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More Than Just Word of the Day: Vocabulary Apps for English Learners
Author(s) -
Northrop Laura,
Andrei Elena
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the reading teacher
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.642
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1936-2714
pISSN - 0034-0561
DOI - 10.1002/trtr.1773
Subject(s) - vocabulary , vocabulary development , psychology , narrative , english vocabulary , vocabulary learning , computer science , quality (philosophy) , word (group theory) , mathematics education , teaching method , linguistics , philosophy , epistemology
The authors present a tool that teachers can use to evaluate the rigor of vocabulary apps for their English learners. The tool asks about effective instructional practices, types of instructional activities, and technology features. The authors used the evaluation tool to examine 53 vocabulary apps for English learners and found overall app quality to be poor. Although most apps included narration (58%), additional features that would benefit students learning English, such as automatic translation to another language or visuals, were largely absent. Finally, the authors present ways that, despite their limitations, vocabulary apps can be used to support English learners’ vocabulary development.