ATTITUDES OF YOUNG LEARNERS

TOWARDS CALL-BASED VOCABULARY LEARNING

enol Okumu
Research Proposal
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Technology has started to be used widely in all stages of our lives. One of the most
important of these technological advances is computers. Computer technology is widely used
in educational contexts in recent years (Rilling, 2000), and the use of computers in English
Language Teaching (ELT) has also been common since 1960 (Lee, 2000).
Today, the use of computers in ELT is so widespread that it makes it mandatory for a
teacher or student to be able to use a computer effectively. In connection with this, todays
language teachers have also started to believe that they should learn how to use CALL
effectively in their lessons.
According to Bagheri, Roohani and Ansari (2012), as English is an international
language, the number of people learning English has been increasing all around the world,
and one of the most important components of every language is learning its vocabulary.
Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is considered one of the effective ways of
vocabulary learning for language instructors and learners. Therefore it can be considered as
crucial to investigate students attitudes towards CALL. Bagheri, Roohani and Ansari (2012)
states that recent research on vocabulary has done a great deal to clarify the learners levels
of vocabulary learning to be achieved in order to read and process different kinds of oral and
written texts, as well as different kinds of strategies learners use in understanding, using and
recalling the words.
1.1. Statement of the Topic
In recent years, CALL-based vocabulary learning has been widespread all around the
world by learners and language teachers and its importance is increasing day by day.
According to Richards and Renandya (2002), vocabulary is an essential part of language
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proficiency and it supplies the EFL students with the basis for how to speak well, listen and
write. Without an extensive vocabulary and vocabulary acquiring methods, EFL students
cannot be encouraged enough to take the language learning opportunities around them such as
listening to radio, listening to native speakers reading, watching television and using language
in different contexts. Moreover, they cannot use their potential at the desired level. Since
vocabulary learning is of great importance in language learning, especially for young learners,
the present research will focus on the attitudes of young learners towards CALL-based
vocabulary learning, which is rarely researched in an EFL context in Turkey.

1.2. Significance of the Study

Since language is essential for people to communicate, people consider it as an inescapable
part of our lives. For this reason,, there has been many research for years on the field of
language to find ways to take more advantage of it as well as learning and teaching it
effectively. For this purpose, computers are integrated into language-based studies to make
language learning and teaching easier and more enjoyable. Computer-based Language
Learning (CALL) is one of the terms referring to integrate computers in EFL classrooms. In
language teaching, vocabulary learning is an essential part and can be considered as the core
component of any language. Taking all these into consideration, this study will focus on the
CALL- based vocabulary learning in terms of students attitudes towards it. Conducting such
a research can be regarded as significant because since the target population of CALL is EFL
learners, their attitudes are valuable to have a general idea about the effectiveness of CALLbased vocabulary activities, so that the required changes can be made and necessary
precautions can be taken in the process and implementation of CALL in vocabulary learning.
This study focuses mainly on the attitudes of young EFL learners of English, 2nd and 3rd year
students, towards CALL-based vocabulary learning in Turkey. From this aspect, this study can
be considered as necessary for English language learning in Turkey because Ministry of
National Education (MNE) started to give English lessons to 2nd and 3rd year students in
2013 by adding English to the curriculum. As Turkish young learners of English are new in
learning a foreign language, their attitudes and tendencies toward CALL-based vocabulary
learning may make a good contribution to the improvement of their language learning process
and help EFL teachers to make some needed changes in their teaching process. This study is
also important for the reason that it is supposed to fill a gap in the language learning studies in

Turkey because teaching English to 2nd and 3rd year students is a new case in Turkey and
there has been limited research in this area.

1.3. Purpose of the Study

The aim of this study is to determine the attitudes of young EFL pupils towards CALL-based
vocabulary learning. The study will seek answers to the following questions:
1. How important do the students consider CALL for their vocabulary learning?
2. Do the students think that CALL improved their vocabulary skills?
3. What are young EFL students complaints about CALL-based vocabulary
learning?

