The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of using mobile flash card app for English vocabulary learning of primary school students. Flash cards are widely used in primary schools as one of the effective tools to learn vocabulary explici...
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of using mobile flash card app for English vocabulary learning of primary school students. Flash cards are widely used in primary schools as one of the effective tools to learn vocabulary explicitly in an EFL environment with little English input. However, it takes a lot of time to make flash cards every time, and since it is used for all the students, it does not provide suitable learning opportunities for individual learners. In order to overcome these limitations, this study proposes using mobile flash cards app. Nine sixth graders (three students from each of the three levels), who were selected through a pre-test and a pre-questionnaire, conducted self-directed learning using the mobile flash card app for six weeks. The following results were obtained through a pre-questionnaire, two post-tests, and interviews. First, vocabulary learning using mobile flash card app is effective for improving vocabulary of high and middle-level students. In the second post-test six weeks after the end of the study, the score was maintained, confirming the effect on long-term memory. Second, vocabulary learning using the mobile flash card app has a positive effect on the affective domain(vocabulary interest, self-confidence, learning necessity recognition) of the high and middle level students. Third, learner's perception of using mobile flash card app is positive in all three groups. Finally, low-level students have little interest in English, making it difficult to take advantage of self-directed studying using mobile flash card app. These results suggest that learning using a mobile flash card app can be an effective way to learn vocabulary for high and low-level primary school students.
Key Words: flash-cards, mobile learning, primary school English learners, vocabulary learning