Special Issue INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES AND

March 2016 CULTURAL STUDIES ISSN 2356-5926

The Effect of Flash Card-based Instruction on Vocabulary Learning by

EFL Learners

Gholam-Reza Abbasian
Imam Ali & Islamic Azad (South Tehran Branch) universities
[email protected]

Elham Ghorbanpour
PhD Candidate, Islamic Azad University, Kish International Branch, Iran
Corresponding author
[email protected]

Abstract

The present study sought to investigate the effect of flash card-based instruction on
vocabulary learning among intermediate EFL learners with a consideration of the role
gender. The study was a quantitative one. The participants were 60 Iranian male and female
EFL learners group who were screened by the Oxford Placement Test (2011) as
homogeneous group in terms of proficiency level. Having received a 10-hour treatment using
flash card-based and conventional instruction of vocabulary respectively, both groups
received a post test of reading comprehension to assess their reading comprehension
knowledge. T-test-based analysis of the data suggested significant difference between the two
methods of teaching in favour of the flashcard-based instruction of vocabulary. However, the
difference between male and female participants in vocabulary learning was not found to be
significant. The major implication of the study is that flashcard-based instruction as an
important method of vocabulary learning should receive further attention in language
teaching programs.

Keywords: flashcard-based instruction; vocabulary learning; intermediate level.

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Introduction
Successful second language learning has been a great concern of applied linguists. It is
believed that words are the heart of any language which makes the process of learning easier.
Aitchison (1989) found words as a tool of thought, and one will often find that he is thinking
inappropriately because he is using the wrong tool. According to Rivers (1983), the
acquisition of an adequate vocabulary is essential for successful second language use
because, without an extensive vocabulary, one will be unable to use the structures, and
functions we may have learned for comprehensible communication. Laufer (1997) has the
same opinion about vocabularies and believes that no comprehension accrues, unless there is
an understanding of text’s words. Therefore vocabularies as the indispensible components of
language have always received a great attention.
Vocabulary learning and teaching has been considered as one of the most important
mechanisms of any educational program since early on. Thornbury (2004) stated that much of
development of new approaches to language teaching is ‘word-centered’. It also should be
noted that teaching vocabulary is supposed to not only consists of teaching specific words but
also aims at providing learners with strategies necessary to speed up their vocabulary
knowledge (Hulstjin, 1993, cited in Morin & Goebel, 2001). Teachers have been using many
techniques to help the learners to develop their knowledge of vocabularies in quality and
quantity. Words can be learnt verbally and visually; since verbally refers to the old-fashion
way of learning vocabulary like reading and memorizing, most attention has been drawn on
visual techniques like pictures, flashcard-based instruction , photographs, word pictures, and
wordlists.
Reviewing recent teaching methodologies, could confirm that except Reading Method which
emphasizes on reading and vocabulary control. Other teaching methodology did not address
vocabulary in any principled way. According to Brown (2001) Grammar-Translation focused
on grammar teaching and translation as language practice, the Direct Method dealt with oral
skills, the Audio-Lingual tried to build good language habits through drills, and
Communicative Language Teaching emphasized on fluency over accuracy.
During the first part of the twentieth century, several scholars were working on ways to
lighten students' vocabulary learning load. Particularly as applied to reading, they developed
principles of presenting common vocabulary first, and limiting the number of new words in
any text. Later on, many books and word lists have been presented to help the learners to
organize their vocabulary knowledge. Since then, many studies have been conducted to
present some strategies for vocabulary leaning, and flashcard-based instruction as one of the
popular strategies was in most of these studies.
According to Walters and Bozkurt (2009), vocabulary notebooks are frequently advocated as
a way for students to take control of their vocabulary learning. The study attempted to lend
empirical support to these claims, by investigating the effect of vocabulary notebooks on EFL
students’ vocabulary acquisition. These findings lead the authors to conclude that vocabulary
notebooks can be an effective learning tool in EFL classrooms, but positive impacts on
learner autonomy may not be seen in the absence of appropriate motivation for language
learning. Başoğlu and Akdemir (2010) conducted a study on the comparison of
undergraduate students’ English vocabulary learning using mobile phones and flash card-
based instruction. Results indicated that using mobile phones as a vocabulary learning tool is

