A Study Of The Effect Of Mobile Learning On English Vocabulary Acquisition In Vocational Schools

Vocabulary is crucial for language learning.At present,vocabulary teaching in vocational schools is time-consuming and inefficient,which makes students lose interest and confidence.In face of this situation,great efforts have been made to improve vocabulary teaching.Many innovative teaching methods are also being explored.Mobile learning,which combines mobile learning theory with modern mobile communication technology,is one among them.This study explores the current situation of mobile learning in vocational schools through questionnaire survey,mainly focusing on students’ attitudes toward mobile learning.At the same time,through empirical study,the effects of mobile learning on English vocabulary acquisition are also detected and the possible factors that produce these effects,including gender,vocabulary and learning frequency,are analyzedQuestionnaire results shows that most students fully recognize the significance of English and English vocabulary learning,but a multitude of them are dissatisfied with the current situation of English teaching.Students exhibit keen interest in mobile learning of English vocabulary.With mobile terminal devices such as smartphones and tablets available and mobile networks covering the campus,mobile learning is feasible in vocational schools.For the empirical study,the experimental group learned the target words by Youdao Dictionary software,while the control group learned the target words by traditional paper-printed word lists.The experiment lasted four weeks,after which the test was taken.According to the statistics analysis of the test scores,the mean of the experimental group is higher than that of the control group(M1=55.45>M2=48.83),and there is a significant difference between the two groups based on the 0.05 significance level(P=0.000<0.05).Therefore,mobile learning is overall superior to traditional learning method of English vocabulary.In order to find out the specific differences between the two learning methods,one more test was conducted.It is concluded through statistical analyses of the test scores that mobile learning is more effective than traditional learning in English-Chinese translation,grammar use and sentence making but there is no significant difference between the two learning methods in Chinese-English translationThe correlation between gender,vocabulary size,learning frequency and test scores was analyzed.The results show that academic performance is positively correlated with vocabulary size and learning frequency,but not with genderIt is obtained from the study that English learners in vocational schools hold a positive attitude towards mobile learning of English vocabulary and mobile learning has a favorable impact on English vocabulary acquisitionThe study also gives us some pedagogical implication as follows.Students should renew mobile learning ideas,set reasonable mobile learning goals and manage mobile learning time efficiently.Teachers are expected to promote learning-based and teaching-assisted teaching.