase their autonomy. With the less autonomous students, particularly in the setting of a low performing school, assigning them with teacher-made vocabulary sets proved to be the most practical way, because creating Quizlet sets requires consistence (it only accepts exactly the same answer and graphical form),
93 increased attention (so that the learners do not fossilize the mistakes) and is less favored by the students.
Quizlet can also be integrated into more communicative in-class activities, even if not all students have their own device. Not only can it substitute for paper flashcards to save time and material, but also make learning more interactive and visually attractive. Moreover, Quizlet has recently introduced the first in-class team-based game. It fosters communication and, supposing that all students have their smartphones and internet connection, makes it possible to revise vocabulary in the classroom in a more competitive, involving and entertaining way for the students.
To sum it up, although Quizlet did not prove to lead to better progress, when used effectively, complemented with enough context and a well balanced vocabulary course, it can serve as a more attractive way of revising vocabulary, which is preferred by the students and practical for the teacher. On the other hand, writing by hand and being able to take more detailed notes on the words on their own is indisputably beneficial. The best strategy should therefore be the combination of the two methods - using a notebook for recording vocabulary and Quizlet for revising it.
94 7 References
Altiner, C. (2011). Integrating a computer-based flashcard program into
academic vocabulary learning. (Master’s thesis). Iowa State
University, Iowa. Retrieved from http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/
cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1122&context=etd
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), 1-7. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/
EJ898010.pdf
Brown, H. D. (2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to
language pedagogy (2nd edition). New York: Longman, 375-380.
Brown, H. D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching. White
Plains, NY: Longman. 8-13.
Chemin, A. (2014, December 6). Handwriting vs typing: Is the pen still mightier
than the keyboard?. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://
www.theguardian.com/science/2014/dec/16/cognitive-benefits-
handwriting-decline-typing
Dodigovic, M. (2013). Vocabulary learning with electronic flashcards:
Teacher design vs. student design. Voices in Asia Journal 2013,
1(1),15-33. Retrieved from http://www.viajournal.org/admin/
file_upload_name/pp._15-33.pdf
95 Folse, K. S. (2006). The Effect of type of written exercise on L2 vocabulary
retention. TESOL Quarterly, 40 (2). 273-293. Retrieved from http://
www.jstor.org.ezproxy.muni.cz/stable/40264523
Flash card. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster dictionary online. Retrieved from http://
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flash%20card
How audio works on Quizlet. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://quizlet.com/help/how-
does-audio-work-on-quizlet on March 7, 2016
Mubarak, R., & Smith, D.C. (2008). Spacing effect and mnemonic
strategies: A theory based approach to E-learning. In M. B. Nunes
& M. McPherson (eds.), e-Learning (269-272), : IADIS. Retrieved
from http://www.memorylifter.com/fileadmin/publications/
Spacing_Effect_and_Mnemonic_Strategies.pdf
Nakata, T. (2008). English vocabulary learning with word lists, word cards
and computers: Implications from cognitive psychology research
for optimal spaced learning. ReCALL : The Journal of
EUROCALL, 20(1), 3-20. Retrieved from http://
dx.doi.org.ezproxy.muni.cz/10.1017/S0958344008000219
Nation, I. P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. 1-651
Nation, I.P. (2011). The impact of two instructional techniques on EFL
learners’ vocabulary knowledge: Flash cards versus word Lists.
MEXTESOL Journal, 35 (2), 1-9. Retrieved from
http://www.mextesol.net/journal/index.php?page=journal&id_article=71
Our mission. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://quizlet.com/mission on February 22,
2016
96 Paivio, A., & Desrochers, A. (1981). Mnemonic techniques in second-language
learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 73 (6), 780-795. Retrieved
from http://ezproxy.muni.cz/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/
login.aspxdirect=true&AuthType=ip,cookie,uid&db=eric&AN=
EJ255865&lang=cs&site=eds-live&scope=site
Quizlet for teachers. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://quizlet.com/teachers on
March 12, 2016
Tesařová, A. (2009). Irregular verbs teaching methodology. (Bachelor’s thesis)
Masarykova univerzita, Brno. Retrieved from http://
ezproxy.muni.cz/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&AuthType=ip,cookie,uid&db=ir00442a&AN=mutd.theses.
