This study demonstrates the effectiveness of autonomous vocabulary learning lesson module to college students in Korea. College students should study vocabulary by themselves since they are adult learners, class time is limited, and everyone has a dif ...
This study demonstrates the effectiveness of autonomous vocabulary learning lesson module to college students in Korea. College students should study vocabulary by themselves since they are adult learners, class time is limited, and everyone has a different repertoire of L2 vocabulary. Thus, the present study presents an autonomous vocabulary learning lesson module devised with consideration of Korean college student needs and evaluates its effectiveness through three perspectives: (a) student reactions toward the lesson module; (b) quantitative student learning outcomes; and (c) qualitative student learning outcomes. Thirty nine college students taking an English reading course participated in the present study. The course was primarily designed to improve the students’ general reading skills, although other skill areas were considered as well. They read two books (about 150 pages in length) for the course: The Citadel and Pride and Prejudice. These books are simplified books for L2 readers. Students were assigned to read several chapters and were given various post-reading activities in class. On the first day of the course, they were given a pre-vocabulary test, which consisted of 43 words selected from the vocabulary item pool that the author prepared based on student needs from previous classes. On the pre-vocabulary test, students were assessed on both receptive and productive knowledge of a word. In other words, they were asked to provide word definitions either in Korean or English and use each word in context by producing a sentence using the target word. In the first week of the semester, they were taught how to study a word using the autonomous vocabulary learning lesson module and asked to report their reactions toward the module. After, they were not taught any word during the class but had to independently prepare for post-vocabulary tests given as part of midterm and final exams. Word lists were given to the students to prepare for the exams: 120 words for The Citadel and 80 words for Pride and Prejudice. The two post-vocabulary tests consisted of 43 words altogether. Again, they were asked to provide both receptive and productive knowledge of a word. In order to prevent the practice effect between the pre/post-vocabulary tests, the arrangement and wordings were given differently. On the last day of the course, students were asked to report on their attitudinal changes as part of course evaluation. Overall, the findings showed that the autonomous vocabulary learning lesson module was effective for the students. Regarding learner reactions, students reported that, most importantly, they learned that a word has two types of knowledge. They also answered that they learned how to use dictionaries and online concordances and the importance of phrasal verbs. Regarding quantitative learning outcomes, students showed significant differences between pre- and post-vocabulary tests, most having improved their scores in post-vocabulary test. With respect to qualitative learning outcomes, they reported various positive attitudinal changes: (a) besides learning definitions, they often looked up how the word is used in context; (b) they made better use of dictionaries and online concordances; and (c) they made an effort to learn phrasal verbs. In short, the data from reactions, pre/post-vocabulary tests and survey on attitudinal changes demonstrated many positive outcomes toward the new vocabulary teaching method for Korean college students.