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more effective than one of the traditional vocabulary learning tools. Erbey, Mclaughlin,
Derby and Everson (2011) studied the effects of using flashcard-based instruction with
reading racetrack to teach letter sounds, sight words, and math facts to elementary students
with learning disabilities. The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of reading
racetrack and flashcard-based instruction when teaching phonics, sight words, and addition
facts. The results show that some students had more success with it than others. Baleghizadeh
and Ashoori (2011) presented a study to observe students’ responses to teaching vocabulary
using flash card-based instruction and word lists. But they have got a different result; they
found no significant difference in the efficacy of either of the two techniques. Komachali and
Khodareza (2012) also conducted a study to investigate the effect of using vocabulary flash
card on Iranian pre-university students' vocabulary knowledge. The results showed the
students in the experimental group outperformed the students in the control group in their
vocabulary knowledge. Hence, it was concluded that the contribution of vocabulary flash
card in teaching vocabulary to students led to a higher level of vocabulary improvement.
Khodashenas, Farahani and Alishahi (2014) attempted to investigate the effect of using flash
card-based instruction in comparison to educational cartoons on vocabulary learning of the
intermediate English as a Foreign Language learners. After administrating a vocabulary
pretest all 44 participants of the study were randomly selected to form the experimental and
comparison groups of the study. In the experimental group the participants were taught
through the using of Magic English cartoons, while the participants of the comparison group
were taught through the use of flash card-based instruction. After the instruction a post test
was administered to both groups. The result of the study indicated that there was a
statistically significant difference between the groups. Therefore, it was concluded that the
use of Magic English series could improve the students’ vocabulary knowledge.
A flashcard is a set of card-based instruction bearing information, as words or numbers, on
either or both sides, used in classroom drills or in private study. One writes a question on a
card and an answer overleaf. Flashcard-based instruction can bear vocabulary, historical
dates, formulas or any subject matter that can be learned via a question-and-answer format.
Flashcard-based instruction is widely used as a learning drill to aid memorization by way of
spaced repetition. According to Brown (2000), one main advantage of flash card-based
instruction is that, they can be taken almost anywhere and studied whenever one wants.
Students often find vocabulary as the main obstacle in acquiring a second language. They
also believe that poor vocabulary knowledge blocks their reading and listening
comprehension which cause problems in communication. Most foreign language teachers can
confirm that most learners have no special way for learning vocabulary, they usually write
the new words in a notebook and the definition next to it. They do not know how they can
learn words in an easy way. The present study is an attempt in the direction of tackling the
problems of vocabulary learning and offering a technique (using flash card-based instruction)
in learning vocabulary.
As it was discussed earlier, lack of needed vocabulary is found to be the main cause of
learner’s inability in communication activities. According to Celce-Murcia (1991), one
effective way to help learners in communication is to increase their vocabulary knowledge.
Also, Chastain (1988) stated that, vocabulary usually plays a greater role in communication
than the other components of language. And many other scholars like Laufer (1997), believe
that lexical problem, hinder successful comprehension. Hence, because of this important

