International Journal of
Information and Education Technology

Abstract

Past research indicates that learners underutilize second language vocabulary acquisition strategies. This paper presents four different methods of learning English vocabulary from the Academic Word List (AWL), with emphasis on comparing the benefits of print materials versus online Moodle materials. The participants in the project were first year English majors at a private university in Japan. One set of students used print materials: vocabulary cards and in class assessment in the first semester and a vocabulary workbook for out of class practice combined with in class assessment in the second semester. The second set of students used Moodle materials: out of class online Moodle activities in the first semester and a workbook combined with out of class Moodle assessment in the second semester. A pretest and posttest were administered to determine how well students learned the material. Students using the print materials slightly outperformed students using the online materials. A survey was given to assess student attitudes toward the different types of materials and toward the method and style of the activities. This paper will discuss the results of the posttests and learner attitudes survey.