Repeated Exposure to Vocabulary Websites and Academic Vocabulary Retention by University Students in Japan

Abstract

More recent advances in technology-based language learning saw an increase in the number of specific websites to help students acquire target vocabulary. Although most of the websites are fun and get students “hooked into the learning process,” the question that needs addressing is whether or not the use of websites actually results in increased and long-term vocabulary improvement for learners. This paper reports on our findings from four phases of an investigation that attempted to determine whether two vocabulary websites worked to increase our students’ academic vocabulary. The procedure and findings will be presented alongside each of the four phases this research evolved into. The presentation will discuss the results of a four-phase investigation on the efficacy of vocabulary websites in improving post-practice vocabulary test scores of students in a foreign studies university in Japan. The investigation mainly adopted statistical tools to determine whether the performance of students in consecutive post-practice tests actually improved. The findings revealed moderate gains in scores only in the initial phases for the groups. This research is relevant in that it adds to the body of literature investigating the efficacy of language learning websites in the acquisition and provides empirical data that support the use of websites in class. However, the results also challenge those of previous studies because the gains found were not fully sustained in most of the cases examined.