The Effect of Multimodal Flashcards on L2 Derivational Vocabulary Knowledge:

A Preliminary Analysis of Attempts and Quiz Question Modes

Abstract

Many studies suggest learning vocabulary through derivational knowledge can be helpful in a second language (L2) but there may be notable differences between student comprehension and production of vocabulary based on derivational knowledge. Other research suggests that flashcards can be extremely useful for L2 vocabulary acquisition, while others suggest that practicing vocabulary in multiple modes (i.e., reading, speaking, writing) is beneficial to learners. However, there is less research regarding how studying derivational vocabulary through flashcards or multiple modes affects acquisition. This study seeks to offer a preliminary look at this problem and how study systems can be improved by reporting on the use of multimodal flashcards that provide multiple choice, writing, listening, and speaking activities to students learning derivational vocabulary. After using the flashcards, students took multimodal quizzes that contained multiple choice, listening, and writing questions. We checked for correlation between flashcard usage across multiple modes and quiz scores both overall and by mode to look for general associations, then performed multiple regression analyses with random forests to determine if certain modes were more effective at promoting acquisition. We found that flashcard usage generally correlates with higher quiz scores and that writing was the most impactful of the practice modes.