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Mobile-assisted vocabulary learning: Investigating receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge of Chinese EFL learners

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2021

Yan Li Open the ORCID record for Yan Li [Opens in a new window]  and
Christoph A. Hafner Open the ORCID record for Christoph A. Hafner [Opens in a new window]
Yan Li
Affiliation:
The University of Sydney, Australia ([email protected])
Christoph A. Hafner
Affiliation:
City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong ([email protected])
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Abstract

Considerable research has been conducted on the advancement of mobile technologies to facilitate vocabulary learning and acquisition in a second language (L2). However, whether mobile platforms lead to a comprehensive mastery of both receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge has seldom been addressed in previous literature. This study investigated English vocabulary learning from engagement with mobile-based word cards and paper word cards in the context of the Chinese university classroom. A total of 85 undergraduate students were recruited to take part in the study. The students were divided into two groups, a mobile learning group and a paper-based learning group, and tested on two word knowledge components: receptive knowledge of the form–meaning connection and productive knowledge of collocations. Both the digital and non-digital word cards enhanced L2 vocabulary learning, and the results showed that the mobile application (app) promoted greater gains than physical word cards.

Keywords

mobile-assisted vocabulary learningword cardsreceptive and productive vocabulary knowledge
Type
Research Article
Information
ReCALL , Volume 34 , Issue 1 , January 2022 , pp. 66 - 80
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Association for Computer Assisted Language Learning

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