177414&lang=cs&site=eds-live&scope=site
Ur, P. (1991) A Course in language teaching - Practice and theory.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 60-69.
Vargas, J. M. (2011). Modern learning: Quizlet in the social studies classroom
(Doctoral dissertation), Wichita State University. 1-39. Retrieved from
http://soar.wichita.edu:8080/bitstream/handle/10057/3986/
t11049_Vargas.pdf?sequence=1
Yip, F. M., & Kwan, A. M. (2006). Online vocabulary games as a tool for
teaching and learning English vocabulary. Educational Media
International, 43(3), 233-249. doi:10.1080/09523980600641445
97 8.1 Resumé
Quizlet is an online tool/smartphone app which operates on bilateral flashcards and interactive games that it creates automatically from the content.
It was compared to a vocabulary notebook, both as methods of storing and revising vocabulary. The vocabulary was presented the same way in both groups and students progress and retention was measured in three successive tests. Moreover, students autonomy was monitored, their subjective perception of the methods was ascertained in a survey and possible implications of the software into the classroom were suggested.
Quizlet did not prove to yield better results in the context of a low- performing school and neither of the methods increased students’ autonomy and ability to modify the words. Students enjoyed using Quizlet in the classroom, nevertheless, it did not motivate them to study more often in their free time and to create sets of their own. Teacher-created sets were preferred by the students and they led to better consistence and accuracy.
A notebook proved to be more effective for recording vocabulary because it does not present difficulties related to technology, it allows learners to store more information on the words and it does not decrease students’ attention to the lesson. Quizlet, on the other hand, led to significantly better long-term retention in one of the groups, eliminated spelling mistakes and was generally considered as a more entertaining and accessible way of revision.
The best way of storing and revising vocabulary is therefore the combination of the two - taking detailed notes in a notebook and revising the words with Quizlet, using an inspected set.
98 8.2 Czech Resumé
Quizlet je online nástroj/mobilní aplikace fungující na principu dvoustranných kartiček a interaktivních her, které z nahraného obsahu automaticky generuje.
Quizlet byl porovnán se sešitem, jakožto další metodou k ukládání a procvičování slovní zásoby, která byla prezentována stejným způsobem v obou skupinách. Rozdíly v pokroku a paměti byly sledovány na třech posloupných testech. Dále byla sledována jejich autonomie a vnímání obou metod pomocí dotazníku. V práci jsou také navrženy způsoby, jakými může být Quizlet začleněn do výuky.
Quizlet u slabých žáků nevedl k lepším výsledkům, a ani jedna z metod nezvýšila jejich autonomii a schopnost použít (modifikovat) daná slova. Ačkoliv je bavilo používat Quizlet v hodinách, nemotivoval je k častějšímu opakování ve volném čase a vytváření jejich vlastních setů. Preferovali učitelem vytvořené sety, které byly konsistentní a přesné.
Sešit se ukázal jako efektivnější metoda k ukládání slovní zásoby, protože se nepojí s technologickými problémy, nesnižuje pozornost v hodinách a studenti si mohou dělat detailnější poznámky. Quizlet, na druhé straně, vedl u jedné ze skupin k dlouhodobějšímu uchování slov, omezil pravopisné chyby a byl obecně považován za zábavnější a dostupnější k procvičování.
Jako nejlepší se tedy jeví kombinace obou metod - dělat si detailní poznámky během výuky a opakovat se zkontrolovaným setem na Quizletu.
99 9 Tables and Figures
Table 1
Scores in the first year notebook group (1IVN) in the three successive tests and the ways of studying the irregular verbs. Ordered by progress.
