Exploring the Impact of Tapping into School-aged Students' Experiences on L2 Vocabulary Learning via Employing EdTech and Poem

The quasi-experimental study presented in this paper concerns second language (L2) vocabulary learning in a blended course using extramural practicing through mobile game (m-game), text message, and poem. Its central question concern the impact of using educational technology- (EdTech)-mediated materials type on Iranian school-age students' L2 English vocabulary learning with the focus on the students' experiences. To that end, 45 ninth-grader boys and girls (out of 60) were selected through convenience sampling method and homogenized through an English Vocabulary Levels Test (EVLT); then, the selected samples were randomly divided into three groups. Using mixed-method research design, they were taught and assessed formatively through three different blended learning scenarios during the academic year of 2015-2016. To be exact, while the indoor part of the employed scenarios was the same, the extramural part was formed from poetic and nonpoetic EdTech-mediated activities. In the end, nine students were selected through purposive sampling method to be debriefed about the course via semistructured interview. The garnered data from students' performance and interview were analyzed both descriptively and inferentially via SPSS 22. Analyzing the data revealed that practicing the materials via EdTech aided them in learning L2 vocabulary items, albeit with different levels of success. Students' good knowledge of poetry was an enlightement component for the students, bridged the gap between learning situation and student current knowledge outstandingly in the gamified scenario. In summary, teaching L2 vocabulary items via m-game and poem corresponded to students' success.

کلیدواژه ها:

EdTech ، m-game ، L2 vocabulary ، poem ، school-aged students