English L2 vocabulary learning with clickers: Investigating pedagogical effectiveness

Abstract

A growing body of literature on the pedagogical effectiveness of clickers in a second language (L2) context has revealed that clickers can promote learning. However, the extent to which clickers play a role in L2 acquisition compared to other pedagogical approaches lacks consensus; in addition, most research has focused on adult learners and has taken place in large classrooms. To address these limitations, the current research investigated the effects of clickers on L2 vocabulary acquisition in a K-12 educational setting. Two intact groups of Grade 8 students learning L2 English were assigned to a treatment: while the Clicker Group (n = 31) received instruction via clickers, the Non-Clicker Group (n = 30) was treated via hand-raising without the target technology. The pedagogical effectiveness of clickers on participants’ acquisition of the target vocabulary was measured via pretests, posttests and delayed posttests. Overall, the results indicate that vocabulary acquisition was comparable in both groups. The discussion of the findings explores the role of individual differences among users (i.e., some participants improved significantly more than others) and highlights the implications of the study for L2 teaching/learning.