Pre-test Test 1 Progress Test 2 Forgotten Time spent Number of Strategies (after 3 studying at study weeks) home sessions
Student 1 22 % 98 % 76 % 85 % 13 % 30 min 2 reading aloud, hide and retrieve
Student 2 0 % 58 % 58 % 55 % 3 % 30 min 1 hide and retrieve
Student 3 35 % 88 % 53 % 91 % -3 % 30 min 1 hide and retrieve
Student 4 38 % 83 % 45 % 69 % 14 % 20 min 1 silent reading, hide and retrieve
Student 5 5 % 38 % 33 % 39 % -1 % 30 min 1 silent reading
Student 6 38 % 68 % 30 % 66 % 2 % 10 min 1 reading aloud
Student 7 15 % 43 % 28 % 41 % 2 % 10 min 1 silent reading
Student 8 23 % 46 % 23 % 48 % -2 % 10 min 1 silent reading
AVERAGE 22 % 65 % 43 % 62 % 4 % 21 min 1,1
100 Table 2
Scores in the first year Quizlet group (1IVQ) in the three successive tests and the ways of studying the irregular verbs. Ordered by progress.
Pre-test Test 1 Progress Test 2 Forgotten Time spent Number of Activities (after 3 studying study weeks) (minutes) sessions
Student 1 22 % 78 % 56 % 80 % 2 % 30 min 2 Gravity, Learn, ¥
Student 2 25 % 80 % 55 % 70 % 10 % 50 min 2 finished Learn, Flash- cards, Learn in app, ¥
Student 3 15 % 69 % 54 % 60 % 9 % 30 min 1 all
Student 4 42 % 72 % 30 % 68 % 4 % 30 min 1 Learn, Gravity,
Student 5 33 % 60 % 27 % 57 % 3 % 20 min 1 all in app
Student 6 70 % 96 % 26 % 93 % 3 % 0 min 0 -
Student 7 5 % 30 % 25 % 23 % 7 % 20 min 1 Match, Scatter
Student 8 15 % 31 % 16 % 34 % -3 % 5 min 1 Flashcards, Learn in app
Student 9 6 % 16 % 10 % 17 % -1 % 30 min 1 Flashcards, Match in app
AVERAGE 26 % 59 % 33 % 56 % 4 % 24 min 1
101 Table 3
Scores in the second year notebook group (2SN) in the three successive tests and the ways of studying the sports vocabulary. Ordered by progress.
Pre- Test 1 - Test 1 Progress Test 2 - Long Time spent Number Ways of studying test translation - (after 3 term studying at of study gapfill weeks) forgetting home sessions
Student 1 3 % 90 % 35 % 87 % 56 % 34 % 30 min 1 hide and retrieve
Student 2 14 % 98 % 30 % 84 % 48 % 51 % 60 min 2 hide and retrieve, rote learning
Student 3 13 % 96 % 45 % 83 % 70 % 26 % 20 min 1 peer testing
Student 4 19 % 99 % 85 % 80 % 98 % 2 % 30 min 2 hide and retrieve, peer testing
Student 5 9 % 88 % 50 % 79 % 48 % 40 % 10 min 1 hide and retrieve
Student 6 1 % 80 % 55 % 79 % 70 % 10 % 30 min 2 hide and retrieve, peer testing
Student 7 9 % 86 % 20 % 77 % 40 % 46 % 40 min 1 silent reading, peer testing
Student 8 29 % 100 % 80 % 71 % 87 % -7 % 10 min 1 silent reading
Student 9 31 % 89 % 90 % 58 % 90 % -1 % 0 min 0 no revision at home
Student 10 3 % 58 % 25 % 55 % 22 % 36 % 30 min 1 rote learning
Student 11 3 % 58 % 10 % 55 % 41 % 17 % 60 min 1 hide and retrieve, rote learning
Student 12 14 % 59 % 45 % 45 % 30 % 29 % 0 min 0 no revision at home
Student 13 6 % 27 % 20 % 21 % 13 % 14 % 80 min 1 word cards
AVERAGE 12 % 79 % 45 % 67 % 55 % 23 % 31 min 1,1
102 Table 4
Scores in the second year Quizlet group (2SQ) in the three successive tests and the ways of studying the sports vocabulary. Ordered by progress.
