A Study of Using Web Concordancing for English Vocabulary Learning in a Taiwanese High School Context

Abstract

網路關鍵字前後文索引工具對外語學習而言是一個比較新的學習工具，寵可提供使用者搜尋語料庫中的任何字詞，並鼓勵歸網性思考和發現學習。本研究旨在探討 (一)索引工具納入高中英語課程之可行性，(二)學習者的字彙程度和其較喜好的英語學習方式(歸網法或演繹法)是否影響用索引工具學習英語字彙之效能，及 (三)學習者對此工具的竑應。四十六位來自同一個班級的高二學生參與此研究。我們在正規的英語課程中，以十節課時間讓讓受試者在電腦室利用索引工具完成規 定的作業。所有受試者的字彙學習情況皆接受前測、小考及後測評量。我們也設計一分改錯練習以瞭解受試者個別使用索引工具的情形。本實驗進行之前及結束後， 受試者各填寫一份背景問卷及一份評估索引工具的問卷。研究結果顯示出利用索引工具學習英語是有效的語言學習方式，尤能幫助字彙程度弱及善好以歸網法學習英 文的同學。若能有細心的規劃及適當的引導，索引工具能有效地網入中等教育的語言課程中，並能對語言學習有幫助。

A web concordancer, a relatively new learning tool for foreign language learning, allows learns to search for occurrences of any lexical term in a corpus. Concordance-based language learning encourages inductive thinking and discovery learning. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of incorporating concordancing into the regular EFL senior high school English curriculum, to examine whether learners' vocabulary level and preferred English learning style (induction or deduction) influence the effectiveness of concordancing on English vocabulary learning, and to elicit learners' feedback on web concordancing. Forty-six second-year senior high school students from an intact class participated in the study. Ten concordancing sessions were incorporated into regular English classes and students worked on the concordancing tasks individually during theses sessions. A pretest, a quiz and a posttest were conducted to measure the students' vocabulary learning. An error correction exercise was also used to gain more understanding about the individual use of the web concordancer. A background questionnaire and an evaluation questionnaire were used to gather students' perceptions before and after the study. The results of the study suggest that concordancing can be an effective tool for language learning. In particular, students of the low vocabulary level group and the induction group benefited more from concordancing. Given careful planning and appropriate guidance, concordancing can be incorporated into secondary level language instruction to benefit language learners.