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attribution in the process of vocabulary learning and enhancement, the present paper aims at
investigating the effect of flash card-based instruction on vocabulary learning in English as a
foreign language context.
In order to address this objective, two research questions followed in the form of their
respective null hypotheses were posed as follows:
1. Does flash card-based instruction have any significant effect on learning
vocabulary on Iranian intermediate learners?
2. Is there any significant difference between male and female EFL learners
regarding the effect of flashcard-based instruction on vocabulary learning?
Method
The participants were 60 Iranian male and female EFL learners group who were screened by
the Oxford Placement Test (2011) as homogeneous group in terms of proficiency level.
Having received a 10-hour treatment using flash card-based and conventional instruction of
vocabulary respectively, both groups received a post test of reading comprehension to assess
their reading comprehension knowledge. 504 Absolutely Essential Words book and flashcard
(Bromberg, Liebb and Traiger, 2005) were used to teach the participants some new
vocabularies.
Those words were first presented to learners in three sample sentences; next, the new words
appeared in a brief passage; the last part of each lesson was a set of exercises that gave
learners practice using the new words. One of the most important features of the book was
that each of the new words was repeated over and over again throughout the book so that
learners would have a greater chance to become familiar with it. The book had also a
comprehensive flashcard-based instruction which contained all vocabularies in the same
order, but there was no exercise.
And a researcher-made test on first 6 units of 504 absolutely essential words was to find out
the effect of teaching. In order to have an accurate result on vocabulary, a careful selection
of different tests existed in the book was made. The test consisted of 50 questions that should
have been answered in 35 minutes. All items in the test were either multiple choice questions
or filling the blanks items, and there were no essay type question.
In order to check the reliability of the instruments, a pilot study was carried out with 16 EFL
learners similar to the participants of the study to ensure the reliability of the tests through
KR 20 technique. The resulting value was found to be .83 which is indicative of high
reliability of the instrument.
After selecting the final participants they were randomly placed in two different classes. The
participants were taught the first six unit of the book in two different ways. In Class A which
was the controlled group the book were used and in Class B which was the treatment class the
flashcard-based instruction of the same book were utilized. In both classes six units were
taught in six sessions (one in each session). At the end the research-made test of the book
were taken. In order to eliminate any possible difference in two classes, the two classes took
the test together.

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Data Analysis and Results

Investigation of the first Research Question
In order to address the first question, before any special analysis, mean, mode and standard
deviations of two sets of scores were calculated for further actions. This descriptive data is
outlined in tables 1 and 2.
Table 1.Descriptive statistics of the scores

Class Mean Mode Standard Deviation

Class A 34.73 50 6.74

Class B 44.4 50 4.83

Table 2.Group Statistics

Std. Error
Groups N Mean Std. Deviation Mean

Vocabulary Class B 30 44.4000 4.83949 .88357

Test Class A 30 34.7333 6.76672 1.23543

As Figure 1 presents, participants in Class B had a better performance than participants in

class A.

Participants' vocabulary test scores in both Classes

60

50 50 50
49 50 50 50 50 50
47 48 49
47 47
49 48 49
47
49
45 46
44 44
40 42 42 43 41 41
40 40
37 38 39 39 38 39 37 37 38
35 35 34 35
32 33 32 33
30 31 30 30 29 30 30 31 31 31 30
29 28 29
27 Class B
20 Class A

10

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Figure 1. Distribution of participants' vocabulary test scores in both Classes

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Inferential Statistics: Independent T-Test

In order to see the differences between the two classes of the study, the mean scores of the
participants were calculated and an independent samples t-test was administered. (Table 3)
Table 3.Independent Samples Test

t-test for Equality of Means

95% Confidence
Interval of the
Mean Std. Error Difference
Sig. (2- Differenc Differenc
t df tailed) e e Lower Upper

Vocabular Equal variances

6.364 58 .000 9.66667 1.51887 6.62631 12.70702
y assumed
Test Equal variances 52.51
6.364 .000 9.66667 1.51887 6.61954 12.71380
not assumed 5

In Class A which was the controlled class and the book 504 absolutely essential words was
taught in a usual way, the mean was reported to be 34.73. In the second class which the
participants were taught by 504 absolutely essential words flashcard-based instruction, the
scores had the mean score of 44.40. As it can be seen, the difference between the means of
two classes is about 10. The T-Test reported the difference of the two means to be
Significant; the T-value is 6.364. The P-Value is < 0.00001. The result is significant at p <
0.01.