Pre- Test 1 - Test 1 - Progress Test 2 - Long- Time spent Number Quizlet activities test translation gapfill longterm term studying at of study forgetting home sessions
Student 1 30 % 98 % 75 % 68 % 78 % 20 % 60 min 2 finished Learn
Student 2 39 % 95 % 56 % 56 % 85 % 10 % 50 min 2 finished Learn, ¥
Student 3 44 % 94 % 75 % 50 % 76 % 18 % 30 min 1 Gravity
Student 4 52 % 98 % 90 % 46 % 98 % 0 % 35 min 1 Learn, Scatter, ¥
Student 5 35 % 73 % 50 % 38 % 76 % -3 % 100 min 2 All, ¥
Student 6 56 % 93 % 75 % 37 % 81 % 12 % 40 min 1 Learn, Speller, Scatter
Student 7 43 % 78 % 70 % 35 % 91 % -13 % 40 min 1 Speller, Scatter, Learn, ¥
Student 8 46 % 76 % 70 % 30 % 83 % -7 % 40 min 1 Flashcards, Learn, Speller
Student 9 40 % 68 % 65 % 28 % 69 % -1 % 30 min 1 Learn, Test
Student 53 % 79 % 75 % 26 % 73 % 6 % 35 min 1 Flashcards, Learn 10
AVERAGE 44 % 85 % 70 % 41 % 81 % 4 % 46 min 1,3
103 Table 5
Results of the survey - questions asked in both groups (experimental and control)
104 Table 6
Results of the survey in the experimental group (using Quizlet)
105 Table 7
Results of the survey in the control group (using a notebook)
106
Figure 10. An example of the List with average scores in individual vocabulary items in a Quizlet set. A screenshot of quizlet.com
107
Figure 11. An example of Class progress displaying the activity of students in a class. A screenshot of quizlet.com
108
Figure 12. An example of Scores in a class from the perspective of a teacher. A screenshot of quizlet.com
109
Figure 13. An example of student’s activity displayed by the teacher. A screenshot of quizlet.com
110 A notebook is effective for studying vocabulary Quizlet is effective for studying vocabulary
80 % 71 %
60 %
43 % 40 %
29 % 25 % 21 % 20 %
7 % 4 %
0 % 0 % 0 % 0 % Strongly agree Agree Not sure Disagree Strongly disagree
Figure 21. Students’ perception of the two methods as effective for studying vocabulary
111 Notebook helps me remember the words longer Quizlet helps me remember the words longer 50 % 50 %
42 %
38 % 36 % 36 %
25 %
14 % 13 % 11 %
4 % 4 % 4 %
0 % 0 % Strongly agree Agree Not sure Disagree Strongly disagree
Figure 22. Students’ perception of the two methods as helpful to remember the words longer
112 10 Appendices
APPENDIX A 1IVN and 1IVQ pre-test/selection of irregular verbs
V1 V2 V3
1 choose
2 catch
3 do
4 bring
5 think
6 see
7 steal
8 sell
9 hold
10 give
11 write
12 take
13 hear
14 come
15 fly
16 teach
17 buy
18 stand
19 go
20 drive
21 tell
22 find
23 win
24 speak
25 sleep
26 cut
27 fall
28 begin
29 build
30 drink
113 APPENDIX B Second year students: Sports vocabulary selection
1. achievement úspěch, čeho bylo dosaženo 2. athlete sportovec, atlet 3. archery lukostřelba 4. beat someone porazit někoho 5. compete soutěžit 6. competition soutěž 7. cycling cyklistika, ježdění na kole 8. disabled postižený 9. equipment vybavení, nářadí 10. exciting vzrušující, napínavý 11. fast rychlý 12. fit zdravý, v dobré kondici 13. gloves rukavice 14. goggles brýle (lyžařské, plavecké) 15. indoor game sálová hra 16. injury zranění 17. leisure activities volnočasové aktivity 18. make progress udělat pokrok 19. opponent soupeř, protihráč 20. ordinary obyčejný 21. persuade someone přemluvit někoho 22. prize výhra, cena 23. receive obdržet, získat 24. retired v důchodu 25. score a goal dát gól 26. skates brusle 27. speed rychlost 28. sporting event sportovní událost 29. sporting hero sportovní hrdina 30. statue socha 31. strength síla 32. substitute náhradník 33. take part in účastnit se 34. tennis racket tenisová raketa 35. tournament turnaj, závod 36. trainers sportovní boty, botasky 37. unique jedinečný, unikátní 38. weight váha 39. win zvítězit, vyhrát 40. yoga jóga
114 APPENDIX C
Example of a translation test for the second year students - sports vocabulary
(14 of total 40 questions), generated by Quizlet.
