The effectiveness of a CALL multimedia classroom on L2 learners' achievements, attitudes and the word solving strategies' frequencies and the perceptions of helpfulness, when compared with learners in traditional classrooms: A quasi-experimental study

Abstract

The current study was conducted with three primary objectives in mind. The first was to investigate students’ achievements in immediate and delayed post tests in CALL multimedia and traditional classrooms as well as their attitudes towards using CALL for vocabulary learning. The second objective was to assess the frequencies of use of word solving strategies by learners in the two learning environments. The third objective was to explore the students' perceptions of the word solving strategies’ helpfulness in these two different learning classrooms.

The participants of the current study consisted of 67 male Saudi students who were enrolled in the first year at the English department at Majmaah University, KSA. A quasi-experimental method was used as the researcher has chosen two classes from two Colleges without assigning the learners into groups randomly. The participants were 31 students from a Community College (treatment group) and 36 students from the Administrative Sciences and Humanities College (control group). Both Colleges were based in Majmaah City in Saudi Arabia. A Pretest/Posttest Control Group Design was adopted. Therefore, both groups were pre-tested to ensure that their language level with regards to the target L2 words were equivalent. In addition to this, their previous background and use of the word solving strategies were evaluated to ensure that all participants were aware of the word solving strategies use. Those reported to have used these strategies and showed that they were not introduced into any training or teaching on vocabulary learning strategies use in their previous educational stages.

The study utilised both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Pre-tests, as well as immediate and delayed post tests were used to investigate the students' vocabulary achievements. Questionnaires were used to examine the students' frequencies of word solving strategies use and its helpfulness perceptions. A questionnaire was also used to examine the treatment group's attitudes, (CALL group), towards learning vocabulary with CALL. With regard to the qualitative method, an oral interview was conducted with five students from CALL group in order to thoroughly investigate their attitudes towards their experience of studying vocabulary in a CALL multimedia classroom and how they utilised the most frequently used strategy.

The findings of the study showed that both groups had learned a significant number of the target words after the teaching sessions, but the CALL group outperformed the other group and the difference between the two groups’ achievements in the immediate and delayed post tests were statistically significant whilst the effect size calculations showed that the CALL multimedia, (the intervention), had a positive impact on the treatment group. In addition, the learners' frequencies of the word solving strategies use, in both learning classrooms, were improved after the study, but the CALL group used these strategies more frequently than the traditional group, with the difference between them proving statistically significant. This was similar to the results for the helpfulness perceptions. The CALL group's overall perceptions regarding the helpfulness of the used strategies was greater than the traditional group's and the difference between them was statistically significant.

With this said, the findings showed that there was no discrepancy between the two groups with regard to the most and least frequently used strategies. The most commonly used strategy was the dictionary consultations whilst the least commonly used one was the skipping unknown word strategy. In addition, both groups perceived the dictionary use strategy as an extremely helpful strategy. The skipping new words strategy was perceived as the least helpful strategy by the two groups. The traditional group also perceived the ask classmate strategy as not helpful.

Positive attitudes towards CALL were also found by the CALL group. They confirmed that the existence of the computers in schools was very important. They reported that CALL was very effective for vocabulary learning. However, a few of the participants preferred using traditional methods to the CALL method as they were not very experienced in computer usage.