Investigation of the Second Research Question

In order to address the second question, the performance of the participants in Class B and
Class B was measured considering the gender factor, which shows no great difference
between male and female participants (as illustrated in Table 4 and Figure 2).
Table 4.Group Statistics

Std. Error
Groups N Mean Std. Deviation Mean

Vocabulary Male 11 45.2727 4.94148 1.48991

Test Female 19 43.8947 4.84074 1.11054

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Class B - Male Class B - Female

60

50 50 50 49 49 50 50 49 50 49
47 47 48 46 48 47
45 43 44 44
40 42 41 40 41
39
37 38 39 37 38
35
30

20

10

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Figure 2. Distribution of vocabulary test scores in Class B among different Gender

Inferential Statistics: Independent T-Test

For the sake of the second research question of the study regarding gender, the difference
between the mean of male performance in Class B and female performance in Class B was
also calculated. As it was reported the mean of male participants was 45.27, and female
participants was 43.89. As it can be guessed the difference was reported not to be
Significant. The T-value is 0.746. The P-Value is 0.462. The result is not significant at p <
0.05 (Table 5).
Table 5 .Independent Samples Test

t-test for Equality of Means

95% Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Sig. (2- Mean Std. Error
t df tailed) Difference Difference Lower Upper

Vocabulary Equal
variances .746 28 .462 1.37799 1.84772 -2.40689 5.16287
Test assumed

Equal
variances not .742 20.656 .467 1.37799 1.85826 -2.49040 5.24638
assumed

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Discussion and Conclusion

The findings of the study confirmed the positive effect of using flashcard-based
instruction on vocabulary learning among intermediate learners. This finding is in contrast
with Khodashenas, Farahani, and Alishahi (2014) who did not find any special difference
between using flashcard-based instruction and the conventional way teaching vocabulary. But
the finding is in line with Altiner (2011) which also found the positive effect of using
flashcard-based instruction on vocabulary learning. The result had also the same result like
Kornell (2009) and Komachali and Khodareza (2012). Another study that was in line with
this finding was Lin-Fang's (2013) which found using flashcard-based instruction as one of
the most important factors of affecting vocabulary learning. The last study which had the
same result was Sinaei and Asadi (2014), in that study the positive effect of using flashcard-
based instruction on vocabulary learning among elementary and intermediate learners of
English has been proved.
The other finding of the study, worth of mentioning, is that both males and females in the
class which flashcard-based instruction was used, perform better than males and female in
the controlled class, and also in the experimental class, no significant difference between
males and females participants of the study has been reported. The finding was in line with
Kornell (2009) which found no significant difference across gender regarding the effect of
using flashcard-based instruction on vocabulary learning. This was also the case in Başoğlu
and Akdemir (2010) study.
The finding confirmed a significant effect of using flashcards on vocabulary learning on
intermediate EFL learners. So the null hypothesis that “Using flash cards has no effect on
learning vocabulary by Iranian intermediate learners” is rejected. The findings also reported
no significant difference between male and female learners regarding the effect of using
flashcards on vocabulary learning.
Since the effect of using flashcard-based instruction on vocabulary learning has been reported
to be positive and significant, in any language program, flashcard-based instruction should be
focused on more than ever. Based on this conclusion, it is suggested in order to have a more
comprehensive teaching of vocabulary, present vocabularies in flashcard-based instruction
which can cause a better learning of words which later leads to a faster learning of the
language. The study predicts better learning when students are assigned some activities using
flashcard-based instruction.
As the effect of using flashcard-based instruction on vocabulary learning was significantly
positive, the first and foremost study which comes to one’s mind is a study on other materials
like word list. The effect of flashcard-based instruction on other areas of language learning
like writing is also an interesting topic. The same study on other level of proficiency like
advanced is also suggested. The other topic which is worth of mentioning is the effect of age
in the same study or conducting the same study across different of participants. Finally,
looking back on the abovementioned suggestions and the findings of the present study, it
seems evident that the effect of using flashcard-based instruction on vocabulary learning is
not negligible. Therefore, the current study suggests more studies on this issue with different
levels of proficiency, different age groups, and wider context. It is hoped that the future
research shed light on the role of this important variable in language learning and provide us
with deeper insights into how vocabulary learning can be dealt with in language classes.

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