115 APPENDIX D
Second year students: Gap fill exercise in Test 1
Fill in the gaps with a suitable word from the list in the correct form.
1) He is not in a good shape. If he exercised more, he would be much
.
2) As a winner, I also a cheque for $ 1.000.000. What
should I do with it?
3) Speed is really important in this competition. I won the race because I was
than the other runners.
4) My eyes hurt. Next time I should wear when I swim in
the sea.
5) They are really . They are getting better and
better.
6) After he fell off the mountain, he had many all over
his body.
7) Last year I the competition but this year I am
too lazy to try it. Besides, I won’t be here in July.
8) There are usually more players than needed. The extra ones are called
.
9) He was so popular that they decided to build him three
, each from a different material.
10) Only players with less than 80 kg can participate. How much do you
?
116 APPENDIX E
Notebook group - post-test questionnaire
How old are you? years
How long have you studied English? years
How much time do you spend using a smartphone? hours a day
How much time do you spend using a computer? hours a day
How much time do you spend on the internet? hours a day
How much time have you spent studying this vocabulary set at home?
minutes
How did you study for this test? Which strategies did you use? (e.g. hide and retrieve, rote learning, reading it aloud, silent reading, peer testing, etc.)
How many study sessions have you divided the words into? (write a number)
117 APPENDIX F
Quizlet group - post-test questionnaire
How old are you? years
How long have you studied English? years
How much time do you spend using a smartphone? hours a day
How much time do you spend using a computer? hours a day
How much time do you spend on the internet? hours a day
How many times have you done those activities on Quizlet to study for this test? (write a number)
Browser: Flashcards ⬜ Learn ⬜ Speller ⬜ Test ⬜ Gravity ⬜ Scatter ⬜ App: Flashcards ⬜ Learn ⬜ Match ⬜
How many study sessions have you divided the words into? (write a number)
Which device have you used?
Computer ⬜ Smartphone ⬜ Tablet ⬜
Did you use stars to mark the difficult words? Yes ⬜ No ⬜
How much time have you spent studying this vocabulary set at home?
minutes
What else have you used to study for this test?
Vocabulary notebook ⬜ Textbook ⬜ Other: ⬜
How did you usually study vocabulary before knowing Quizlet?
⬜ From a list ⬜ Textbook ⬜ My vocabulary notebook ⬜ Paper flashcards ⬜ Other:
118 APPENDIX G
Notebook group - anonymous survey
Do you agree with those Strongly Agree Not Disagree Strongly statements? agree sure disagree
I study on the bus/train ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜
I prefer typing to writing by ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ hand
It is fun to study with a ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ notebook A notebook is useful for ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ storing vocabulary
A notebook is effective for ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ studying vocabulary
Keeping a notebook helps ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ me to remember the words longer
119 APPENDIX H
Quizlet group - anonymous survey
Do you agree with those statements? Strongly Agree Not sure Disagree Strongly agree disagree
I study on the bus/train ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜
I prefer typing to writing by hand ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜
Quizlet is easy to use ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜
It is fun to study with Quizlet ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜
I enjoy using Quizlet at school ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜
I enjoy using Quizlet at home ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜
Quizlet is useful for storing vocabulary ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜
Quizlet is effective for studying vocabulary ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜
The app is better than Quizlet online in a ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ browser
It is easier to learn with Quizlet than with a ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ notebook
The pictures are helpful to remember new ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ words
Quizlet helps me to remember the words ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ longer
I can study with Quizlet more often than with a ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ notebook
I prefer creating the sets on my own ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜
There are sets, created by other users, that I ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ find useful
I will use Quizlet to study English more in the ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ future
I will use Quizlet to study for other subjects ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜
It is fun to study with a notebook ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜
Which activity(ies) on Quizlet do you like most and why?
How can Quizlet improve?
120