Open AccessThe Role of Motivation in Incidental Vocabulary Learning through Academic Videos
Author(s) -
Arathi Jane Reddy,
Mangeet Kaur Khera,
Jessica McLaughlin,
Csaba Zoltán Szabo
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
asia pacific journal of educators and education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2289-9057
pISSN - 2180-3463
DOI - 10.21315/apjee2021.36.1.8
Subject(s) - vocabulary , psychology , vocabulary learning , mathematics education , test (biology) , motivation to learn , pedagogy , linguistics , paleontology , philosophy , biology
Recent studies suggest incidental vocabulary learning (IVL) through audio-visual input to be effective for ESL vocabulary development. However, no research has been conducted on IVL gains from academic videos, an accessible, cost- and time-efficient educational tool. Furthermore, as studies suggest that students tend to have high motivation when videos are used during teaching, it is suggested that IVL gains could vary according to student motivation levels. Therefore, this research intends to address the gap of potential IVL gains for ESL learners through academic videos and its possible relationship with motivation. A total of 56 ESL pre-university students in an English-medium university in Malaysia participated in this study. IVL gains were measured through a modified Vocabulary Size Test including a target words test before and after watching the 10-minute academic video. Students’ motivation level was measured using a video motivation questionnaire. The results indicated a significant IVL gain with 0.78 (3.9%) of the target words learned on an average. However, no correlation was found between student motivation level and IVL gains. Therefore, results from this study may give an insight on how TESOL educators can integrate academic videos into innovative, formal and informal teaching practices to develop the vocabulary of ESL students through IVL.