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
Computers have been integrated into educational system in 1960s and Computerassisted Language Learning (CALL) has been affected by the developments in technology.
Lepper & Gurtner, 1989 (cited in Bagheri, Roohani and Ansari, 2012) states that CALL was
based on teacher-centered programmed instructions during the first two decades of computer
use, and it originated from Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI), which was seen as an aid for
teachers in 1960s.
According to Davies, Hewer, Rendall, and Walker (2004), CALL projects were mostly
confined to universities until the late 1970s. In the late 1970, as Bagheri, Roohani and Ansari
(2012) state, the arrival of personal computer (PC) contributed very much to development of
CALL programs. As a result, Computer Assisted Language Instruction (CALI), the earlier
name of integrating computers into educational settings, changed into a new form: CALL.
The philosophy of CALL strongly emphasizes the student-centered education and gives the
students the chance to learn on their own by using structured and unstructured interactive
courses. These courses carry two important features: bidirectional (interactive) learning and
individualized learning. (Bagheri, Roohani and Ansari, 2012). During 1980s, CALL widened
its scope, dealing with the communicative approach and range of new technologies. CALL
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has now been a significant area of research in higher education and is used for learning
various skills and components of language by the use of multimedia software (Bagheri,
Roohani and Ansari, 2012).
Computer Assisted Vocabulary Instruction (CAVI) is one of the most used application
of CALL consisting of computer practices in vocabulary learning and instruction as Basoz
and Cubukcu (2014) states. From the arrival of CALL, vocabulary learning/teaching has
become a popular field in computer assisted language learning applications, but the researches
are inadequate examining the effectiveness of CALL applications and students attitudes
towards them.
Another survey was conducted by zdener and Satar (2009) on the effects of different
combinations of verbal oral feedback in CALL vocabulary materials. A pre-test, post-test
experimental design was used to analyze the effects of different types of oral feedback
techniques on the number of words recalled. The study group consisted of sixth and seventh
grade students from different schools in Istanbul, Turkey. Study materials only differed in
their approach to feedback in the practice stage. The study showed that most schools in
Turkey possess necessary materials to improve vocabulary learning, however, the approach to
feedback in these materials is inconsistent and deserves more attention.
There are also experimental studies about vocabulary acquisition processes. One of the
examples of these studies was done by Allum (2004) on the evaluation of research in terms of
initial vocabulary learning. The study reported 3 experiments. In the first two experiments, a
comparison was made between CALL exercises that encourage productive recall and passive
recall. The third experiment included exercises delivered over the Web for a whole semester
as preparatory materials for in-class work. As a result of the study, CALL, as Allum (2004)
suggests, is an effective way of teaching new vocabulary and it can be effectively used for
sustained periods even when the student motivation is not necessarily high and when there is
close integration with classroom work.
Since CALL-based vocabulary learning has gained much importance recently, it
became an inevitable process for researchers to focus on its effectiveness in educational
settings and to what extend it makes difference from former applications. In this sense,
Bagheri, Roohani and Ansari (2012) discussed the effect of CALL-based and Non-CALL
based methods of teaching on L2 vocabulary learning to see which method is more effective
for teaching English vocabulary to young elementary Iranian EFL learners. A proficiency test
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was used to homogenize the participants and a multiple-choice vocabulary test was used as
immediate and delayed posttests to find out the effectiveness of the methods in a shorter and
longer period of time. The results of the test indicated that no significant difference has been
observed between vocabulary scores of the CALL-users and non-CALL users in both shortterm and long-term.
Cardoso (2012) investigated the effects of CALL on the acquisition of new vocabulary
in an ESP course for adults. The study put forward that, compared to pretest; student
performance in posttest was relatively high. Moreover, students reported that they enjoyed
CALL-based activities in which they had the opportunity of immediate access to online
dictionaries and search sites.
In their study about Technology-Enhanced Strategy Use (TESU) for second language
vocabulary acquisition, Liu, Lan, and Jenkins (2014) states that TESU enables learners to
employ a range of available vocabulary learning strategies (e.g., keyword strategy), as well as
e-tools (e.g. drawing and mind mapping) provided in the TESU system to practice English
vocabulary outside of the classroom. (p.105). The findings of the research showed that it is
feasible to make use of the TESU system to learn new vocabulary and to collect data
concerning the learners vocabulary strategy use. Also, the study proved that the TESU system
encourages students to practice some useful but infrequently-employed strategies (e.g., the
mnemonic keyword method).
Another research showed that CALL can not only be used in the lessons, but also in
the process of assessing students success. For example, Stricker and Rock (2004) studied the
attitudes of the 639 test takers who took the computer-based TOEFL in 1999, and he revealed
that test takers had positive attitudes towards computer-based testing. This can be considered
as a proof for the effectiveness of computer-based testing in terms of evaluation of students
success.
Although most of the studies on CALL showed that students have positive feelings
towards the use of computers in their classes, there are some studies which revealed negative
attitudes of learners towards CALL. For example, Shaw and Marlow (1999) administered a
questionnaire to 99 sports, science, and nutrition undergraduates, and the results of the study
revealed that the participants were uncomfortable with computers, because they complained
about the lack of personal and social contact with their peers in the classroom, so they
preferred the use of traditional teaching. The result of this study put forward the idea that
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although CALL brought so many advantages, these advantages may sometimes lead to some
disadvantages such as lack of personal contact in classroom, so this may be the cause of
students negative attitudes towards CALL.
To put it shortly, previous research on CALL and CALL-based vocabulary learning
supports the idea that computer assisted vocabulary learning contributes very much to L2
vocabulary acquisition and mostly provides students with positive attitudes towards CALLbased vocabulary learning. The situation is almost the same in Turkey; however it can be
concluded from the study of zdener and Satar (2009) that the necessary feedback and
information of CALL materials is inconsistent and inadequate although needed materials are
supplied by most of the schools in Turkey. In addition to these, the study of Shaw and Marlow
(1999) on the attitudes of learners towards CALL-based instruction revealed that participants
got uncomfortable with the existence of computer as it caused of personal and social contact
with their peers in the classroom, so they favored the use of traditional education. Taking all
these into account, this study aims at investigating the attitudes of young learners toward
CALL-based vocabulary learning in Turkey.

CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
This part explains the nature of the study, participants and instruments employed in
this study. It also explains the data collection procedures of the study.
This is a descriptive research study. As Ruane (2005, 12) states descriptive research
offers a detailed picture of some social phenomenon, setting, experience, group, etc..
Descriptive research is also considered as a survey research and it is defined as a procedure
for systematically collecting information about the attitudes, beliefs, background, experiences,
and behavior of a sample of people by using interviews and questionnaires (Gray,
Williamson, Karp & Dalphin, 2007, 146). This study aims to examine the attitudes of Turkish
young EFL students towards CALL-based vocabulary learning, so descriptive research design
was selected as the most suitable design for the study.
In order to elicit students attitudes towards CALL-based language learning, a Likert
scale will be used as a questionnaire to collect the necessary data. The questionnaire will be
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administered to 60 young primary school pupils. The scale will contain 20 statements and
respondents will be asked to choose from five choices. Since a questionnaire will be
conducted to elicit students perceptions of CALL- based language learning and the
questionnaire results will be shown as percentages on the tables to reveal objective results,
Therefore, this study will also contain the elements of quantitative research.
The participants in this study include 60 students. These students are 2nd year and 3rd
year students from the zdil Primary School and Oymaltepe Primary School. Young primary
school students were selected for this study, because Computer-assisted Language Learning
(CALL) studies were first started in primary schools by the Ministry of National Education of
Turkey. In primary schools, Morpa Kamps and Dyned are generally referred items by
teachers and students in the process of vocabulary teaching and learning. Morpa Kamps is
an online educational forum which supplies students with various vocabulary activities.
Similary, Dyned is educational multimedia software which was donated by Sanko Holding to
Ministy of Education. In this study, 2 nd year and 3rd will be the experimental group to be
examined as teachers frequently use these CALL-based educational means in the process of
teaching new English vocabulary. This is why 2nd year and 3rd grade students attitudes are
very important for this study and for further research in this field.
This study employed non-probability sampling. Because of the fact that samples
should be primary school students, purposive sampling was used. As Computer-assisted
Language Learning studies were first started in primary schools in Turkey, the attitudes of
primary school pupils are of great importance for this study.

CHAPTER 4
ANALYSIS OF DATA
The responses taken from 60 young primary school children will be analyzed.
Responses to each question will be presented in tables as percentages. The quantitative data
collected from the Likert Scale will be analyzed by SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences) Software. Then the results will be calculated as percentages and these percentages
will be shown on tables. Finally, necessary conclusions will be deduced from the tables and
interpreted as qualitative data.

CHAPTER 5
SUMMARY and IMPLICATIONS
In recent years, computers have become a part of our lives and also our educational
systems. Therefore, there have been many researches on this area for years, dating back to
1960s, on how to take advantage of computers in educational settings. For his purpose CALL
(Computer-assisted Language Learning) was put forward as a term referring the integration of
computer and computer-based activities into language learning process. One of the most
important aspects of learning a language is to learn its vocabulary and of the focuses of CALL
programs is to use computer-based vocabulary materials to enhance vocabulary learning as
well as creating positive attitudes on children towards CALL- based vocabulary learning. The
recent researches presented in the literature review part indicate mainly positive findings of
CALL and CALL-based vocabulary applications all around the world.
The aim of this study is to observe young primary school students attitudes towards
CALL-based vocabulary learning. The study seeks answers to the following questions:
1. How important do the students consider CALL for their vocabulary learning?
2. Do the students think that CALL improved their vocabulary skills?
3. What are young EFL students complaints about CALL-based vocabulary
learning?
In order to find answers to above questions, a questionnaire will be administered to
100 young primary school students to see their attitudes towards CALL-based vocabulary
learning. The target student population will be 2nd and 3rd year primary students as their
language learning process mainly shaped by vocabulary learning. Then, the questionnaire
results will be discussed according to the collected data.

Implications of the Study

This study is expected to fill a gap in CALL-based vocabulary learning process in
terms of students attitudes towards CALL-based vocabulary instructions. This research is
also expected to make a great contribution to improvement of CALL-based vocabulary
learning and teaching for students and teachers as it will find out the positive and negative
aspects of CALL-based vocabulary learning, giving pupils a chance to enhance their
vocabulary skills.
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